Kurmancî Classes
The Kurdish Cultural Center is proud to offer free classes in Kurmancî for both adults and children. The classes meet once a week, on weekend mornings: the children’s class on Saturdays, the adult class on Sundays.
The instructor for the adult classes is an accomplished linguist, native to Diyarbakir.
Classes are conducted in English. A new sessions starts approximately every three months.
We offer the classes free of charge, but we ask you to donate to the NYKCC if possible to cover our expenses.
For more information, please write to us at info@nykcc.org.
We award a certificate for completion of a semester’s class.
Adult class
The adult class meets from 10:30 am to 11:30 am EDT/EST on Sundays via Zoom.
Textbook
The textbook we use is Kurdîzan 1: Asta Destpêkê, Pirtûka Dersê. Kurmancî, edited by Tahirhan Aydin. It is published Weqfa Mezopotamyayê. It consists of two volumes, a grammar book and a book of exercises. Students are responsible for ordering it directly. It is available here. Shipping is from Diyarbakir.
Kurdish language resources
Wîkîferheng is a comprehensive online dictionary for Kurmancî, Sorani, and other Kurdish languages. You can find it here.
Sorani classes are available from Kurdish Language Courses.
Michael L. Chyet created the first Kurdish-English dictionary, Ferhenga Kurmancî-Inglîzî, in 2003, published by Yale University Press. He has since updated it with a new version that was published in 2020:
Ferhenga Birûski: Kurmanji-English Dictionary. 3 vols. Vol. 1: A-L; Vol. 2: M-Z; Vol. 3: English-Kurmanji. London: TransnationalPress, 2020.
“It is the most comprehensive Kurmanji-English volume ever composed. Dictionary entries are extensive and include detailed etymologies; multiple meanings; variant forms; sample sentences; and synonyms and inflections. . . . These materials will make the volume an invaluable reference for linguists as well as for historians, anthropologists, folklorists, and ethnologists.”–BOOK JACKET