Gorani (also Gurani and Huramani) is an Iranian language spoken in western Iran. It is a member of Zaza-Gorani branch of North-Western Iranian languages.[1] It is distinct from Kurmanji and Sorani.[2] and is closer to Gilaki.
Gorani is spoken in the province of Kurdistan and province of Kermanshah in Iran, and in the Halabja region in Iraqi Kurdistan and the Hewraman mountains between Iran and Iraq. Encyclopedia Britannica considers Gorani to be a branch of Kurdish [1]. While some scholars may reject the classification of Gorani as belonging to the Kurdish branch of Iranian languages, it is said that a large number of people who speak Gorani identify as Kurds.[3][4] Gorani is considered to be the closest Iranian language to Zazaki. The oldest literary documents in these related languages, or dialects, are written in Gorani. Hewrami, considered a sub-dialect of Gorani, is a very distinct dialect spoken by Kurds in a region called Hewraman along the Iran-Iraq border. Many Gorani speakers belong to the religious grouping Yarsanism, with a large number of religious documents written in Gorani. Since the nineteenth century, Gorani has slowly been replaced by Sorani in several cities, both in Iran and Iraq. For large populations of Kurds, Sorani has replaced Gorani in cities such as Kirkuk, Meriwan and Halabja, which are still considered part of the greater Goran region. Written literature:
- Shîrîn u Xusrew by Khana Qubadi (lived 1700-1759), published 1975 in Bagdad.
- Diwan des Feqe Qadiri Hemewend, 19th century
- The Koran in Gorani, translated in the 20th Century by Haci Nuri Eli Ilahi (Nuri Eli Shah).
Hewrami
Hewrami or Hawrami refers to specific variation or dialect of Gorani and is regarded as the most archaic of the Gorani group.[5] It is classified as an Iranian language by Ethnologue. It is mostly spoken in Hewraman (also Hawraman or Huraman) in western Iran (Eastern Kurdistan) and northeastern Iraq (Southern Kurdistan). The key cities of this region are Pawe in Iran and Halabja in Iraq. Hewrami is sometimes called Auramani or Hurami by people foreign to the region. Hewrami is very similar to Avestan, the language of the ancient religion of Zoroastrianism[2]. Prayers are still recited by Hewrami by using a style called Siya Çeman (pron: See-ya Cha-man) in Hewrami, where the one reciting the prayer uses high notes to sing holy verses of Zoroastrian faith. Today, some Hewrami speakers use the Siya Çeman style of singing to perform traditional songs and even modern songs in Hewrami. Generally, the majority of Hewrami-speakers can also speak Sorani and Persian in order to communicate with other people in neighboring cities.
Sources
- ^ J N Postgate, Languages of Iraq, ancient and modern, British School of Archaeology in Iraq, [Iraq] : British School of Archaeology in Iraq, 2007, p.138.
- ^ J N Postgate, Languages of Iraq, ancient and modern, British School of Archaeology in Iraq, [Iraq] : British School of Archaeology in Iraq, 2007, p.138.
- ^ http://www.zazaki.org/
- ^ http://www.hawraman.com/
- ^ http://www.iranica.com/newsite/articlenavigation/alphabetical/bodya.html
External links
See also
