BGNPCGN · 2007

Romanization of Kurdish (2007)

Authority

bgnpcgn

Year

2007

Source script

Arabic Arab · 160

Destination script

Latin Latn · 215

Language

Kurdish

The tabulation below is applicable to the Kurdish language as a whole. It is based for the most part on the Hawar Roman alphabet used in the Library of Congress Standard Kurdish Orthography Table, but it also incorporates certain non-Hawar elements found in A Kurdish-English Dictionary (Taufiq Wahby & C J Edmonds, OUP, 1966). The tabulation covers both major varieties of the Kurdish language: Kurmanji and Sorani. Kurmanji is spoken principally in Turkey and in Iraq north of the Great Zab River (Dahūk/Dihok Governorate). It is generally written in Roman script, and usually employs the Roman orthography. Sorani is spoken principally in Iraq south of the Great Zab river (Arbīl/Hewlêr and As Sulaymānīyah/Slêmanî governorates). It is generally written in Perso-Arabic script, and usually employs the Perso-Arabic script orthography. Kurdish forms of geographical names in Turkey will usually be found in Roman script, and so no romanization process will be required. The digraph options for consonant letters '\\u0686', '\\u0634', and '\\u063A' will not be encountered for such names. In Iraq, Syria, and Iran, Kurdish will usually be encountered in Perso-Arabic script, in which case it should be romanized into the corresponding Roman script form. Kurdish geographical names for places and features outside Turkey, found in Roman script form, should, where necessary and if possible, be tailored to fit the orthography of the Romanization shown below and should employ the digraph options for consonant letters '\\u0686', '\\u0634', and '\\u063A'.

View the authority document →