Two Alphabets, One Struggle: How Kurdish Communities Are Building a Digital Future

By Eduardo Avila

The Kurdish language has faced many challenges in recent history, including being banned at different times in Turkey, Iraq and Syria, with heavy restrictions often placed on Kurdish-language media and education. Efforts to make digital content available in the language have also been hampered by the lack of universally accepted writing standardization.

Some varieties of Kurdish, such as Sorani, are written in the Sorani alphabet, an Arabic-derived script, while the Kurmanji variety is written in the Hawar alphabet, a Latin-derived script. This has led to difficulties creating and finding information online for speakers of the Kurdish language.

One of the ways that communities working on platforms such as Wikipedia in Kurdish acknowledged these differences has been to split the original Kurdish-language site into two. Now there are two Wikipedias, one for the Sorani dialect and one for the Kurmanji dialect, where each can be used with its respective alphabet.

For Mohammed Sardar, one of the co-founders of the Kurdish Wikimedians User Group, the Wikimedia platform has played an essential role in promoting the language online. In addition to his work creating open knowledge in the Kurdish language, he has also been contributing to the Chawg podcast, which is the first Kurdish Sorani-language podcast that focuses on open source technologies and digital culture.

In an interview with Global Voices, Sardar spoke about his experience with promoting the Kurdish language, especially with his native Sorani dialect.

Global Voices (GV): What is the current status of your language, both online and offline?

Mohammed Sardar (MS): Kurdish is the native language of over 40 million Kurds across Iraq, Iran, Turkey, and Syria. However, the language has faced significant historical challenges due to decades of bans and restrictions in several countries. This has impacted both the number of fluent speakers and the development of Kurdish-language content, both online and offline.

Offline, while Kurdish is used in daily life and local media, its role in formal education varies. In the Kurdistan region of Iraq, Kurdish is the primary language of instruction and is officially supported, and parts of Syria have also started to include Kurdish in schools. However, in Iran and Turkey, Kurdish still lacks official status in education and public institutions, limiting its development.

Online, Kurdish is still considered a low-resourced language. Although the amount of digital content is gradually increasing, thanks to efforts like Kurdish Wikipedia and other community initiatives, there’s still a long way to go. Kurdish lacks support in many mainstream technologies, including search engines, AI tools, and language software.

There are some hopeful signs. In Iraqi Kurdistan, organizations like zheen.org and KCAC.org are working hard to collect and preserve Kurdish books, writings, and media. Their efforts are really helping to build a stronger future for the Kurdish language.

GV: What personally motivates you to engage in digital activism for your language?

MS: In my childhood, I started reading magazines, newspapers, and books in Kurdish, which profoundly shaped my emotional connection to the language.

As I grew older and began exploring the internet, I noticed a clear gap: Kurdish-language content was extremely limited compared to other languages like English and Arabic. Yet, there are lots of people who speak only Kurdish and rely on it as their primary language for understanding the world. This means that when information isn’t available in Kurdish, many people miss out on it.

This realization motivated me to engage in digital activism. I felt a responsibility to help create and expand Kurdish-language resources online so that Kurdish speakers could access knowledge, culture, and technology in their own language.

GV: Can you describe some of the challenges that prevent your language from being fully utilized online?

MS: One major challenge limiting the full use of Kurdish online is economic. Many people are unwilling to contribute to open platforms like Wikipedia without financial support. It’s not that Kurds don’t want to contribute to the Kurdish language; it’s just that the tough economic conditions in the countries where most Kurds live make it really hard to volunteer their time. There is also a lack of trained individuals in Kurdish digital content creation and language technology.

Moreover, Kurdish is divided into two main dialects, Sorani and Kurmanji, written in different scripts (Arabic and Latin). To ensure inclusivity and reach all Kurdish speakers, content often needs to be produced or adapted in both dialects. This doubles the effort required and demands more time and coordination.

GV: What concrete steps do you think can be taken to encourage younger people to begin learning their language or keep using their language?

MS: To really get young people interested in learning and using Kurdish, we need support from universities and organizations that care about the future of the Kurdish language. They can help by involving students in projects that create Kurdish content in different subjects — not just literature, but science, tech, and everyday topics, too.

We also need more Kurdish content that speaks to young people, things like music, movies, books, and other entertainment. When young people create and contribute content that reflects their own interests, it naturally becomes more engaging and impactful.

A long-term annual program that covers workshops, fun competitions, and prizes for creating content in Kurdish can also go a long way in encouraging them to take pride in their language and use it more often.

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Previously Published on globalvoices.org with Creative Commons License

Photo Credit: unsplash

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