The native and second languages spoken by Kurds throughout history

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The provided text offers a comprehensive overview of the linguistic history of the Kurdish people, tracing the development of their spoken dialects, including Kurmanji, Sorani, Southern Kurdish, Laki, and the debated Zazaki and Gorani. It examines the evolution of written Kurdish, highlighting key literary dialects and the various scripts employed over time, such as Perso-Arabic, Latin (Hawar), and Cyrillic. Furthermore, the text explores the historical phenomenon of Kurdish intellectuals utilizing prestige languages like Arabic, Persian, and Ottoman Turkish for written expression, while also detailing the extensive multilingualism and linguistic interactions of Kurds with neighboring language communities like Aramaic and Armenian. Ultimately, the source synthesizes the interplay of political, cultural, and sociolinguistic factors that have shaped the complex linguistic heritage of the Kurds up to the present day.

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