The Oxford Handbook of Kurdish Linguistics

This is an open access title available under the terms of a CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license. It is free to read on the Oxford Academic platform and offered as a free PDF download from OUP and selected open access locations. With over 35 million speakers across Kurdistan and in diasporic communities, Kurdish constitutes a significant group within the Iranic languages, and figures in multiple minority-language contexts. The OxfordHandbook of Kurdish Linguistics is the first comprehensive English reference dedicated to the Kurdish language and its scholarly study. It contains twenty-seven chapters written by more than forty expertsworldwide, covering major Kurdish dialects, their structural features, and the social, political, and cultural contexts that influence their use and study. The Handbook includes information on the geographic distribution, updated speaker statistics, and revised maps showing Northern (Kurmanji), Central (Sorani), Southern, Laki, Gorani/Hawrami, and Zazaki varieties. The book is organized into five main sections and combines detailed descriptive research, includingphonology, morphology, syntax, and historical change, with studies on language contact, standardization, policy, teaching, lexicography, corpus development, mapping, and heritage language preservation. A vital resource for scholars and advanced students in linguistics, Kurdish studies, and Middle Eastern studies, the Handbook serves as both a classroom guide and a reference for researchers, policymakers, and cultural practitioners seeking a comprehensive, current overview of Kurdish language research.