Gorani
Gorani refers to a Northwest Iranian language, spoken in the southern parts of Iranian Kurdistan (Kermanshah province) and over the border in the Halabja district of Iraq. There is considerable confusion surrounding the name Gorani, and the precise nature of the language(s) to which it refers, which we briefly outline here.
In the earlier European tradition of Iranian linguistics, the term Goranî / Guranî was used to refer to the language of the “Guran”, a people considered distinct from both the Kurds and the Persians and inhabiting an area on the northwest fringe of the Zagros mountains close to the Iran/Iraq border. A number of other groups were also included in the Guran, including for example the Bajalan, who live as far west as Mosul in today’s Iraq. A summary of early European scholarship on Gorani can be found in: Hadank, Karl (1930) Mundarten der Gûrân, besonders das Kändûlaî, Auramânî und Bâdschalânî. Berlin: Preussische Akademie der Wissenschaften. In part the earlier standpoint is historically motivated, and is based on the use of “Gorani” as the written language in the principality of Ardalan, which was dominant in the region from approx. 14-19th centuries. Gorani is also the name for the sacred texts of the Ahl-e Haqq (or Yaresan) religion, with which the Ardalan are closely linked and which was considerably more widespread in the region than it is today. According to this account, the language Hawrami, spoken in the Awraman district of Iran and around Halabja in Iraq, is considered a “Gōrānī dialect” (cf. MacKenzie, D. The dialect of Awroman (Hawrāmān-ī Luhōn) Grammatical sketch, texts and vocabulary. Kobenhagen: Munksgaard, p. 4).
However, the present-day terminology among the inhabitants of the area is quite different. The term Gorani, if used at all as a language name, is only used to refer to the language of poetry and the sacred texts of the Ahl-e Haqq. Otherwise people refer rather generally to “Kurdī” for most varieties of central and southern Kurdish used as lingua francas throughout the region, or to Hawrami, the language spoken in the Awraman region with its main centre in the town of Paveh in Iran.
In the context of the documentation project, the term Gorani is used to refer to the language still spoken by members of the Ahl-i Haqq religious community in two small villages in Kermanshah province, West Iran. These languages are distinct both from the Hawrami spoken in the large centres, and from the Central Kurdish lingua franca spoken throughout the area, though they are increasingly influenced by the latter. They represent the final pockets of a once-large area of Gorani speakers, most of which have since shifted to Kurdish and Persian. Up until now, there have been no descriptions of these languages, although a number of descriptions of the major dialects of Hawrami are available.
In the earlier European tradition of Iranian linguistics, the term Goranî / Guranî was used to refer to the language of the “Guran”, a people considered distinct from both the Kurds and the Persians and inhabiting an area on the northwest fringe of the Zagros mountains close to the Iran/Iraq border. A number of other groups were also included in the Guran, including for example the Bajalan, who live as far west as Mosul in today’s Iraq. A summary of early European scholarship on Gorani can be found in: Hadank, Karl (1930) Mundarten der Gûrân, besonders das Kändûlaî, Auramânî und Bâdschalânî. Berlin: Preussische Akademie der Wissenschaften. In part the earlier standpoint is historically motivated, and is based on the use of “Gorani” as the written language in the principality of Ardalan, which was dominant in the region from approx. 14-19th centuries. Gorani is also the name for the sacred texts of the Ahl-e Haqq (or Yaresan) religion, with which the Ardalan are closely linked and which was considerably more widespread in the region than it is today. According to this account, the language Hawrami, spoken in the Awraman district of Iran and around Halabja in Iraq, is considered a “Gōrānī dialect” (cf. MacKenzie, D. The dialect of Awroman (Hawrāmān-ī Luhōn) Grammatical sketch, texts and vocabulary. Kobenhagen: Munksgaard, p. 4).
However, the present-day terminology among the inhabitants of the area is quite different. The term Gorani, if used at all as a language name, is only used to refer to the language of poetry and the sacred texts of the Ahl-e Haqq. Otherwise people refer rather generally to “Kurdī” for most varieties of central and southern Kurdish used as lingua francas throughout the region, or to Hawrami, the language spoken in the Awraman region with its main centre in the town of Paveh in Iran.
In the context of the documentation project, the term Gorani is used to refer to the language still spoken by members of the Ahl-i Haqq religious community in two small villages in Kermanshah province, West Iran. These languages are distinct both from the Hawrami spoken in the large centres, and from the Central Kurdish lingua franca spoken throughout the area, though they are increasingly influenced by the latter. They represent the final pockets of a once-large area of Gorani speakers, most of which have since shifted to Kurdish and Persian. Up until now, there have been no descriptions of these languages, although a number of descriptions of the major dialects of Hawrami are available.