Is there Yezidis language?
Yilmaz Algin, columnist for the German edition ÊzîdîPress
"The Yezidis [of Birecik, Turkey] call their language English (zimane ezdiya)", - noted in 1895, the French scholar Ernest Chantre in "Ethnographic notes on the Yezidis".
The native language of many Yazidis, in which most of their sacred texts (qavla) are written, is known, among other things, under the name of Kurmanji. Many Kurds consider it a dialect of Kurdish, and they believe in the existence of a single Kurdish language, divided into different dialects and dialects. However, there is another opinion in the scientific community that Kurmanji is one of several independent Kurdish languages.
Most post-Soviet Yazidis call their language "ezdiki". The word is derived from" ezdi "and the suffix" K", which turns the noun into an adjective, and translates as"Yazidi". Thus, the "Kurmanji", "Yezidi language" (ezdiki) and "Kurdish language" (Kurdi) are linguanima.
Strange as it may seem, there is a certain group of people who categorically do not accept the use of the word "ezdiki" and they are against the Yezidis calling their language so. Why this happens and what consequences it can lead to, we first consider in this article.
Currently, when the Yezidis of the post-Soviet space call their language "ezdiki", it meets a negative reaction from the nationalist Kurds, among whom there are Yazidis who fell under the influence of Kurdish parties. The mere mention of the word "ezdiki" leads to a discussion in which opponents make rather primitive arguments that confound absolutely any debate on this issue. Not infrequently opponents say: "there is no such language"; " it is Kurdish, not Yazidi»; "if you want to speak Yezidi then choose a language other than Kurdish because Kurdish is our language" or mockingly "if you speak Yazidi then others are Muslim". There are also many other expressions that we consider inappropriate to cite in this paper. In the same vein, all the negative is spilled out in relation to Yazidi scientists, activists, journalists and intellectuals who defend the right to call their language Yazidi.
So is there any Yezidis language? We want to study this issue because through education consensus is possible, which in turn will end ideological confrontation.
Tags: #yazidisinfo #yazidi #yezidi
Is there Yezidis language?
Yilmaz Algin, columnist for the German edition ÊzîdîPress
"The Yezidis [of Birecik, Turkey] call their language English (zimane ezdiya)", - noted in 1895, the French scholar Ernest Chantre in "Ethnographic notes on the Yezidis".
The native language of many Yazidis, in which most of their sacred texts (qavla) are written, is known, among other things, under the name of Kurmanji. Many Kurds consider it a dialect of Kurdish, and they believe in the existence of a single Kurdish language, divided into different dialects and dialects. However, there is another opinion in the scientific community that Kurmanji is one of several independent Kurdish languages.
Most post-Soviet Yazidis call their language "ezdiki". The word is derived from" ezdi "and the suffix" K", which turns the noun into an adjective, and translates as"Yazidi". Thus, the "Kurmanji", "Yezidi language" (ezdiki) and "Kurdish language" (Kurdi) are linguanima.
Strange as it may seem, there is a certain group of people who categorically do not accept the use of the word "ezdiki" and they are against the Yezidis calling their language so. Why this happens and what consequences it can lead to, we first consider in this article.
Currently, when the Yezidis of the post-Soviet space call their language "ezdiki", it meets a negative reaction from the nationalist Kurds, among whom there are Yazidis who fell under the influence of Kurdish parties. The mere mention of the word "ezdiki" leads to a discussion in which opponents make rather primitive arguments that confound absolutely any debate on this issue. Not infrequently opponents say: "there is no such language"; " it is Kurdish, not Yazidi»; "if you want to speak Yezidi then choose a language other than Kurdish because Kurdish is our language" or mockingly "if you speak Yazidi then others are Muslim". There are also many other expressions that we consider inappropriate to cite in this paper. In the same vein, all the negative is spilled out in relation to Yazidi scientists, activists, journalists and intellectuals who defend the right to call their language Yazidi.
So is there any Yezidis language? We want to study this issue because through education consensus is possible, which in turn will end ideological confrontation.
Tags: #yazidisinfo #yazidi #yezidi
