El Kava‘idu’l Lugati’l Kurdiyye - Mukaddime

Editor : Ahmet Kırkan

Analysis-Criticism-Review: Ahmet Gemi & Ayhan Yıldız

Yûsuf Ziya Paşa el-Halidî1, also known as Ziya Pasha, included this work, called elKava'idu'l-lugati'l-Kurdiyye, in an alphabetical Kurdish-Arabic dictionary called el-Hediyyetu'lHamidiyye fi'l-lugati'l-Kurdiyye. He wrote it as "preface". Later, this introduction was also copied and distributed independently, with the place and date of publication unknown. With this work, he explains the structure and grammatical features of the Kurdish language. Yusuf Ziya Pasha completed this work in a short period of three years and published it in Istanbul in 1893.

Ziya Pasha focused on the phonological, morphological and syntax of Kurdish in his work titled el-Kava'idu'l-lugati'l-Kurdiyye and carried out a field study in the Bitlis-Motkan region where he worked. Until his time, neither a Kurdish speaker nor another language speaker had written such a comprehensive and profound work on the grammar of the Kurdish language in Arabic. Naturally, it is possible to record this work of his as a first in the history of Kurdish linguistics, according to current data.

Ziya Pasha, who wrote this work with a plan in the form of chapters and sub-sections, focused entirely on the Kurdish language and grammar. The author explained the grammar of the Kurdish language based on the grammar and syntax of the Arabic language. In addition, he introduced Kurdish grammar as it was written in the Arabic alphabet of the author's time and used Kurdish examples, words and sentences according to the spelling of that time. The entire work consists of 16 chapters and the book was published in its original form.