The dialectal position and historical evolution of Gorani, especially in relation to Kurdish

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Ludwig Paul
• Subject Area: General and Comparative Linguistics, Experimental Linguistics, Typology, Non-European Languages ; Islamic Studies, Arabian Studies, Semitic Studies
• Term: since 2022
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 503997032

Gorani belongs (besides Persian, Kurdish etc.) to the Western subgroup of Iranian languages, and is spoken in Southwest Iran and Northeast Iraq. For many centuries, Gorani has been in close relation to other languages of the region, especially to Central and Southern Kurdish dialects and Laki. During this time, an acculturation of Gorani language and culture to Kurdish culture has taken place. It is therefore possible to understand Gorani, although it is neither a dialect of Kurdish nor closely related to it genetically, as part of the "Kurdish Cultural Complex". Any historical linguistic study of Gorani, or of Central or Southern Kurdish, has to take into account the close relation between both idioms.The aim of the present project is to study the relation of Gorani to Kurdish, and to other languages like Laki, from the perspective of both historical dialectology and the history of Gorani. MacKenzie's (1961) thesis that postulated a decisive influence of Gorani on Central Kurdish, based on 6 morphological features, will be taken as a starting point. These 6 features, and some more, will be studied thoroughly, using broad dialectal data from Gorani, Southern and Central Kurdish, and Laki. Further idioms like Lori, Northern Kurdish or Zazaki will be considered if necessary.During the 14-19 centuries C. E., Gorani was an important literary language of the Central and Southern Kurdish regions and beyond. Therefore, the model of dialectal evolution and mutual influence that has been set up for Gorani and its neighbouring languages, will be examined and refined by studying historical Gorani literary texts of the 17-19 centuries. The aim is to find out which Gorani linguistic features were developed, or borrowed from other languages, during this time. Select passages from various Gorani texts will be investigated, applying also statistical methods.The model of dialectal historical evolution of Gorani (vis-à-vis Kurdish) that will be developed, will also facilitate a better understanding of broader historical, cultural and literary developments of the linguistic communities under study.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants