{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.kurdish","code":"thing-q36368","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q36368/","name":"Kurdish","alternateNames":["Kordali","Southern Kurdish","Kurmanji","Gerrusî","Sorani","Laki","Kurdish in Arabic script","Kurdish in Latin script","Harsînî","Silaxurî","Kelhuri","Pehlí"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.3","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Information and virtual systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"INF","domain":["INF.MED"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"A group of closely related Northwestern Iranian languages spoken by Kurds across Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria and the diaspora, chiefly Kurmanji or Northern Kurdish, Sorani or Central Kurdish and Southern Kurdish including varieties such as Kordali, Laki and Gerrusi, written in Latin, Arabic-based and Cyrillic scripts, with about 30 million speakers; Kurdish is official in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, has been restricted in some states, and its classification as one language or several is debated.","purpose":"Let an agent describe the Kurdish languages and their varieties, relay speaker numbers, scripts and legal status with sources, present language policy issues with attribution, and distinguish Kurdish from neighbouring Iranian languages such as Zaza and Gorani.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["Dialect continuum","Three scripts","Cross-border speech community","Contested classification"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"identify","name":"Identify","description":"What Kurdish is.","layers":[{"id":"definition","name":"Definition","description":"Languages and varieties.","findings":[{"id":"definition-finding","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","questions":[{"text":"What are the Kurdish languages, and how do their varieties relate?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Is the question about Kurdish, Zaza, Gorani or the Kurdish people?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"speakers","name":"Speakers","description":"Speakers and scripts.","findings":[{"id":"speakers-finding","name":"Speakers","description":"Speakers.","questions":[{"text":"How many people speak each variety, where, and in which scripts, with sources?","kind":"measurement"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific variety?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"structure","name":"Structure","description":"Grammar and writing.","layers":[{"id":"grammar","name":"Grammar","description":"Grammar.","findings":[{"id":"grammar-finding","name":"Grammar","description":"Grammar.","questions":[{"text":"What are the main features of Kurdish grammar, including ergativity in Kurmanji?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which entry fits Iranian linguistics?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"classification","name":"Classification","description":"Classification debates.","findings":[{"id":"classification-finding","name":"Classification","description":"Classification.","questions":[{"text":"How do linguists classify Kurdish and its relation to Zaza and Gorani, with positions attributed?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the presentation attributed?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"status","name":"Status","description":"Status and policy.","layers":[{"id":"status","name":"Status","description":"Legal status.","findings":[{"id":"status-finding","name":"Status","description":"Status.","questions":[{"text":"What legal status does Kurdish have in each country, with sources?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"policy","name":"Policy","description":"Policy and rights.","findings":[{"id":"policy-finding","name":"Policy","description":"Policy.","questions":[{"text":"How do sources describe restrictions, education and media in Kurdish, with positions attributed?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the presentation neutral?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"culture","name":"Culture","description":"Literature and learning.","layers":[{"id":"literature","name":"Literature","description":"Literature.","findings":[{"id":"literature-finding","name":"Literature","description":"Literature.","questions":[{"text":"What are the landmarks of Kurdish literature, from Ahmad Khani to modern writers?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits Kurdish literature?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"learn","name":"Learn","description":"Learning resources.","findings":[{"id":"learn-finding","name":"Learn","description":"Learn.","questions":[{"text":"What resources exist for learning Kurdish varieties?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which sources are cited?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Translate to and from Kurdish varieties, stating which variety and script are used.","Report speaker figures with their source and its limits."],"mustNot":["Treat Kurmanji, Sorani and Southern Kurdish as interchangeable.","Use the wrong script for the reader's variety.","Present Kurdish as a dialect of another country's language.","Identify people as Kurdish from their language use to expose them to risk."],"requiresHuman":["Publishing official or legal text in Kurdish."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Kurdish has been banned or restricted in several states, and its speakers persecuted.","Language is closely bound to Kurdish identity and politics."],"affectedParties":["Kurdish speakers","Kurdish refugees and diaspora","Learners"]},"owners":{"steward":"Nobody owns the language; its speakers hold it.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q390576","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"Northwestern Iranian","type":"related","note":"in registry terms"},{"target":"Kurds","type":"related","note":"the people"},{"target":"Kurdistan Region","type":"related","note":"of Iraq"},{"target":"Hawar alphabet","type":"related","note":"among other scripts"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.kurdish","Wikidata: Q36368 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q36368)","ISO 639-1: ku","ISO 639-3: kmr, ckb, sdh Northern, Central, Southern"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":["speakers: about 30 million people - estimates vary","main varieties: 3 count - Northern, Central, Southern"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"optional","items":["Northwestern Iranian languages of the Kurds","Kurmanji, Sorani, Southern Kurdish and local varieties","Zaza and Gorani are related but usually classified separately; Persian is Southwestern Iranian","Not a visible object; written in Hawar Latin, Sorani Arabic-based and historically Cyrillic scripts."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["describe varieties and scripts","relay speaker numbers and status","present policy issues with attribution","distinguish from related languages"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Presenting contested classification as settled","Politicised presentation of language rights","Confusing Kurdish with Zaza or Gorani","Unsourced speaker figures"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["Iraqi constitution recognising Kurdish as official","Language laws and restrictions in Turkey, Iran and Syria, with positions attributed","Orthography conventions of the Kurdish academies"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Not applicable; a language group.","Kurmanji or Northern Kurdish","Sorani or Central Kurdish","Southern Kurdish including Kordali, Laki, Gerrusi and Kalhori","Kurdish in the diaspora","literary standards and orthographies"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q36368: Kurdish language","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q36368","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Kurdish language","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kurdish_language","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should Kurmanji and Sorani be separate primary entries?","How should census and linguistic sources be linked?","The registry entry has merged aliases naming varieties; should they be split off?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q36368/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q36368/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-13T00:57:20Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-06T19:51:59+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"Plane INF: no invented physical properties."},"score":1.0}}