A major new academic volume, The Oxford Handbook of Kurdish Linguistics, has been released in March 2026, marking a milestone in the study of Kurdish language and linguistics. Edited by Jaffer Sheyholislami, Geoffrey Haig, Haidar Khezri, Salih Akin, and Ergin Öpengin, the book is the first comprehensive English-language reference dedicated entirely to Kurdish.
The handbook brings together over forty scholars across twenty-seven chapters, offering in-depth coverage of Kurdish dialects—including Kurmanji, Sorani, and Zazaki—alongside analysis of their structure, history, and sociopolitical contexts. It also explores modern issues such as language policy, teaching, and preservation in diaspora communities. Notably, the volume is fully open access under a CC BY-NC-ND license, making it freely available online and as a downloadable PDF via Oxford University Press.
Key points covered in the book
Detailed surveys of six main Kurdish varieties: Kurmanji, Sorani, Southern, Laki, Gorani/Hawrami, and Zazaki
Updated data on geographic distribution and speaker populations (35+ million speakers)
In-depth linguistic analysis: phonology, morphology, syntax, and historical development
Exploration of language contact and interaction with neighboring languages
Coverage of Kurdish language teaching and pedagogy, including diaspora contexts
Insights into lexicography and corpus development for Kurdish
Examination of sociopolitical and cultural factors shaping Kurdish language use
