Kurmanji vs. Sorani Dialect Matching
Kurmanji and Sorani are NOT interchangeable — an interpreter must be matched to the client's specific dialect. Using a Sorani interpreter for a Kurmanji speaker from Turkey (or vice versa) creates critical miscommunication. Kurmanji uses Latin script and retains grammatical gender (masculine/feminine nouns); Sorani uses Arabic script and has lost grammatical gender. Core vocabulary and verb conjugation patterns differ substantially. Our intake process identifies the client's specific dialect and country of origin before interpreter assignment.
Multi-Country Political Vocabulary
Kurdish political terminology varies by country of origin. A Turkish Kurd references PKK, HDP (Peoples' Democratic Party), KCK, MIT (Turkish intelligence), and "terör" investigations. An Iraqi Kurd references peshmerga, KDP vs. PUK party rivalries, Anfal, and Ba'athist-era persecution. A Syrian Kurd references YPG/YPJ, Rojava, PYD, and ISIS/Da'esh conflict. An Iranian Kurd references KDPI, Komala, IRGC operations, and kolbar (border porters). Interpreters must understand the correct political framework for each client.
Statelessness and Identity Documentation
Kurds have historically been denied national identity: Turkey banned the Kurdish language until 2002; Syria's 1962 Hasakah census stripped 120,000 Kurds of citizenship (ajanib/maktoumeen); Iraq's Arabization campaigns forcibly relocated Kurds. This means Kurdish clients may have documents in Turkish, Arabic, or Farsi — but not Kurdish — and interpreters must explain the discrepancy between the client's spoken language and their documentation language to immigration adjudicators.
Trauma and Genocide Narratives
Kurdish asylum testimony frequently involves genocide-level atrocities: the Anfal campaign, Halabja chemical weapons attack, mass graves, forced village evacuations (boşaltılan köyler in Turkish; qaryakan wêrankirî in Kurmanji), extrajudicial killings (faili meçhul in Turkish Kurdish context), and ISIS atrocities against Yazidi Kurds in Sinjar/Shengal. Interpreters must render this testimony with exact precision, conveying the specific terminology of Kurdish suffering without euphemizing or paraphrasing.
