The Past and The Present of Book Publishing in Kurdish Language in Turkey

The Past and The Present of Book Publishing in Kurdish Language in Syria [English, , 2006]

The Past and The Present of Book Publishing in Kurdish Language in Turkey [English, , 2006]

The Past and The Present of Book Publishing in Kurdish Language in Turkey

Nowadays, the Kurds live in the territories of the states of Turkey, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Armenia and Lebanon. In most of these countries the use of the Kurdish language has been banned in one way or another and the Kurds have fought for the right to write and publish books and periodicals in their mother tongue for a long time. In this research I will try to describe the condition of Kurdish book publishing in Turkey and Syria. It would be useful to remind the reader of the following facts in connection to the research:

The Kurdish language has different dialects and is written in three different alphabets: the Arabic, the Latin and the Cyrillic. In Turkey the Arabic alphabet was used until 1928 and then replaced with the Latin. The Kurdish dialects Kurmanci and Kırmancki (Kırdki, Zazaki, Dımılki) are spoken in Turkey, and books are published in them. Kurmanci is the only dialect spoken In Syria. The Arabic alphabet is the official one in Syria and writing and publishing books in Kurdish is not allowed there. Ignoring the ban, Kurdish writers who write in Kurdish use the Latin alphabet like the Kurds of Turkey, not the Arabic one.

The word Kurdistan which means “country of the Kurds” has been in use for nearly 900 years. Kurdistan is now divided between Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria. The Kurds call these parts Northern Kurdistan, Eastern Kurdistan, Southern Kurdistan and Western Kurdistan. Northern Kurdistan will mean in this research the eastern and south-eastern regions of Anatolia, and Western Kurdistan will mean the northern part of Syria, close to the border with Turkey. In this study the term Kurdish writer denotes a person who has published at least one book in Kurdish, and the term Kurdish publishing house denotes a company that has published at least one book in the Kurdish language.

CONTENTS

Contents of the research and some terms / 4

1. Kurdish writers and book production in Turkey / 5
1.1 A forbidden mother-tongue / 5
1.1.1 Writing in a banned language / 9
1.2 Translators / 14
1.3 Designers / 15
1.4 Proof-readers / 15
1.5 Pre-printing / 15
1.6 Cover designers / 15
1.7 Writers' organizations  / 15
1.8 Literary contests and awards / 16

2. Book Publishing in Kurdish language in Turkey / 17
2.1 The Ottoman Era (1844-1923) / 17
2.2 The republican Era (after 1923) / 18
2.2.1 From 1923 to 1965 / 18
2.2.2 From 1965 to 1980 / 19
2.2.3 From 1980 to 2005 / 20
2.2.4 Finally the ban is lifted/ 20
2.3 Books published in the Kırmancki dialect / 22
2.4 Genres of the published books / 22
2.5 Book annotations / 24
2.5.1 Annotations in publications in Kurdish / 24
2.5.2 Annotations in publications in Turkish / 25

3. Kurdish publishing houses in Turkey / 26
3.1 Kurdish publishers and publishing houses / 26
3.1.1 Publishers’ organizations / 28
3.2 Printing houses and printing / 28
3.3 Print run / 29
3.4 Book distribution and sales / 29
3.4.1 Bookshops / 29
3.4.2 Book distribution / 30
3.4.2.1 Book distribution abroad / 31
3.4.2.1.1 In Europe / 31
3.4.2.1.2 In Southern Kurdistan (Iraq) / 32
3.4.3 Sales / 32
3.4.4 Prices / 33
3.4.5 Book fairs / 33
3.5 Copyright / 34
3.6 Piracy / 35
3.7 ISBN / 35

4. Readers of Kurdish literature and libraries in Turkey / 36
4.1 Percentage of the Kurdish speakers / 36
4.2 Literacy in Turkish among the Kurds / 37
4.3 Literacy in Kurdish / 39
4.4 Libraries in Turkey and Kurdish language editions / 39
4.4.1 The National Library / 40

5. E-publishing (Online) / 42

6. Major problems and tendencies of development of Kurdish book publishing in Turkey / 43
6.1 New tendencies in Kurdish book publishing / 43

Conclusion and recommendations / 46

Appendix / 48
Notes / 51
Sources / 55

The contents of this publication are the sole responsibility of its author, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Next Page Foundation.

1. KURDISH WRITERS AND BOOK PRODUCTION IN TURKEY

Because their mother tongue was banned, Kurdish writers show differences from other writers in certain aspects. The current situation and their specific problems can be better understood in the context of the events in the past, the long-lasting ban on their language and the oppression. This is also essential for a better understanding of the current situation of Kurdish book publishing.

That is why I will first focus on the historical background and the situation of the Kurdish language in Turkey. When and why did the ban on Kurdish publications start? How was this put into practice?

1.1 A forbidden mother tongue
At present, the Kurds are considered to be “the biggest nation in the world, deprived of its own state, of self-government and basic human rights”. It is difficult to estimate the exact number of the Kurdish population in Turkey. The main reason is that people in Turkey were not allowed to call themselves Kurds until recently. Research shows that the official statistics about the Kurdish population do not reflect the truth. Different sources give varying data about the Kurdish population. Here are the statistics about the Kurdish population in two sources...

THE PAST AND THE PRESENT OF
BOOK PUBLISHING IN
KURDISH LANGUAGE IN TURKEY

This research had been commissioned by the
Next Page Foundation
and conducted by M. Malmisanij

2006

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