Standardization of Kurdish

[Set]

One of the problems with learning Kurdish is that there isn't a proper standard written form - this is to be expected from a language which is split up amongst 5 different countries, all of which have or have had a somewhat antagonistic approach towards the Kurdish language - but it makes it particularly difficult when reading because you have to be used to several different styles (by which I mean ways of writing but also different spellings and grammar and such). There also seems to be a massive problem with spelling and even reading VOA news a beginner such as myself can notice several spelling mistakes in one article (and there must be many more that I don't recognise). It's also not uncommon to see a word spelt several different ways within the same article.

So, here's my question: do you guys think it would be a good idea to create written standard forms across all of the Kurmanji and Sorani speaking areas respectively? This would have obvious benefits for learners, but also I assume for integrating the Kurds themselves. However, is this not just another part of the Western liberal idea of the nation-state which consists of a people speaking one uniform language? And would it endanger the Kurdish dialects, killing of variety?

I'm undecided on this, but it would be interesting to hear other people's views.

[kalemiye]

Many Kurds, specially those in diaspora, learn how to read and write Kurdish when they are already adults, but obviously there is no standard form to read and write it, therefore they just write the way they feel like it. And not only grammar and spelling, but also the vocabulary used can vary from one speaker to another, not to mention that Turkish words are used a lot in the daily speech (particulary in big cities). Only in Turkey there are several different dialects of Kurdish.

In Turkey, There are no Kurdish-language schools and the amount of people who are actually interested in reading and writing proficiently in Kurdish is relatively low.

Mehmet Uzun wrote an Anthology of Kurdish literature in which all these topics (the alphabet question, the creation of an standard variety, the vocabulary used, etc.) are discussed by several Kurdish intellectuals. I have read the Turkish translation of this book, which was originally written in Kurdish, and I don't know if it has been translated into any European language.

[Limagne]

Doesn't the flexible orthography actually make things simpler for us learners ?

Sure it makes looking up words in a dictionary more tedious, but at least people tend to write the way they speak. If you promote a standardized version of the language, the gap between the spoken and the written norm will grow larger.

Take Persian for example. The standard colloquial form of the language is used almost everywhere in writing, but then when you go to say, Nishabur or Yazd you'll barely understand what people say since those dialects are never written down.

I think Khanna Omarkhali's Kurdish Reader deals in detail with the various dialects of Kurdish. It could be a useful source for those interested in the different spoken varieties of the language.