Southern Kurdish

Kurdish is a language spoken in parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey. It is a member of the Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family. Southern Kurdish is one of the three main dialects of Kurdish, alongside Northern Kurdish and Central Kurdish. The majority of Southern Kurdish speakers live in Iran, where they are estimated to number around 5 million. The dialect is also spoken in parts of Iraq, Syria and Turkey. Southern Kurdish is written using a version of the Latin alphabet, which was introduced by European missionaries in the 19th century. The alphabet has been adapted to suit the specific sounds of the Southern Kurdish dialect. The grammar of Southern Kurdish is similar to that of other Iranian languages. However, the vocabulary has been significantly influenced by Turkish and Arabic. The use of Southern Kurdish is declining in some areas, particularly in Iran, where the use of Persian is on the rise. However, the dialect is still widely spoken and is an important part of Kurdish culture.