The Institute for Middle East Studies at George Washington University invites you to participate in our Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) in Sorani Kurdish. This free beginner online course, led by Dr. Benjamin Priest, is designed to build fundamental conversational skills, and provide an introduction to the Kurdish writing system, culture and history. Starting in August 2024, classes will be held on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Sign up for the course here.

The Kurdish language is primarily spoken by the Kurdish people, an ethnic group inhabiting the mountainous regions of Turkey, Syria, Iran, and Iraq. The Indo-Iranian language boasts over 20 million native speakers. There are two main Kurdish dialects, Kurmanji, which is mostly spoken in Turkey and Syria, and Sorani, which is spoken in northern Iraq and parts of Iran. In fact,  Sorani is one of two official languages of Iraq, along with Arabic. Speaking Kurdish is a valuable skill for heritage learners, humanitarian aid workers and others working in or traveling to the Middle East. Upon completion of the course, students should have the ability to exchange basic personal information, read and write the script of the Sorani alphabet, and have a greater understanding of Kurdish language and culture.

Recordings of previous sessions can be found on our YouTube page here. For more information, access our website here.

This programming is supported by funding from the U.S. Department of Education – Title VI

Sign up here