public documents in Kurdish language. The Kurdish alphabet is not recognized in Turkey, and prior to 2013 the use of Kurdish names containing the letters X, W, and Q, which do not exist in the Turkish alphabet, was not allowed. In 2012, Kurdish-language lessons became an elective subject in public schools. Previously, Kurdish education had only been possible in private institutions. In Iran, though it is used in some local media and newspapers, it is not used in public schools. In 2005, 80 Iranian Kurds took part in an experiment and gained scholarships to study in Kurdish in Iraqi Kurdistan. In Kyrgyzstan, of the Kurdish population speak Kurdish as their native language. In Kazakhstan, the corresponding percentage is 88.7%. Phonology Grammar Writing system The Kurdish language has been written using four different writing systems. In Iraq and Iran it is written using an Arabic script, composed by Sa'id Kaban Sedqi. More recently, it is sometimes written with a Latin alphabet in Iraq. In Turkey, Syria, and Armenia, it is now written using a Latin script. Kurdish was also written in the Arabic script in Turkey and Syria until 1932. There is a proposal for a unified international recognized Kurdish alphabet based on ISO-8859-1 called Yekgirtú. Kurdish in the former USSR is written with a Cyrillic alphabet. Kurdish has even been written in the Armenian alphabet in Soviet Armenia and in the Ottoman Empire (a translation of the Gospels in 1857 and of all New Testament in 1872). See also Kurdish people Kurdish culture Kurdish literature Kurdish Wikipedia Kurdish Institute of Paris Kurdish Institute of Istanbul List of countries by Kurdish-speaking population Notes References External links Wîkîferheng (Kurdish Wiktionary) VejinBooks, collection of Kurdish literary and historical texts Vejin Dictionaries, collection of Kurdish dictionaries (written in Arabic script) The Kurdish Academy of Language (unofficial) Kurdînûs, a tool for writing in Kurdish and to convert texts from Arabic script to Latin script and vice versa Egerîn, Kurdish (Kurmanji) search engine inKurdish: English–Kurdish Translation Dictio: English–Kurdish (Sorani) Dictionary The Kurdish Institute of Paris: Language and Literature Kurdish Language and Linguistics, at Encyclopedia Iranica (article written by Ludwig Paul) Reference Grammar with Selected Readings both for Sorani and Kurmanji, written by W. M. Thackston (Harvard University) History of Kurdish Written Literature, at Encyclopedia Iranica (article written by Philip G. Kryeenbroek) Kurdish Language Initiative of Seywan Institute Kurdish Institute of Istanbul KAL: The Kurdish Academy of