Erbil to host Kurdish language conference in February

Abdulrahman Sharafkandi, a Kurdish poet and scholar known by his pen name Hazhar Mukriyani, pictured in an interview in 1991, shortly before his death. File photo: Rudaw
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Next month, Erbil will host a conference about the Kurdish language, named for a well known writer and linguist.

“The First Hazhar Mukriyani Conference will be dedicated to the Kurdish language and aims to make the language issue a concern for all Kurds. Through several different panels, this sensitive, vital, and social issue will be discussed,” the culture and communication department of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) announced in a statement on Friday.

The conference, put on by the KDP, will be held on February 22, the anniversary of the death of Hazhar Mukriyani, which coincides with World Mother Language Day.

Mukriyani is the pen name of Abdulrahman Sharafkandi, a poet, writer, lexicographer, translator, and scholar. He authored the Henbane Borine, the first Kurdish-Persian dictionary published in Iran.

The conference will honor his dedication to the Kurdish language.

Kurds from all four parts of Kurdistan - Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Syria - as well as attendees from abroad, are invited to join the event. 

An award will be presented during the conference, recognizing someone who has significantly contributed to Kurdish language and literature.