Language profiles in Manchester
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Kurdish
Language | Kurdish |
Language name transliterated | kurdî |
Language name original script | کوردی
|
Distribution | Northern Iraq, Syria, Iran, Turkey |
Estimated number of speakers worldwide | 20-30m |
Language classification | Indo-European; Indo-Iranian; Northwestern Iranian; |
Related to which languages | Persian |
Distinctive features in sounds | Pharyngeal consonants (Arabic words) pronounced by moving the tongue base against the back of the throat |
Distinctive features in grammar | Words are inflected (grammar is represented using morphology); the verb appears at the end of the sentence; ergative language |
Writing system | Arabic-Persian script (Sorani); Roman script (Kurmanji) |
Distinctive graphemes | ç ş î û xw ژ پ ێ ۆ ڵ گ ڤ |
Status | Official regional language in autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq (Sorani dialect) alongside Arabic, emerging written language in Turkey, vernacular regional language in Northern Syria and Western Iran |
Number of persons identifying as “main language” in England & Wales (Census 2011) | 48,239 |
Number of persons identifying as “main language” in Greater Manchester (Census 2011) | 3,656 |
Number of persons identifying as “main language” in City of Manchester (Census (Census 2011) | 1,886 |
Number of persons identifying as “main language” in Greater Manchester as percentage of total in England & Wales (Census 2011) | 8% |
Number of persons identifying as “main language” in City of Manchester as percentage of total in England & Wales (Census 2011) | 4% |
Proficiency in English, self-reported in City of Manchester (Census 2011)* | Can speak English very well (26%), Can speak English well (55%), Cannot speak English well (18%), Cannot speak English (2%) |
Distribution in City of Manchester (Census 2011) | Moss Side (235), Ardwick (156), Cheetham (155), Longsight (119), Gorton South (114) |
Distribution in Greater Manchester (Census 2011) | Bolton (634), Rochdale (268), Oldham (205) |
First language of pupils in Manchester schools (2015) | 411 |
Distribution in City of Manchester schools (2015) | Old Moat Community Primary (18), Ladybarn Primary School (17), St. Mary’s C.E. Primary, Moss Side (17), Birchfields Primary (15), Wilbraham Primary School (14), Cheetham CofE Community Academy (14) |
Total interpreter requests in Manchester’s GP practices | 667 |
Library loans (2012/2013) | 13 |
Library acquisitions (2012/2013) | 14 |
M-4 interpreter requests (2012/2013) | 405 |
Dialects of the language used in Manchester | Sorani, Kurmanji-Bahdini |
Other home language common among speakers | Arabic, Persian, Turkish |
Supplementary schools |
*Percentages rounded to nearest whole number