The Development of Prose

The textbooks have provided abundant prose (mostly non-literary) on diverse subjects. This is no doubt a contribution to the codification of Kurdish, which lacked a rich prose literature. Secondary school level prose is considered to be a second important stage in the development of prose (cf. 8.6.1). Translation (e.g., of Bible) has indeed played a role in the genesis of prose in many Western and non-Western languages. In Iraq, extremist centralization policies in education did not allow the compilation of prose works written originally in Kurdish.

The textbooks have provided abundant prose (mostly non-literary) on diverse subjects. This is no doubt a contribution to the codification of Kurdish, which lacked a rich prose literature. Secondary school level prose is considered to be a second important stage in the development of prose (cf. 8.6.1). Translation (e.g., of Bible) has indeed played a role in the genesis of prose in many Western and non-Western languages. In Iraq, extremist centralization policies in education did not allow the compilation of prose works written originally in Kurdish.

The publication of secondary school textbooks is certainly an achievement. In spite of Arabization, secondary education in Kurdish has now become a reality. The shortcomings referred to earlier can be ascribed primarily to political obstacles. The contribution of the textbooks to standardization could be enhanced if the overall educational policy of the government were not based on restricting Kurdish language and nationalism.
 

Source: Dr. Amir Hassanpour, "Nationalism and Language in Kurdistan 1918-1985", 1992.