Languages of Iraq

Languages of Iraq
Official languages	(Standard) Arabic, Kurdish, Syriac-Aramaic, Armenian
Main languages	Mesopotamian Arabic
Regional languages	Syriac-Aramaic, South Azeri ("Turkmen" in the constitution)^[1]
Minority languages	Neo-Aramaic languages, Armenian, South Azeri
Main foreign languages	English
Sign languages	Iraqi Sign Language

There are a number of languages spoken in Iraq, but Mesopotamian Arabic (Iraqi Arabic) is by far the most widely spoken in the country.

Contemporary languages 1
- Official languages 1.1
History 2
References 3

Contemporary languages

Arabic is the majority language, Kurdish is spoken by approximately 15-20% of the population, South Azeri (called Turkmen locally),^[2] Neo-Aramaic languages and others by 5%.^[3] Other smaller minority languages include Mandaic, Shabaki, Armenian, and Persian.

Arabic, Kurdish, Persian, and South Azeri are written with versions of the Arabic script, the Neo-Aramaic languages in the Syriac script and Armenian is written in the Armenian script.

Official languages

Arabic and Kurdish are the official languages,^[4] while Assyrian Neo-Aramaic and South Azeri (referred to as respectively "Syriac" and "Turkmen" in the constitution) are recognized regional languages.^[5] In addition, any region or province may declare other languages official if a majority of the population approves in a general referendum.^[6]

History

The language with the longest recorded period of use in Iraq is Aramaic, which has a written tradition dating back for 3200 years or more and survives today in its descendants, the Neo-Aramaic languages.

The earliest recorded languages of Iraq were Sumerian and Akkadian (including ancient Assyrian-Babylonian). These languages are now extinct. Sumerian was displaced by Akkadian by 1700 BCE, and Akkadian was displaced by Aramaic gradually, from 1200 BCE to 100 CE. Sumerian and Akkadian (including all Assyrian and Babylonian dialects) were written in the cuneiform script from 3300 BCE onwards. The latest positively identified Akkadian text comes from the first century CE.^[7]

References

^ Ethnologue; David Dalby. 1999/2000. The Linguasphere Register of the World's Languages and Speech Communities (Observatoire Linguistique), p. 346
Hendrik Boeschoten. 1998. "The Speakers of Turkic Languages," The Turkic Languages, ed. Lars Johanson and Éva Ágnes Csató, Routledge, pp. 1–15, see p. 5
^ Constitution of Iraq.
^ "Iraq, CIA World Factbook". CIA. 31 July 2012. Retrieved August 8, 2012.
^ Constitution of Iraq, Article 4 (1st)
^ Constitution of Iraq, Article 4 (4th)
^ Constitution of Iraq, Article 4 (5th)
^ John Huehnergard and Christopher Woods, 2004 "Akkadian and Eblaite", The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the World's Ancient Languages ISBN 0521562562, p. 218.

Iraq topics

History

Ancient	Sumer Akkadian Empire Babylonia Assyria Neo-Assyrian Empire Neo-Babylonian Empire Achaemenid Assyria Seleucid Babylonia Parthian Babylonia Sassanid Asorestan

638–1958	Muslim conquest of Persia Abbasid Caliphate Ottoman Iraq (Mamluk dynasty) Mandatory Iraq Kingdom of Iraq Arab Federation

Republic	1958–68 1968–2003 2003–11 2011–present Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party (Regional Command National Command) Saddam Hussein Iran–Iraq War Invasion of Kuwait Gulf War Sanctions Iraq War U.S. invasion Iraqi insurgency U.S. troop withdrawal 2011–present insurgency

Geography

Al-Faw Peninsula Al-Jazira Districts Euphrates Governorates Hamrin Mountains Persian Gulf Islands Mesopotamia Mesopotamian Marshes Places Shatt al-Arab Syrian Desert Tigris Umm Qasr Zagros Mountains

Lakes	Habbaniyah Hammar Milh Tharthar

Politics

Economy

Society

Cuisine Culture Education schools Health hospitals Media Music Sports

Demographics	Iraqi people diaspora Languages Arabic Aramaic Kurdish Persian Turkmen Minorities Armenians Assyrians Circassians Kurds Mandaeans Persians Turkmen Religion Islam Christianity Mandaeism

Languages of Asia

Sovereign states	Afghanistan Armenia Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh Bhutan Brunei Burma (Myanmar) Cambodia China Cyprus East Timor (Timor-Leste) Egypt Georgia India Indonesia Iran Iraq Israel Japan Jordan Kazakhstan North Korea South Korea Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Lebanon Malaysia Maldives Mongolia Nepal Oman Pakistan Philippines Qatar Russia Saudi Arabia Singapore Sri Lanka Syria Tajikistan Thailand Turkey Turkmenistan United Arab Emirates Uzbekistan Vietnam Yemen

States with limited recognition	Abkhazia Nagorno-Karabakh Northern Cyprus Palestine South Ossetia Taiwan

Dependencies and other territories	British Indian Ocean Territory Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Hong Kong Macau

Categories

Languages of Iraq

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Languages of Iraq