ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A Chinese linguist has been improving her Kurdish in Erbil for two months in preparation for teaching the language to students back home.
Xueqing Zhang is a lecturer at Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU). She has been learning Kurdish language in several countries and is now improving her skills at the Erbil-based Salahaddin University. Zhang had adopted the name Shirin, which means sweet in Kurdish.
"I came here to learn the Kurdish language. I had previously studied Kurdish in France and the UK, but there weren't many Kurds there, so I came here to [properly] learn the language,” she told Rudaw in a recent interview.
BFSU offers Kurdish language courses.
"In the third year of high school, all Chinese students take an exam. Afterward, students choose a university and a university program, and then, based on their scores, the university decides on selecting the students,” explained the Chinese linguist.
She elaborated that the students enrolled at the Kurdish language department study for four years after which they receive a bachelor’s degree.
Before their graduation, the students will study at a university in the Kurdistan Region between six months and a year.
Zhang highlighted the strong relationship between Erbil and Beijing.
"Currently, the relationship between China and Kurdistan is extensive and multifaceted. Language is essential if we want to understand a nation or a culture well. Language is like a bridge; that is why we opened this Kurdish language department,” she said.