The use of different alphabets for Kurdish pretty much ensures that Kurds from Turkey cannot read Kurdish written in Iraq and Iran, although most educated Kurds read European languages and can pick up an ability to read Kurdish in the roman alphabet. The roman alphabet in which Kurdish is written in Turkey and in exile communities in Europe and the United States is based on the Turkish alphabet, although its vowel symbols are different. The Arabic-based Kurdish alphabet is written from right to left and does not make a distinction between capital and small letters. This example, from a 1913 grammar of Kurdish, illustrates the point, and also clearly reflects the Ottoman Empire that the grammar's author was dealing with. In the Arabic script, the long vowels are represented by symbols, and the short vowels not represented at all.
Kurdish literature is mostly poetry and stories akin to our fairy tales.
Traditional Kurdish poetry is from the same tradition as The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam . That my hand might reach to thy breast, There is none other on earth like thee. Dalaila Aishana, Dalaila Aishana, A lute will I make of serpents' bones, With strings made from the loved one's locks, And my mouth shall be for its rings and pendants. Dalaila Aishana, Dalaila Aishana, A lute will I make of sparrows' bones, With strings of a young bride's curls. They form a new budding flower.