The Kurdish language entered the world of dubbing in Syria several months before the fall of Bashar al-Assad\u2019s regime, practiced at the time in complete secrecy due to fears of well-known security crackdowns on any activity conducted in Kurdish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Kurdish language had been banned for decades under the al-Assad regime (both father and son), and while the situation became more relaxed after the regime\u2019s collapse on Dec. 8, 2024, challenges still persist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ezzedine Abu al-Qasim, grandson of the late Syrian actor Abdul Rahman Abu al-Qasim and one of the directors of the \u201cAbu al-Qasim\u201d company for dubbing dramas, told North Press, they began dubbing into Kurdish during the rule of the al-Assad regime and were met with concerns from some actors who feared security persecution simply for performing in Kurdish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that some feared the consequences of working in Kurdish, but the company assured them to maintain secrecy to ensure their safety.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe managed to overcome this major challenge as the first company to dub into Kurdish.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dubbing to Arabic saw a boom in 2004 with Turkish series, which attracted large audiences according to observers, though critics often labeled them as poor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
After Saudi Arabia\u2019s MBC Group decided in 2018 to stop airing Turkish dramas, dubbing companies increasingly turned to Venezuelan, Mexican, and Portuguese series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
His brother, Omar Abu al-Qasim\u2014who co-manages the company\u2014explained that they launched \u201cAbu al-Qasim\u201d in 2012. The company initially produced Arabic-dubbed content, until they were approached with a proposal to produce Kurdish-language dubbed series.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He told North Press that the idea felt like an adventure. They knew how much effort it would take, but they were passionate about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So they immediately reached out to well-known Kurdish artists\u2014actors, directors, and theater professionals.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In addition to the typical challenges of dubbing\u2014where actors must convey all dramatic nuance using only their voice\u2014the Kurdish-language dubbing field also struggles with the limited number of Kurdish-speaking actors based in Damascus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The company director said the chosen dialect for Kurdish dubbing is Kurmanji, because it is widely understood by most Kurds and serves as a kind of \u2018standard dialect.\u2019<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Kurmanji is spoken by Kurds in Syria, Turkey, and parts of Iraq, while Sorani is more prevalent in Iraq\u2019s Kurdistan region and among many Kurds in Iran.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He noted that the company dubs a wide variety of content\u2014including Iranian, Turkish, and Korean series\u2014and said some Kurdish-dubbed Turkish series have been especially successful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Actor and artistic supervisor Khoshnav Zaza told North Press that dubbing is challenging regardless of the language.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The challenge lies in having to express every emotional and physical nuance\u2014like fear or being hit\u2014solely through your voice, he noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He added that the voice actor must match or closely mirror the emotional expression of the actor in the original work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zaza also pointed out that another major challenge in Kurdish dubbing is the limited number of Kurdish-speaking actors\u2014both Kurdish and non-Kurdish\u2014from Hasakah Governorate who are now living in Damascus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe had to rely on Kurdish individuals and even non-Kurds, and train them on how to deliver lines, how to pronounce the words, how to express that emotion,\u201d Zaza explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo we focused a lot on actor training. That was a big part of the effort, and a credit to Abu al-Qasim Company, for how they managed their time and dedicated extra hours to overcome these challenges, especially with people playing roles who were not trained actors.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Zaza emphasized, \u201cKurdish language is a mother tongue, a language present in Syria. It\u2019s beautiful to add Kurdish to Syrian languages by acting or dubbing in Kurdish.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He continued, \u201cWhen I act in Arabic as a Kurd, I internally translate the emotional tone of the line into Kurdish before delivering it in Arabic. But when I act in Kurdish, the sentence enters my subconscious directly and the emotion flows out instantly\u2014because it\u2019s my mother tongue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n