«Mi sono risoluto di comporre per comodo dei nuovi missionari una grammatica, ed un vocabolario. Mi spaventò a prima vista tale impresa; ma a forza di pensare, riflettere tra me stesso, e combinare tutto il modo di favellare Kurdo, mi è poi finalmente riuscito dopo molta fatica di formarmene un' idea per istabilire li fondamenti grammaticali».

The «Grammar and vocabulary of the Kurdish language» is probably the first scientific acknowledgement of the originality of the Kurdish language which was published in 1787 in Italy. This book is the first attempt to codify and provide a defined writing system for Kurdish language. This first grammar and manual of the Kurdish language was written by the Italian Dominica friar Maurizio Garzoni to enable Christian missionaries to converse with Kurmanji-speakers.

Garzoni had reached the city of Mosul - situated 400 km north of Baghdad - in 1762 and lived there until 1787. Together with his precursor Domenico Lanza (1718-1782), and his successor Giuseppe Campanile (1762-1835), Garzoni greatly contributed to the knowledge of that region.

Although influenced by their European perspective and Catholic dogmatism, they described in broad terms the language and the social, political, and economic structure of the Kurdish society. Garzoni reports that among themselves Christians used books in their own language. All of them, however, needed to know the Kurdish language not only for their daily contacts with Muslims, but also in their economic transactions with the Kurdish owners and tribal chiefs of the region.

Garzoni's Grammatica e vocabolario is very important in the Kurdish history as it is the first acknowledgement of the originality of the Kurdish language on a scientific base. It earned its author the title of «Father of Kurdology» and of «The pioneer Kurdish grammarian». [1]