Gorani is a Northwestern Iranian language spoken by the Kurdish people, primarily in the regions of Iraqi Kurdistan and western Iran. It belongs to the broader Indo-Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family. Gorani is distinct from the more widely spoken Kurdish dialects, such as Kurmanji and Sorani, although it shares some linguistic features with them.

Historically, Gorani was a prominent literary language among the Kurds, especially during the 14th to 18th centuries. It was used extensively in religious texts, poetry, and scholarly works. The language has a rich literary tradition, with significant contributions to Kurdish literature and culture.

Gorani is written in the Persian script, which is an adaptation of the Arabic script with additional letters to represent specific Persian sounds. This script is used for writing both historical and contemporary texts in Gorani.

The language features a complex grammatical structure, including a subject-object-verb (SOV) word order, and employs a variety of inflections and suffixes to indicate tense, mood, and case. Despite its historical significance, Gorani is now less commonly spoken, with many speakers shifting to more dominant Kurdish dialects like Sorani.

Efforts to preserve and revitalise Gorani include documenting the language, promoting its use in education and media, and encouraging the study of its literary heritage. These initiatives aim to maintain Gorani as an integral part of Kurdish cultural and linguistic diversity.