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Evolution of The Azerbaijani Language and
Idendity
Paper Presented to
The Symposium on Azerbaijani Language and Idendity
University of Malmoe
Malmoe, 15 April 2003
Dr. Javad Heyet
The Turkish language of Azerbaijan or
Azerbaijani language belongs to the Oghuz group,
and is spoken in Iran as well as the republic of
Azerbaijan, eastern Anatolia and Kerkuk region in
Iraq. The formation of Azerbaijani language as a
nationwide language is related to the immigration
of the Turkic tribes and peoples to Azerbainan,
though not exactly synchronous with it. There is
difference of opinion among the linguists as to
when exactly this language developed into a folks‐
scale language.
Western
turcologists
believe
that
the
language took the form of a nationwide language
simultaneously with the immigration of the Oghuz
Turks at the beginning of the 11
th
century from the
central Asia to Azerbaijan through Iran. The
literary works began to emerge from the 13
th
century. The scholars of North Azerbaijan and ex‐Soviet authors date this evolution
back to the 7‐8
th
centuries (A. Demirchizade etc.). Even some scholars consider
Azerbaijan to be the original homeland of the Turks.
According to my own research, the northern part of Azerbaijan was subjected
to Turkish elements beginning the 7
th
centuty B.C., by the immigration of various
Turkic tribes from the central Asia, such as Schythes, Bulqars, Huns, Sabirs,
Agajeris, Pecheneks, Kengerlus, On‐Oghurs, Sari‐Oghurs, Khazars, and finally
Qipchaqs, thus the turkicisation process was completed in the north as early as the
7
th
century A.D., whereas in the south, this process still waited to be intensified by
the immigration of Oghuz‐Qipchaq and Uyghur elements in the 11‐13
th
centuries. In
these centuries the territories of southern Azerbaijan were conquered and settled by
Seljuk Turks (Oghuz), whose settlement was later intensified by the Uyghur (who
accompanied Mongols), Ag‐Qoyunlu, Qara‐Qoyunlu, Turks arriving with
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Tamerlane from Central Asia, and later by the Qizilbash (Oghuz) tribes arriving in
the 16
th
century and joining Shah Ismail Safavi. The language of all the native
inhabitants including the Tats and the immigrating Mongols was converted to the
Turkish language due to their melting within these Turkish elements.
The establishment of Oghuz dialect as the dominant language of Azerbaijan
was made possible only after domination of the Oghuz element in the ethnic make‐
up of the population of Azerbaijan, i.e. after the 11
th
century, though other Turkic
dialects such as Qipchaq and Uyghur and even the Tat and other Azeri dialects had
played a certain role in this evolution, and Arabic and Persian words entered the
language due to the Islamic and the Iranian influence.
The Turkish of Azerbaijan contains a written literary language and many oral
dialects. Early literary works in the Azerbaijani language include Izziddin Hasan
Oghlu, Nessir Bakui and Hindu Shah Nakhchivani, who wrote his famous
lexicological and grammatical work called Sahah‐al‐ajem in the 13
th
century. The
oral tradition is older and dates back to Dede Qorqud legend. The literary style of
Dede Qorqud marks the early phases of the Oghuz language , when the
diferentiation between the Azerbaijani and Anatolian dialects had not set in yet.
The evolution of Azerbaijani language has been devided into 3 periods by A.
Demirchizadeh as follows:
1 – The formation and evolution of the Azerbaijani on the basis of a
comprehensive ethnic language (Umumxalq Dil), 11
th
century up to the end of 18
th
century.
2 – The stabilization of the literary language as a national language, 18
th
century up to early 20
th
century.
3 – The contemporary period, early 20
th
century up to present.
The first period can be devided into 3 stages as follows:
1 – The beginning stage (11‐15
th
centuries). In this period the Oghuz dialect
was dominant and certain language elements from Qipchaq‐ Uyghur and
sometimes synonyms (qosha sözler, paired words) are present in parallel, as for
example Yaxshi and Eyu, ben and men, qilmaq and etmek, ayitmaq and soylemek and
demek, ol and shol and o, varmaq and getmek, tamu and cehennem, uçmaq and behisht etc.
The U phoneme was dominant in the second syllable of the words and also in the
suffixes, as for example eyu, altun, qamu (hami), versun (versin). This situation had
persisted until the end of the 18
th
century and had taken its final, present day form
after the emergence of the poet Vaqif. The most notable figure belonging to this
period was Nassimi (14
th
century).
2 – Khatai and Fuzuli stages (16‐17
th
centuries). In this period the Turkish
language was developing in parallel to the Persian language, and was the official
language used in the Safavi court and the military establishments as well as the
administrative circles. In this period the Turkish language influenced the Persian
language strongly by providing many loan words and military terms to it, and
paved the way for a unification, and the difference between the written and the oral
language almost disappeared. The qoshma poetical form was introduced to the
classical literature by the poetry of Shah Ismail Khatai.
Fuzuli was the most notable Ghazal (lyric) poet of the period, who wrote lyric