Azerbaijani or
Azeri or
Azerbaijani Turkiс (''Azərbaycanca'', ''Azərbaycan türkcəsi'', ''Azərbaycan dili'') is a language belonging to the
Turkic language family, spoken in southwestern Asia by the
Azerbaijani people, primarily in
Azerbaijan and
northwestern Iran. Azerbaijani is member of the
Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages and is closely related to
Turkish,
Qashqai and
Turkmen.
History and evolution
Today′s Azerbaijani languages evolved from the Eastern Oghuz branch of Western (Oghuz) Turkic which spread to Southwestern Asia during medieval Turkic migrations, and has been heavily influenced by Persian. Arabic also influenced the language, but Arabic words were mainly transmitted through the intermediary of literary Persian.
Azerbaijani gradually supplanted the Iranian languages in what is now northern Iran (most notably the Tat, Azari, and Middle Persian varieties), and a variety of Caucasian languages in the Caucasus, particularly Udi. By the beginning of the 16th century, it had become the dominant language of the region, and was a spoken language in the court of the Safavid Empire. However, minorities in both Azerbaijan and Iran continue to speak the earlier Iranian languages to this day, and Middle- and Modern Persian loanwords are numerous in the Azerbaijani language.
The historical development of Azerbaijani can be divided into two major periods: early (c. 16th to 18th century) and modern (18th century to present). Azerbaijani differs from its descendant in that it contained a much greater amount of Persian, and Arabic loanwords, phrases and syntactic elements. Early writings in Azerbaijani also demonstrate linguistic interchangeability between Oghuz and Kypchak elements in many aspects (such as pronouns, case endings, participles, etc.). As Azerbaijani gradually moved from being merely a language of epic and lyric poetry to being also a language of journalism and scientific research, its literary version has become more or less unified and simplified with the loss of many archaic Turkic elements, stilted Iranisms and Ottomanisms, and other words, expressions, and rules that failed to gain popularity among Azerbaijani-speaking masses.
Between c. 1900 and 1930, there were several competing approaches to the unification of the national language in Azerbaijan popularized by the literati. Despite major differences, they all aimed primarily at making it easy for semi-literate masses to read and understand literature. They all criticized the overuse of Persian, Arabic, Ottoman Turkish, and European (mainly Russian) elements in both colloquial and literary language and called for a more simple and popular style.
The Russian conquest of the South Caucasus in the 19th century split the speech community across two states; the Soviet Union promoted development of the language, but set it back considerably with two successive script changes - from Perso-Arabic script to Latin and then to Cyrillic - while Iranian Azeris continued to use the Perso-Arabic script as they always had. Despite the wide use of Azerbaijani in Azerbaijan during the Soviet era, it became the official language of Azerbaijan only in 1956. After independence, Azerbaijan decided to switch to the Latin script.
Literature
Classical literature in Azerbaijani was formed in 14th century based on the various dialect Early Middle Ages dialects of Tabriz and Shirvan (these dialects were used by classical Azerbaijani writers Nasimi, Fuzuli, and Khatai). Modern literature in Azerbaijan is based on the Shirvani dialect mainly, while in Iran it is based on the Tabrizi one. The first newspaper in Azerbaijani, ''Əkinçi'' was published in 1875.
In mid-19th century it was taught in the schools of Baku, Ganja, Shaki, Tbilisi, and Yerevan. Since 1845, it has also been taught in the University of St. Petersburg in Russia.
Notable folklore and literary works in Azerbaijani are the Book of Dada Gorgud, Asli and Kerem, the Epic of Köroğlu, and others. Important poets and writers of Azerbaijani include
Nizami Ganjavi
Imadaddin Nasimi
Muhammed Fuzuli
Jahan Shah
Khatai
Molla Panah Vagif
Khurshidbanu Natavan
Mirza Fatali Akhundov
Jalil Mammadguluzadeh
Mirza Alakbar Sabir
Huseyn Javid
Jafar Jabbarly
Samad Vurghun
Mikayil Mushfig
Mammed Said Ordubadi
Mohammad Hossein Shahriar
Lingua franca
Azerbaijani served as a ''
lingua franca'' throughout most parts of
Transcaucasia (except the
Black Sea coast), in Southern
Dagestan, Eastern
Turkey, and
Iranian Azerbaijan from the 16th century to the early 20th century.
Varieties and dialects
Azerbaijani, also known as “Azeri”, is divided into two varieties: Northern Azerbaijani and Southern Azerbaijani, and a large number of dialects.
Turkic Khalaj,
Qashqa'i, and
Salchuq are considered by some to be separate languages in the Azerbaijani language group.
Despite their relatively large number, dialects of Azerbaijani do not differ substantially. Speakers of various dialects normally do not have problems understanding each other. However, minor problems may occur between Azerbaijani-speakers from the Caucasus and Iran, as some of the words used by the latter that are of Persian or Arabic origin may be unknown to the former. For example, the word ''firqə'' ("political party") used by Iranian Azerbaijanis may not be understood in Azerbaijan, where the word ''partiya'' is used to describe the same object. Such phenomenon is explained by the fact that both words have been in wide use since after the split of the two speech communities in 1828.
The following list reflects only one of several perspectives on the dialectology of Azerbaijani. Some dialects may be varieties of others.
Ardabil dialect (Ardabil and western Gilan, Iran)
Ayrum dialect (northwestern Azerbaijan; northeastern Armenia)
Baku dialect (eastern Azerbaijan)
Borchali dialect (southern Georgia; northern Armenia)
Derbent dialect (southern Russia)
Gabala (Gutgashen) dialect (northern Azerbaijan)
Ganja dialect (western Azerbaijan)
Gazakh dialect (northwestern Azerbaijan)
Guba dialect (northeastern Azerbaijan)
Hamadan dialect (Hamadan, Iran)
Karabakh dialect (central Azerbaijan)
Karadagh dialect (East Azerbaijan and West Azerbaijan, Iran)
Kars dialect (eastern Turkey and northwestern Armenia)
Lankaran dialect (southeast Azerbaijan)
Maragheh dialect (East Azerbaijan, Iran)
Mughan (Salyan) dialect (central Azerbaijan)
Nakhichevan dialect (southwestern Azerbaijan)
Ordubad dialect (southwestern Azerbaijan; southern Armenia)
Shaki (Nukha) dialect (northern Azerbaijan)
Shirvan (Shamakhy) dialect (eastern Azerbaijan)
Tabriz dialect (East Azerbaijan, Iran)
Yerevan dialect (central Armenia)
Zagatala-Gakh dialect (northern Azerbaijan)
Zanjan dialect (Zanjan, Iran)
Distribution of speakers
North Azerbaijani variety
North Azerbaijani is the
official language of
Azerbaijan. It is spoken in:
Azerbaijan, and southern
Dagestan, along the
Caspian coast in the southern
Caucasus Mountains. Also spoken in
Armenia,
Estonia,
Georgia,
Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan,
Russia (Asia),
Turkmenistan,
Uzbekistan.
South Azerbaijani variety
South Azerbaijani is spoken in Iran.
Iranian Azerbaijanis often call it
Türki. Specifically it is spoken in
East Azerbaijan and
West Azerbaijan,
Ardabil,
Zanjan, and parts of
Kurdistan,
Hamadan,
Qazvin and
Gilan . It is also spoken in some districts of
Tehran city and across
Tehran Province. Furthermore, some Azerbaijani-speaking groups live in
Fars Province and other parts of Iran. Most of the sources have reported the percentage of Azerbaijani-Turkic-speakers at around 19-20 percent of the Iranian population. South Azerbaijani is also spoken in parts of
Azerbaijan,
Iraq,
Syria, and Asian
Turkey.
Phonology
Consonants
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! colspan="2" |
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! colspan="2" |
! colspan="2" |
Nasal">Dental consonant |
! colspan="2" |
! colspan="2" |
! colspan="2" |
! colspan="2" |
Nasal
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! Plosive
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Fricative consonant>Fricative
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Approximant consonant>Approximant
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Tap consonant>Tap
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# and are realised as and respectively in the areas around Tabriz and to the west, south and southwest of
Tabriz (including
Kirkuk in Iraq); in the Nakhchivan and Ayrum dialects, in
Jabrayil and some Caspian coastal dialects;
#In the most dialects of Azerbaijani, is realized as when it is found in the
coda position or is preceded by a
voiceless consonant (as in ''çörək'' - "bread"; ''səksən'' - "eighty").
# appears only in words borrowed from
Russian or
French (spelled, as with , with a ''k'').
# exists in the Kirkuk dialect as an
allophone of in
Arabic loanwords.
#In the Baku dialect, may be realised as , and and as , e.g. → , → , →
#In the colloquial language, is usually pronounced as
Vowels
Vowel phonemes of Standard Azerbaijani
Alphabets
In Azerbaijan, North Azerbaijani now officially uses the Latin script, but the Cyrillic script is also in wide use, while in Iran, South Azerbaijani uses the Perso-Arabic script. There is a one-to-one correspondence between the Latin and Cyrillic alphabets for North Azerbaijani (although the Cyrillic alphabet has a different order):
{| align="left"
|valign="top"|
Aa |
Аа |
Əə |
Әә |
Bb |
Бб |
Cc |
Ҹҹ |
Çç |
Чч |
Dd |
Дд |
Ee |
Ее |
Ff |
Фф |
|valign="top"|
Gg |
Ҝҝ |
Ğğ |
Ғғ |
Hh |
Һһ |
Xx |
Хх |
Iı |
Ыы |
İi |
Ии |
Jj |
Жж |
Kk |
Кк |
|valign="top"|
Qq |
Гг |
Ll |
Лл |
Mm |
Мм |
Nn |
Нн |
Oo |
Оо |
Öö |
Өө |
Pp |
Пп |
Rr |
Рр |
|valign="top"|
Ss |
Сс |
Şş |
Шш |
Tt |
Тт |
Uu |
Уу |
Üü |
Үү |
Vv |
Вв |
Yy |
Јј |
Zz |
Зз |
|}
Before 1929, Azerbaijani was written only in the Perso-Arabic script. In 1929–1938 a Latin alphabet was in use for North Azerbaijani (although it was different from the one used now), from 1938 to 1991 the Cyrillic script was used, and in 1991 the current Latin alphabet was introduced, although the transition to it has been rather slow. If written in the Latin alphabet, all foreign words are transliterated, for example, "Bush" becomes "Buş", and "Schröder" becomes "Şröder".
South Azerbaijani speakers in Iran have always continued to use the Perso-Arabic script, although the spelling and orthography is not yet standardized.
Nomenclature
In 1992–1993, when
Azerbaijan Popular Front Party was in power in
Azerbaijan, the official language of Azerbaijan was renamed by the parliament to ''Türk dili'' ("Turkic"). However, since 1994 the
Soviet era name of the language, ''Azərbaycan dili'' ("Azerbaijani"), has been re-established and reflected in the Constitution. ''Varlıq'', the most important literary Azerbaijani magazine published in
Iran, uses the term ''Türki'' ("Turkish" in English or "Torki" in Persian) to refer to the Azerbaijani language. South Azerbaijani speakers in Iran often refer to the language as ''Türki'', distinguishing it from ''İstambuli Türki'' ("Anatolian Turkish"), the official language of
Turkey. Some people also consider Azerbaijani to be a dialect of a greater Turkish language and call it ''Azərbaycan Türkcəsi'' ("Azerbaijani Turkish"), and scholars such as
Vladimir Minorsky used this definition in their works.
ISO encodes its two varieties, North Azerbaijani and South Azerbaijani, as distinct languages. According to the
Linguasphere Observatory, all
Oghuz languages form part of a single "outer language" of which North and South Azerbaijani are "inner languages".
Vocabulary
!Category
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!English
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!Azerbaijani
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yes
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bəli
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no
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xeyr/yox
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hello
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salam
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sağ ol
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sağ olun (formal)
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good morning
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sabahınız xeyir
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good afternoon
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günortanız xeyir
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axşamın xeyir
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axşamınız xeyir
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black
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qara
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blue
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göy
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cyan
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mavi
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brown
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qəhvəyi
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grey
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boz
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green
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yaşıl
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orange
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narıncı
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pink
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çəhrayı
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purple
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bənövşəyi
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red
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qırmızı
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white
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ağ
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yellow
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sarı
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Numbers
!Number
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!Word
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0
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sıfır
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1
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bir
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2
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iki
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3
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üç
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4
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dörd
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5
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beş
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6
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altı
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7
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yeddi
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8
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səkkiz
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9
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doqquz
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10
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on
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For numbers 11-19, the numbers literally mean 'ten one, ten two' and so on.
!Number
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!Word
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20
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iyirmi
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30
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otuz
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40
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qırx
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50
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əlli
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See also
Azerbaijani people
Historical linguistics
Language families and languages
References
External links
A blog on Azerbaijani language resources and translations.
AZERI.org - Azerbaijan Literature and English translation
Online bidirectional Azerbaijani-English Dictionary
Alphabet and Language in Transition. Entire issue of Azerbaijan International (AZER.com), Spring 2000 (8.1)
Editorial: Azerbaijan Alphabet & Language in Transition. Azerbaijan International (AZER.com), Spring 2000 (8.1)
Chart: Four Alphabet Changes in Azerbaijan in the 20th Century. Azerbaijan International (AZER.com), Spring 2000 (8.1)
Chart: Changes in the Four Azerbaijan Alphabet Sequence in the 20th century. Azerbaijan International (AZER.com), Spring 2000 (8.1)
Baku’s Institute of Manuscripts: Early Alphabets in Azerbaijan. Azerbaijan International (AZER.com), Spring 2000 (8.1)
Azeri language at Ethnologue
Azerbaijan language, alphabets and pronunciation at omniglot.com
Learn Azerbaijani (Organization teaching grammar vocabulary and phrases)
Pre-Islamic roots
Azerbaijan-Turkish language in Iran by Ahmad Kasravi
Azerbaijan tongue with Japanese translation incl. sound file, from Internet Archive
Azerbaijan-Turkish and Turkish-Azerbaijan dictionary
Azerbaijan Language with Audio
Azerbaijani thematic vocabulary
AzConvert An open source computer transliterator program for Azerbaijan language
Category:Agglutinative languages
Category:Turkic languages
Category:Azerbaijani language
Category:Languages of Georgia (country)
Category:Languages of Iran
Category:Languages of Russia
Category:Languages of Turkey
Category:Languages of Kazakhstan
Category:Languages of Azerbaijan
Category:Languages of Iraq
Category:Languages of Syria
Category:Subject–object–verb languages
af:Azerbeidjans
ar:لغة أذرية
ast:Azerbaixanu
az:Azərbaycan dili
bn:আজারবাইজানি ভাষা
be:Азербайджанская мова
be-x-old:Азэрбайджанская мова
bg:Азербайджански език
bs:Azerbejdžanski jezik
br:Azereg (yezh)
ca:Àzeri
cv:Азербайджан чĕлхи
cs:Ázerbájdžánština
cy:Aserbaijaneg
da:Aserbajdsjansk
de:Aserbaidschanische Sprache
et:Aserbaidžaani keel
el:Αζερική γλώσσα
es:Idioma azerí
eo:Azerbajĝana lingvo
eu:Azerbaijanera
fa:زبان ترکی آذربایجانی
hif:Azerbaijani bhasa
fr:Azéri
ga:An Asarbaiseáinis
gv:Asserbajaanish
gag:Azerbaycan dili
gl:Lingua azerí
hak:Â-set-pai-kiông-ngî
ko:아제르바이잔어
hy:Ադրբեջաներեն
hi:अज़ेरी भाषा
hr:Azerski jezik
id:Bahasa Azeri
os:Азербайджайнаг æвзаг
is:Aserbaídsjanska
it:Lingua azera
he:אזרית
kl:Aserbajdsjaniskisut
ka:აზერბაიჯანული ენა
kk:Әзірбайжан тілі
kw:Azerek
rw:Ikinyazeribayijani
kv:Азербайджан кыв
ku:Zimanê azerî
ky:Азербайжан тили
lez:Азербайжан чӀал
la:Lingua Atropatenica
lv:Azerbaidžāņu valoda
lt:Azerbaidžaniečių kalba
li:Azerbaidzjaans
hu:Azeri nyelv
mk:Азербејџански јазик
mr:अझरबैजानी भाषा
arz:اذرى
mzn:آذری
ms:Bahasa Azeri
mdf:Азербайджанонь кяль
nl:Azerbeidzjaans
new:अजेरी भाषा
ja:アゼルバイジャン語
no:Aserbajdsjansk
nn:Aserbajdsjansk
mhr:Азербайджан йылме
pnb:آذری بولی
koi:Азербайджан кыв
pms:Lenga Azerbaijan setentrional
nds:Aserbaidschaansche Spraak
pl:Język azerski
pt:Língua azeri
crh:Azerbaycan tili
ro:Limba azeră
qu:Asar simi
ru:Азербайджанский язык
sco:Azerbaijani leid
sq:Gjuha azerbajxhane
simple:Azerbaijani language
sk:Azerbajdžančina
ckb:زمانی ئازەربایجانی
sr:Азерски језик
su:Basa Azerbaijan
fi:Azerin kieli
sv:Azerbajdzjanska
ta:அசர்பைஜான் மொழி
tt:Азәрбайҗан теле
th:ภาษาอาเซอร์ไบจาน
tg:Забони озарбойҷонӣ
tr:Azerice
udm:Азербайджан кыл
uk:Азербайджанська мова
ur:آذربائیجانی
ug:ئەزەربەيجان تىلى
vi:Tiếng Azerbaijan
yo:Èdè Azerbaijani
bat-smg:Azėrbaidžanėitiu kalba
zh:阿塞拜疆语