Azerbaijani dialects

Last updated

Azerbaijani dialects reflect relatively minor language differences and are mutually intelligible. [1] The Azerbaijani language has two distinct sublanguages: Northern [2] and Southern. [3]

Contents

Southern Azerbaijani contains many Arabic and Persian words that are not familiar to northern speakers. This began to increase in 1828. [4]

Dialect groups

The main dialect groups are Eastern (Derbent, Baku, Shamakhi, Mugan and Lankaran dialects), Western (Qazakh, Karabakh, Ganja and Ayrum dialects), Northern (Nukha, Zaqatala - Qakh dialects) and Southern (Yerevan, Nakhchivan, Ordubad and Tabriz dialects). The dialects are mutually intelligible but differ with regard to accent, syntax, and vocabulary. Eastern and northern groups of dialects were influenced by the Kypchak language. [5] [6]

The dialects can be distinguished by geographical location such as Iran, Turkey, Iraq, Dagestan and Georgia. Afshar, Qashqai, Aynallu, Bayat, Shahsven, Qajar and Turkman dialects stem from these areas. Others are Tabriz, Urmia, Khoy, Kushchinskiy (central Ostan), Maraga, Merende, Uryantepin, Turkmenchay, Ardabil, Sarabian, Mian, Galugiha (Mazandaran), Lotfabad and Dergez (Khorasan- Rizaui) dialects.[ citation needed ]

According to Encyclopedia Iranica : [7]

We may distinguish the following Azeri dialects: (1) eastern group: Derbent (Darband), Kuba, Shemakha (Šamāḵī), Baku, Salyani (Salyānī), and Lenkoran (Lankarān), (2) western group: Kazakh (not to be confounded with the Kipchak-Turkic language of the same name), the dialect of the Ayrïm (Āyrom) tribe (which, however, resembles Turkish), and the dialect spoken in the region of the Borchala river; (3) northern group: Zakataly, Nukha, and Kutkashen; (4) southern group: Yerevan (Īravān), Nakhichevan (Naḵjavān), and Ordubad (Ordūbād); (5) central group: Ganja (Kirovabad) and Shusha; (6) North Iraqi dialects; (7) Northwest Iranian dialects: Tabrīz, Reżāʾīya (Urmia), etc., extended east to about Qazvīn; (8) Southeast Caspian dialect (Galūgāh). Optionally, we may adjoin as Azeri (or “Azeroid”) dialects: (9) East Anatolian, (10) Qašqāʾī, (11) Aynallū, (12) Sonqorī, (13) dialects south of Qom, (14) Kabul Afšārī.

According to Ethnologue , North Azerbaijani has the following regional dialects, each of which is slightly different from the other: "Quba, Derbend, Baku, Shamakhi, Salyan, Lenkaran, Qazakh, Airym, Borcala, Terekeme, Qyzylbash, Nukha, Zaqatala (Mugaly), Qabala, Nakhchivan, Ordubad, Ganja, Shusha (Karabakh), Karapapak, Kutkashen, Kuba". [8] While South Azerbaijani has the following dialects: "Aynallu (Inallu, Inanlu), Karapapakh, Tabriz, Afshari (Afsar, Afshar), Shahsavani (Shahseven), Moqaddam, Baharlu (Kamesh), Nafar, Qaragozlu, Pishagchi, Bayat, Qajar". [9]

According to the second edition of the Encyclopaedia of Islam , there are four main dialects of Azeri: 1) Baku-Shirvan, 2) Ganja-Karabakh, 3) Tabriz, and 4) Urmia. [10]

Dialectal features

Dialects of Azerbaijani in Iranian Azerbaijan and surrounding regions, according to Yavar Dehghani Azerbaijani dialects (Iran).png
Dialects of Azerbaijani in Iranian Azerbaijan and surrounding regions, according to Yavar Dehghani

According to "A grammar of Iranian Azari" by Yavar Dehghani, dialects of South Azerbaijani in Iran are as follows: 1) Urmia, 2) Tabriz, 3) Ardabil, and 4) Zanjan. Each one of these has a set of unique features that distinguishes it. [11]

Urmia dialect

The Urmia dialect stands out primarily by means of the fact that it, unlike the other dialects, does not have labial harmony applied to any suffix. As a result, every suffix has only two forms, one harmonized for back vowels and one for front vowels. [11]

Suffix typeUrmia dialectStandard Azerbaijani
backfrontback roundedback unroundedfront roundedfront unrounded
Suffix forming abstract nouns from adjectives or nouns [-lɯx] [-liç] [-lux] [-lɯx] [-lyc] [-lic]
Suffix forming adjectives from nouns [-lu] [-ly] [-lu] [-lɯ] [-ly] [-li]
Privative suffix [-sɯz] [-siz] [-suz] [-sɯz] [-syz] [-siz]
Suffix forming third-person singular imperative [-sun] [-syn] [-sun] [-sɯn] [-syn] [-sin]

Tabriz dialect

The Tabriz dialect is the most-spoken dialect of Azerbaijani in Iran. [11] A feature distinguishing it from standard Azerbaijani is the further fronting of palatal stops and postalveolar affricates. The voiceless postalveolar affricate and voiced postalveolar affricate are fronted to the voiceless alveolar affricate and voiced alveolar affricate, while the voiceless palatal plosive and voiced palatal plosive are fronted to the voiceless postalveolar affricate and voiced postalveolar affricate. [12]

Standard AzerbaijaniTabriz dialect
[] [ts]
[] [dz]
[c] []
[ɟ] []

Another one of the ways it differs from standard Azerbaijani is the only partial observance of vowel harmony. One aspect of this is that the final vowel of a word does not need to harmonize with the preceding syllables in regards to either roundness or backness. [12]

MeaningTabriz dialectStandard Azerbaijani
'flock' [syɾi] [syɾy]
'fox' [tyltʃi] [tylcy]
'true' [doɣɾi] [doɣɾu]
'lamb' [ɡuzi] [ɡuzu]

Additionally, various suffixes simply ignore harmony altogether, always having a back vowel. Among others, the standard Azerbaijani infinitive suffix [-mæc,-mɑx] is always [-mɑx] , the future suffix [-ædʒæc,-ɑdʒɑx] is always [-ɑdzɑx] , the first person plural imperative suffix [-æc,-ɑx] is always [-ɑx] , the comparative suffix [-ɾæc,-ɾɑx] is always [-ɾɑx] , the participle-deriving suffix [-ic,-yc,-ɯx,-ux] is always [-ux] , and the abstract noun deriving suffix [-lic,-lyc,-lɯx,-lux] is always [-lɯx] . [12] This lack of vowel harmony is similar to that of Uzbek.

Ardabil dialect

The Ardabil dialect generally applies both labial and backness harmony to suffixes, but has a few exceptions to them as well, particularly the suffixes for the past tense, possessive aspect, and continuous aspect. While the possessive aspect and past tense suffixes have no labial harmonization, the continuous aspect suffix [-ej] (equivalent to standard Azerbaijani [-iɾ,-ɯɾ,-yɾ,-uɾ] ) has no harmonization of any kind. Suffixes following it ignore it and harmonize with the stem. [11]

MeaningArdabil dialectStandard Azerbaijani
'I throw' [ɑtejɑm] [ɑtɯɾɑm]
'I arrange' [ɡoʃejɑm] [ɡoʃuɾɑm]
'I come' [dʒælejæm] [ɟæliɾæm]
'I wait' [dœzejæm] [dœzyɾæm]

Zanjan dialect

In the Zanjan dialect, the second person singular suffix is [-æn,-ɑn] (as opposed to standard Azerbaijani [-sæn,-sɑn] ) and the second person plural suffix is [-iz,-ɯz,-yz,-uz] (as opposed to standard Azerbaijani [-siz,-sɯz,-syz,-suz] ). [11]

MeaningZanjan dialectStandard Azerbaijani
'You (singular) see' [bɑxɯɾɑn] [bɑxɯɾsɑn]
'You (plural) see' [bɑxɯɾɯz] [bɑxɯɾsɯz]

Publications

The first comparative analysis of the Turkic (Azerbaijani) dialects was carried out by Mirza Kazimbey in his 1839 book The General Grammar of the Turkish – Tatar Language. [13]

During 1924 - 1930, Soviet researchers collected some 60 thousand dialect words. The program was prepared to compile a comprehensive dictionary. N.I. Ashari led this program. The Academy of Sciences of the Azerbaijan SSR published a one-volume dictionary named Dialectological Dictionary of the Azerbaijani Language in 1964, which covered more than six thousand words.

At the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century, the Dictionary of the Dialects of the Azerbaijani language was published. The dictionary contained samples from Zangibasar, Sharur, Yardimli, Tebriz, Gubadli, Lachin, Kalbacar, Balakan, Qakh and Zagatala.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Azerbaijani language</span> Turkic language of the Oghuz sub-branch

Azerbaijani or Azeri, also referred to as Azeri Turkic or Azeri Turkish, is a Turkic language from the Oghuz sub-branch. It is spoken primarily by the Azerbaijani people, who live mainly in the Republic of Azerbaijan, where the North Azerbaijani variety is spoken, while Iranian Azerbaijanis in the Azerbaijan region of Iran, speak the South Azerbaijani variety. Azerbaijani has official status in the Republic of Azerbaijan and Dagestan, but it does not have official status in Iran, where the majority of Iranian Azerbaijani people live. Azerbaijani is also spoken to lesser varying degrees in Azerbaijani communities of Georgia and Turkey and by diaspora communities, primarily in Europe and North America.

Sibilants are fricative consonants of higher amplitude and pitch, made by directing a stream of air with the tongue towards the teeth. Examples of sibilants are the consonants at the beginning of the English words sip, zip, ship, and genre. The symbols in the International Phonetic Alphabet used to denote the sibilant sounds in these words are, respectively,. Sibilants have a characteristically intense sound, which accounts for their paralinguistic use in getting one's attention.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pharyngealization</span> Articulation of consonants or vowels

Pharyngealization is a secondary articulation of consonants or vowels by which the pharynx or epiglottis is constricted during the articulation of the sound.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Digraph (orthography)</span> Pair of characters used to write one phoneme

A digraph or digram is a pair of characters used in the orthography of a language to write either a single phoneme, or a sequence of phonemes that does not correspond to the normal values of the two characters combined.

The phonology of Catalan, a Romance language, has a certain degree of dialectal variation. Although there are two standard varieties, one based on Central Eastern dialect and another one based on South-Western or Valencian dialect, this article deals with features of all or most dialects, as well as regional pronunciation differences.

The phonology of the Hungarian language is notable for its process of vowel harmony, the frequent occurrence of geminate consonants and the presence of otherwise uncommon palatal stops.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jewish Neo-Aramaic dialect of Urmia</span> Neo-Aramaic dialect of Jews in Urmia

The Jewish Neo-Aramaic dialect of Urmia, a dialect of Northeastern Neo-Aramaic, was originally spoken by Jews in Urmia and surrounding areas of Iranian Azerbaijan from Salmas to Solduz and into what is now Yüksekova, Hakkâri and Başkale, Van Province in eastern Turkey. Most speakers now live in Israel.

Turkana is the language of the Turkana people of Kenya and Ethiopia. It is spoken in northwestern Kenya, primarily in Turkana County, which lies west of Lake Turkana. It is one of the Eastern Nilotic languages, and is closely related to Karamojong, Jie and Teso of Uganda, to Toposa spoken in the extreme southeast of South Sudan, and to Nyangatom in the South Sudan/Ethiopia Omo valley borderland; these languages together form the cluster of Ateker Languages.

Doubly articulated consonants are consonants with two simultaneous primary places of articulation of the same manner. They are a subset of co-articulated consonants. They are to be distinguished from co-articulated consonants with secondary articulation; that is, a second articulation not of the same manner. An example of a doubly articulated consonant is the voiceless labial–velar plosive, which is a and a pronounced simultaneously. On the other hand, the voiceless labialized velar plosive has only a single stop articulation, velar, with a simultaneous approximant-like rounding of the lips. In some dialects of Arabic, the voiceless velar fricative has a simultaneous uvular trill, but this is not considered double articulation either.

The phonological system of the Polish language is similar in many ways to those of other Slavic languages, although there are some characteristic features found in only a few other languages of the family, such as contrasting postalveolar and alveolo-palatal fricatives and affricates. The vowel system is relatively simple, with just six oral monophthongs and arguably two nasals in traditional speech, while the consonant system is much more complex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shipibo language</span> Panoan language spoken in Peru and Brazil

Shipibo is a Panoan language spoken in Peru and Brazil by approximately 26,000 speakers. Shipibo is a recognized indigenous language of Peru.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tati language (Iran)</span> Northwestern Iranian language

The Tati language is a Northwestern Iranian language spoken by the Tat people of Iran which is closely related to other languages such as Talysh, Zaza, Mazandarani and Gilaki.

Ale is an Afro-Asiatic language spoken in southern Ethiopia in the administratively part of the "South Ethiopia Regional State" (SERS). It is part of the Dullay dialect cluster.

Pondi, also known as Langam, is a Keram language spoken in Langam village of Keram Rural LLG, East Sepik Province, Papua New Guinea. The majority of Pondi speakers are ethnic-Pondis. Due to the small community in which Pondi is spoken, the language has no known dialect. The most notable language variation in Pondi is based on age as the older generations are more fluent. It is related both Ulwa and Mwaki. Pondi is endangered because of the growing use and popularity of the Tok Pisin language, which is used more by the younger generations of speakers. The language is predicted to not be spoken in the next one hundred years. The lexicon of the Pondi language has many words that they acquired from other languages, however, it is nearly impossible to know the origins of these words.

PalatalizationPA-lə-tə-leye-ZAY-shən is a historical-linguistic sound change that results in a palatalized articulation of a consonant or, in certain cases, a front vowel. Palatalization involves change in the place or manner of articulation of consonants, or the fronting or raising of vowels. In some cases, palatalization involves assimilation or lenition.

The Yerevan dialect or Īravān dialect is one of the dialects of the Azerbaijani language, spoken near Yerevan.

References

  1. "Azerbaijan". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2018-06-30.
  2. "Azerbaijani, North". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2018-06-30.
  3. "Azerbaijani, South". Ethnologue. Retrieved 2018-06-30.
  4. Bruno De Nicola; Yonatan Mendel and Husain Qutbuddin (November 2010). Reflections on Knowledge and Language in Middle Eastern Societies. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. ISBN   9781443824309.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  5. Library, International and Area Studies. "LibGuides: Resources for the study of the Azerbaijani language: Dictionaries and Grammar". guides.library.illinois.edu. Retrieved 2018-06-30.
  6. "Azerbaijan:: Main page". azerbaijans.com (in Azerbaijani). Retrieved 2018-06-30.
  7. Doerfer, Gerhard (1988). "AZERBAIJAN viii. Azeri Turkish". In Yarshater, Ehsan (ed.). Encyclopædia Iranica, Online Edition. Encyclopædia Iranica Foundation. Retrieved 14 February 2023.
  8. "Azerbaijani, North". Ethnologue . Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  9. "Azerbaijani, South". Ethnologue . Retrieved 2 March 2023.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Dehghani, Yavar (2000). A grammar of Iranian Azari: including comparisons with Persian. Munich: Lincom Europa. pp. 6, 11, 65, 68–71, 113–114.
  11. 1 2 3 Səlimi, Hüseynqulu (1976). A generative phonology of Azerbaijani (PhD). University of Florida. pp. 8–9, 20. OCLC   1045615622. ARK 13960/t1tf4s495. OL   18319A .
  12. "Presented Mirza Kazimbay's translated "General grammar of Turkic-Tatar language" book - News - Nizami Gəncəvi adına Milli Azərbaycan Ədəbiyyatı Muzeyi". nizamimuseum.az. Retrieved 2018-06-30.