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Azerbaijani dialects reflect relatively minor language differences and are mutually intelligible.[1] TheAzerbaijani language has two distinct sublanguages: Northern[2] and Southern.[3]
Southern Azerbaijani contains many Arabic and Persian words that are not familiar to northern speakers. This began to increase in 1828.[4]
In hisSeyahatnâme (travelogue), 17th-centuryOttoman travelerEvliya Çelebi provided a detailed account of theAjem-Turkic (orAzerbaijani) dialects in continuum with theTurkish dialects of theArmenian highlands:Diyarbekir,Bitlis, and few samples ofErzurum,Van,Hamadan,Mosul, andTabriz. Evliya Çelebi specified the Tabrizi dialect as the speech of the Turkomans,Afshars, and "Gök-dolaq".[5] Apart from formal samples, these dialects were further exemplified by his dialogue with theSafavid governors ofUrmia,Tabriz,Shamakhi, andYerevan.[6]
The main dialect groups are Eastern (Derbent,Baku,Shamakhi, Mugan andLankaran dialects), Western (Qazakh, Karabakh,Ganja and Ayrum dialects), Northern (Nukha,Zaqatala -Qakh dialects) and Southern (Yerevan,Nakhchivan,Ordubad andTabriz dialects). The dialects are mutually intelligible but differ with regard to accent, syntax, and vocabulary. Eastern and northern groups of dialects were influenced by theKypchak language.[7][8]
According toEncyclopedia Iranica:[9]
We may distinguish the following Azeri dialects: (1) eastern group:Derbent (Darband),Kuba,Shemakha (Šamāḵī),Baku,Salyani (Salyānī), andLenkoran (Lankarān), (2) western group:Kazakh (not to be confounded with theKipchak-Turkic language of the same name), the dialect of theAyrïm (Āyrom) tribe (which, however, resemblesTurkish), and the dialect spoken in the region of theBorchala river; (3) northern group:Zakataly,Nukha, andKutkashen; (4) southern group:Yerevan (Īravān),Nakhichevan (Naḵjavān), andOrdubad (Ordūbād); (5) central group:Ganja (Kirovabad) andShusha; (6)North Iraqi dialects; (7) Northwest Iranian dialects:Tabrīz, Reżāʾīya (Urmia), etc., extended east to aboutQazvīn; (8) Southeast Caspian dialect (Galūgāh). Optionally, we may adjoin as Azeri (or “Azeroid”) dialects: (9)East Anatolian/Southeast Anatolian, (10)Qašqāʾī, (11) Aynallū, (12)Sonqorī, (13) dialects south ofQom, (14) KabulAfšārī.
According toEthnologue, 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,Qizilbash, Nukha, Zaqatala (Mugaly), Qabala, Nakhchivan, Ordubad, Ganja, Shusha (Karabakh),Karapapak, Kutkashen, Kuba".[10] 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".[11]
According to the second edition of theEncyclopaedia of Islam, there are four main dialects of Azeri: 1) Baku-Shirvan, 2) Ganja-Karabakh, 3) Tabriz, and 4) Urmia.[12]
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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.[13]
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.[13]
| Suffix type | Urmia dialect | Baku Azerbaijani | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| back | front | back rounded | back unrounded | front rounded | front 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] |
The Tabriz dialect is the most-spoken dialect of Azerbaijani in Iran.[13] A feature distinguishing it from Baku Azerbaijani is the furtherfronting ofpalatal stops andpostalveolar affricates. Thevoiceless postalveolar affricate andvoiced postalveolar affricate are fronted to thevoiceless alveolar affricate andvoiced alveolar affricate, while thevoiceless palatal plosive andvoiced palatal plosive are fronted to thevoiceless postalveolar affricate andvoiced postalveolar affricate.[14]
| Baku Azerbaijani | Tabriz dialect |
|---|---|
| [tʃ] | [ts] |
| [dʒ] | [dz] |
| [c] | [tʃ] |
| [ɟ] | [dʒ] |
Another one of the ways it differs from Baku 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.[14]
| Meaning | Tabriz dialect | Baku 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 Baku 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].[14]
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 Baku Azerbaijani[-iɾ,-ɯɾ,-yɾ,-uɾ]) has no harmonization of any kind. Suffixes following it ignore it and harmonize with the stem.[13]
| Meaning | Ardabil dialect | Baku Azerbaijani |
|---|---|---|
| 'I throw' | [ɑtejɑm] | [ɑtɯɾɑm] |
| 'I arrange' | [ɡoʃejɑm] | [ɡoʃuɾɑm] |
| 'I come' | [dʒælejæm] | [ɟæliɾæm] |
| 'I wait' | [dœzejæm] | [dœzyɾæm] |
In the Zanjan dialect, the second person singular suffix is[-æn,-ɑn] (as opposed to Baku Azerbaijani[-sæn,-sɑn]) and the second person plural suffix is[-iz,-ɯz,-yz,-uz] (as opposed to Baku Azerbaijani[-siz,-sɯz,-syz,-suz]).[13]
| Meaning | Zanjan dialect | Baku Azerbaijani |
|---|---|---|
| 'You (singular) see' | [bɑxɯɾɑn] | [bɑxɯɾsɑn] |
| 'You (plural) see' | [bɑxɯɾɯz] | [bɑxɯɾsɯz] |
The first comparative analysis of the Turkic (Azerbaijani) dialects was carried out byMirza Kazimbey in his 1839 bookThe General Grammar of the Turkish – Tatar Language.[15]
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 theAzerbaijan SSR published a one-volume dictionary namedDialectological 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, theDictionary 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.
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