Local name: Azəri / آذری
Language family: Turkic > Southwestern (Oghuz) > Western Oghuz
Native speakers: ~ 21.6 million [northern + southern + kashkay + khalaj] (Ethnologue.com, 2007/2001/1997/2000)
Script: A modified version of the Latin alphabet (Azerbaijan), A modified version of the Arabic alphabet (Iran, Iraq)
Official in: Azerbaijan
Spoken mostly in: NW Iran, Azerbaijan, Iraq (most notably around Kirkuk), E Turkey

Azerbaijani, or just Azeri, can be divided into two varieties. The northern variety, spoken mostly in the country Azerbaijan, was split off after a peace treaty between Persia and Imperial Russia in the beginning of the 19th century. After the Communist accession to power in Russia, the codification of Northern Azeri started for real with the drastic change of the current Arabic script into a modified Latin alphabet. This was later changed to a Cyrillic alphabet somewhat later. Since 1991, Azeri is officially written in Latin script again. The most blazing feature of which should be the use of the letter Ə for /æ/, the most common vowel in Azeri.

The southern variety, mostly spoken in Iran, where it forms the second biggest language, diverge from the northern variety mostly in vocabulary. Whereas the Russian influence has been very strong in the north, the southern variety draws very much on Persian, which is further helped by the fact that Persian is the sole language of education in Iran. Most Azerbaijanis in Iran cannot read or write in their native language.

Around Kirkuk in Iraq, there is a Turkic-speaking minority called Turkmen. They are mostly Sunni, as opposed to the nominally Shi‘a Azerbaijanis, but their language is a dialect of Azeri, rather than of the Turkmen language of Turkmenistan. Azeri is normally mutually intelligible with Turkish.

Southern Azeri - Tehran: “Şomal yeli və gün”
Speaker: Mehrad Age at recording: 21 (2009) Geographical reference: Tehran, IR (Google Map) Reference: The speaker grew up in a Tabriz-Azeri speaking family in a dominantly Persian environment.


شمال یلی و گون ، دانیشیردیلار که هانسینین گودرتی چوخ ده. بی دفلی بیر دانا مسافر که چوخ لباس جی میشته تاپلده.
گرار گویدولار هانسیسی الیه بولدولر مسافرین پالتارین چیخاتسینلر او بیسیدن گودرتی چوخترده.
اونان سورا، شمال یله تمام گودرتینن جتّه گاباغا، اما هر ایش جرده که مسافر پالتارین چیخاتسین الماده و مسافر پالتارلارین چوخ گوجاخ لاشته. آخیرده شمال یله پشیمان الده و ایشتن واز جشته.
اونان سورا، گون باشلاده ایسیلی لن وورما آ.
اونان سورا، مسافر پالتارلارین چیخاته.
بو ایشه جوره، شمال یله مجبور الده که دسین گون اونان گودرتی چوخده.

Şomal yeli və gün, danışırdılar ke hansisin qüdrəti çoxde.
Bi-dəfəli bir dana müsafir ke çox lebas cimişte tapalde.
Qərar goydular hansini əlyə büldülər müsafirin paltarların çıxatsınlar o bizinən qüdrəti çoxtərde.
Onan sora, şomal yeli tamam qüdrətinən cette qabağa, ama hər iş cörde ke müsafirin paltarların çıxatsın olmadı, və müsafir paltarların çox momken caxlaşte.
Axirdə, şomal yeli pəşiman oldı və iştən vaz ceşte.
Onan sora, günla başladi isili lən vurma a.
Onan sora, müsafir paltarların çixatte.
Bu işə cörə, şomal yeli məcbur oldu ke desin gün onan qüdrəti çoxte.