Azerbaijani dialects reflect relatively minor language differences and are mutually intelligible.[1] The Azerbaijani 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]
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.
According to Encyclopedia Iranica:
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".[7] 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".[8]
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.
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.
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.
| Suffix type | Urmia dialect | Standard Azerbaijani | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| back | front | back rounded | back unrounded | front rounded | front unrounded | ||
| Suffix forming abstract nouns from adjectives or nouns | pronounced as /az/ | pronounced as /az/ | pronounced as /az/ | pronounced as /az/ | pronounced as /az/ | pronounced as /az/ | |
| Suffix forming adjectives from nouns | pronounced as /az/ | pronounced as /az/ | pronounced as /az/ | pronounced as /az/ | pronounced as /az/ | pronounced as /az/ | |
| Privative suffix | pronounced as /az/ | pronounced as /az/ | pronounced as /az/ | pronounced as /az/ | pronounced as /az/ | pronounced as /az/ | |
| Suffix forming third-person singular imperative | pronounced as /az/ | pronounced as /az/ | pronounced as /az/ | pronounced as /az/ | pronounced as /az/ | pronounced as /az/ | |
The Tabriz dialect is the most-spoken dialect of Azerbaijani in Iran. 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.[9]
| Standard Azerbaijani | Tabriz dialect | |
|---|---|---|
| pronounced as /az/ | pronounced as /az/ | |
| pronounced as /az/ | pronounced as /az/ | |
| pronounced as /az/ | pronounced as /az/ | |
| pronounced as /az/ | pronounced as /az/ |
| Meaning | Tabriz dialect | Standard Azerbaijani | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 'flock' | pronounced as /az/ | pronounced as /az/ | |
| 'fox' | pronounced as /az/ | pronounced as /az/ | |
| 'true' | pronounced as /az/ | pronounced as /az/ | |
| 'lamb' | pronounced as /az/ | pronounced as /az/ |
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 pronounced as /az/ (equivalent to standard Azerbaijani pronounced as /az/) has no harmonization of any kind. Suffixes following it ignore it and harmonize with the stem.
| Meaning | Ardabil dialect | Standard Azerbaijani | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 'I throw' | pronounced as /az/ | pronounced as /az/ | |
| 'I arrange' | pronounced as /az/ | pronounced as /az/ | |
| 'I come' | pronounced as /az/ | pronounced as /az/ | |
| 'I wait' | pronounced as /az/ | pronounced as /az/ |
In the Zanjan dialect, the second person singular suffix is pronounced as /az/ (as opposed to standard Azerbaijani pronounced as /az/) and the second person plural suffix is pronounced as /az/ (as opposed to standard Azerbaijani pronounced as /az/).
| Meaning | Zanjan dialect | Standard Azerbaijani | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 'You (singular) see' | pronounced as /az/ | pronounced as /az/ | |
| 'You (plural) see' | pronounced as /az/ | pronounced as /az/ |
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.[10]
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.