Language Policy in Independent Turkish Republics (Example of Azerbaijan)

Abstract

Although the state language has existed as a true sociolinguisticphenomenon for a long time, it is new as a sociolinguistic concept and ishistorically more connected with the century we live in.Throughout history, the language policy factor has not required thestate language to be on a national basis. Thus, the state language of Hun,Gokturk, Khazar, Uyghur and Kara-Khanid states coincided with thenational language, that is, it became the state language.Language policy has been linked to different reasons in societies andmany factors have shown itself in its implementation. There are manydifferent factors and reasons in the implementation of language policy inAzerbaijan. In this article, we will try to examine the issues such as howalphabet changes in Azerbaijan are made in different political and culturalprocesses and on what arguments and how these changes are reflectedin the national identity discussions. This study will be carried out withreference to the historical process covering the period 1918-2018, in thecontext of articulation of different modernization and progress discoursesand definitions of national language and national identity. In this respect,it is possible to reject the alphabet changes in the different politicaland cultural paradigms of the alphabet change three times in a centurywith different emphasis as a symbolic activity aimed at reducing thedeterminism of their previous determination in the new transformationprocesses.Alphabet-language policy that M. F. Ahundzade initiated at the end ofthe XIXth century and the alphabet changes made in Azerbaijan in the XXthcentury and the addition of these changes to the discourses of nationalidentity, progress and modernization form the basis of this research.