The Historical Development Process of the Azerbaijani Alphabet: The Transition Process from the Arabic Alphabet to the Latin Alphabet in Azerbaijani Press (the Newspapers as Yeni Yol, Yeni Fıkir, Ishik Yol)

Abstract

The issues of historical development process of Azerbaijani alphabet, which is not yet examined thoroughly, and the transition process from the Arabic alphabet to the Latin alphabet in Azerbaijani press are discussed in this study. The Azerbaijani Turks, the first to accomplish the transition from the Arabic Alphabet to the Latin alphabet among all Muslim Turks, have pioneered in the Turkish world for the recognition of the Latin alphabet. The aim of this study is to make a close-up evaluation of the 1922-1929 period, and to shed light on the role of the Azerbaijani Press in this process that has only been examined in a general outline until today. The main objectives of this study are to determine the alphabet problem in Azerbaijan up until 1922; to evaluate the transition process from the Arabic alphabet to the Latin alphabet based on the information obtained from the Azerbaijani press of that period and to investigate the activities of the Azerbaijani press during the transition process. Similarly, the transition process and the issue of a shared alphabet in Caucasia (the regions where Turks live) and in the Turkish world is studied. In the study, the magazines and newspapers that were published in Azerbaijan between 1922 and 1929 in general, and mainly the newspapers Yeni Yol, Ishik Yol and Yeni Fikir are taken as the main resources and scanned. These newspapers are evaluated with respect to their objectives, language characteristics, and activities. The conclusion of the study may be summarized as, the Azerbaijani press within the transition process of the alphabet which started at the end of the 19th century and accelerated at the beginning of the 20th century, within a turbulent place and period of political, social and cultural development became a figure affected by this change, however was an effective and accelerating figure in the transition process also.