The Azerbaijanis of
Dagestan speak the Derbent and Terekeme dialects of Azerbaijani Turkic. The Azerbaijani dialect spoken in the village of
Nizhny Katrukh also stands out due to its unique features, bearing influences from the
Lak language. While the Derbent dialect belongs to the eastern group of Azerbaijani dialects, the Terekeme dialect resembles the Quba and
Shamakhi subgroups within the eastern dialects. The spoken language of all Azerbaijanis in Dagestan—whether the Terekeme people, urban residents of Derbent, or those living in
Tabasaran—has been influenced by the languages of neighboring communities, particularly Tat and
Kumyk. According to the 2010 census, out of 130,919 Azerbaijanis in
Dagestan, 129,620 listed Azerbaijani as their native language, while 426 identified Russian, 161
Lezgian, 110 Tabasaran, 45
Dargwa, 44
Avar, 37
Kumyk, 18
Aghul, 16
Tat, 10
Lak, 10
Rutul, 3
Andi, 1
Karata-Tukita, and 1
Tsakhur as their native languages.
As a lingua franca Over centuries, particularly in southern Dagestan, Azerbaijani functioned as a
lingua franca for interethnic communication. It was widely used among various ethnic groups for mutual understanding, especially during the 16th and 17th centuries. Ethnographer and statistician Nikolay Zeidlich also noted the use of Azerbaijani Turkic as a common spoken language in this part of Dagestan. A source from 1836 recorded that local Muslims in Derbent used "Tatar" (referring to Azerbaijani or Turkic), and that this language was "widely spoken not only among Muslims but also among Armenians and
Jews". In the Samur region of Dagestan, Azerbaijani became particularly prevalent during the 18th and 19th centuries. It was used as a common communication language among the peoples living in the Samur Valley. This function of Azerbaijani was also documented by P.K. Uslar, a 19th-century expert on the
Caucasus and its languages. Until the 19th century, Azerbaijani, alongside
Kumyk and
Avar, served as a
lingua franca in the highlands and plains of Dagestan. K.F. Gan, who visited Dagestan in the late 19th century, remarked, "Practically all of Dagestan recognizes the Turkic-Tatar language as a kind of international language." However, he also observed varying levels of fluency in Azerbaijani Turkic among Dagestan's diverse ethnic groups: As for the Turkic-Tatar language spoken by my companion... it proved to be of great assistance to us in the Samur district, but it was less understood in
Kazikumukh and completely foreign to the Avars. A.K. Becker, a
botanist and
entomologist who visited southern Dagestan, wrote: The Turkic-Azerbaijani dialect is gradually and rapidly replacing the Tat dialect. Due to its importance for communication with the Muslim regions of the South Caucasus and the residents of Derbent, this dialect has also spread among the highlanders who are willing to learn it. Additionally, this same dialect is frequently used by highlanders who are often kin to its speakers but initially spoke languages incomprehensible to them. According to
Hasan Alkadari, multilingual individuals, when meeting or communicating with each other, would either speak
Azerbaijani or
Chagatai Turkish (i.e.,
Kumyk). He notes that they managed their affairs "somehow" by using "corrupted speech expressions" such as "how are you" or "where are you from". It is also evident from the notes of other authors that a large portion of the mountain peoples of
Dagestan used the Azerbaijani Turkic fluently. For instance, the Latvian writer
Birznieks-Upītis, who visited Dagestan, observed that "conversations are held in the Tatar language, in the Azerbaijani dialect. This is the spoken language used by the local Russians and all adult
Lezgins with a rugged accent".
Russian linguist and
ethnographer L.P. Zagursky similarly recorded the following: The Azerbaijani dialect has deeply rooted itself in the southeastern regions of Dagestan: mountaineers from rather remote areas come to Derbent and often engage in unpaid labor just to learn the Tatar language... Moreover, we have personally witnessed the Azerbaijani dialect beginning to spread even in the hard-to-reach mountainous regions of Dagestan. The
Andians, or the mountaineers of this part of Dagestan, who visit the Muslim provinces of the South Caucasus for trade purposes, speak the Tatar language completely fluently. Among the
Aghul people, "only those who went to Azerbaijan as migrant workers ("otkhodnikov") could speak Azerbaijani". A similar situation existed in the
Lak village of
Khosrekh. Through the activities of these seasonal workers, referred to as otkhodniks, the Azerbaijani language began to spread among the Archins. In villages such as
Kirki and
Varsit, inhabited by
Dargins, Azerbaijani became the second language after their native
Kaitag language. In fact, Dargin families would send their children to stay with Azerbaijani families for 3–4 months to learn the language. In the
Akhty school, which was the first
secular school in the Samur region and opened on September 26, 1861, two languages—
Russian and Azerbaijani—were taught. Azerbaijani teacher and ethnographer
Mahammadhasan Afandiyev worked there for some time to teach the Azerbaijani language. In the early 20th century, the first plays performed by the Lezgin national theater were written and staged in Azerbaijani. It is worth noting that the first Lezgin national theater was established in 1914. Although they were Lezgin, Rutul, or Tabasaran, many Dagestani poets not only wrote works in Azerbaijani but also drew inspiration from literary works in this language for their own writings. Lezgin
poet Ashig Suleyman Stalsky communicated in Azerbaijani with E. Kapiyev, the literary critic, writer, and poet who translated his works into Russian (Kapiyev himself was of
Lak ethnicity). At the 1940 folklorists' congress, Kapiyev stated: While preparing an interlinear translation and working on what is called editing, Suleyman dictated and explained his poems to me in Turkish [Azerbaijani Turkish]. Between 1923 and 1928, Azerbaijani was the sole language of instruction in schools across Dagestan. The ideologists of Dagestan's national state-building, taking advantage of the autonomy granted by the Soviet government, also emphasized the importance of the Turkic language. N. Samurski, Secretary of the Central Executive Committee of the
Dagestan Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, believed that local schools should exclusively teach in the Turkic language, arguing that the locals harbored strong resentment towards Russian, while other local languages lacked the capacity to serve as mediums of education. Karpov noted this as follows: If we consider the plan that, in the near future, all Dagestani intelligentsia would speak and write in [Azerbaijani] Turkic, then Russian would have to abandon all official use. During the 1926 census, personal records in the Kura, Samur, and Kaitag-Tabasaran districts were prepared exclusively in Turkic. At the time, the Azerbaijani language was referred to as "Turkic." In other parts of Dagestan, these records were prepared in Russian. Dagestan's first journal on culture, education, literature, and arts, "Maarif Yolu" (Path of Education), was published in Azerbaijani. Additionally, in 1932, the Qızıl Çoban (Red Shepherd) newspaper, published in the village of Rutul, the center of the Rutul people, was also in Azerbaijani. However, from 1928 onwards, local languages began to replace
Azerbaijani, starting with
Kumyk, which was prioritized initially. By 1933, an accelerated development of 11 languages (expanding to 12 by 1936) was underway as part of the broader Soviet linguistic policy. From 1936 to 1994, the emblem of the
Dagestan ASSR featured inscriptions in multiple languages, including Azerbaijani, stating "RSFSR," "Dagestan ASSR," and "Workers of the World, Unite". Even by the mid-20th century, Azerbaijani remained a
lingua franca among various ethnic groups in southern Dagestan. In the early 1950s, Soviet ethnographer L. Lavrov observed: In southern Dagestan, Azerbaijani is almost universally the second language. He reported that Rutuls used their native language at home, work, and gatherings, but when individuals unfamiliar with their language (such as Lezgins or Tsakhurs) were present, conversations often shifted to Azerbaijani. Furthermore, Azerbaijani was used as the written language for administrative work in Rutul villages, such as collective farms and village councils. Libraries in the region were predominantly stocked with Russian-language books; for instance, of the 1,000 books in the library of a reading room in the village of Shinaz, only 30 were in Azerbaijani. Historically,
Azerbaijani Turkic had been the primary language of instruction in the Aghul village of
Burshaq, while in the village of
Tsirkh, this role was performed by the Dargin language. In other areas inhabited by Aghuls, Lezgin was used as the medium of instruction. From 1938 to 1952, Azerbaijani served as the language of instruction in schools in
Tsakhur villages, though it was later replaced by Russian. Even in 1952, Azerbaijani remained the primary language of instruction in many schools in Rutul villages. Children entering these schools already had some knowledge of Azerbaijani and were able to use basic phrases in the language. In 1938, one of the reasons cited for the impracticality of creating a written language for Rutuls was their widespread knowledge of Azerbaijani, which was described as "a developed language". Ethnographer L.I. Lavrov stated that "the Rutuls universally know Azerbaijani, a developed language". Another ethnographer, G.A. Sergeyeva, remarked on the Rutuls: It makes no sense to create a
written language for a small group of people who already know the language of their Azerbaijani neighbors, which has an established literary tradition. In the Rutul village of
Khnov, 90–95% of the population spoke Azerbaijani, which they also used in interactions with Lezgins inhabiting much of the surrounding region. The influence of Azerbaijani persisted among the
Tsakhur people. By 1952, 88% of Tsakhurs in Dagestan spoke Azerbaijani, and this figure remained high, at 87.9%, in 1982. A 1960s study of the
Archi people revealed that 6% of them spoke Azerbaijani.
Linguistic interactions with other languages During the long-term interaction between two ethnic communities,
bilingualism emerged, leading to the displacement of other languages by Azerbaijani as the primary medium of
communication. By the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Azerbaijani Turkic had already become the second language of the
Tabasarans. This influence intensified during the 1860s. The process of Azerbaijani replacing the Tabasaran language occurred predominantly in southern Tabasaran. In northern Tabasaran, which was relatively distant from Azerbaijani settlements, only the male population could speak Azerbaijani, and the influence of the language was weaker compared to the south. For the Tabasarans, the Azerbaijani language played the role not only of the language of a close neighbor with whom they had economic, family, and domestic ties (including frequent intermarriage between representatives of these two ethnic groups) and whose trade routes passed through; it was through it that they could communicate with the Azerbaijanis of Derbent on trade matters. Instances of losing their native language continued into the second half of the 19th century. For example, in the 1870s, linguist and ethnographer L.P. Zagursky observed that the Tabasarans were gradually forgetting their native language, which was being replaced by Azerbaijani. A.K. Becker also wrote about this phenomenon during the same period: The Turkic-Azerbaijani dialect has a significant influence on some mountain languages, and the Tabasarans living near Derbent are increasingly forgetting their native language.
The Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary, published between 1890 and 1907, also contains similar remarks: Due to close ties and continued interaction with the latter [referring to Azerbaijani Turks], the Tabasarans are adopting their Azerbaijani dialect and gradually forgetting their native language. This process persisted into the second half of the 20th century. In 1959, during a visit to Tabasaran, L. Lavrov wrote: The Tabasaran language is being almost entirely replaced by Azerbaijani, which is known by nearly everyone in the region. The phenomenon of other peoples speaking Azerbaijani was also documented by German linguist and ethnographer A. Dirr, who studied the languages of Dagestan in the early 20th century: Among the Tabasarans, knowledge of the Tatar language [referring to Azerbaijani] is widespread, especially in the eastern and southern parts of Dagestan, though women generally do not know it. At the same time, Dirr classified Tabasaran as one of the Turkic languages: In the Tabasaran language, there is a strong tendency to harmonize vowels in a word—this is a characteristic feature of the Turkic-Tatar language. According to his observation, Azerbaijani influenced not only the vocabulary, but also the grammar of the Tabasaran language. The phenomenon of daily-use languages like Tabasaran disappearing under the influence of Azerbaijani was also observed in regions where Azerbaijanis interacted with
Tats. This occurred more intensively in areas of Dagestan where these groups cohabited. For the Tats, speaking the language of their larger neighbors was considered essential for conducting trade with them. Furthermore, knowing Azerbaijani was not only important for communication with Azerbaijanis but also with other southern Dagestani peoples who spoke the language. Thus, a Tat speaker of Azerbaijani could engage in trade and communication with both Azerbaijanis and non-Azerbaijanis in the southern regions of Dagestan. The process of Azerbaijani replacing the
Tat language was also noted in the 19th century by A.K. Becker. A.V. Komarov, the mayor of Derbent, reported on the Tat villages in the area, observing that the Tat language was gradually being replaced by the Turkic-Azerbaijani language . Some time later, another observation was made by anthropologist K. M. Kurdov: ...The Tats are avoiding speaking their own language... The residents of Rukel village have collectively decided not to speak Tat anymore, and now only a few elderly individuals can understand words in Tat, while the rest of the population speaks Tatar. A similar negative attitude towards their native language can be observed among the residents of other Tat villages. According to the
1926 census, 7.2% of
Tabasarans and 7.3% of
Tats identified Azerbaijani as their native language. The 2010 census further revealed that Azerbaijani was the mother tongue for 361 Tabasarans, 169 Lezgins, 99
Dargins, 23
Kumyks, 22
Avars, 17
Russians, 15
Laks, 14 Rutuls, 13 Aguls, 6
Tsakhurs, 5
Armenians, 3
Ossetians, 2
Tatars, 1
Jew, and 1
Chechen. Expressions derived from Azerbaijani are commonly encountered in Dagestani languages, particularly in those spoken in Southern Dagestan. Within the
Lezgic language group, Azerbaijani loanwords occupy a prominent position in the
lexicon compared to other Turkic borrowings. This can be attributed to the geographical proximity of Azerbaijani speakers and the long-standing socio-economic, cultural, historical, and trade relationships shared between these communities. The modern Tabasaran lexicon contains a significant number of borrowings from Azerbaijani. These include various compound expressions, such as "işlətmiş apub" (“has used”), "baxış apub" (“has looked”), "qarşılamuş apub" (“has met”), and "təbrik apub" (“has congratulated”). This linguistic influence has even introduced vowel harmony, a characteristic feature of Azerbaijani, into the Tabasaran language. In terms of agricultural terminology, Azerbaijani loanwords are particularly abundant in the Lezgian language compared to other Dagestani languages. Words like "alça" (plum), "bostançı" (melon grower), "yemiş" (melon), "meyvə" (fruit), "taxıl" (grain), "tum" (seed), "üzüm" (grape), "xarman", "şel", and "şəftəli" (peach) have become integral to Lezgian but are notably absent in Avar, Dargin, and Lak languages.
Current situation Currently, Azerbaijani is one of the official languages of Dagestan. The Azerbaijani community in Dagestan publishes a newspaper titled "Dərbənd". Additionally, there are schools in Dagestan where education is conducted in Azerbaijani. Since 1978, the local office of the
Russian Federation's radio in this region has been broadcasting daily programs in Azerbaijani for 30 minutes. Furthermore, since 1986, Azerbaijani-language television programs have been aired, amounting to an annual total of 6,340 hours. == Culture ==