“It is very unfortunate that neighbouring countries still call us Azeri. However, as we know, "Azeri" is a name belonging to the Iranian tribe. Sometimes the pro-Persian forces want to prove that the Azerbaijani people are of Iranian and Persian origin. We are of Turkish origin in terms of ethnicity. Among the ancient Turkic tribes there is the "Az" tribe. Sometimes in one of the considerations on the etymology of the word Azerbaijan, it is also called Azers (meaning brave men). As for "Azeris", it can be prevented only through propaganda," he said. 

B.Maharramli stressed that the Persian tribe "Azer" has nothing to do with the Azerbaijani people. The Azerbaijani people are of Turkish origin. Historically, the Turkic ethnos has always been dominant, and there is even enough information about the settlement of the Sumerians in Azerbaijan.

Furthermore, asking a question to the linguist we also inquired about to the reason for citizens to use foreign words in our language nowadays?

“It is very common for foreign words to be used in our local language. Even in brotherly Turkey, this is happening. Although we are a brotherly people, Turkic as a nation, we have an independent language. This has become fashionable not only in everyday life, but also on television. For example, the word "yansimaq" (a word from Turkish, means "reflect") is used very often. However, there is an alternative word in our language. Why ruin our language in such cases ?!

Maharramli stressed that this topic was relevant 100 years ago. Our intellectuals such as Jalil Mammadguluzadeh, Uzeyir Hajibeyli, Yusif Vazir Chamanzaminli have repeatedly stressed in their columns that "do not use inappropriate foreign words." Unfortunately, young people today think that this is a fashionable and normal literary language. According to them, if someone uses a foreign language inappropriately, it gains a higher reputation for them. However, they do not realise that doing so will ruin our language.

The linguist spoke about the word "ok", which is considered an international word in this regard.

"It's understandable that this word is an international word," he said. "But how right is it to use it from social networks to television? As we know, television is a mirror of our society. This is a kind of propaganda. In this way, they show it their followers and viewers as normal."

B.Maharramli shared another observation with us, noting that our young people not only use foreign words, but also change the syntactic structure of our sentences.

"It's very embarrassing. To prevent this, it is necessary to prepare educational programmes, organise monitoring and propaganda. I would even like to bring something to your attention. The Cabinet of Ministers has already authorised the monitoring centre to impose fines.

In conclusion, Baba Maharramli shared his opinion on the term "Upper Karabakh" (Nagorno-Karabakh), which we came across in foreign media.

"According to the decree of the former president of the Republic of Azerbaijan, in November 1991, the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Region has been abolished. However, unfortunately, the term is still used. I hope that it will be gradually removed from all terms and go down in history."

By Rena Murshud

Translated by Elnur Enveroglu