How they speak here

Language

You can spot a Bakuvian from the first word — or rather the first "ə". It is a special speech: Russian generously seasoned with Azerbaijani words, its own intonation and an inimitable warmth.

The "Baku language" is not a textbook dialect but a living mixture, born where dozens of peoples talk to one another every day. Here half the meaning is carried not by words but by intonation and gesture.

Language

The music of intonation

The main thing in Baku speech is the melody. A question, delight, reproach and tenderness differ not in words but in how they are said. The signature "da?" at the end of a phrase is a re-ask, an invitation to agree and a warm full stop all at once.

Add generous gestures and the forms of address "brother", "sister", "jan" — and even a stranger becomes almost family within a minute.

Mini-dictionary

How it sounds

A few words without which Baku speech is not Baku speech. With love and examples.

Ə (e): A universal address-cum-interjection: "hey", "listen", "come on now". The start of almost any phrase. — "Ə, gəl bura!"
Balam: An affectionate "my dear", "kiddo" (literally "my child"). — "Balam, don't worry, it'll be fine."
Voobshche! ("Totally!"): The highest degree of delight and agreement, said with a breath. — "How's the sea? — Totally!"
Na skolko…! ("So…!"): "So", an intensifier instead of "how". — "So delicious, listen!"
Jan / dzhan: "Soul"; a warm suffix to a name and to a person. — "Ali-jan, sit down and eat."
Ala!: A friendly call, "hey, you!" — without rudeness, among one's own. — "Ala, where have you been?"
…, da? ("…, right?"): The signature re-asking intonation at the end of a phrase. — "Let's go to the boulevard, right?"
Adam ol: "Be a human" — an appeal to conscience and decency. — "Adam ol, help your neighbour."
Gəl bura: "Come here" — the most frequent Baku command, especially in the yard. — "Ə, gəl bura!"

Language

Two languages in one phrase

A true Bakuvian easily mixes Russian and Azerbaijani in a single sentence — and doesn't even notice. It is handier, warmer and funnier: a joke at the seam of two languages is understood only by one's own.

This language is not learned — you catch it, growing up in a Baku courtyard or simply living in the city for a while. And you can take it with you anywhere.