Azenglish

Azenglish (or Azəringliscə), a portmanteau of "Azerbaijani" and "English", refers to the language contact phenomenon that occurs primarily where native Azerbaijani speakers frequently communicate in English, such as in Azerbaijani expatriate communities in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, among the students of the many English speaking universities, high schools and corporations of Baku and other major cities. To a lesser extent, the same phenomenon can be observed in expatriate communities in Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijani speakers borrow a considerable amount of their vocabulary from English while speaking Azerbaijani, and vice versa. It is not uncommon for a speaker of Azerbaijani to frequently switch back and forth between the two languages, sometimes mid-sentence.

Sometimes, some English idioms and proverbs are directly translated into Azerbaijani, and vice versa.

Examples

  • Facebook: Feysbuk
  • Good Morning: Qud Moninq
  • iPhone: Ayfon
  • Pager: Peycer
  • Wi-Fi: Vay-Fay
  • In 2000s, famous Azerbaijani poet Baba Punhan wrote poem named "Thank You" as a criticism of media frequently playing English songs and shows. In the poem, he states, "No it's not eshqi-majnun, long live Emmanuel" (literal translation of the Azerbaijani idiom "No it iz not eşqi-Məcnun, lonq liv Emmanuel", Not love, but [...] desire), urging English speakers to speak in Azerbaijani.