By Colleen MacDonell.
Colleen has been living in Baku for the past four years. She loves just about everything about Baku – the fresh fruit and veg, the friendly peple, the beautiful music, and of course, the melodious sounds of Azerbaijani. Colleen is learning to play mugham, folk tunes, songs, and opera on the local stick fiddle (kamancha). She is a teacher-librarian and educational writer who hails from Nova Scotia, Canada. Why not visit her language blog at http://speakazeri.blogspot.com.
Ever passed by a women sitting on a Baku sidewalk with the reddest tomatoes you have ever seen? The juiciest nectarines? The darkest cherries? Fresh mint that smells divine? Did you think – Wow, I would love to buy some of those! But did you just keep on walking? Maybe it’s time to learn some Azerbaijani!
It can be Intimidating
English is not commonly spoken in Baku, especially by street vendors or fruit and veg sellers in small shops. Let’s face it, even when shopping for items in a pharmacy or grocery store, there may be no one who can communicate in English. This can be intimidating for an English speaker with no Azerbaijani. But guess what? It is even more intimidating for a local Bakuvian who may not encounter many foreigners. You will immediately set people at ease with even a few words of Azerbaijani. In fact, if people realize that you cannot speak Russian, but do know a bit of the native tongue, they will be even more impressed. It shows that you have made a conscious decision to learn the language of the people.
My experience over the past four years in Baku, as a rank beginner with only a few numbers and food items to my vocabulary to my current position of conversational Azerbaijani, I can testify to the amazing power of even “bir az Azərbaycanca.” People in shops will be astounded. They will laugh. They will smile. They will treat you like a prodigy!
I remember going to a sports shop to buy an exercise ball. One very nice young fellow helped me to find one. But when I turned around, all three young people working in the shop wanted to talk to me. A foreigner who can speak Azerbaijani! They were all smiling and saying “Maşallah!” (Bravo! or How lovely!) Believe me, they had a taxi organized in two seconds flat to take me and my big red exercise ball home. Service with a smile. They were happy, I was happy. Life is good.
Some people argue that it is better to learn Russian, since more countries have Russian speakers than Azerbaijani speakers. This seems logical for those who hope to travel in the region. But I think there are many reasons to choose Azerbaijani over Russian.
Why bother learning Azerbaijani?
I have a personal bias for Azerbaijani, simply based on the beauty of the sounds in “Azərbaycanca.” The first time I heard people speaking Azerbaijani at my workplace, I mistook it for French, and hurried down the hall to have a conversation. It was only when I got closer that I realized that the melodious sounds were not French, but something new. I fell in love with the sound of the language, and later with the sound of the songs and the music. It has been a love affair from the start.
However, in a less romantic vein, let’s consider a few crucial points. Azerbaijani uses a Latin alphabet, so it is not a steep learning curve to learn to write and type in Azerbaijani. Russian is completely different. Azerbaijani has no gender; Russian does. Russian has 8 case endings… need I say more? Maybe not, but I will. Go to Istanbul and they will understand you when you speak Azerbaijani. They will even compliment you on your cute Bakuvian accent! And take note – I have had friends who have had private lessons in Russian for several years and still were not comfortable speaking Russian in shops. After just a few lessons from me, I have had colleagues venturing out into shops to make some purchases and use their Azerbaijani.
Let’s Start at the very beginning! Numbers
So if you are inspired to give Azerbaijani a try, where do you begin? Numbers. Learn your numbers from one to one hundred and you can shop for anything. Fingers can point to items you want. You don’t need to know the names of fruit to buy them. But when quantities and prices need to be negotiated, fingers can’t do all the work. Take a look at this chart of numbers. Then access my Azerbaijani language learning blog to hear what they sound like.
For some audio instruction on numbers, visit:
http://speakazeri.blogspot.com/2011/08/numbers-1-to-100.html
Armed with just these numbers, you can shop in Azerbaijan. Go ahead. Be brave. Enjoy the nectarines!
Nuş olsun! (Bon appétit in Azerbaijani).
Yaxşı yol! (Good luck!)
