Azerbaijani (/ˌæzərbaɪˈdʒæni, -ɑːn-/ AZ-ər-by-JA(H)N-ee; Azərbaycanca, آذربایجانجا, Азәрбајҹанҹа) or Azeri (/æˈzɛəri, ɑːˈ-, əˈ-/ a(h)-ZAIR-ee, ə-), also referred to as Azerbaijani Turkic or Azerbaijani Turkish (Azərbaycan türkcəsi, آذربایجان تۆرکچهسی, Азәрбајҹан түркҹәси), is a Turkic language from the Oghuz sub-branch. It is spoken primarily by the Azerbaijani people, who live mainly in the Republic of Azerbaijan, where the North Azerbaijani variety is spoken, while Iranian Azerbaijanis in the Azerbaijan region of Iran, speak the South Azerbaijani variety, but it is unclear whether these two varieties form one language, as the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) considers Northern and Southern Azerbaijani to be distinct languages.
Azerbaijani is the only official language in the Republic of Azerbaijan and one of the 14 official languages of Dagestan (a federal subject of Russia), but it does not have official status in Iran, where the majority of Iranian Azerbaijani people live. Azerbaijani is also spoken to lesser varying degrees in Azerbaijani communities of Georgia and Turkey and by diaspora communities, primarily in Europe and North America.
