The impact of globalization and digitalization on the Azerbaijani language

Abstract

The rapid advancement of digital technologies and globalization processes poses significant challenges for minority and regional languages worldwide, with the Azerbaijani language representing a critical case study in contemporary sociolinguistic transformation. This study addresses the multifaceted impact of digital communication platforms, social media integration, and global connectivity on Azerbaijani language use. It was found three critical challenges confronting modern Azerbaijani: (1) the proliferation of unregulated borrowings from English, Russian, and Turkish creates semantic overload and syntactic inconsistencies, particularly in technical and commercial domains; (2) the absence of standardized corpora and AI-powered language tools marginalizes Azerbaijani in natural language processing applications, limiting its digital infrastructure development; and (3) informal digital communication practices encourage non-standardized usage patterns that deviate from traditional grammatical structures. These findings demonstrate that unchecked globalization threatens to peripheralize Azerbaijani in professional, academic, and digital spheres, although simultaneously may create opportunities for linguistic innovation and cultural exchange. The implications of this research extend beyond descriptive linguistics to practical language policy and technological development. We advocate for strategic interventions including language-specific AI research investment, establishment of national terminology standardization councils, and development of publicly accessible intelligent language tools. We believe these measures are essential for ensuring the language's sustainable growth and cultural preservation in an increasingly digitalized/connected world, providing a framework applicable to other endangered and/or minority languages facing similar technological pressures.