Sociolinguistic Situation of the Tat and Mountain Jews in Azerbaijan

Abstract

This paper presents the results of sociolinguistic research conducted in 2000 among the Tat and Mountain Jewish people living in northeastern Azerbaijan. These two groups are of particular interest since although the speech varieties are reported to be very close, the people see themselves as entirely distinct groups. The goals of the research were to investigate patterns of language use, bilingualism, and language attitudes in these two communities. Of particular interest is the relationship between perceived differences, actual differences, and geographic location. Interviews, observations, questionnaires, and Azerbaijani and Russian Sentence Repetition Tests were employed. An important part of the interviews dealt with perceived benefits of the various languages.*