«ՀԱՅՐԵՆԻՔ» ՀԱՍԿԱՑՈՒՅԹԻ ԼԵԶՎԱԿԱՆ ԴՐՍԵՎՈՐՈՒՄՆԵՐՆ ԱԴՐԲԵՋԱՆԵՐԵՆՈՒՄ

Abstract

The study is devoted to the analysis of the linguistic manifestations of the concept of homeland in the Azerbaijani language. As a multi-layered concept, it encompasses historical, social, cultural, and religious components. In the course of its development, the concept has undergone semantic expansion from denoting a small tribal territory to expressing the idea of a state. The analysis is based on the study of the words “Vətən” [væˈtæn] and “Yurd” [jurd], the former being of Arabic origin and the latter of Turkic origin. Despite their etymological, semantic, and functional differences, in modern Turkic languages, particularly in Azerbaijani, the word “Vətən” occupies a more dominant position than “Yurd.” This conclusion is supported by a quantitative analysis demonstrating differences in their frequency of use. From an analytical perspective, special attention is given to the examination of official, national-political, and literary discourse, as this makes it possible to identify the spheres of usage and semantic fields of these words. According to the findings, “Vətən” is predominantly used in state and political contexts, whereas “Yurd” has retained a more traditional, historical, and local meaning. It is rarely encountered in official language but continues to function in historical, folk, and colloquial speech.