Script change in Azerbaijan: acts of identity

Abstract

Each of the three major script changes of the Azeri language in the twentieth century, from traditional Arabic to Latin, to Cyrillic, and back to Latin, reflected assertions of identity in the changing social and political realities. Each of these changes represented a decision related to the allegiance of the nation, sometimes voluntary and sometimes forced. Yet none of these changes were without both significant benefits and challenges to the cohesion of Azerbaijani identity.