Azerbaijani (/ˌæzərbaɪˈdʒɑːni/, /ˌɑː-/, /-ˈʒɑːni/) or Azeri (/æˈzɛəri/, /ɑːˈ-/ /əˈ-/), also referred to as Azerbaijani Turkish or Azeri Turkish, or just Turkish is a Turkic language spoken primarily by the Azerbaijanis, who are concentrated mainly in Transcaucasia and Iranian Azerbaijan. The language has official status in Azerbaijan and Dagestan (a federal subject of Russia) but it does not have official status in Iranian Azerbaijan, where the majority of Azerbaijanis live. It is also spoken to lesser varying degrees in Azerbaijani communities of Georgia, Iraq, and Turkey and by diaspora communities, primarily in Europe and North America. Azerbaijani is a member of the Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages. It has two primary divisions, North Azerbaijani (spoken in the Republic of Azerbaijan and Russia) and South Azerbaijani (spoken in Iran), and is closely related to Turkish, Qashqai, Turkmen and Crimean Tatar, sharing varying degrees of mutual intelligibility with each of those languages.

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