August 1 is observed in Azerbaijan as the Day of the Azerbaijani Alphabet and Language, commemorating key milestones in the development and institutionalisation of the country’s state language.
As Caliber.Az recalls, the date was established by a decree signed on August 9, 2001, by national leader Heydar Aliyev. That same month marked the full completion of Azerbaijan’s transition to a Latin-based alphabet, a shift widely regarded as a pivotal moment in the country’s post-independence socio-political life and the evolution of its written cultural heritage.
Heydar Aliyev had earlier played a decisive role in securing the constitutional status of the Azerbaijani language. In 1977, during the adoption of the new Constitution of the USSR, he opposed the absence of provisions on a state language. At his initiative, an amendment was introduced to Article 73 during the seventh session of the Supreme Soviet of the Azerbaijan SSR on April 2, 1978, formally establishing Azerbaijani as the state language of the republic.
In the post-independence period, language policy was further institutionalised through a series of legal and administrative measures. On July 18, 2001, Aliyev signed the decree “On improving the application of the state language,” followed by the August 9 decree “On the establishment of the Day of the Azerbaijani Alphabet and Azerbaijani Language.” These steps were reinforced by the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On the State Language in the Republic of Azerbaijan,” which entered into force on January 2, 2003, outlining the core principles of state policy for preserving and developing the national language.
President Ilham Aliyev has continued this policy trajectory. A January 12, 2004 decree facilitated the large-scale publication of works in Azerbaijani using the Latin script. Additional measures that year included orders to publish the Azerbaijani National Encyclopedia, followed in 2007 by the approval of a list of works by prominent figures of world literature to be translated and published in Azerbaijani.
Further strategic direction was provided on April 9, 2013, when the president approved the State Program aimed at aligning the use of the Azerbaijani language with the demands of globalisation and advancing linguistic scholarship. The program emphasised expanded state support for language use, the development of linguistic research, and the promotion of both fundamental and applied studies.
This framework was subsequently reinforced by the November 1, 2018 decree “On measures to preserve the purity of the Azerbaijani language and further improve the use of the state language,” underscoring continued efforts to safeguard linguistic standards while adapting to modern challenges.
By Tamilla Hasanova
