ENDINGS REVEAL ROOTS

Extensive public debates on the nationalization of Russified Azerbaijani surnames have raised many questions. It all started when the Azerbaijani parliament prepared a document in January, under which the country must begin de-Russifying the endings of Azerbaijani surnames. A draft law has already been sent to President Ilham Aliyev for approval. MPs have expressed the hope that the law will be introduced by presidential decree. According to this law, the parents of all newborn children will be required to change the surnames of their babies, while other citizens will be encouraged by all means to change their surnames. However, parliament has still not reached a consensus as to what format Azerbaijani surnames should take. The Azerbaijani National Academy of Sciences (ANAS) set up a special commission to prepare a concept for the national identification of surnames. Thus, having studied the historical forms of surnames in Azerbaijan and name-giving traditions, the commission of specialists from various fields of science defined a format for national surnames with the endings "li", "l?", "lu" and "l?".

"The concept prepared by the ANAS special commission provides for the establishment of a state directory of names and surnames," said MP Nizami Cafarov, chairman of the Committee on Culture at the Azerbaijani parliament. According to a 1993 law on bringing the surnames of Azerbaijani citizens in line with the state language, citizens can change the endings "ov" and "ev" in their surnames to "l?", "li", "lu", "l?", "zada, "oglu" and "qizi", depending on the root of the word, or they may drop the ending completely. According to the law, citizens can use the new form of surnames until the ending of their surnames is replaced in official documents. No fee will be charged for new legal documents in connection with changing the endings of surnames. According to Cafarov, having studied the historical forms of surnames in Azerbaijan and naming traditions, the commission defined the format of national names in this way, and "the implementation of the concept will be possible after its adoption," he said. In turn, the head of the Public-Political Department of the Azerbaijani presidential administration, Ali Hasanov, believes that it would be better if Azerbaijani surnames ended in "az", like the country's internet domain. According to Ali Hasanov, the national identification of surnames is one question deserving of public debate. "Surnames and their endings are the national domain of each country. The technology identifying the affiliation of the nation is based on the national domain. In world practice, the ending of a surname helps identify the nation to which its bearer belongs. In some countries, identification is possible, but not here," Hasanov stressed.

How is it more national?

Of course, nobody argues with the fact that surnames must be changed and, in this case, their national identity is a necessity in the current reality. But what model should we choose and is this process to be compulsory? That's the question that the public is asking now. Compulsion is out of the question, because the law will only recommend but, as far as newborn children are concerned, whatever one may say, they will all bear Azerbaijani family names. Thank God! Now onto the question of what Azerbaijani surnames should be like in the context of historical relevance and Azerbaijani anthroponymy (anthropos - man and onoma - name - a given name or a combination of proper names that identify a person).

For example, the modern anthroponymic model (AM) of Azerbaijanis has three components: first name, middle name and surname, for example, a man is Ramin Adalat oglu Aliyev and a woman is Almaz Seyidali qizi Mammadova. However, according to research by ANAS scientists and historians, Azerbaijanis have not always had surnames. They appeared relatively recently - in the 19th century under the Russian tsarist regime. The Azerbaijani anthroponymic model consisted of a principal name and father's name with the word oglu (accusative case of the word "ogul" - "son"), zada ("son", "offspring") for men - for example, Ibrahim Sattar oglu, Suleymanbay Hasanzada, or qizi (accusative case of qiz - "daughter") - for example, Reyhan Qurban qizi - for women. This model is still used in Iranian Azerbaijan. The anthroponymic model "zada" was borrowed from the Persian language. Famous people or members of privileged classes had the endings "oglu" and "zada"; under the influence of the anthroponymic model, they formed their first surnames in the 19th century. Ordinary people usually had a base name carrying an identifying nickname, for example: Kecal Mammad - "bald Mammad", Colaq Abdullah - "lame Abdullah", Uzun Hasan - "long Hasan", etc.

The Azerbaijani anthroponymic model is characterized both by features common to most Turkic peoples and specific ones. The main stages of name formation are similar, as the cultural and historical formations of names coincide. In ancient times, people used names formed from words in their native language. As Islam spread, these were ousted, and only a few survived. The names introduced by Islam were mostly of Arab-Persian origin.

Azerbaijani surnames appeared in the 20th century, mainly under Soviet rule in Azerbaijan. At that time, the de-Islamization of Azerbaijani names began, and it was accompanied by anthroponyms borrowed from Russian and other national names. The formation of names was not standardized: it was based on the name of the father or grandfather. Assurnames were formed, the Azerbaijani anthroponymic model consisted of a name and a surname arising from the patronymic, which became a name with or without modifications. For example, Aliaga Salimzada or, in the Russified form, Bahram Mansurov or Kamala Vazirova. This is how the trinomial Azerbaijani anthroponymic model was formed: name + middle name + last name. Currently, some Azerbaijanis bear names which have the old forms of patronymic: Cafaroglu, Safaroglu, Ramazanzada, Almaszada, as well as names ending with "lu" or "li" from the transformation of the word "oglu": Cuvarli, Cabbarli, Qasimbayli and Seyidbayli. The majority of Russified Azerbaijani names end in ov(a) and ev(a): Aliyev, Samadov, Tagiyev and, rarely, in "ski" (skaya): Muganlinski, Susinski or Lambaranski, which are often formed from place names (Mugan, Susa, the village of Lambaran). Middle names appear in two forms: on the one hand, Mammad oglu or Ali qizi and, on the other - in the Russified form - Mamedovich or Aliyevna. As a mode of address to a man, often an older person or a superior, it is customary to use the word muallim ("teacher"), which loses its literal meaning in this case and becomes a token of respect, for example: Nasir muallim, Kamil muallim, Ahmad muallim. The word Mirza, which was added to the name when addressing an educated and learned person, is no longer in use. Due to changes in social circumstances, such titles as Haci, Qazi, Seyyid, Pasa, Xan, Bay, Vazir, Soltan and others, which were typical of men, also became a thing of the past. They were added to the names of ministers of religion, privileged people or officials. They survived as men's names: Haci, Pasa, Soltan, Elxan, Alibay and others.

Personalities

As for the anthroponymic model of Azerbaijani surnames ending with "zada", assertions by scientists and MPs that they are of Persian origin and are, therefore, not traditionally Azerbaijani, are partially true. But this ending has the right to exist within Azerbaijani names. Incidentally, this issue was the subject of a very intense debate in the live programme "Orta Maxrac" on Public TV (ITV). It must be remembered that, initially, the "surname" commission under the leadership of Nizami Cafarov believed that this ending should be removed, because it is of Persian origin. But a pundit who was present in the studio observed that there are is no convincing argument for questioning the "Azeri" nature of that ending, because it was not enforced by the state. Their argument was that "zada" is very common among Iranian Azerbaijanis. As a result, it was decided that surnames with this ending have a right to life, as a gesture of respect for Iranian Azerbaijanis, whose names we cannot change whatever we do. In addition, there is no doubt that this ending could not have been imposed on us by medieval Iran, because during its rule of the Caucasus, surnames were very rare, as throughout the whole Muslim world, and their adoption was voluntary. During the Russification of surnames and the issue of Soviet passports, there were some people who wished to remain "zada". And, in fact, they met no obstacles in doing so. Consequently, surnames with Persian endings could not really have been "imposed" in the Soviet era, because no-one had any reason to impose them - such models became common in Azerbaijan in the tsarist era. It turns out that before the establishment of Soviet rule, surnames ending with "zada" doubtlessly appeared upon the initiative of their bearers, i.e. this process could not be classified as an imposition by medieval Iran. All this suggests that the anthroponymic model of Azerbaijani names ending with "zada" is no less native to Azerbaijanis than "li". Moreover, in pre-Soviet Azerbaijan, surnames ending with "li" and "lu" were rare, yielding to "zada" in prevalence.

"Zada", "l?", "li" or "lu" - every Azerbaijani should decide for himself which option is preferable for him and, most likely, within a few decades, names ending in "ov" and "ev" will be rare in Azerbaijan. The linguistic discrepancies in surname endings creates significant sound disharmony and seriously impairs the beauty of Azerbaijani surnames. Yes, of course, the ending of surnames is not an indication of patriotism or love for the motherland. People's loyalty to their country is determined by other factors. There is no other way, as they say, even if you have the most nationalist family. But, still, we very much want Mustafayev, Alakbarov, Osmanov and Tagiyev to become Mustafali, Alakbarli, Osmansoy and Tagizada. The famous film director Oqtay Mirqasim gave up the Russified ending six years ago, believing that by this act he restored historical justice with respect to his ancestors. According to statistics, about 30 per cent of Azerbaijanis have changed their names so far. Some Azerbaijani celebrities have no intention of doing so, as their names are known far beyond our country. And this is right, because these individuals have done much to ensure that Azerbaijan is known, valued and respected - a country and its history is created by its people.