Language and identity in a post-Soviet world: language of education and linguistic identity among Azerbaijani students

Azerbaijan’s complex history has weaved a tapestry of linguistic, cultural, and national
identities among Azerbaijanis through centuries of political, social, and linguistic
integration. In the current post-Soviet era, this identity is undergoing another period
of change, with influences from intra-state ethnic, religious, and sociopolitical
institutions as well as from regional and international powers. This article centers on
linguistic identity among Azerbaijani youth at three types of schools: Azerbaijanimedium,
Russian-medium, and English-medium. The authors seek to discover
whether and to what extent the language of instruction in each type of school affects
linguistic identity, which in turn has implications for national identity. The article first
discusses the existing literature on language and identity in second language
acquisition and socio-educational linguistics. It then examines Azerbaijan’s linguistic
and political history through the lens of the latter framework, as a context for an
analysis of the data from surveys and focus groups. The article analyzes the
relationship between medium of instruction in school and students’ perceptions of
language and identification with various language groups, and discusses the findings
of a significant correlation between language of instruction and linguistic identity,
with its implications for national identity.