THE LANGUAGE QUESTION IN THE FUYUZAT JOURNAL: NATIONAL IDENTITY AND LINGUISTIC MODERNIZATION IN EARLY 20TH CENTURY AZERBAIJAN"

Abstract This article explores the language question in the Füyuzat journal, a significant Azerbaijani periodical published in the early 20th century. As part of the national awakening and modernization processes in the Muslim East, Fuyuzat played a central role in shaping linguistic identity and promoting the use of a modernized Turkic language. The study analyzes the journal’s discourse on language, particularly the debates on the standardization, purification, and modernization of Azerbaijani Turkish. By examining the views of key intellectuals such as Ali bey Huseynzade and others, the article reveals how language was positioned as a cornerstone of national consciousness and cultural development. The research draws on textual analysis of selected articles from Fuyuzat and situates them within the broader sociopolitical and intellectual movements of the time. The findings demonstrate that Fuyuzat’s language policy reflected both a reaction to colonial influences and an aspiration for cultural independence through linguistic unity.