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Etymology and background

Historically, the language was referred to by its native speakers as türk dili or türkcə, meaning either "Turkish" or "Turkic". In the early years following the establishment of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic, the language was still referred to as "Turkish" in official documents. However, in the 1930s, its name was officially changed to "Azerbaijani". The language is often still referred to as Turki or Torki in Iranian Azerbaijan. The term "Azeri", generally interchangeable with "Azerbaijani", is from Turkish Azeri which is used for the people (azerice being used for the language in Turkish), itself from Persian آذری, Āzarī. The term is also used for Old Azeri, the ancient Iranian language spoken in the region until the 17th century.