Samina Sabir Abdullayeva

THE NORM OF RELATIVELY LIMITED-USE WORDS  IN THE AZERBAIJANI LANGUAGE

Abstract. In the Azerbaijani language, there exists a group of words that do not have broad possibilities of usage in the lexicon. Such words either reflect a certain socio-cultural context or are used in the speech of specific specialists, including artists and professionals. These words belong to the general lexical layer of the language and reflect its rich lexical diversity. Words of this type, which do not acquire an active and general-usage character in the Azerbaijani lexicon, can be considered a group of relatively limited-use vocabulary, as they are still part of the overall lexical system. This group includes archaisms, dialectisms, and terminological vocabulary. Archaisms, within the synchronic layer of the language, have limited usage and reflect historical, social, everyday, and other ethnographic concepts, creating a national and ethnic color. This constitutes the general norm of archaisms.

Dialectisms express both historical-diachronic and contemporary synchronic concepts. They also reflect local ethnic features of mentality. A certain part of dialectisms may enter the general vocabulary, as a result of which instability of norm is observed in their local and regional forms, whereas in the general vocabulary stable normative functioning is established. Terms related to specific fields of activity function in accordance with the norm of obligatory speech usage. Those that enter the general lexical fund may acquire a stable norm in both spoken and written language.

Keywords: archaisms, dialectisms, terms, lexical norm, Azerbaijani language, words of limited usage, vocabulary