The Concept of Mugham in the Azerbaijani Language

Authors

  • Mansura Shukur qizi Ahmadova

    Department of Languages and Literatures, Khazar University, Baku AZ1096, Azerbaijan
  • Rasim Arif oglu Heydarov

    Department of Languages and Literatures, Khazar University, Baku AZ1096, Azerbaijan

    Department of Theoretical Linguistics and Turkic Languages, Eurasian University, Baku AZ1110, Azerbaijan

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.30564/fls.v7i11.8970
Received: 5 March 2025 | Revised: 16 May 2025 | Accepted: 15 August 2025 | Published Online: 17 October 2025

Abstract

In this article music, one of the unique pieces has been studied as the means of expression of national values and folk thought in the conceptual system. Talking about Azerbaijani culture and Azerbaijani music, "mugham" that has a matchless importance and value mass is especially highlighted. Mugham's being accepted as a concept and being studied is one of the main objectives of conceptual linguistics. However, though up to the contemporary period, mugham has been studied in terms of structure and internal consistency and from philosophical, national and some several other aspects in the countries such as Azerbaijan, Turkey, Russia, Ukraine, Arabia, Germany and Iran, it still hasn't been investigated as a linguistic fact. From this point of view, mugham has been approached in a conceptual way in our research, its all-verbal base has been explained as a means of expression of Azerbaijani thinking. That is to say, mugham has been explored as a part of cultural thinking and all the internal structure of a mugham dastgāh has been interpreted from lexical and semantic aspects. It is worth pointing out that mugham has been involved in the research in a broad sense in this article. And each of the mugham dastgāhs is a topic of separate studies.

Keywords:

Conceptual Linguistics; Music Concept; Mugham Concept; Conceptual System; Conceptual Metaphor

References

[1] Lakoff, G., Johnson, M., 1980. Metaphors We Live by. University of Chicago Press: Chicago, IL, USA.

[2] Rajabli, A., 2021. Cognitive Linguistics. Elm və Təhsil: Baku, Azerbaijan. pp. 304. (in Azerbaijani)

[3] Johnson, M., 1987. The Body in the Mind: The Bodily Basis of Meaning, Imagination, and Reason. University of Chicago Press: Chicago, IL, USA.

[4] Lakoff, G., 1987. Women, Fire, and Dangerous Things: What Categories Reveal About the Mind. University of Chicago Press: Chicago, IL, USA.

[5] Evans, V., Green, M., 2006. Cognitive Linguistics: An Introduction. Edinburgh University Press: Edinburgh, UK.

[6] Merriam, A.P., 1964. The Anthropology of Music. Northwestern University Press: Evanston, IL, USA.

[7] Badalbeyli, A., 2017. Expository Monographical Music Dictionary. Baku Music Academy named after Ü. Hajibeyli Press: Baku, Azerbaijan. (in Azerbaijani)

[8] Abdullayeva, S.A., 2018. Music in Nizami, Nizami in Music. Nurlan: Baku, Azerbaijan. (in Azerbaijani)

[9] Aslanoglu, A., 2004. Mugham Poetics and Cognition. Elm: Baku, Azerbaijan. (in Azerbaijani)

[10] Naroditskaya, I., 2003. Song from the Land of Fire: Continuity and Azerbaijanian Mugham. Routledge: New York, NY, USA; London, UK.

[11] UNESCO, 1975. UNESCO Collection of Traditional Music of the World. UNESCO: Paris, France.

[12] NASA, 1977. Music from Earth. Available from: https://voyager.jpl.nasa.gov/golden-record/whats-on-the-record/music/ (cited 1 March 2025).

[13] Farhadova, S.M., 2018. Historical roots of the Azerbaijani Mugham-Dastgah. Science Development Foundation under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan: Baku, Azerbaijani.

[14] Hajibeyov, U., 2019. The Basics of Azerbaijani Folk Music. Sharg-Qarb: Baku, Azerbaijan.

[15] Imrani, R., 1998. Mugham History. Elm: Baku, Azerbaijan.

[16] Vahabzade, B., 2004. Selected Works. Vol. 2 (Poems). Ondar: Baku, Azerbaijan.

[17] Hajibeyov, U., 2005. Works. Vol. 2. Sharg-Qarb: Baku, Azerbaijan.

[18] Youssefzadeh, A., 2000. The situation of music in Iran since the revolution: The role of official organizations. British Journal of Ethnomusicology. 9(2), 35–61. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/09681220008567325

[19] Huseynova, A., 2016. Music of Azerbaijan: From Mugham to Opera. Indiana University Press: Bloomington, IL, USA.

[20] Nasimi, I., 2004. Selected Works. Vol. 1. Lider Publishing: Baku, Azerbaijan. p. 336.

[21] Mahərrami, I., 2010. Mugham’s Formation History. Baku, Azerbaijan.

[22] Hajibeyov, U., 2006. Explanatory dictionary of the Azerbaijani language. Sharq-Qarb: Baku, Azerbaijan.

[23] Fakhraddin, A., 2015. Azerbaijani Mugham in Miniatures. Sharg-Qarb: Baku, Azerbaijan.

[24] Bunyadzade, K.Y., 2018. Mugham Philosophy. Science Development Foundation under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan: Baku, Azerbaijan.

[25] Akhundov, İ., 2015. Azerbaijani Mughams. Mutarjim: Baku, Azerbaijan.

[26] Karimov, M., 2003. Azerbaijani Musical Instruments. Yeni Nasıl: Baku, Azerbaijan.

[27] Badalbeyli, A., 1929. Judgment on the Tar: The Tar is a National Musical Instrument of the Azerbaijani People. Kommunist, 11 November 1929. Available from: http://afrasiyab.musigi-dunya.az/az/articles_16.html (cited 26 February 2025).

[28] Rahimov, M., 2010. Craftsmanship and performance art of the Tar, a long-necked string musical instrument. Intangible Cultural Heritage. Available from: https://ich.unesco.org/en/RL/craftsmanship-and-performance-art-of-the-tar-a-long-necked-string-musical-instrument-00671 (cited 26 February 2025).

[29] During, J., 2003. The Spirit of Sounds: The Unique Art of Ostad Elahi (1895–1974). Cornwall Books: New York, NY, USA.

Downloads

How to Cite

qizi Ahmadova, M. S., & oglu Heydarov, R. A. (2025). The Concept of Mugham in the Azerbaijani Language. Forum for Linguistic Studies, 7(11), 13–26. https://doi.org/10.30564/fls.v7i11.8970

Issue

Vol. 7 , Iss. 11 (November 2025): In progress

Article Type

Article

License

Copyright © 2025 Mansura Shukur qizi Ahmadova, Rasim Arif oglu Heydarov

Creative Commons License

This is an open access article under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0) License.