The Azerbaijani language , also called Azeri , Azari , Azeri Turkic , or Azerbaijani Turkic , is a Turkic language that is spoken in Azerbaijan and northwestern Iran . Azerbaijani or Azeri or Torki ( AzÉ rbaycanca , AzÉ rbaycan dili ) is a dialect belonging to the Turkic language family , spoken in southwestern Asia , primarily in Azerbaijan and northwestern Iran . Azerbaijani is member of the Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages and is closely related to Turkish , Qashqai and Turkmen .