The term soft power, developed by Joseph Nye, is a widely popular concept used to describe efforts to attract rather than coerce as means of persuasion. Language, which is widely viewed as a traditional (not to say extremely important) component of nationhood and a symbol of identity and group consciousness, can be used as an expression of soft power resources within this context. It is apparent that in today’s globalized world, the role of international languages as global means of communication has increased considerably. At the same time, English has become the de facto lingua franca in international trade, academia, technology and many other fields. Against this background, this article examines the impact of language as a soft power resource in the case of the Republic of Azerbaijan, which is a multi-ethnic state located at the crossroads of Europe and Asia. Due to its geographic location, the constant migrations of people who have passed through its territory throughout the centuries, and it has long been a zone of active interaction of languages, cultures and civilizations.

中文翻译：

---

语言作为软实力资源

由约瑟夫·奈 (Joseph Nye) 提出的软实力一词是一个广受欢迎的概念，用于描述作为说服手段的吸引而不是胁迫的努力。语言被广泛视为国家的传统（不是说极其重要）组成部分，是身份和群体意识的象征，在这种背景下可以用作软实力资源的表达。很明显，在当今全球化的世界中，国际语言作为全球交流手段的作用已大大增加。与此同时，英语已成为国际贸易、学术、科技等诸多领域事实上的通用语言。在此背景下，本文以阿塞拜疆共和国为例，考察了语言作为软实力资源的影响，这是一个多民族国家，位于欧亚交界处。由于其地理位置，几个世纪以来穿越其领土的人们不断迁徙，长期以来一直是语言、文化和文明活跃互动的地区。