31 December 2011

Everything Is Qəşəng When You Listen to the D-O-G



This song (which I have as a ring tone on my phone now) is an example of how qəşəng has been used in pop culture here.  The other day I heard this song blasting from three different cars in 45 seconds.  I highly encourage you to make it your ring tone and spread the qəşəng.

"Qəşəng" (or without special characters: "Qesheng") is an adjective that means "nice," "fine," "beautiful," or "cute" and can be used to describe everything from a new pair of shoes to a person, car, suit, or kitchen remodel.  And if you think  something (or someone) is especially qəşəng, you can emphasize the qəşəng-ness by saying "qəşəng-qəşəng."

It's one of the first Azərbaycani words that many Peace Corps Volunteers here adopted into common usage (whether we were speaking Azərbaycani or not), and in the English/American tradition of being playful with language, we have gone further and taken to using this adjective as a verb, as in the sentence above, and other parts of speech.*  And as a few of us have discussed, we think it should be Candidate Number One for Azərbaycani Words to Introduce into American Slang.  

The Urban Dictionary entry might look like this:

qəşəng ("ge-sheng" - IPA pronunciation: gæ ʃæŋ)

1. adj. - nice, lovely, beautiful, pretty, handsome.

Dude, that new ride is qəşəng.

Oh my God, Becky, did you see that totally qəşəng guy at the bar?

It's our anniversary - I have to get her something qəşəng.

2. adv. - nicely, gracefully, elegantly.  

Have you heard her perform without autotuning?  She doesn't actually sing so qəşəng.

3. verb (transitive) - to make beautiful, nice, or pretty.

Every year after Thanksgiving, we buy a Christmas tree and qəşəng it up with the whole family.

Those earrings would really qəşəng your outfit.

4.  See also qəşəngify, qəşəngness, and qəşəng-y.

Go forth and qəşəng yo' slang.

*Nerd alert: Using a word as a part of speech that is different from its normal or conventional usage is a rhetorical technique known as "anthimeria."

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