A Generation of Silence: Why Armenian Schools Matter

Sevana Panosian

 

Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must be silent. – Ludwig Wittgenstein

The Armenian diaspora is slowly raising a generation of silence.

This statement may come as a shock, but it stems from the philosopher and linguist Ludwig Wittgenstein’s treatise on language where he states “the limits of my language mean the limits of my world.”

I remember learning about his theories in graduate school while studying other linguistic theorists like Mikhael Bakhtin, but these words entered the “where are they now” files of my musings and memory until I heard my older daughter correct my younger daughter as she spoke about the importance of being Armenian and her pride in balancing her ability to code switch not only between English and Armenian, but also between Western and Eastern Armenian.

Gus on the Go: Armenian Language Apps for Children

The Armenian General Benevolent Union (AGBU) has announced the launch of the Western and Eastern Armenian versions of the Gus on the Go language app for children. AGBU is partnering with toojuice, LLC-the creators of Gus on the Go-to encourage young children to discover the Armenian language through interactive vocabulary lessons and games. The app is now available for download for $3.99 USD on both iOS and Android devices.

Vay, vay, vay

Kristi Rendahl

 

Armenians are quick to tell you what a rich language they have, and with good cause. Those 39 letters (or 36, depending on who’s reading this) (*) have a history. There’s a reason why my friends at Manana Youth Center are raising money to create an animated film series of the Armenian alphabet. It’s rich, and it’s relevant.

There are a few Armenian expressions that stand out from the rest for me. Words that are the only appropriate way to convey something, whether I’m speaking with an Armenian or an American or a Liberian. “You’re speaking from a warm place,” I’ll say in English, explaining that it’s an Armenian expression for someone who is in a convenient position to have a given attitude or belief.

Council for the Preservation of Western Armenian Language Nominated

After consultation with educational and cultural organizations and Western Armenian linguists, Catholicos of the Holy See of Cilicia Aram I nominated a diaspora-wide 25-member Council to work towards the preservation and protection of Western Armenian language.

The creation of the Council for the Preservation of Western Armenian Language had been recommended at a conference Catholicos Aram I organized in 2011 in Bikfaya, Lebanon to study how the Armenian Genocide and its consequent diaspora had affected the usage of the language.

The nominees to the Council living in Lebanon met with His Holiness on July 12, 2012. They received the list of members and a draft document, stating the goals and programmatic guidelines, which has been sent to all members asking for their input. The goals and guidelines will be publicized after all comments are incorporated.   

I Don’t Want to Hear About It. It Makes Me Feel Guilty

Arda Jebejian

“We must know the white man language to survive in this world. But we must know our language to survive forever.” (Darryl Babe Wilson, a Native American)The recent well-justified alarm that Western Armenian is among the world’s thousands of endangered languages (that is, predicted to die in the next 100 years), important though it is, prognostications foretelling disaster are not enough. What this language, culture and people need is the development of therapeutic undertakings and approaches. The case of endangered languages is just a short-cut way of referring to endangered cultures and cultural identities, especially in an era where globalization, definitely not a culturally neutral or impartial phenomenon, has rendered reversing language shift an unequal struggle for linguists.

A CD of Seven Songs and Seven Stories Told in Western Armenian

Եւ երկինքէն եօթը խնձոր ինկաւ... This is the title of a CD with seven Armenian stories (told in Western Armenian) for children between the ages of 5 to 12. Each story has a song and inside the package there’s also a booklet, where you can find the song lyrics and the story characters in black and white, so the child could color them.
The CD was released in December 2011 in Aleppo, Syria.
"Azad-Hye" interviewed Nanor Mikayelian, one of the persons behind the project (and the singer of the seven songs):

Third All-Diaspora Educational Conference Dedicated to Western Armenian Language

On Thursday, August 18, 2011, the third in a series of conferences on Ärmenian education, titled “Challenges and Prospects for Western Armenian," opened at St. Mary’s Monastery in Bikfaya. The conference was organized by the Catholicosate of Cilicia under the sponsorship of His Holiness Aram I. Armenian language specialists from Armenia, Europe, Lebanon, North and South America, Syria, Turkey and other countries of the Middle East were invited to the conference.

Armenian Language Dilemma Draws Positive Feedback

Ten-year-old Meline Almasian doesn’t have the perfect remedy to saving the Armenian language from extinction in America. But she does offer a solution on how to preserve the Mother Tongue and keep it solvent: “Go to church, hear the language spoken, and treat it like a learning lesson,” she says. “If any language dies, it’s only because people let it die. It’s up to all of us to keep the language alive—young and old.”

Is Armenian Language Dying a Slow Death in America?

As an Armenian School instructor over the past 40 years at my church, I’ve come to the sobering realization that our language is beginning to slowly dissipate.

Sad to admit, today’s students don’t appear to gravitate toward the mother tongue. They would prefer to see their class time devoted to more “interesting” subjects like Hai Tahd, current events, genocide education, and the country itself.

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Listening to (and Saving) the World's Languages

There is an extensive collection of endangered languages around the world. This article by Sam Roberts ("The New York Times," April 29, 2010) reports about efforts to record and save some of those languages, such as Aramaic (the language spoken by Jesus) and Yiddish, for posterity. While Armenian or Armenians are not mentioned in the article, it is important to be aware that Western Armenian is also listed in the catalog of endangered languages compiled by Unesco. To be aware means nothing, indeed. To be aware of the need for serious work to improve the situation is crucial. This article may be read as a call for attention.