Hamshen Armenians: “Why doesn’t our language have writing?”



https://v.redd.it/kgyii3zirfxc1

Posted by TheJaymort

2 Comments

  1. Watch the full video [here.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hla0TYV3Ijo)

    “Mer lizus inçi kir ç’uni, anuben inçi ç’uni mer lizus? Homşetsnakı inçi mek keuş ç’ka, inçik ç’ka, sade xarbi guk. İnça, molorvats a ta?”

    “Ç’gidim orti, inç asim”

    Hopefully this should be easy enough to understand. Some words you might not get, Sade = only, Xarbi (Xarbuş) = to speak.

    It is so sad to see a people, our own people, subjected to such heavy discrimination and denial of their identity by the state that this is what they have to say. My dear Hemshin friends, your language has an alphabet and a very rich and long literary tradition. It is called Armenian, and you have been separated from it only thanks to the genocidal efforts of Turkey. All that stands in your way is coming to terms with it, your Islamic religion is not an issue for the vast majority of people. Say no and resist the decades of ethno-nationalist propaganda instilled in you by the Kemalist regime that only served to destroy your unique identity and language. By recognizing your Armenian identity, you will have a much much larger group of people to back you up in all things. And us as Armenians need to do everything in our power to help them along the way.

  2. aScottishBoat on

    There’s a wonderful Hamshen linguist (forgetting his name) who is very active on Twitter who posts educational videos about Hamshen culture (and highlighting that it is a unique part of Armenian culture). As such, I think the Armenian government and Armenian NGO’s should work with local group(s) focusing on its revival.