International Mother Language Day (February 21^st) is not the only reason why experts concerned about the issues of language and few members of Armenian society are expressing their disappointment in the presses and on social networks against those distorting the Armenian language, as well as trying to propose solutions, find ways out of the situation and knock on the doors of relevant authorities to solve the problems with the distortions of the Armenian language, which is one of the major pillars for the national identity and survival of the Armenian nation. My interview with Doctor of Philological Sciences, Professor Martin Gilavyan for Hayern Aysor was devoted to this topic.

Karine Avagyan: Mr. Gilavyan, let’s start with your academic career.

Martin Gilavyan: My area of study is Modern Armenian Poetry, starting from the 1960s and leading up to our days. I have also studied literary connections, and the topic of my dissertation for candidacy was “Russian Symbolism and Eastern Armenian Poetry”. The topic of my doctoral work was “The Trends and Standards of Development of Armenian Poetry in the 1950s and 1960s”. Currently, I am mainly examining contemporary Armenian poets. I have quite a lot of articles devoted to Aksel Bakunts, Sero Khanzadyan, Vardges Petrosyan and Suren Ayvazyan. My latest article was devoted to Gonzalo Guanch’s novel “Armenian Family Tree”, which was printed in Garoun magazine. It is a wonderful work by a foreign writer devoted to the Armenian Genocide and is included in the book that I literally released recently.

Karine Avagyan: You are a philologist and a literary critic. You are also one of those supporting beautiful speech and use of the beautiful native language and are obviously concerned about the distortions of the Armenian language. On February 21^st, we Armenians will celebrate Mother Language Day which, as you know, is one of the initiatives of the Minister of Diaspora of the Republic of Armenia. What do you have to say on this occasion?

Martin Gilavyan: The day is truly very symbolic and significant. Out of the numerous and several kinds of holidays that we celebrate today, it stands out with its content, profitability and importance. The current state of the Armenian language is very complicated…

Karine Avagyan: Can we say that the current state of the language is devastating?

Martin Gilavyan: It is even very devastating. You feel angry and disappointed whenever you read a book in Armenian, listen to Armenian on television and radio and even the speeches by Armenian Members of Parliament. I don’t even want to talk about Armenian soap operas. I get the impression that somebody wants to “take revenge from” our language. The taste and sweetness of our beautiful language, that is, the language of Bakunts and Sahyan are lost…When you listen to the speeches of certain Members of Parliament, you ask yourself if they actually learned Armenian in school…This might sound a little rude, but the language of minibus drivers prevails, and the most painful thing is that that language is used in homes, at schools, in the presses, on television and in the National Assembly…I think the current state of the Armenian language is devastating, and I welcome the initiative of the Minister of Diaspora and consider it a very helpful and pro-national initiative. The holiday has to become more popular and be celebrated at schools, in homes and in every corner of Armenia. We Armenians need to rediscover the taste of our national language, but this doesn’t mean that every Armenian needs to speak in his or her dialect, even though dialects are the source for enrichment of a language and are a golden treasure that we need to benefit from.

Karine Avagyan: Mr. Gilavyan, what methods can help us at least reduce the number of distortions of the Armenian language, if not eliminate them?

Martin Gilavyan: I think the government needs to somewhat increase the role of the State Language Inspectorate and give it some levers, be it in the form of fines or through other methods. For instance, if somebody has placed a sign on his store that is only in a foreign language, the store needs to be closed down so that it can serve as a lesson for others. However, I don’t think this is realistic. Many Armenians post signs in English on their stores. It is as if only the English or English speakers will buy products from their stores or all Armenians are fluent in English. At the end of the day, our state language is Armenian. We can also impose fines that will hit the pockets of those distorting the language. There might be other levers. Perhaps the government can pay bonuses to Armenian language teachers. This is also one of the methods. I would like to touch upon publishing houses. They are free to do whatever they want. There is no censure. However, this doesn’t mean that anyone with money can publish a book and present it to the public. The concept of editor doesn’t exist in Armenia, or is merely formal. We especially need to pay a lot of attention to children’s literature. We can’t present whatever there is to children. The books for children should at least be examined through some kind of channel. We need to be careful and oversee the field. Let’s not forget that we are dealing with children. We have to do a lot for the language. We must not spare any effort to maintain the purity of the language. Language is the first guarantee for preservation of the national identity. It is not by chance that schools and fortresses were built in the bordering states and regions of Armenia after Mesrop Mashtots invented the Armenian alphabet, not churches. Schools played the role of a castle or fortress. The Armenian language teachers and schoolchildren of the school were the “border guards” of the fortress. We must not forget the lessons of history. Paruyr Sevak once put it wonderfully when he said the following: “For the progressive nations of the world, history is the strong lantern lighting the path to be passed, but very often we turn history into a shield for us and walk after it in fear.” Language is more powerful than a weapon. Hamo Sahyan also put it wonderfully when he said the following: “The power and force of a nation is measured not by the weapons and the number of troops it has, but by the depth and width of its spiritual struggle.” Gevorg Emin wrote: “…Use words carefully as you would use lead. Know that the bullet and a letter are molded from lead.”

Karine Avagyan: What do you have to say about the frequent replacement of the auxiliary verb “է” (eh) with the letter “ա” (ah)?

Martin Gilavyan: It is the lesser of two evils. If Armenian MPs can express their thoughts in pure literary Armenian words, it is fine if they use the letter “ա” (ah), but when many people say “Գողագոթա” (Goghagota) instead of “Գողգոթա” (Goghgota), or “հույսնը” (huysne) instead of “հյուսնի” (hyusni) and other similar ridiculous words and phrases, that is horrible.

Karine Avagyan: What about books that nobody reads?

Martin Gilavyan: In the Soviet era, books were printed in 50,000 copies and even 100,000 copies, but that was also not the right thing to do. In his living years, Apoliner, one of the greatest poets of France, published 500 copies and was amazed, asking himself if there were actually 500 people who understood poetry in a country with a population of 70,000,000. There were books being published in 100,000 copies in Armenia, and books were sort of cheap. Of course, there are not that many copies, and perhaps this is right. Reading books is not the only way children can learn the language well. In our days, television and the Internet play a major role. If a given television station is owned by a certain person, it doesn’t mean that he or she can broadcast any kind of garbage on television. It would be nice to see every television station have an editor who knows Armenian very well and has great work experience. There is a need to create and increase the number of literary and artistic programs. Instead of cheap soap operas, television stations need to broadcast programs devoted to Armenian language, history and literature, just like in the days of the former USSR.

Karine Avagyan: Mr. Gilavyan, as far as I know, there are not as many people wishing to receive an education in philology these days as there were during my years of study, and I think most of the students are female, right? Do you see future fighters among your students?

Martin Gilavyan: I must say that I have always had a high opinion of young Armenians. Every next generation is definitely smarter and more developed than the previous one. I wouldn’t say that there are many students applying for admission to the Faculty of Philology, and this is mainly due to the lack of high school graduates. The main applicants are young people who are devoted to philology. Up to 95 percent of the students of the Pedagogical University are from villages and mainly from families of pedagogues. Most of them are female, and the spots for PhD students are almost vacant. The boys have a problem with maintaining a family in the future. Our Faculty has good future Armenian language teachers, and there are few students who are future writers and are creative. Let’s not forget that notable writers Sero Khanzadyan, Hrant Matevosyan and Razmik Davoyan have graduated from our Faculty…

Karine Avagyan: People today talk with dialects and daily conversational dialects. Which is the most dangerous in terms of loss or distortion of the language?

Martin Gilavyan: Jargon! Dialects don’t present any danger. They are the “spice” of our language. It’s not everywhere you can use literary language or the language used in offices.

Karine Avagyan: What is your wish on the occasion of International Mother Language Day?

Martin Gilavyan: We must always celebrate the mother language, not just on the occasion of the holiday. As Hemingway said – a holiday, which is always with you. It is our duty to preserve the mother language and live for the mother language.

Karine Avagyan: Mr. Gilavyan, let’s end our interview with your favorite saying about the Armenian language.

Martin Gilavyan: Once again, I will cite Sevak who, in his article entitled “Pen against Sword”, expresses the following thought: “In terms of significance, none of the glorious victories that our warriors have achieved can be compared to the victory that Mashtots achieved with his small, 36-member detachment.”

Karine Avagyan: Thank you, Mr. Gilavyan! Let’s hope Mother Language Day becomes even more resonant from now on and also contributes to the protection and preservation of the purity of our “golden” mother language.

Karine Avagyan