Congratulations, my Mother Language!

Of course, Mother Language Day is not one of those holidays that people celebrate with songs and dances. This is a spiritual holiday for paying homage to and glorifying our golden Mother Language. It also serves as an opportunity to talk about the state of the language.

It is with sadness that I remember seeing an Armenian sign posted by the State Language Inspectorate of the RA Ministry of Education and Science next to the series of large foreign-language billboards on the major streets of the city. The first point of the sign read “The state language in the Republic of Armenia is Armenian”, and the second point read “Let’s maintain the purity of our mother language”. Basically, the government stated the fact that the Mother Language was being ignored and distorted in the Mother Homeland.

Let’s not delve into the historical truths that our language is what helped us preserve our identity, how splendid the words of the Holy Book, the plays of Shakespeare and many classics of the world sound in our language. Let’s simply state the fact that our language no longer shines with its beautiful sounds and rich vocabulary.

Every day, we distort, demean and impoverish our language. Of course, we love that which is foreign. We attach importance to, learn and love foreign languages, but we forget that the fact that the language is a State Language gives us the right and privilege to be the first and the major, but in our country, our state language is neither the first nor the major. The disrespectful attitude towards the language can be seen on television, in the media, on websites and heard in the speeches of many officials, Members of Parliament and even intellectuals.

Written speech is also what helps bear, transmit, protect and preserve the language and instill love, admiration for and pride in the language. Unfortunately, there is not much interest in books. During the days of national awakening, there were many things to admire. The state language was Armenian, the official newspapers were in Armenian, and the signs and billboards were in Armenian.

Our language, which is worth being proud of, needs to be loved, taken care of, protected and appreciated. It is simply our duty to stand up for the Mother Language, just like we stand up for the Mother Homeland and Mother Nature.

The soldiers of St. Vardan were martyred so that Armenians could pray to God in Armenian, the language that God gave as a gift. Today, it is necessary for each of us to fight for the language, especially since Mother Language Day precedes the day of commemoration of the martyrs of Vardan.

P.S.: In 2007, I took an interview from Hranush Hakobyan, who was a Deputy of the National Assembly at the time. When asked what the language in the National Assembly was like, she said the following: “It is very bad. There was a time when I proposed to the Speaker of the National Assembly to establish a two- or three-member group that would follow the language being spoken in the sessions hall and present and explain every mistake. The group would not only correct the mistakes orally, but also send a notice to the given parliamentarian in writing. It is obvious that one can make mistakes in spoken Armenian, and that is why I believe there needs to be oversight.” When I jokingly asked if it wasn’t necessary to hold Armenian language courses in parliament, she said: “Yes! It depends on what kind of mental abilities the deputies of the next National Assembly have.”

Janna Ghochikyan, journalist, poet

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