The mother language is the most important guarantee for the existence of the Armenian nation. Based on that, in 2005, an amendment was made to the Law of the Republic of Armenia “On Holidays and Days of Remembrance”, and February 21^st was marked as International Mother Language Day on the holiday calendar in Armenia.

The initiative to celebrate this international holiday was the initiative of then Chair of the Standing Committee on Education, Science, Culture and Youth Affairs of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia and current RA Minister of Diaspora Hranush Hakobyan, with whom “Hayern Aysor”’s correspondent sat down for a short interview.

Mrs. Hakobyan, I would like to ask you to briefly describe the following:

The mother language  is…

Hranush Hakobyan: It is my essence, the backbone of an Armenian, as well as one of the foundations for the existence of the Armenian nation.

“Hayern Aysor”: The symbol of the mother language is…

H. H.: To cherish the mother language, to make the pure Armenian language become the main weapon for Armenians, as well as to send the message especially to Armenians abroad, letting them know that they always have to learn Armenian.

“Hayern Aysor”: Eastern Armenian is…

H. H.: The official language of the Armenian nation that has helped maintain and protect the Armenians in this territory for many years.

“Hayern Aysor”: Western Armenian is…

H. H.: The wealth of the Armenian nation, the other branch of the Armenian language that serves as the basis of existence of the Armenian Diaspora. To this day, the Armenian Diaspora fights for the protection and preservation of that heritage.

“Hayern Aysor”: Classic Armenian orthography is…

H. H. It is the Armenian orthography created on the basis of grabar (classic Armenian), the preservation of which also required a lot of efforts from the Armenian people. This goes to show that the Armenian Diaspora managed to protect and preserve literary speech without a state and without politics.

“Hayern Aysor”: The new orthography is…

H. H. Discussions, viewpoints, questions and varying opinions, but I think there will come a day when we Armenians will finally have a unified language and orthography.

“Hayern Aysor”: Your favorite poet(s) is(are)…

H. H.: I have many favorite poets, including Sevak, Shiraz, Duryan, Varuzhan, Tekeyan, Sahyan and Davtyan.

“Hayern Aysor”: Your favorite words or poem devoted to the Armenian language is…

H. H.: Armenians have many poems devoted to the Armenian language, and the descriptions are very powerful. For instance, Avetik Isahakyan’s words: “The Homeland is language. It unites the past, present and future, the dead and the living, it eternalizes the nation and keeps its spiritual treasures in a database.”

Hamo Sahyan’s following lines:

Our language is our blood,

More precious than blood,

It is our scent and color,

Our language is us.

The following part from Paruyr Sevak’s poem “Yev Ayr Mi Mashtots Anun” (And a man named Mashtots):

Isn’t it true that

After the army

Language helps bring people to the battlefield,

What an army can’t do,

Language can.

The following lines by Silva Kaputikyan:

Even if you forget your mother,

Never forget your mother language.

Mushegh Ishkhan’s words “The Armenian language is the home of Armenians in four corners of the globe…” Finally, Byron’s following words: “Armenian is the language to speak to God”.

“Hayern Aysor”: What is your favorite word or phrase that Diaspora Armenians use?

H. H.: “Vardzkd Katar” (May your wishes and dreams come true…)

“Hayern Aysor”: Could you share an interesting story or memory of the Armenian language from your childhood?

H. H.: First, I’m grateful that I was born to a family of scholars and educators and raised by them. In our family, the nation and the feeling of patriotism were above everything else. Since childhood, I learned about Mashtots, Khorenatsi and other historical Armenian figures. Very often my father would bring original books under the conditions of the Soviet era. We were assigned to read all the books (but nobody was supposed to know about that).

I was in the fifth grade when Shiraz’s original works started being disseminated in the republic. At the time, I didn’t understand what “the original” was and what “the print version” was. One day my father brought home a bag of original poems by Shiraz. Since I especially loved reciting, I immediately learned to recite the poem “Yote Bur Mokhir” (Seven Handfuls of Ashes). After a while, I recited that poem at a poetry contest in Gavar.

I recited the words without understanding the meaning of those words and the danger of reciting them. I was always an excellent student and would receive awards, but for the first time, I didn’t receive an award and went home with tears in my eyes. In the evening, my mother, who was the principal of the school, came home very tense and afraid, called me and said: “My girl, what did you recite at the contest today?” When I told my mother what I had recited and complained that I didn’t win anything, she kissed my forehead and said, ��?My child, never recite that poem again because if you do, they’ll arrest your father”. I was horrified, but I always remembered my mother’s words. Only years later did I find out that on that same day the regional committee of the political party had called my mother and had given her a big “lesson”. The corresponding bodies had called my father and had demanded that he explain how a fifth grade student could recite the poem not printed by Shiraz.

Thank God that we are now living in an independent Armenia and our children are never restricted when learning the mother language.