An End to the Debate of Eastern V.S. Western Armenian

By Jano Boghossian
Janoboghossian@ucla.edu

Mesrob Mashdots invented the Armenian alphabet in 406 AD. The language spoken in the fifth century is certainly not the one we currently speak. Classical Armenian is the oldest written form of our language, and as every language inevitably does, it evolved through time to the two current dialects of today. Instead of treasuring the rich and diverse language that we speak, there is a constant debate as to which one of the two dialects, Eastern or Western Armenian, is the “proper” dialect.

In reality, neither dialect is more “proper” than the other. Both stemmed from Classical Armenian, and for centuries the language evolved into hundreds of regional dialects. These dialects were narrowed down to two by the early 19th century - Eastern and Western Armenian. Both dialects have traces of Classical Armenian in them. For example, Western Armenian retained the original Mesrobian grammar, but the pronunciation of the letters changed. Meanwhile, Eastern Armenian retained the original pronunciation of the letters, but they changed the grammar and orthography. The gap in the dialects grew even farther during the Soviet era when Eastern Armenian switched from Traditional Armenian Orthography to Reformed Armenian Orthography in the 1920s.

We have to accept that neither dialect is spoken in the way Mesrob Mashdots intended, but we also must acknowledge that languages evolve over time. Whatever the people speak eventually becomes the accepted language. An example could be American English versus English spoken in England. There are many differences between the two, but both are accepted and acknowledged as English.

The modern Armenian language, also known as Ashkharapar, contains the two current dialects; it came about in the late 18th century. Ghevont Alishan, a Mkhitarist monk from the monastery of San Lazarro in Venice is credited for the modernization of Western Armenian. The golden era of Western Armenian culture, including its rich literature, vocabulary, poetry and music, began during the 19th century with Dikran Tchoukhadjian, the founder of Armenian opera. Some examples of Western Armenian contributors include Gomidas Vartabed, Ghevont Alishan, Mgrdich Beshigtashlian, Bedros Tourian, Siamanto, Taniel Varoujan, Rupen Sevag, and Vahan Tekeyan to name a few. This golden era thrived until the Armenian Genocide, when it abruptly ended with most of these intellectuals being killed.

Eastern Armenian was used for the first time in literature in 1841, when writer Khachadour Abovian published Verk Hayasdani. Fortunately, the Eastern Armenian language did not suffer the tragedy in 1915 as it lived on even through the Soviet era with names such as Hovhannes Tumanian, Avetik Isahakian, Silva Kaputikian, Yeghishe Charents, Baruyr Sevag, Hovhannes Shiraz, and many others. Eastern Armenian has the advantage of continuously developing with time, because it is the language of the Republic. There is a foundation for the language to thrive since it is being used in the institutions in Armenia, giving it the opportunity to modernize with the times.

On the contrary, Western Armenian is not spoken in Armenia. The golden age of Western Armenian culture ended in 1915. Subsequently after the genocide, there were not any major advances in Western Armenian, because a large portion of the intellectuals, poets, and writers were massacred, leaving the common folk without any leadership in those fields. Even though there were many Armenian schools in the Diaspora, there were no major institutions left to provide the advancement of this dialect. The main centers for Western Armenian culture were in Constantinople, Vienna, Venice, and partially Tbilisi. Without a firm institution to back the advancement of this dialect, it faced endangerment.

Some speakers of Eastern Armenian argue that their dialect is the “correct” and “proper” dialect because it is the one spoken in the Republic of Armenia. This argument is flawed because it is based on a historical event that could have easily gone the other way. Western Armenian could have been the language of another Armenian republic, and Eastern Armenian would have been the dialect spoken in the Diaspora. In the same way that there is no “correct” dialect of Spanish, English, or Arabic, there is no “right” and “wrong” dialect of Armenian. Both are correct and accepted wherever they are spoken.

Eastern Armenian has the luxury of being spoken in the Republic as the national language, with no fear of it becoming extinct. Diasporan Armenians struggle to keep Western Armenian alive because it is not under constant development. Therefore, Armenians should not debate over which is “proper” and “correct,” but rather should embrace this as an example of how diverse and rich our language truly is.