The danger of the “en-danger-ed”: The hope for a Western Armenian imaginary

Western Armenian is under serious threat of extinction in the entire Armenian Diaspora, with the possible exception of Lebanon, because like every diaspora around the world, most of the Armenian Diaspora have been assimilated in the host countries over the many decades and the majority don’t speak or understand it.

The loss of Western Armenian through assimilation, is the bloodless continuance of the Armenian Genocide.

The problem is not only living in a foreign country, where assimiliation is inevitable, the problem is also the lack of or the very few number of Armenian schools and kindergardens, the dispersal of Armenians, but even more so that fewer parents pass on Western Armenian to their children. Intermarriages with non-Armenians are also a reason for this decline, as the language is also much less likely to be passed on to the children.

The buck ultimately stops with the parents and families who should teach and pass on Western Armenian to the children.

The advent of the Internet can partially remedy this decline with online Western Armenian courses, if Armenian schools and kindergardens are unavailable, but especially if parents teach and pass on Western Armenian to their children. I hope that the Armenian Diaspora doesn’t become like the huge and totally assimilated Italian Diaspora around the world, where the only heritage remaining, is the surname.