A few months ago, I got a text message from my older sister that there was a new Armenian TV show, “Sireli Sahmi,” starring Sos Janibekyan. She had heard great things about it. She added me to a group text message with a few other people who were also watching it.
When I watched the trailer and saw that “old Armenian” was being used, I immediately looked to see if there were English subtitles. There weren’t. In my mind I was contemplating whether or not I would understand the entirety of the show since it is all in Armenian.
As an Armenian in the diaspora, I have always judged my Armenian based on how well I understand the Armenian used in TV shows, songs or on the news. I have felt that my Armenian is different, less than. There are many vocabulary terms that I have never heard before, and I was scared that the show would also have terms that I would not know. For instance, although I am fluent in Eastern Armenian, I do not know how to say “east, west, north and south.” Watching the news in Armenian is like listening to another language for me. Just the other day, I was listening to Lilit Hovhannisyan’s song “Ush a” and could not understand when she sang “Հիմա լի ա,” (hima li a) or “մշուշ ա” (mshoush a). I had to ask my dad to translate. Whenever I have a conversation and explain something in Armenian, there usually is a word or two that I stumble over, cannot express in Armenian and need the help of my mom or dad, if they are around. Since my schooling was all in the United States, I also cannot translate things like algebra, trigonometry, calculus and so on.
The conversational Armenian I speak is simply different from the Armenian that is spoken by people who have lived in Armenia. I teach adult immigrants and around 80% are from Armenia. Sometimes my students say words that I understand but cannot replicate. Other times, there are terms that I cannot translate to Armenian such as being “nervous.” My students have also asked me to translate certain words that I do not know. I cannot read and write in Armenian very well. Although I know most of the letters and can attempt to read, often I get frustrated and give up. I can write a simple, first-grade level sentence, but if you had asked me to write this article in Armenian, I would not be able to. This has always made me feel like I am not Armenian enough.
Despite having these thoughts in my mind and feeling scared that I would not understand the show, I still gave it a chance. It’s a good thing I did, because the acting and the show premise were exceptional. To my amazement, I understood most of it. I was able to decipher words based on the context (something I teach my adult English language learners to do). I underestimated how much I knew by focusing on how much I did not know (I also teach my students to focus on their progress and how much they know already!). I learned that yes, I know more Armenian than I give myself credit for.
As I have gotten older, I have realized that there are many types of Armenian spoken around the world that represent the populations they are used by. There is no one standard way to speak it. There is no one right way. There are simply different ways. Whereas in the past, I felt like my Armenian was not enough, now I feel like my Armenian is just perfect. It reflects my identity as an Armenian in the diaspora. It is enough. I am enough.
Susanna Semerdzhyan
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I agree.
Difficult to understand the mother Armenian language.
I always speak Middle East Armenian as I was born there.
Our Hayrenig😍