Western Armenian: The Condition of Mrs. Arev Mudian
By Dr. HRATCH TCHILINGIRIAN | MassisPost, Ocotober 15, 2025
In the last decade or so, the challenges surrounding the preservation and vitality of Western Armenian have grown increasingly urgent. Concerned community leaders, educators, activists, and scholars across the Armenian Diaspora have been actively seeking ways to address the language’s decline. Since UNESCO classified Western Armenian as an “endangered language” in 2010, its future has become a critical topic of discussion within Armenian communities and media circles. The issue extends beyond language loss—it represents a broader struggle to sustain a key element of cultural identity amid globalization, migration, and assimilation pressures that continue to shape the Armenian Diaspora.
Beyond the decreasing number of speakers, several additional factors contribute to this linguistic decline. The administrative use of Armenian has increasingly been reduced to a symbolic function as more diasporan organizations adopt a main stream language or at best bilingual operations. At the same time, Western Armenian-language newspapers and media—long considered pillars of linguistic vitality—have experienced steady decline. Armenian newspapers in the Diaspora have faced shrinking readership, severe financial constraints, and weakened organizational structures for producing content. Today, only a handful of daily and weekly Western Armenian newspapers remain in print throughout the Diaspora, a large portion of them have become online only.
To understand the current state of Western Armenian, it helps to imagine her as Mrs. Arev Mudian (Տիկին Արեւ Մուտեան) — a once radiant woman whose children argue endlessly over how to care for her. There are a number of camps that are concerned about her.
- The Purists
The first camp consists of the purists, the self-styled soldiers, warriors, and language police of Western Armenian — mostly, intellectuals of Middle Eastern origin. They see it as their sacred mission to protect and defend the language “to the last drop of blood.”
To them, Mrs. Arev’s condition is dire. She is lying in an Intensive Care Unit, hooked to oxygen, her survival hanging by a thread. The purists lament the indifference of Diaspora institutions and organizations that, in their eyes, have failed to “save” her. Many believe that the Republic of Armenia may be her last hope.
Yet despite their fierce devotion, the purists have few concrete solutions. Funding for schools and teachers — “hospitals” and “nurses” in the metaphor — is scarce. Their response is largely defensive: to preserve Western Armenian exactly as it once was, according to their perception and imagination. For them, the only authentic Armenian is the one who perfectly imitates Mrs. Arev as she existed in the past — unaltered, unmodernized, and untainted by the linguistic influences of today’s world.
- The Intellectual Circle
On the opposite side of the spectrum stands a loose circle of intellectuals—progressive, cosmopolitan, and deeply literate in the Western Armenian tradition. Their thinking and attention often orbits around a few star literary and philosophical intellectuals in the Diaspora.
This group sees Mrs. Arev differently. To them, she is not dying, only aging gracefully, her ailments caused by time and circumstance. She does not need hospitalization; what she requires is tender, loving care—the nurturing attention of her grown-up children who still speak to her at home.
Their vision of revival is cultural rather than medical. They see value in literature, reflection, and philosophical renewal. However, their influence tends to remain within closed circles, rarely engaging with the purists who guard the ICU or other relevant specialists. Both camps, in many ways, have dug into their own trenches, each convinced that they alone know how to save Mrs. Arev.
- The New Generation
Between these two camps stands a new generation—young Armenians in their twenties and thirties—who are experimenting with fresh ways of keeping Western Armenian alive. They are neither purists nor traditional intellectuals. Their loyalty to Mrs. Arev is genuine, but their methods are creative, sometimes playful, and distinctly modern.
This generation expresses its affection for the language through digital culture—podcasts, YouTube channels, memes, online magazines, and social media. They may lack institutional power, but they have visibility, energy, and an intuitive sense that Western Armenian must live in the world as it is, not as it once was.
For them, Mrs. Arev is their grandmother—frail perhaps, but beloved. She needs companionship more than protection, conversation more than lamentation. Whether this generation can make a lasting impact on institutional and educational policy remains to be seen, but for now, their presence has brought a fresh spark to the language’s saga.
- Teachers
And then there are the teachers—the everyday caretakers of the language in Armenian schools across the diaspora. They come in all forms: some are strict guardians of grammar and form, others more open to innovation. Often, they find themselves oscillating between the purists’ defensive stance and the intellectuals’ cultural approach, all the while trying to connect with the digital generation.
The Politics of Revival
In the background of the lack of serious funding by traditional Diaspora institutions, the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation has been one of the significant funders of Western Armenian initiatives. Conversely, this has had a major influence on how the problems facing Western Armenian should be tackled. Gulbenkian’s support for particular projects — from literature programs to digital media and teacher training — has helped shape the practical direction of Western Armenian policy. Yet, as with any intervention, not everyone agrees with Gulbenkian’s vision.
What is meant as support could also deepen divisions: when a language is in crisis, even well-intentioned aid can become a source of conflict.
The struggle over Western Armenian is not simply about grammar or vocabulary; it is about identity, belonging, and survival. Mrs. Arev may be old, but she is not gone. Whether treated in the ICU, cared for at home, or befriended online, she continues to live — in classrooms, literature, and increasingly, in the pixels and posts of a new generation.
Her future depends not on one camp “winning,” but on all of her descendants — warriors, thinkers, and dreamers alike — learning how to speak and create through her once again.
* Dr. Hratch Tchilingirian is a sociologist, university lecturer, author and innovation executive.