Reviving the endangered Western Armenian language for a new generation

Classroom at the Catholic Armenian Sisters Academy in Beirut, 1974.

Courtesy of Shades of L.A.: Armenian American Community
Classroom at the Catholic Armenian Sisters Academy in Beirut, 1974.

UCLA College | April 28, 2023

Since the Armenian Genocide of the early 20th century, Western Armenian has been spoken almost exclusively by people in the diaspora. Today, UCLA scholar and instructor Hagop Kouloujian, who last year was named the inaugural holder of the Kachigian Family Lectureship in Armenian Language and Culture, seeks to revive Western Armenian by having students compose creative works in the endangered language.

Kouloujian, who was instrumental in having the language designated as endangered by UNESCO in 2010, was interviewed along with UCLA graduate student Alexia Hatun for a piece published this month at LAist, in which the two shared more about the language’s history and revival with writer Liz Ohanesian, who has a personal connection to the community. Read the story here.

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