isk inchu voch Hayeren??

[Darorinag]

Oh yegek deghak, garevorutioun mi dak anonts voronk gouzen neghoutyoun dal.

Nairi, bayman cheh vor hayrenaked ulla meguh vorbeszi hayeren khosi. Khosil portseluh ammenen garevorn eh...

[Anonymouse]

Hayerenov el qnnadatem, indz ches havata: Yes aznivoren asetsi vor lav hayeren chem khosum u grum: Ayd paymanerov angraget em, ayo: Bayts du nuynpes angraget es: Da e im asats@: Khndrum em gnatseq dprots hima vor der aysqan arit ka: Yes dzer aritner@ chunem, LAi nman haykakan shrjan aystegh goyutuyn chuni, bayts aydqanov vor karogh em pordzum em grqerov sovorem:

Mouse, I do enjoy seeing what Armos have to say about Armenian and the "purity" of their culture

Voch vok "purity"i masin ban chasets, inch es khosum ay axcheek?

[nairi]

I guess I'm wrong.

[Inna]

I'd rather hand over broken Armenian to the next generation, than no Armenian at all. Quit with your language purist rhetoric, it's ruining the overall thread. Whether bad or good language defines any culture is of no point since the underlying fact is that language does define a culture. If you don't want to speak Armenian, then don't. Those that can't speak Armenian couldn't stomach my question of how I placed them as outcasts. The question remains. If every "Armenian" didn't know the language, what is the point of calling us Armenian? Why not just call us English, French, or Dutch, or wherever you live? That you live afar is no excuse to not speak it, and I myself am no exception. The same language purists seem to have a hard to conceiving this.

I speak Russian, that doesnt make me Russian, I speak English, that doesnt make me American, nor does it make me English! Even if the entire Armenian population doesnt speak Armenian, they would still be Armenian. Think about all of the Native Americans we have here, majority of them dont speak the language, yet they and the American government consider them as Native Americans. And what about Armenians who are mute and cant speak the language, do you not consider them Armenian because they cannot speak??

[Anonymouse]

What are you stating are exceptions to the rule. My question seems to be ignored. What if no one spoke Armenian? What would be the point of calling that group of people "Armenian"? Ultimately, it is the fault of us here in the diaspora who forget the language.

[Darorinag]

That is because English and Russian are spoken by more than just the English/Americans or Russians.

[Inna]

What are you stating are exceptions to the rule. My question seems to be ignored. What if no one spoke Armenian? What would be the point of calling that group of people "Armenian"? Ultimately, it is the fault of us here in the diaspora who forget the language.

I answered your question

Even if the entire Armenian population doesnt speak Armenian, they would still be Armenian.

"Armenian" is just a word, just like "Hayastan" is a word...its just a word that is used to separate us from other nationalites, but it doesnt separate us by language, theres a lot more to being Armenian then the language we speak, think of the two different dialects that are spoken in Armenian, sometimes one person cannot understand what the other is saying due to the different dialect, does that make one more an Armenian then the other, how would you then define which dialect is the true Armenian language?

That is because English and Russian are spoken by more than just the English/Americans or Russians.

how does that make any difference?? I know of Ethopians here who speak Armenian, does that make them Armenian?

[Anonymouse]

Obviously, relativists like you don't know what you're talking about although you'd like to believe you do. When the Achaemenids inscribed "Armina" on the Behistun Rock they weren't doing that because these people "felt" different. It was because they clearly differed because of their language, which is the hallmark of any cultural group. Language is the ultimate cultural pedestal that defines a certain people, as all development proceeds from that, since people have to communicate, and they use that language from which all else emanates. Language is the most creative achievement of any given people and it is reflective of them. To rob them of that and say it is trivial is pretty much saying "its a trashy culture". You keep jammering about exceptions to the rule, and try to use that as some lift in your case. Get over it. You don't speak Armenian, you dont have to participate in the thread, but don't take it off its course. You still haven't answered my question. You keep giving more questions to my initial question, which is, what is the point in calling a group of people Armenian, or Armenia, if they don't speak the language, which is the main reason why over the centuries people have called them "Armenians"? They might genetically be more Armenian, than say, Russian, or Sudanese, but they do not speak their own language. How quaint, in a modern relativistic world, anything goes.

[Darorinag]

how does that make any difference?? I know of Ethopians here who speak Armenian, does that make them Armenian?

It does not. Armenians are not Negroids. Moreover, we are not talking about language by itself. But language is an integral part of national identity. An Ethiopian speaking Armenian is not an Armenian, but an Armenian not speaking Armenian is not an Armenian. There is a huge difference.

[Inna]

okay..i'll take your word for it, since you seem to be the genius in this forum. Everything you say is what a book tells you, but what about how a person feels in their heart? the way a person feels everytime they hear armenian music, the way they feel everytime their mom makes armenian food in the kitchen, and their dad makes kebab in the backyard, or the way you feel everytime you see a photograph of Mt. Ararat, or the way your heart suddenly stops and tears roll down your cheeks every time you read another story about the Genocide and are able to feel the pain they suffered...you cannot tell me that someone who is not Armenian can truly feel the same way as Armenians do when all of the above I mentioned happens, whether they speak Armenian or not.
and your right...I have taken this thread off its course, as soon as you stop make points about what makes an armenian an Armenian the sooner I get out of this thread..I just cannot sit here and read everything you write that is close to my heart without commenting on it