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ALL ABOUT WORDS A SUCCESS.
http://www.keghart.com/SDeirmenjian-Words
Shahan Deirmenjian, AGBU Toronto, 25 October 2011
On September 30th, 2011 the Toronto Armenian community enjoyed a
fascinating and entertaining lecture at the Alex Manoogian Cultural
Centre on the origins and derivations of Armenian and English words.
The presentation was titled "Around the World in 1,001 Words."
After a brief welcome Ms. Salpi Der Ghazarian introduced the
speaker--Mr. Jirair Tutunjian--who has, for years, studied the history
of the Armenian language and words. A graduate of Ryerson Journalism
with a Masters degree in Communications from Northwestern University,
author and founding editor of numerous Canadian periodicals, Mr.
Tutunjian gave a passionate lecture on the origins of Armenian and
English words to a standing room only audience of over 150 people.
Mr. Tutunjian began his talk by giving the audience a brief
introduction on the rules of transliteration (daratartsoutune), and
why words change their spelling and pronunciation over time. To put
his presentation into context, he then spoke about the Indo-European
language group and its major division into East and West: Armenian
being part of the east branch, together with Iranian, Beluchi, and
Sanskrit in India.
With the aid of PowerPoint Mr. Tutunjian proceeded to provide
a history of how and why languages borrow from one another. With
humorous anecdotes he illustrated how Iranian and Arabic words have
infiltrated the Armenian and English languages, and how the English
language has adopted certain Armenian words in their everyday lexicon.
Using a small sample of over 40 Indo-European and Sanskrit words
which are very similar to Armenian and English, he unravelled the
fascinating connections of how words have changed shape and meaning
over the centuries. The examples used were but a small sample of the
vastness of this relationship that exists between words of seemingly
different languages.
The audience was surprised to learn that Armenian has even given birth
to a little known language called Lomavren, which is a mixture of
Armenian and a Gypsy language. As recently as 2004 it is a known fact
that about 50 people could speak Lomavren in the Republic of Armenia.
Mr. Tutunjian's presentation created a flurry of questions from
the audience. In the course of 90 minutes the audience was not only
entertained but had gained knowledge about a fascinating subject which
most often people wonder about but seldom take the time to acquaint
themselves with.
Mr. Tutunjian has been invited to give similar lectures at AGBU in
Montreal and elsewhere.
http://www.keghart.com/SDeirmenjian-Words
Shahan Deirmenjian, AGBU Toronto, 25 October 2011
On September 30th, 2011 the Toronto Armenian community enjoyed a
fascinating and entertaining lecture at the Alex Manoogian Cultural
Centre on the origins and derivations of Armenian and English words.
The presentation was titled "Around the World in 1,001 Words."
After a brief welcome Ms. Salpi Der Ghazarian introduced the
speaker--Mr. Jirair Tutunjian--who has, for years, studied the history
of the Armenian language and words. A graduate of Ryerson Journalism
with a Masters degree in Communications from Northwestern University,
author and founding editor of numerous Canadian periodicals, Mr.
Tutunjian gave a passionate lecture on the origins of Armenian and
English words to a standing room only audience of over 150 people.
Mr. Tutunjian began his talk by giving the audience a brief
introduction on the rules of transliteration (daratartsoutune), and
why words change their spelling and pronunciation over time. To put
his presentation into context, he then spoke about the Indo-European
language group and its major division into East and West: Armenian
being part of the east branch, together with Iranian, Beluchi, and
Sanskrit in India.
With the aid of PowerPoint Mr. Tutunjian proceeded to provide
a history of how and why languages borrow from one another. With
humorous anecdotes he illustrated how Iranian and Arabic words have
infiltrated the Armenian and English languages, and how the English
language has adopted certain Armenian words in their everyday lexicon.
Using a small sample of over 40 Indo-European and Sanskrit words
which are very similar to Armenian and English, he unravelled the
fascinating connections of how words have changed shape and meaning
over the centuries. The examples used were but a small sample of the
vastness of this relationship that exists between words of seemingly
different languages.
The audience was surprised to learn that Armenian has even given birth
to a little known language called Lomavren, which is a mixture of
Armenian and a Gypsy language. As recently as 2004 it is a known fact
that about 50 people could speak Lomavren in the Republic of Armenia.
Mr. Tutunjian's presentation created a flurry of questions from
the audience. In the course of 90 minutes the audience was not only
entertained but had gained knowledge about a fascinating subject which
most often people wonder about but seldom take the time to acquaint
themselves with.
Mr. Tutunjian has been invited to give similar lectures at AGBU in
Montreal and elsewhere.