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Language and Loss: Russian schools in Armenia raise concerns
http://www.armenianow.com/society/49331/custom_union_russia_armenian_language
SOCIETY | 18.10.13 | 16:34
By JULIA HAKOBYAN
ArmeniaNow Deputy Editor
The news on Armenia's accession to the Customs Union, voiced during
the September visit of President Serzh Sargsyan to Moscow, has given
place to speculations in Armenia, that Moscow will take serious
efforts in the promotion of the Russian language in Armenia.
While some in Armenia may treat such developments indifferently, many
others perceive the possible `revival' of Russian as a threat to
Armenian language in particular, and to Armenian national identity in
general. The concerns are not misplaced, given the fact Russian is the
official language of the Customs Union and Russia top officials
repeatedly voice the idea of Russian language popularization in
Armenia.
At the meeting with the Armenian counterpart in September, Russia's
President Vladimir Putin spoke about cultural initiatives that Moscow
will realize in Armenia in the near future, including the opening of
Russian lyceum in Armenia and a branch of Moscow State University.
Earlier in September Yerevan hosted a roundtable "Russian Language as
a Basis for Creation of Civilization and Development of the Eurasian
Union," during which its participants from Armenia, Russia, Kazakhstan
and Belarus spoke about Russian as the language of economics and
security. The Russian officials also spoke about steps in
strengthening the position of Russian language in Armenia.
The language issue has been in the center of public attention in
Armenia since 2010, after the adoption of the controversial
government-proposed bill on opening of foreign language schools in
Armenia.
The bill factually removed the 20-year-old ban on foreign-language
education in the country, imposed during the first years of
independence. It cleared the way for opening of (11private) foreign
language schools in Armenia.
The amendments, which many considered as an attempt to restore
primarily Russian language education, stirred a great controversy in
the Armenian society with opponents claiming that existence of foreign
language schools in Armenia would be damaging to national identity.
(During Soviet times, about 30 percent of schools in Armenia offered
education in Russian language)
A civil movement `We are against the Reopening of Foreign-Language
Schools' was created in Armenia, which had staged a series of protest
actions against the changes. The posters were spread throughout the
city saying `Keep your gene and your language", `No to colonization.'
The pressure group failed to prevent the ratification of the bill, but
due to its efforts instead of 32 foreign schools in the bill (as it
was firstly proposed,) the number was reduced to eleven.
`In fact the steps on spreading Russian language in Armenia is not
taken now, but started a few years ago, primarily, with the amendments
to the law and founding of Russian agency `Rossotrudnichestvo', says
Aram Apatyan, member of the `We are against the Reopening of
Foreign-Language Schools' initiative.
`As our initiate stated before (during the protests against the bill
ratification) the same we would say now -- the programs aimed at the
popularization of foreign languages should not be done at the expense
of the native language,' he says.
Apatyan brings example of the Russian lyceum to be opened soon in
Armenia, saying that the graduates of the lyceum will know Armenian
superficially.
`The language becomes part of the culture when it is actively used in
all spheres of life. Any foreign language school, be it Dilijan
International School or Russian lyceum is a threat to the Armenian
language. The educational system in Armenia must be in the Armenian
language for all Armenian citizens,' he says, adding that the
accentuating of the `inferior' nature of Armenian as compared to other
languages involves numerous risks, including loss of identity.
However, the supporters of foreign language education argue that
Russian is the language of the regional powerhouse and thus is
essential for Armenians.
Many parents in Yerevan prefer that their children attend schools with
a Russian language bias, (as well as English); some parents resort to
various tricks to enroll their children to the Russian schools or
`Russian classes'. To enroll a child in such class, one of the parents
should have foreign citizenship. Many parents give guardianship of
their child to a relative who lives in Russia, to enroll a child in
the Russian class. (There are 1400 schools in Armenia; 42 of them
offer `Russian-language classes'. Besides, there are five Russian
schools which are in jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defense.)
Andranik Nikogosyan, Chairman of the Youth Union of the Commonwealth
of Independent States (CIS), believes that the Russian language is an
integral part of Armenian culture, as for centuries the Armenian
people have had close ties with the Russians.
"We have a common history, a common past and I am sure that we have a
great future,' says Nikoghosyan. `Russian is the regional
international language, and we should also take into account that
Russian is the language of the Customs Union. How can we be part of an
economic union without knowing a common language?
Two years ago, at the initiative of the Youth Union of CIS a first
Russian language training center was opened in Yerevan. Now there are
about 100 such centers that operate throughout the republic, of which
ten are located in the capital.
Now about 7,000 people are studying Russian at the training centers;
another 3,000 have completed the courses. The education is free of
charge; 140 Russian language teachers work in the centers. Since 2011,
three Russian publishing houses were opened in Armenia.
`Within last two years over 100,000 Russian books were sold though our
stores. Another 20,000 people will be enrolled in the Russian training
courses by December. The facts are obvious- the number of people
willing to study Russian is so high, that the centers are overloaded
and we are thinking on opening more. People decide by themselves what
they need,' says Nikogohosyan.
Ruben Parumyan, a member of "We are against the reopening of foreign
languages schools" says he does not doubt that Moscow will take more
steps in spreading the Russian language, but for him it is obvious
that English is in a higher demand as compared to Russian in Armenia.
`I would say that parents who stake the future on Russian language
play with their children's destiny,' Parumyan says. `Don't let your
children lose the mother language, because it would mean losing
culture.'
http://www.armenianow.com/society/49331/custom_union_russia_armenian_language
SOCIETY | 18.10.13 | 16:34
By JULIA HAKOBYAN
ArmeniaNow Deputy Editor
The news on Armenia's accession to the Customs Union, voiced during
the September visit of President Serzh Sargsyan to Moscow, has given
place to speculations in Armenia, that Moscow will take serious
efforts in the promotion of the Russian language in Armenia.
While some in Armenia may treat such developments indifferently, many
others perceive the possible `revival' of Russian as a threat to
Armenian language in particular, and to Armenian national identity in
general. The concerns are not misplaced, given the fact Russian is the
official language of the Customs Union and Russia top officials
repeatedly voice the idea of Russian language popularization in
Armenia.
At the meeting with the Armenian counterpart in September, Russia's
President Vladimir Putin spoke about cultural initiatives that Moscow
will realize in Armenia in the near future, including the opening of
Russian lyceum in Armenia and a branch of Moscow State University.
Earlier in September Yerevan hosted a roundtable "Russian Language as
a Basis for Creation of Civilization and Development of the Eurasian
Union," during which its participants from Armenia, Russia, Kazakhstan
and Belarus spoke about Russian as the language of economics and
security. The Russian officials also spoke about steps in
strengthening the position of Russian language in Armenia.
The language issue has been in the center of public attention in
Armenia since 2010, after the adoption of the controversial
government-proposed bill on opening of foreign language schools in
Armenia.
The bill factually removed the 20-year-old ban on foreign-language
education in the country, imposed during the first years of
independence. It cleared the way for opening of (11private) foreign
language schools in Armenia.
The amendments, which many considered as an attempt to restore
primarily Russian language education, stirred a great controversy in
the Armenian society with opponents claiming that existence of foreign
language schools in Armenia would be damaging to national identity.
(During Soviet times, about 30 percent of schools in Armenia offered
education in Russian language)
A civil movement `We are against the Reopening of Foreign-Language
Schools' was created in Armenia, which had staged a series of protest
actions against the changes. The posters were spread throughout the
city saying `Keep your gene and your language", `No to colonization.'
The pressure group failed to prevent the ratification of the bill, but
due to its efforts instead of 32 foreign schools in the bill (as it
was firstly proposed,) the number was reduced to eleven.
`In fact the steps on spreading Russian language in Armenia is not
taken now, but started a few years ago, primarily, with the amendments
to the law and founding of Russian agency `Rossotrudnichestvo', says
Aram Apatyan, member of the `We are against the Reopening of
Foreign-Language Schools' initiative.
`As our initiate stated before (during the protests against the bill
ratification) the same we would say now -- the programs aimed at the
popularization of foreign languages should not be done at the expense
of the native language,' he says.
Apatyan brings example of the Russian lyceum to be opened soon in
Armenia, saying that the graduates of the lyceum will know Armenian
superficially.
`The language becomes part of the culture when it is actively used in
all spheres of life. Any foreign language school, be it Dilijan
International School or Russian lyceum is a threat to the Armenian
language. The educational system in Armenia must be in the Armenian
language for all Armenian citizens,' he says, adding that the
accentuating of the `inferior' nature of Armenian as compared to other
languages involves numerous risks, including loss of identity.
However, the supporters of foreign language education argue that
Russian is the language of the regional powerhouse and thus is
essential for Armenians.
Many parents in Yerevan prefer that their children attend schools with
a Russian language bias, (as well as English); some parents resort to
various tricks to enroll their children to the Russian schools or
`Russian classes'. To enroll a child in such class, one of the parents
should have foreign citizenship. Many parents give guardianship of
their child to a relative who lives in Russia, to enroll a child in
the Russian class. (There are 1400 schools in Armenia; 42 of them
offer `Russian-language classes'. Besides, there are five Russian
schools which are in jurisdiction of the Ministry of Defense.)
Andranik Nikogosyan, Chairman of the Youth Union of the Commonwealth
of Independent States (CIS), believes that the Russian language is an
integral part of Armenian culture, as for centuries the Armenian
people have had close ties with the Russians.
"We have a common history, a common past and I am sure that we have a
great future,' says Nikoghosyan. `Russian is the regional
international language, and we should also take into account that
Russian is the language of the Customs Union. How can we be part of an
economic union without knowing a common language?
Two years ago, at the initiative of the Youth Union of CIS a first
Russian language training center was opened in Yerevan. Now there are
about 100 such centers that operate throughout the republic, of which
ten are located in the capital.
Now about 7,000 people are studying Russian at the training centers;
another 3,000 have completed the courses. The education is free of
charge; 140 Russian language teachers work in the centers. Since 2011,
three Russian publishing houses were opened in Armenia.
`Within last two years over 100,000 Russian books were sold though our
stores. Another 20,000 people will be enrolled in the Russian training
courses by December. The facts are obvious- the number of people
willing to study Russian is so high, that the centers are overloaded
and we are thinking on opening more. People decide by themselves what
they need,' says Nikogohosyan.
Ruben Parumyan, a member of "We are against the reopening of foreign
languages schools" says he does not doubt that Moscow will take more
steps in spreading the Russian language, but for him it is obvious
that English is in a higher demand as compared to Russian in Armenia.
`I would say that parents who stake the future on Russian language
play with their children's destiny,' Parumyan says. `Don't let your
children lose the mother language, because it would mean losing
culture.'