Etymology

submission Essay | That’s not Armenian! Encounters with language purists past and present Did you know that the Armenian word for pencil, մատիտ (madid), comes from the Italian matita, or that the word for cup, գաւաթ (kavat), has Greek origins?  Etymology can be fun. Some of us relish in exploring the derivations of words! But how far back can you trace your language history?  Jennifer Manoukian has taken this passion one step further: while writing a dissertation on the emergence of Standard Western Armenian, she has found parallels between the ways we think about purity in Armenian today and the ways it was thought about in the nineteenth century.  Based on extensive research and with a penchant for surprising revelations, she makes a clear distinction between the challenge of pursuing purity in the written form of Standard Western Armenian as opposed to verbal communication, reflecting upon the living reality of the language we speak and favoring a more lenient approach towards the vernacular. Check out her electrifying essay submitted exclusively to h-pem and let us know what you think in the comments below!