16:00, 30 January 2010

Melkonyan: Armenian community of Istanbul at risk of losing its identity

The number of Armenian schools in Istanbul continues to go down; the basic problem of the community is to preserve the language. This was stated to journalists by turcologist Ruben Melkonyan, deputy dean of the department of oriental studies of the Yerevan State University.

A direct indicator of the processes underway today is that some 90 percent of Istanbul Armenians speak Turkic, and only 7-10 percent of Armenians aged 14-20 use their mother tongue; 40 percent of marriages in the community are mixed.

According to Mr Melkonyan, should the present trend persist, in several decades from now, the Armenian community of Istanbul can disappear completely.

Earlier, Aikazun Alvartsyan, senior scientific worker at the Centre of Armenian Studies of the same University, has noted that the instinct of self-preservation of Armenians amidst the Turkish environment dominates over the full-fledged cultural and spiritual life and the knowledge of the Armenian language.

Author: Lylyt Ovanisyan

Source: CK correspondent