ORIGIN AND EVOLUTION OF ARMENIAN LANGUAGE AT ST. ILLUMINATOR’S

On Sunday, May 28, St. Illuminator’s Cathedral hosted a lecture on “The Origin and the Evolution of the Armenian Language” by linguist Dr. Hrach Martirosyan, presided over by His Eminence Archbishop Anoushavan, Prelate.The event was organized by St. Illuminator’s Cathedral and the New York chapter of Hamazkayin Armenian Cultural and Educational Society.  
 
Dr. Martirosyan is a lecturer at Leiden, Berlin, and Vanadzor Universities. He graduated from the Faculty of Philology of the Vanadzor Pedagogical University in 1991 and holds a PhD in comparative linguistics from Leiden University. A peer reviewed and enhanced version of his dissertation was later published as the Etymological Dictionary of the Armenian Inherited Lexicon (2010). His academic interests cover the history of the Armenian language beginning from its Indo-European sources to the dialects and the modern language. 
 
Following an introduction by Lalig Vartanian, Dr. Martirosyan delivered a deep yet engaging presentation. In his closing remarks, Archbishop Anoushavan observed how fitting it was to listen to this lecture on the Sunday of Pentecost and the commemoration of the Independence Day of the first Republic of Armenia. The Prelate stressed the vital importance of the Armenian language as a vessel of Christian and cultural tradition, and teaching Armenian to the youth to ensure the survival of that tradition.