The Karin dialect ( hy, Կարնոյ բարբառ, ''Karno barbař'') is a
Western Armenian
Western Armenian ( Classical spelling: , ) is one of the two standardized forms of Modern Armenian, the other being Eastern Armenian. It is based mainly on the Istanbul Armenian dialect, as opposed to Eastern Armenian, which is mainly base ...
dialect originally spoken in and around the city of
Erzurum (called Karin by Armenians), now located in eastern
Turkey
Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...
.
Before
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
, the Karin dialect was spoken by the local Armenian populations in much of the
Erzurum Vilayet of the Ottoman Empire and
Kars Oblast
The Kars Oblast was a province ('' oblast'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire between 1878 and 1917. Its capital was the city of Kars, presently in Turkey. The ''oblast'' bordered the Ottoman Empire to the west, the Batum Obla ...
of the Russian Empire. After the
Armenian genocide
The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily through t ...
of 1915, most of Erzurum's Armenian population took refuge to the Russian-controlled parts of Armenia. The city of
Kars and its Russian ''oblast'' became part of the
First Republic of Armenia in 1918, but was occupied by
Kemalist Turkey as a result of the
Turkish–Armenian War
The Turkish–Armenian war ( hy, Հայ-թուրքական պատերազմ), known in Turkey as the Eastern Front ( tr, Doğu Cephesi) of the Turkish War of Independence, was a conflict between the First Republic of Armenia and the Turkish N ...
in fall 1920.
Today, it is one of the most widely spoken Western Armenian dialects, most of which became virtually extinct after the genocide. Nowadays, it is spoken in the northwestern
Republic of Armenia (in and around the city of
Gyumri
Gyumri ( hy, Գյումրի, ) is an urban municipal community and the second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th century, when the city w ...
) and by the Armenian minority in
Georgia's
Samtskhe-Javakheti province.
History
According to Prof. Haykanush Mesropyan of the Armenian State Institute of Linguistics, the first reference to the provincial dialect (զբառսն զեզերականս) dates back to the 8th century work by Stepanos Syunetsi, who refers to it as զՍպերացն ''zSperatsn'' "of
Sper". The dialect was also mentioned in the 13th century by Hovhannes Yerznkatsi and in the 17th century by Hakob Karnetsi.
In 1887,
Alexander Thomson, in his ''Linguistic studies'' (''Лингвистические исследования'') briefly discussed the Akhaltsikhe dialect.
Area spoken
According to the prominent Armenian linguist
Hrachia Adjarian's 1909 book ''
Classification des dialectes arméniens
The Armenian language has two standardized forms: Western Armenian and Eastern Armenian. Before the Armenian genocide and other significant demographic changes that affected the Armenians, several dozen Armenian dialects existed in the area histor ...
'', Karin dialect was spoken in the cities of Erzurum (which he refers to as the dialectal center),
Kars (both large cities in eastern Turkey today),
Alexandropol
Gyumri ( hy, Գյումրի, ) is an urban municipal community and the second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th century, when the city w ...
and
Akhaltsikh. After the
1828–29 and
1877–78 Russo-Turkish Wars, Armenians from the Erzurum region migrated to the
Russian-controlled Eastern Armenia. They mostly settled in
Javakhk
Javakheti ( ka, ჯავახეთი ) or Javakhk ( hy, Ջավախք, ''Javakhk'') is a historical province in southern Georgia, corresponding to the modern municipalities of Akhalkalaki, Aspindza (partly), Ninotsminda, and partly to the Tur ...
(in and around the cities of Akhalkalak and Akhaltsikh) and
Shirak.
Today
In the Republic of Armenia, Karin dialect is chiefly spoken in the cities of
Gyumri
Gyumri ( hy, Գյումրի, ) is an urban municipal community and the second-largest city in Armenia, serving as the administrative center of Shirak Province in the northwestern part of the country. By the end of the 19th century, when the city w ...
,
Artik
Artik (Armenian: ), is a town and urban municipal community in the Shirak Province of Armenia. As of the 2011 census, the town had a population of 19,534. As per the 2016 official estimate, the population of Artik is around 18,800.
Artik is famou ...
,
Akhuryan
Akhuryan ( hy, , translit=Axuryan), is a major village and rural community (municipality) in the Shirak Province of Armenia. The Statistical Committee of Armenia reported its population was 7,113 as per the 2011 official census down from 9,696 a ...
and
Aghin
Aghin ( hy, Աղին) is a village in the Ani Municipality of the Shirak Province of Armenia.
The community of Aghin consists of the villages of Aghin and Aghin kayaran. The Statistical Committee of Armenia
The Statistical Committee of Armeni ...
, all in
Shirak Province
Shirak ( hy, Շիրակ, ) is a province ('' marz'') of Armenia. It is located in the north-west of the country, bordering Turkey to the west and Georgia to the north. Its capital and largest city is Gyumri, which is the second largest city ...
(in around 130 villages). It is spoken in the western parts of the
Aragatsotn Province
Aragatsotn ( hy, Արագածոտն, ) is a province ('' marz'') of Armenia. It is located in the western part of the country. The capital and largest city of the province is the town of Ashtarak. The Statistical Committee of Armenia reported i ...
: mainly in the city of
Talin Talin may refer to:
Places
*Talin, Armenia, a city
* Tálín, a municipality and village in the Czech Republic
*Tallinn, capital of Estonia
* Talin, Iran, a village in West Azerbaijan Province
*Talin, Syria, a village in Tartus Governorate
Other
* ...
and villages of
Aragats and
Nor Artik. Residents of three villages in northern Aragatsotn (
Geghadzor,
Lernapar,
Geghadir) also speak in Karin dialect. Karin dialect is spoken in the villages of
Martuni (Gegharkunik),
Urtsadzor
Urtsadzor ( hy, Ուրցաձոր) is a village in the Ararat Province of Armenia containing the former village of Chimankend. The village was previously the administrative capital of the Gharabaghlar District which existed in 1937–1951 in Sovi ...
(Ararat),
Buzhakan and
Kaputan in Kotayk.
The Karin dialect is also spoken by the
Armenians in Samtskhe-Javakheti province of Georgia.
Pronunciation
Hrachia Adjarian called the pronunciation of Karin dialect "soft and pleasing." According to him, the dialect has three degrees of consonants, mutated as follows:
Famous speakers
*
Jivani
Jivani ( hy, Ջիվանի, 1846–1909), born Serob Stepani Levonian ( hy, Սերոբ Ստեփանի Լևոնյան; also known as Serovbe Stepani Benkoyan, hy, Սերովբե Ստեփանի Բենկոյան), was an Armenian ''ashugh'' (ba ...
(1846–1909), ''gusan'' (folk musician) and poet
*
Sheram (1857–1938), ''gusan'' (folk musician), poet and composer
*
Stepan Malkhasyants (1857–1947),
Dashnak politician
*
Keri (1858–1916), Dashnak military commander, ''
fedayee''
*
Hovhannes Katchaznouni
Hovhannes Kajaznuni or Katchaznouni (; 14 February 1868 – 15 January 1938) was an Armenian architect and politician who served as the first Prime Minister of the First Republic of Armenia from June 6, 1918 to August 7, 1919. He was a member of ...
(1868–1938), Dashnak politician, Prime Minister of
Armenia
Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''O ...
in 1918–1919
*
Armen Garo
Garegin or Karekin Pastermadjian ( classical hy, Գարեգին Փաստրմաճեան), better known by his ''nom de guerre'' Armen Garo or Armen Karo (Արմէն Գարօ; 9 February 1872 – 23 March 1923) was an Armenian activist and po ...
(1872–1923), Dashnak politician, the first Armenian ambassador to the US
*
Hamo Ohanjanyan
Hamazasp "Hamo" Ohanjanyan (; 1873 – 31 July 1947) was an Armenian doctor, revolutionary, and politician of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF/Dashnaktsutiun). He served as the third Prime Minister of the First Republic of Armenia from ...
(1873–1947), Dashnak politician, Prime Minister of Armenia in 1920
*
Avetik Isahakyan (1875–1957) writer, public activist
*
Derenik Demirchian (1877–1956), writer
*
Yeghishe Charents
Yeghishe Charents (; March 13, 1897 – November 27, 1937) was an Armenian poet, writer and public activist. Charents' literary subject matter ranged from his experiences in the First World War, socialist revolution, and frequently Armenia an ...
(1897–1937), poet
*
Ruben Ter-Minasian (1882–1951), military commander
*
Hakob Kojoyan (1883–1959), painter
*
Grégoire-Pierre Agagianian (1895–1971), Cardinal, leader of the Armenian Catholic Church
*
Kourken Yanigian (1895–1984), author, engineer, assassinated two Turkish consular officials in Los Angeles
*
Hovhannes Shiraz (1915–1984), poet
*
Mher Mkrtchyan (1930–1993), actor
*
Vazgen Manukyan (b. 1946), politician, Prime Minister of Armenia 1990-1991
*
Levon Ishtoyan (b. 1947), football player
*
Harutyun Khachatryan (b. 1955), film director
*
Yurik Vardanyan (b. 1956), weightlifter, Olympic, World and European champion
*
Levon Julfalakyan (b 1964), wrestler, Olympic, World and European champion
*
Israel Militosyan
Israel Militosyan ( hy, Իսրայել Միլիտոսյան, born 17 August 1968) is an Armenian former weightlifter. He was awarded the Honoured Master of Sports of the USSR title in 1989.
Early life
Born in Leninakan, Armenian SSR (now Gyumr ...
(b. 1968), weightlifter, Olympic, World and European champion
*
Mko (b. 1976), comedian
*
Gevorg Davtyan (b. 1983), weightlifter, European champion
*
Nazik Avdalyan (b. 1986), weightlifter, World and European champion
*
Arsen Julfalakyan
Arsen Julfalakyan ( hy, Արսեն Ջուլֆալակյան, born 8 May 1987) Ph.D., is an Armenian Greco-Roman style wrestler, Olympic silver medalist, World and European Champion, World Cup winner and three-time Olympian.
Early life
Julfalakya ...
(b. 1987), wrestler, European champion
*
Tigran Gevorg Martirosyan
Tigran Gevorg Martirosyan ( hy, Տիգրան Գ. Մարտիրոսյան, born June 9, 1988, in Leninakan, Armenian SSR) is an Armenian weightlifter. He was awarded the Honored Master of Sports of Armenia title in 2009. Martirosyan is an Armenian ...
(b. 1988), weightlifter, World and European champion
References
;Notes
;Bibliography
*
*
{{Armenian language, state=expanded
Armenian language
Armenian dialects