Language Therapy with Dr. K

Language Therapy with Dr. K

How can someone who speaks a dozen languages still struggle to speak the one that feels most personal? Why can a heritage language carry emotional burdens that no foreign language ever does? Dr. K is joined by literary critic, translator, poet, and curator Christopher Atamian—a Harvard graduate, Fulbright Fellow, and award-winning translator of Armenian and French literature into English—to explore the psychology of heritage language anxiety. Together they discuss multilingualism, family expectations, translation, and the pressure to be "Armenian enough," revealing why speaking a heritage...

Language Therapy with Dr. K

Did the invention of the alphabet mark the beginning of Armenian? Was there writing in Armenia before Mashtots? And what can the Armenian alphabet reveal about the deeper history of the Armenian language? In this episode, Dr. K continues her conversation with historical and comparative linguist Dr. Hrach Martirosyan, one of the world's leading specialists on the history of Armenian, to explore the origins and development of the Armenian alphabet. Drawing on linguistics, manuscript traditions, and the comparative study of writing systems, they examine the relationship between language and...

Language Therapy with Dr. K

Can a language carry the memory of thousands of years? What does it actually mean to ask how old a language is? In this episode, Dr. K continues her conversation with historical-comparative linguist Dr. Hrach Martirosyan, whose work on the earliest stages of Armenian has helped reshape scholarly understanding of the language’s development, as they explore one of the most frequently asked—and frequently misunderstood—questions about Armenian: how old it truly is. Drawing on the tools of historical and comparative linguistics, they unpack the concepts of Pre-Armenian and Proto-Armenian,...

Language Therapy with Dr. K

What does it mean to live—and create—across languages?   In this special live episode of Language Therapy with Dr. K, Dr. K sits down with Vahé Berberian—writer, artist, playwright, and stand-up comedian—to explore the role of language in shaping identity and artistic expression. The conversation unfolds primarily in Armenian, with English woven in throughout. Berberian reflects on a life lived across Lebanon, Europe, and North America, and how each linguistic environment has left its imprint on his voice.   As he puts it, “language has its own memory, and memory has...

Language Therapy with Dr. K

What does it mean to call Armenian an Indo-European language? And, what, exactly, is a “language family”?  In this episode, Dr. K sits down with historical comparative linguist Dr. Hrach Martirosyan to unpack the scientific foundations behind that claim. Together, they explain how scholars reconstruct linguistic relationships across thousands of years, why Indo-European became the most studied language family, and common misperceptions about linguistic ancestry. Moving from early discoveries about deep similarities between Sanskrit and European languages to Grimm’s Law and beyond,...

Language Therapy with Dr. K

Why do we call it stand-up? What do mob violence and comedy have in common? In this episode of Language Therapy, Dr. K sits down with Judith Shelton—comedian, actor, and professor of stand-up comedy and improvisation at the USC School of Dramatic Arts—to unpack the language and culture behind making people laugh. Drawing on her decades-long career, from The Groundlings to a memorable turn as Kramer’s girlfriend on Seinfeld, Judith reflects on how stand-up comedy is shaped by combative metaphors: punchlines, killing it, bombing on stage. Together, they explore whether comedy can truly be...

Language Therapy with Dr. K

What are the roots of the Armenian language and what does it mean to call it a living, evolving language? In this introductory episode of a special Armenian-language season, Dr. K sits down with Dr. Hrach Martirosyan, one of the world’s leading historical-comparative linguists and foremost authorities on Armenian. Together, they unpack widespread misconceptions about Armenian—from what it means to call it Indo-European, to myths about its origins and age, to debates over the “right” form, borrowings, and language purism—setting the stage for a deep exploration of Armenian as a...

Language Therapy with Dr. K

What happens when your first American “language” isn’t English, but jazz? How does a voice shaped in the uncertainty and upheaval of 1990s Armenia find its way onto New York’s storied jazz stages while still carrying the timbre of folk songs and candlelit nights? In this episode, Dr. K sits down with jazz vocalist Lucy Yeghiazaryan, born in Armenia during a period of profound transition before immigrating at twelve—not to an Armenian enclave, but to rural New Jersey. Together they trace Lucy’s journey as a quintessential 1.5-generation Armenian: from growing up between literary...

Language Therapy with Dr. K

What does it mean to write the words that shape history? How does language become a tool of power, persuasion, and memory? In this live episode, Dr. K sits down with Ken Khachigian—author of Behind Closed Doors: In the Room with Reagan and Nixon and one of America’s most influential presidential speechwriters—to trace his journey from a farm boy in California’s San Joaquin Valley to the heart of political power. An Armenian-American whose heritage shaped his sense of resourcefulness and agility, Khachigian reflects on the art and psychology of speechwriting, the intimacy and trust it...

Language Therapy with Dr. K

What does it mean to call Armenian an Indo-European language? And how do linguists actually prove such family ties? In this episode, Dr. K and historical-comparative linguist Dr. Hrach Martirosyan trace Armenian’s journey from its Indo-European roots to modern dialects, weighing evidence from cognates, systematic sound changes, and centuries of contact. They focus on the label “Indo-European,” unpacking it as a scholarly convention that has often led to confusion about geography and identity. Together, they revisit the origins of the field, from Sir William Jones to Heinrich Hübschmann,...