Language Therapy with Dr. K
Language Therapy with Dr. K explores language in the Armenian context. Discover the quirky nuances, fun, and frustrations of language, as Dr. Shushan Karapetian delves into conversations about immigration, diaspora, shame, bilingualism, culture, heritage, and so much more. A USC Dornsife Institute of Armenian Studies podcast.
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Hidden in Plain Speech: What Armenian Dialects Remember
10/05/2026
Hidden in Plain Speech: What Armenian Dialects Remember
Why are some forms of Armenian dismissed as “incorrect” or “impure”? What can dialects preserve that standardized forms of a language may lose? And what do we lose when speakers are taught to distrust the Armenian they inherited? 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 extraordinary diversity of Armenian dialects. Drawing on historical and comparative linguistics, they examine how Armenian dialects emerged and evolved, how linguists have classified them, and how differences in sounds, words, and grammatical structures can reveal layers of the language’s history. From ancient features preserved in the dialects of Artsakh and other communities to words and forms absent from the written record, the conversation reveals how much of Armenian’s past remains hidden in living speech. Along the way, Dr. K and Dr. Martirosyan challenge the hierarchies that have led generations of speakers to regard their own varieties as deficient or corrupted. They show instead how dialects carry histories of continuity, innovation, migration, and contact, and why recognizing their linguistic value can also restore something more personal: a sense of dignity in the Armenian one speaks.
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Speaking the Wrong Armenian: Language, Belonging, and the Freedom to Play
09/07/2026
Speaking the Wrong Armenian: Language, Belonging, and the Freedom to Play
What happens when the language you inherit is not the language of the place you have come to think of as home? And what does it mean to be told—implicitly or explicitly—that the Armenian you speak is somehow the wrong one? Dr. K sits down with poet and creative producer Nyree Abrahamian to trace a linguistic life that moves from Western Armenian in Toronto to Eastern Armenian in Yerevan, with English, French, dialect, and plenty of mixing along the way. Their conversation explores what happens when heritage language meets homeland, why categories like “native speaker,” “diasporan,” and even “repatriate” can begin to break down, and how those tensions are passed on—and sometimes inverted—across generations. But what if fluency is not the only thing a language can offer? From the intimacy of audio storytelling to an unexpected turn toward writing poetry in Armenian, Nyree reflects on what becomes possible when a language long associated with correction, anxiety, and getting it right becomes a place for experimentation instead.
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Armenian Orthography: History, Reform, and Evidence
08/04/2026
Armenian Orthography: History, Reform, and Evidence
Why do Armenians write the same language differently? Why do debates over spelling evoke such strong emotions? And what can linguistic scholarship reveal about one of Armenian's most enduring controversies? 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 evolution of Armenian orthography—the shared conventions that govern how a language is written. Drawing on historical linguistics and comparative examples from languages around the world, they examine why writing systems evolve, how orthographic reforms unfold, and where the Armenian experience fits within a broader global history. From the principles underlying the fifth-century Armenian alphabet to debates that long predated the twentieth-century reforms, the conversation challenges misconceptions about Armenian orthography, distinguishes linguistic evidence from ideology, and places the Armenian example within broader historical and comparative context.
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Performing Belonging: The Psychology of Heritage Language Anxiety
07/09/2026
Performing Belonging: The Psychology of Heritage Language Anxiety
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 is often less about linguistic competence than about negotiating belonging. Along the way, they challenge long-held assumptions about what it means to be a "native speaker," examine how translation can make literature accessible across languages, and consider why multilingualism does not necessarily protect us from linguistic insecurity. More broadly, the conversation challenges what it means to be a heritage speaker, inviting listeners to rethink fluency, belonging, and what it truly means to claim a language as one's own.
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The Armenian Alphabet: History, Myth, and Evidence
06/03/2026
The Armenian Alphabet: History, Myth, and Evidence
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 script, discuss the evidence for and against pre-Mashtotsian writing, and situate the Armenian alphabet within the broader context of early Christian literary cultures. The conversation also explores the origins of letter names, the principles behind the ordering of the alphabet, the later addition of letters such as Օ and Ֆ, and the use of Armenian letters as numerals. Along the way, they reconsider a range of enduring claims about the alphabet's origins, symbolism, and structure, illustrating how linguistic evidence can illuminate questions that have long occupied both scholars and the public imagination. Rather than treating the alphabet as the beginning of the Armenian language, this episode places it within a much longer linguistic history, reframing Mashtots' achievement not as the birth of Armenian, but as a transformative moment in its already ancient story.
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Tracing Time Through Language: How Old Is Armenian?
04/30/2026
Tracing Time Through Language: How Old Is Armenian?
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, explain how languages diverge, and reconsider what linguistic continuity looks like across vast stretches of time. Grounded in examples from modern Armenian, the conversation reveals the historical strata embedded within everyday speech, illuminating a language shaped not by isolation but by movement, encounter, and transformation. Armenian emerges not as a relic of the past, but as a dynamic linguistic system whose longevity lies precisely in its capacity to evolve.
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Language Has its Own Memory: Vahé Berberian Live
04/06/2026
Language Has its Own Memory: Vahé Berberian Live
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 its own language.” Dr. K and Vahe trace how language carries history, shapes storytelling, and at times resists being contained within a single linguistic system. From stand-up comedy to painting and literature, language emerges not simply as a medium, but as material, something that can be stretched or reshaped, and performed. Dr. K and Vahe explore code-switching as both necessity and creative choice, the tension between “pure” language and lived multilingual reality, and the role of humor as a way of making difficult truths speakable. They also reflect on writing in Armenian and English, performing for different audiences, and how the relationship between language and self continues to evolve over time.
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Armenian as an Indo European Language
02/22/2026
Armenian as an Indo European Language
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, the conversation illustrates how words like mother, father, and daughter preserve echoes of a shared linguistic past across millennia, and how linguists distinguish inheritance from contact. This episode offers a clear and compelling introduction to how historical-comparative linguistics uncovers the deep history of Armenian, showing how scientific methods illuminate its place within one of the world’s most widespread and extensively studied language families.
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Punchlines and Power: The Language of Stand-Up Comedy with Judith Shelton
02/02/2026
Punchlines and Power: The Language of Stand-Up Comedy with Judith Shelton
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 taught, and where craft ends and instinct begins. The conversation culminates in a powerful reflection on stand-up as a humanizing force—one that fosters empathy, connection, and self-knowledge, especially in the diverse classroom Judith has cultivated at USC. Join us for a sharp, thoughtful, and deeply entertaining exploration of language, laughter, and what comedy reveals about who we are.
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Introduction to Armenian Language: Myths, Misconceptions, and Evidence
01/12/2026
Introduction to Armenian Language: Myths, Misconceptions, and Evidence
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 shaped by history, contact, and its speakers. This conversation highlights what linguistic science, in all its branches and manifestations, can reveal about the millennia-long presence of Armenian speakers in the Armenian highland and across the globe.
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Beside the Golden Door: Jazz, Homeland, and the Universal Song with Lucy Yeghiazaryan
12/01/2025
Beside the Golden Door: Jazz, Homeland, and the Universal Song with Lucy Yeghiazaryan
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 Russian, colloquial Eastern Armenian, and jazz standards learned phonetically, to navigating the complexities of singing a Black American art form as an Armenian immigrant woman. Lucy reflects on longing, guilt, and the feeling of forever standing “beside the golden door” that shaped her new album pairing Armenian folk songs with American jazz standards. The conversation explores raising a bilingual child, the tension between colloquial and literary Armenian, and why diasporans must shed the myth of being “defective Armenians” and claim their role as cultural creators. Join us for an intimate conversation about music as firelight, the universality of human feeling, and how a mountain-top voice can carry Armenia far beyond the narratives of war and loss.
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Writing the Speeches that Shaped History with Ken Khachigian
11/05/2025
Writing the Speeches that Shaped History with Ken Khachigian
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 demands, and the nicknames that capture its many dimensions—the Word Donkey, the Fireman, the Lion of the Speechwriters. Together, he and Dr. K explore how finding a president’s voice means balancing message, emotion, and history. This is a conversation about ambition, integrity, and the enduring power of words to define both personal and collective experience.
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Armenian in the Indo-European Family — with Dr. Hrach Martirosyan
10/09/2025
Armenian in the Indo-European Family — with Dr. Hrach Martirosyan
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, and clarify why Armenian is recognized as an independent branch. Beyond the technical, they reflect on why this history matters—not only for Armenian speakers, but also for the field of Indo-European linguistics—showing how language embodies continuity, identity, and memory, and why both students and scholars should embrace the unanswered questions that keep the field alive.
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From Komitas to Capital Cities: Sebu Simonian Between Languages
09/05/2025
From Komitas to Capital Cities: Sebu Simonian Between Languages
What does it mean to live and create between languages? How can code-switching become a form of artistry? In this episode of Language Therapy with Dr. K, Armenian American singer, songwriter, and one-half of the chart-topping duo Capital Cities, Sebu Simonian, takes listeners behind the scenes of his creative process and reveals the central role of language. From growing up a heritage speaker of Western Armenian to performing in Eastern Armenian, from writing global pop hits in English to reimagining Komitas in bilingual form, Sebu moves fluidly not only between languages but also across genres — making hybridity itself a hallmark of his work. The conversation highlights his deep connection to Armenian music, particularly Komitas, and the wide-ranging collaborations through which he continually reimagines how language, culture, and sound converge. Listen for a thoughtful reflection on the power of words and melodies to shape both personal expression and collective experience.
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From Komitas to Capital Cities: Sebu Simonian Between Languages
09/05/2025
From Komitas to Capital Cities: Sebu Simonian Between Languages
What does it mean to live and create between languages? How can code-switching become a form of artistry? In this episode of Language Therapy with Dr. K, Armenian American singer, songwriter, and one-half of the chart-topping duo Capital Cities, Sebu Simonian, takes listeners behind the scenes of his creative process and reveals the central role of language. From growing up a heritage speaker of Western Armenian to performing in Eastern Armenian, from writing global pop hits in English to reimagining Komitas in bilingual form, Sebu moves fluidly not only between languages but also across genres — making hybridity itself a hallmark of his work. The conversation highlights his deep connection to Armenian music, particularly Komitas, and the wide-ranging collaborations through which he continually reimagines how language, culture, and sound converge. Listen for a thoughtful reflection on the power of words and melodies to shape both personal expression and collective experience.
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Echoes, Dialects, Selves: Performing Belonging with Arman Nshanian
08/07/2025
Echoes, Dialects, Selves: Performing Belonging with Arman Nshanian
What happens when language is more than a tool—when it becomes a performance, a personality, a portal to the past? In this richly layered conversation, artist and filmmaker Arman Nshanian joins Dr. K to trace the story of his life through the languages and dialects he's spoken, sung, embodied, and directed—from Egyptian-Armenian roots to Vienna opera halls, Yerevan film sets, and now to the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles with his latest project, Echoes of Our Ancestors. Together, they explore multilingualism, method acting, dialectal code-switching, diasporic identity, and the cost—and power—of artistic vulnerability.
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Echoes, Dialects, Selves: Performing Belonging with Arman Nshanian
08/07/2025
Echoes, Dialects, Selves: Performing Belonging with Arman Nshanian
What happens when language is more than a tool—when it becomes a performance, a personality, a portal to the past? In this richly layered conversation, artist and filmmaker Arman Nshanian joins Dr. K to trace the story of his life through the languages and dialects he's spoken, sung, embodied, and directed—from Egyptian-Armenian roots to Vienna opera halls, Yerevan film sets, and now to the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles with his latest project, Echoes of Our Ancestors. Together, they explore multilingualism, method acting, dialectal code-switching, diasporic identity, and the cost—and power—of artistic vulnerability.
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The Architecture of Belonging: Education and the Armenian Linguistic Landscape
06/30/2025
The Architecture of Belonging: Education and the Armenian Linguistic Landscape
What happens when the language you speak has been disconnected from its homeland for over a century? How does dialect shape identity, belonging, and memory? In this episode, Dr. K sits down with David Ghoogasian—educator and head of AGBU Manoogian-Demirdjian School—who grew up speaking the now-rare Armenian dialect of Artvin, passed down to him by his grandparents. Together, they explore the emotional and cultural power of dialect, the experience of linguistic shame, and the formative role of literacy in diasporic life. Drawing on his background in neuroscience and education, David reflects on how language lives in the body, in the brain, and across generations. This is a conversation about inclusion, transmission, and the future of Armenian in all its forms.
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The Language of Luck: Cultivating Serendipity with Christian Busch
06/02/2025
The Language of Luck: Cultivating Serendipity with Christian Busch
How do we talk about luck? Can a shift in language alter our experience of chance and unpredictability? What happens when we stop waiting for fortune to strike and begin cultivating the conditions for serendipity? In this episode, Dr. K is joined by Dr. Christian Busch—author of The Serendipity Mindset and professor at USC’s Marshall School of Business—for a wide-ranging conversation on the intersection of language, luck, and meaning-making. Together, they explore how the stories we tell about fortune shape our ability to perceive and act on unexpected opportunities. From folk etymologies of fate in Armenian to the role of inner narrative in shaping agency, Dr. K and Dr. Busch reflect on cultural attitudes toward chance, leadership under uncertainty, and the joy that can emerge from embracing the unplanned. Listen to gain insights into how linguistic framing influences self-perception, the difference between passive luck and active serendipity, and why ambiguity in language can be a powerful generator of connection and creativity.
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The Language of Luck: Cultivating Serendipity with Christian Busch
06/02/2025
The Language of Luck: Cultivating Serendipity with Christian Busch
How do we talk about luck? Can a shift in language alter our experience of chance and unpredictability? What happens when we stop waiting for fortune to strike and begin cultivating the conditions for serendipity? In this episode, Dr. K is joined by Dr. Christian Busch—author of The Serendipity Mindset and professor at USC’s Marshall School of Business—for a wide-ranging conversation on the intersection of language, luck, and meaning-making. Together, they explore how the stories we tell about fortune shape our ability to perceive and act on unexpected opportunities. From folk etymologies of fate in Armenian to the role of inner narrative in shaping agency, Dr. K and Dr. Busch reflect on cultural attitudes toward chance, leadership under uncertainty, and the joy that can emerge from embracing the unplanned. Listen to gain insights into how linguistic framing influences self-perception, the difference between passive luck and active serendipity, and why ambiguity in language can be a powerful generator of connection and creativity.
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Mapping Language and Identity: Dr. Hratch Tchilingirian and the Armenian Diaspora Survey
05/07/2025
Mapping Language and Identity: Dr. Hratch Tchilingirian and the Armenian Diaspora Survey
What does it mean to live a multilingual life shaped by displacement, theology, and research? How can language serve both as a utilitarian tool and a site of philosophical reflection? And what can large-scale data reveal about Armenian identity across continents? Join Dr. K and Dr. Hratch Tchilingirian—sociologist, scholar of religion, and director of the Armenian Diaspora Survey—as they trace his personal and intellectual journey across Beirut, Jerusalem, New York, and Oxford, using language as the thread. In this expansive conversation, they discuss the boundaries imposed and chosen in diasporic life, the shifting relationship between Armenian identity and language, and the surprising findings of one of the most ambitious studies of the global Armenian diaspora to date. From dialects and hyphenated identities to the politics of survey design, this episode explores how diasporic communities imagine and articulate Armenianness across generations and geographies.
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Mapping Language and Identity: Dr. Hratch Tchilingirian and the Armenian Diaspora Survey
05/07/2025
Mapping Language and Identity: Dr. Hratch Tchilingirian and the Armenian Diaspora Survey
What does it mean to live a multilingual life shaped by displacement, theology, and research? How can language serve both as a utilitarian tool and a site of philosophical reflection? And what can large-scale data reveal about Armenian identity across continents? Join Dr. K and Dr. Hratch Tchilingirian—sociologist, scholar of religion, and director of the Armenian Diaspora Survey—as they trace his personal and intellectual journey across Beirut, Jerusalem, New York, and Oxford, using language as the thread. In this expansive conversation, they discuss the boundaries imposed and chosen in diasporic life, the shifting relationship between Armenian identity and language, and the surprising findings of one of the most ambitious studies of the global Armenian diaspora to date. From dialects and hyphenated identities to the politics of survey design, this episode explores how diasporic communities imagine and articulate Armenianness across generations and geographies.
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Rearranging Armenian: Authenticity, Listening, and Learning
03/31/2025
Rearranging Armenian: Authenticity, Listening, and Learning
How does active listening shape a conversation? And what happens when we bring colloquial language into public discourse? In this episode, Dr. K sits down with Narek Amirkhanyan, host of Rearrange, Armenia’s most popular podcast, to explore the power of authenticity in language and media. They dive into the origins of Rearrange, its impact on the Armenian media landscape, and what it means to have smart, unfiltered conversations in everyday Armenian. Together, they unpack the cultural, personal, and political weight of speaking colloquially in public media—examining how language can be an act of inclusion, how communications styles shift across societies, and why asking ինչի [“why” in colloquial Armenian] might be the most radical question of all.
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Rearranging Armenian: Authenticity, Listening, and Learning
03/31/2025
Rearranging Armenian: Authenticity, Listening, and Learning
How does active listening shape a conversation? And what happens when we bring colloquial language into public discourse? In this episode, Dr. K sits down with Narek Amirkhanyan, host of Rearrange, Armenia’s most popular podcast, to explore the power of authenticity in language and media. They dive into the origins of Rearrange, its impact on the Armenian media landscape, and what it means to have smart, unfiltered conversations in everyday Armenian. Together, they unpack the cultural, personal, and political weight of speaking colloquially in public media—examining how language can be an act of inclusion, how communications styles shift across societies, and why asking ինչի [“why” in colloquial Armenian] might be the most radical question of all.
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Multilingualism on and off the Screen: Anora's Karren Karagulian
03/05/2025
Multilingualism on and off the Screen: Anora's Karren Karagulian
How can a film seamlessly play with languages? What is it like to move through multiple languages in a single sentence on screen? And what is the impact of giving linguistic freedom and agency to an actor? Join Dr. K and Karren Karagulian, Armenian American actor most well known for his role as Toros in the five-time Oscar winning film, Anora, as they discuss his unique position as the film’s unofficial language consultant for Armenian, the trust necessary between actor and director to capture authentic linguistic fluidity, and the impact on the audience.
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Multilingualism on and off the Screen: Anora's Karren Karagulian
03/05/2025
Multilingualism on and off the Screen: Anora's Karren Karagulian
How can a film seamlessly play with languages? What is it like to move through multiple languages in a single sentence on screen? And what is the impact of giving linguistic freedom and agency to an actor? Join Dr. K and Karren Karagulian, Armenian American actor most well known for his role as Toros in the five-time Oscar winning film, Anora, as they discuss his unique position as the film’s unofficial language consultant for Armenian, the trust necessary between actor and director to capture authentic linguistic fluidity, and the impact on the audience.
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Classical Armenian as Linguistic Archeology
02/02/2025
Classical Armenian as Linguistic Archeology
How can an ancient language be used as a vital tool of contemporary research? Can it serve as a form of time travel? What is the value of studying Classical Armenian - the oldest attested form of the Armenian language? Join Professor Peter Cowe, Narekatsi Professor of Armenian Studies at UCLA, and Dr. K as they reflect on learning, teaching, and living in multiple classical and modern languages. Listen as they locate Armenian in the larger Indo-European language family, dispel prevalent misconceptions, and reinforce language as a crucial lens for understanding the past and the present.
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Uncovering the Linguistic World of Iranian Armenian
11/18/2024
Uncovering the Linguistic World of Iranian Armenian
Why are certain dialects stigmatized? Which factors are pivotal in transforming societal attitudes and validating the legitimacy of a dialect? How can rigorous academic studies and scholarly attention alter perceptions of a language variety? What processes and methodologies are involved in constructing a grammar? Join Dr. K and Hossep Dolatian, linguist and author of the first published grammar of Persian Armenian, as they unpack the linguistic variations of this important dialect of the Armenian language. Learn about the importance of linguistic documentation and its role in elevating the status of a language within the global community.
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Dialects of Dispossession
10/03/2024
Dialects of Dispossession
How can a dialect be given new life after the loss of its homeland? Do dialects always need to compete with standard languages? What does it feel like to be a refugee in a shared homeland that is not one’s home? Join Dr. K and Lika Zakaryan, journalist and author of 44 Days: Diary from an Invisible War, a book later adapted into a movie, that documented Lika’s experience as an Artsakh native during the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh War. She is currently the host of the Muklimandil Podcast, recorded in Yerevan, Armenia and conducted entirely in Artsakh dialects. Join Dr. K and Lika as they discuss the pressures of language conformity, the impact of transmitting language through stories, and the multifaceted challenges and efforts to sustain the vitality of dialects in exile.
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Lavash and Language
08/30/2024
Lavash and Language
What is the connection between food and language? Can they be separated or do they always live in each other’s orbits? And how do Armenians benefit from the culinary and linguistic diversity present in the culture? Dr. K is joined by Ara Zada, chef and co-author of the cookbook Lavash, who shares his journey through the gastronomical landscapes of Armenia. Dr. K and Ara take us on his journey to discover dishes made and consumed by people in Armenia and the linguistic encounters that punctuate the adventure. Their conversation traverses borders, cultures, and languages, showcasing the transformative power of sharing meals and experiences.
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