The short story Pure Charm actually triggered many memories in me. The style was exquisite and "exquisite" is an adjective that I always associate with two notions. Firstly, the infinite possibilities within languages and the mastery of its writers, secondly, specifically with the Armenian language itself.
To demonstrate the subtle ways that language works, here is what I remembered reading many years ago and managed to track it down in cyberspace.
This anecdote is told about Professor William Thomson, a.k.a. Lord Kelvin (1824-1907), the great physicist and inventor of the Kelvin scale.
When he was a professor of natural philosophy at Glasgow University for some fifty years, William Thomson, unable to meet his class one day, posted a note on the door of his lecture room: "Professor Thomson," it said, "will not meet his classes today." As a joke, some of his mischievous students erased the "c," leaving a message reading: "Professor Thomson will not meet his lasses today." The following day when the pranksters assembled in anticipation of the effect of their joke, they were chagrined to find that the professor had outwitted them. The note was now found to read: "Professor Thomson will not meet his asses today." (from http://www.anecdotage.com/).
Isn't language marvelous that it allows itself to be played with like that?
Now Armenian is even better, because it has more letters (originally 36 and now 38) which allows an even more sophisticated word play. You just have a bigger palette of letters to choose from.
To demonstrate the subtle ways that language works, here is what I remembered reading many years ago and managed to track it down in cyberspace.
This anecdote is told about Professor William Thomson, a.k.a. Lord Kelvin (1824-1907), the great physicist and inventor of the Kelvin scale.
When he was a professor of natural philosophy at Glasgow University for some fifty years, William Thomson, unable to meet his class one day, posted a note on the door of his lecture room: "Professor Thomson," it said, "will not meet his classes today." As a joke, some of his mischievous students erased the "c," leaving a message reading: "Professor Thomson will not meet his lasses today." The following day when the pranksters assembled in anticipation of the effect of their joke, they were chagrined to find that the professor had outwitted them. The note was now found to read: "Professor Thomson will not meet his asses today." (from http://www.anecdotage.com/).
Isn't language marvelous that it allows itself to be played with like that?
Now Armenian is even better, because it has more letters (originally 36 and now 38) which allows an even more sophisticated word play. You just have a bigger palette of letters to choose from.
Take for example a common word known to many. The word Srpazan-Սրբազան, which is a title reserved for the upper echelons of the religious hierarchy, mainly bishops and archbishops. and it literally means "adorned with holiness". And rightfully so, because they are supposed to act in a holy fashion and within the contextual framework of an exemplary moral and ethical behaviour.
Armenian has a letter called Tsoh, and here it is, "ց", in the printed form it looks like the letter g of the Latin alphabet, and it is very inconspicuous. Most languages reproduce this sound with two letters. Armenian is frugal and uses a single letter for it. Actually, the scientific name for it in the International Phonetic Alphabet is the very confounding voiceless alveolar affricate. Go figure.
Here is a perfect opportunity to beat the great Lord Kelvin at his game. All one has to do is to add this one single letter behind the word Srpazan and presto, true magic happens !!! We have the word Srpazants-Սրբազանց. A word that means "desecrator of holiness".
Now something tells me that the inventor of the first word, also mischievously invented the second. He was trying to teach us a lesson.
The question is, are we ready to learn?
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