Under threat of dying out, Turkish Armenian evolves through art

Yet defenders of Western Armenian, a language essentially spoken only by Turkey's now-miniscule Armenian minority, are refusing to let their native tongue become a historical curiosity. "We live within this language; our very existence is intimately bound up with it," said Vahakn Keshishian, whose Yeseyan cultural association has organised an Istanbul festival celebrating the language. Up until the end of March, the Hantibum (Face to Face) festival will feature concerts, workshops and film screenings showcasing Western Armenian.