ABSTRACT
The American-born do not deny the historical significance of the language, but accuse the defenders of "language at all costs" of operating in a vacuum; of being dream merchants who are oblivious of reality. The symbolic Armenians contend that under ideal conditions it is of course desirable to retain language use, but not if it is at the cost of their ability to make a comfortable living and achieve mobility in the dominant society. The discourse over language is lively and emotionally charged for a number of reasons. Since the 1970s, however, the controversy over language and varying definitions of Armenianness have been played out in meeting after meeting, in the myriad secular and sacred institutions and the voluntary associations. In the New York study, five measures of language maintenance were used: three behavioral and two attitudinal. The decrease in ability to read/write the ancestral language is followed by an equally precipitous drop in its usage at home.
