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Armeniaca | Vol. 1 – Ottobre 2022

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Research Article

A Brief Introduction to Harsnerēn

Carla Kekejian    Independent scholar    

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abstract

Harsnerēn, meaning ‘Language of the Bride’ in Armenian, was a gesture-based form of communication used by married women. Harsnerēn was used when communication was absolutely necessary, as restrictions were typically placed on the speech of married women. The fieldwork for this study was conducted in six villages in Armenia where the author of this article filmed and documented first-hand accounts of uses of Harsnerēn. Harsnerēn, while observed as a tradition of the past, allows for an examination of the relationship between language and power dynamics in intimate, familial, and social relationships in modern society.

Published
Oct. 28, 2022
Accepted
March 23, 2022
Submitted
Jan. 11, 2022
Language
EN

Keywords: Language • Armenian • Women • Silence-keeping • Sign language • Harsnerēn

permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/arm/9372-8175/2022/01/004

Copyright: © 2022 Carla Kekejian. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.