The Mush dialect () is a

Western Armenian Western Armenian ( ) is one of the two standardized forms of Modern Armenian, the other being Eastern Armenian. It is based mainly on the Istanbul Armenian dialect, as opposed to Eastern Armenian, which is mainly based on the Yerevan Arme ...

dialect formerly spoken in the city of Mush (Muş) and the historic region of Taron, in present-day eastern

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. As a result of the extermination of the native Armenian population during the genocide of 1915, the dialect is almost completely extinct today with only several thousand native speakers in a number of villages in

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

and three Armenian-populated villages in the Samtskhe-Javakheti province of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Area spoken

According to Hrachia Adjarian in the early 20th century, the Mush dialect was spoken in the cities of

Bitlis Bitlis ( or ; ) is a city in southeastern Turkey. It is the seat of Bitlis District and Bitlis Province.Xizan (Hizan), Khlat (Xlat), Arjesh, Bulanikh,

Manazkert Malazgirt (; ; ), historically known as Manzikert (), is a town in Muş Province in Turkey. It is the seat of Malazgirt District.Khnus (Xnus), and Alashkert. The dialect was spread to the west of

Lake Van Lake Van (; ; ) is the largest lake in Turkey. It lies in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey in the provinces of Van Province, Van and Bitlis Province, Bitlis, in the Armenian highlands. It is a Salt lake, saline Soda lake, soda lake, receiv ...

. During the Russo-Turkish War of (1877–78), Armenians from Mush and Alashkert established villages in the

Erivan Governorate The Erivan Governorate was a province ('' guberniya'') of the Caucasus Viceroyalty of the Russian Empire, with its centеr in Erivan (present-day Yerevan). Its area was 27,830 sq. kilometеrs, roughly corresponding to what is now most of central ...

: in

Aparan Aparan ( , colloquially ) is a town in the Aparan Municipality of the Aragatsotn Province of Armenia, about 50 kilometers northwest of the capital Yerevan. As of the 2011 census, the population of the town was 6,451. As per the 2016 official esti ...

and south of Novo-Bayazit (present-day Gavar). According to Adjarian there were 21 Armenian villages in the Erivan Governorate where the Mush dialect was spoken. Another group of Armenians from Khnus settled near

Akhalkalaki Akhalkalaki ( ka, ახალქალაქი, tr ; ) is a town in Georgia (country), Georgia's southern region of Samtskhe–Javakheti and the administrative centre of the Akhalkalaki Municipality. Akhalkalaki lies on the edge of the Javakheti ...

, particularly in three villages: Heshtia, Toria and Ujmana. According to a 1955 article the Mush dialect was spoken in villages located in the following districts (''

raion A raion (also spelt rayon) is a type of administrative unit of several post-Soviet states. The term is used for both a type of subnational entity and a division of a city. The word is from the French (meaning 'honeycomb, department'), and is c ...

'') of Soviet Armenia: Talin,

Artik Artik () is a town in the Artik Municipality of the Shirak Province of Armenia. As of the 2011 census, the town had a population of 19,534. As per the 2016 official estimate, the population of Artik was around 18,800. As of the 2022 census, the t ...

, Aghin, Ejmiatsin, and Martuni. One notable village in Armenia where the dialect is still spoken is Kamo in the northwestern

Shirak Province Shirak (, ) is a provinces of Armenia, province () of Armenia. It is located in the north-west of the country, bordering the provinces of Lori Province, Lori to the east and Aragatsotn Province, Aragatsotn to the south and southeast, and the cou ...

Notable speakers

* Gegham Ter-Karapetian (Msho Gegham) (1856–1918), writer, poet * Arabo (1863–1893), '' fedayi'' * Aghbiur Serob (1864–1899), ''fedayi'' * Hrayr Dzhoghk (1864–1904), ''fedayi'' * Kevork Chavush (1870–1907), ''fedayi'' * Makhluto (1872–1956), ''fedayi'' * Armenak Shahmuradyan (1878–1939), singer *

William Saroyan William Saroyan (; August 31, 1908 – May 18, 1981) was an Armenian-American novelist, playwright, and short story writer. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1940, and in 1943 won the Academy Award for Best Story for the film ''The ...

(1908–1981), US-born writerYouTube video
of William Saroyan's visit to Soviet Armenia in the 1970s. He clearly speaks the Mush dialect. * Khachik Dashtents (1910–1981), writer

Songs in Mush dialect

*" Zartir lao" - '' ashugh'' Fahrat (1890s) *"Dle yaman" - written down by

Komitas Vardapet Soghomon Soghomonian, ordained and commonly known as Komitas (; 22 October 1935), was an Ottoman-Armenian priest, musicologist, composer, arranger, singer, and choirmaster, who is considered the founder of the Armenian national school of musi ...

in early 20th century, performed by Lusine Zakaryan, Flora Martirosian,

Isabel Bayrakdarian Isabel Bayrakdarian (; born February 1, 1974) is a Lebanese-born Canadian operatic soprano of Armenian descent who now resides and works in the United States. Early life Born in Zahlé, Lebanon, into an Armenian family, she moved to Canada as a ...

,
Lily
- Armenoids (2007)
Gulo
- Hasmik Harutyunyan

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * ;Further reading * — includes folklore genres in Mush dialect * * * — a wide study on the dialect, includes 15 stories, 710 proverbs, sayings, blessings {{Armenian language, state=expanded Armenian dialects Muş