UC Irvine

Harsneren : Language of the Armenian Bride

 Harsneren, meaning “Language of the Bride” in Armenian, was a signing language which developed due to speech taboos and a rule of silence imposed on married women. My ongoing study explores how Harsneren developed, at what moments women utilized it, and the actual signs that women demonstrated. Recently, I conducted fieldwork in the Tavush Province of present-day Armenia uncovered that young brides employed this sign language in order to communicate basic needs to members of their family; however, this was done only when absolutely necessary as communication was often prohibited for the young bride, especially in the presence of her husband, in-laws, and other affinal relatives.

My conversations with regional women (regardless of whether or not they spoke Harsneren), allowed for further understanding of the role and situation of married women in the 19th and early 20th century. Such norms included periods of silence observed by new brides, the expectation of women to yield their speech as a form of respect to men, or to remain silent as an expression of their modesty in the presence of others. It is quite possible that the use of Harsneren was widespread in different regions of Armenia since the social norms of the time that generated it ranged throughout the historical Armenian space. While Harsneren is no longer in active use today, my interviews allowed for uses of the nearly forgotten sign language to be seen and documented. Such documentation has not be done since D.P Karbelashvili’s study in 1935.

Carla Kekejian, University of California Los Angeles