'Surprising': 5-year-old Lusin talks about Homshetsi on Mother Language Day

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5-year-old Lusin Sultan Özkan speaks in Homshetsi, or Homshetsma, with her father, who is a Homshetsi researcher and teacher. She teaches the words she knows to her mother Tuğçe Meriç Özkan.

Lusin Sultan can express several words in four different languages.

Struggling for Homshetsi, categorized as a "definitely endangered language" by UNESCO, Mahir Özkan, Tuğçe Meriç Özkan and Lusin Özkan inspire several mother language advocates to use one's mother language in family and to spread and struggle for the the language.

With his story books and poems in Homshetsi and his translations, Mahir Özkan and teacher Tuğçe Meriç Özkan make valuable efforts for the Hamshen people. They now leave the stage to their daughter Lusin. Just as they leave her the beauty of speaking their own language...

We listen to Lusin Sultan Özkan...

Would you like to tell us about yourself?

My name is Lusin Sultan. I like cats and dogs. I like the colors blue and pink very much and I am 5 years old. I cannot go to school now as I am a little bit sick. My school is also closed, too. (In quarantine)

How is it to grow up in 2 languages? Would you mind telling us about it?

Talking about growing up in two languages... First, I want to say my first words in Homshetsi and Turkish. In Homshetsi, it was "cincuğg" (sparrow, bird). In Turkish, it was "anne" (mother). I find Turkish easier. Because there are still so many words in Homshetsi that I don't know. There are also some words in Turkish that I don't know. Not as much as Turkish, but I also know a language which is a bit easy, which is English.

How does it feel to grow up in two languages?

Different... Surprising... I like the languages of Homshetsi and Turkish very much. I want to say this.

With whom do you speak Homshetsi the most?

With my father and paternal aunt. There is no need for anyone else; my father is already a Homshetsi teacher. But he doesn't teach Homshetsi at his school, he teaches philosophy.

Does your mother know Homshetsi?

So-so.

What do you mean "so-so"?

It means this: She knows but somewhere in between. Not as much as my father and I do. Somewhere in between.

Do you speak Homshetsi with your mother?

Little, too little. Very rarely.

How much do you speak Homshetsi with your father?

Much. So much. So so so much.

Do you ever speak Turkish with your father?

It happens sometimes. At times, I mean, sometimes, I forget and speak Turkish, too. But Homshetsi is a special language, Homshetsi is a beautiful language. I would like to sing you a song now. (Lusin Sultan ends the interview by singing us a song in four languages.) (EMK/SD)

* In translating this interview from Turkish into English, the colloquial language use of Lusin has been retained as much as possible; her picture is not used in the news considering the best interest of the child.

** About Homshetsi / Homshetsma - UNESCO Atlas of the World's Languages in Danger shares the following information: Name of the language: Homshetsma (Turkey) (en), homshetsma (Turquie) (fr), homshetsma (Turquía) (es); Alternate names: Homshetsi; Related records: Homshetsma (Caucasus); Vitality: Definitely endangered; Number of speakers: Not available; Location(s): north-eastern Turkey; earlier also adjacent Georgia, from where deported to Central Asia; an outlying dialect of (Western) Armenian not listed separately by the SIL