New Cádiz Armenian Studies Center in the Works

She explained, “My academic journey began with a deep interest in the Spanish language and literature, leading me to fluent proficiency. However, my equally strong passion for Armenian history and political studies guided my doctoral dissertation, titled ‘The Discourse of Conflict in the Spanish Sources on the Armenian Cause and its Translations.’ This dissertation explores the linguistic aspects of historical events, specifically the Armenian Genocide and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The research is being done within the framework of the Applied Linguistics doctoral program at the University of Cádiz under the supervision of Professor Miguel Casas Gómez and Professor Pamela Faber of the University of Granada, who are distinguished scientists in Europe. Miguel Casas is the director of the Institute of Applied Linguistics at the University of Cádiz, which is considered an exclusive research center in Europe. Pamela Faber has held the Chair of Translation and Interpreting at the Department of Translation and Interpreting of the University of Granada since 2001.”

As for how history and linguistics work together, she noted, “Science nowadays tends to include interdisciplinary approaches. When we talk about linguistics, people may imagine an analysis of letters or grammatical features of some language. In other words, analyze language features in a closed circle.  However, the modern approaches may include a wide range of studies including not only history, political studies, and sociology, but can even include clinical or genetic studies depending on the purpose of the investigation.”

She continued, “Linguistics and Armenian history, for my research, are intertwined. I try to address the linguistic phenomena concerning the language of the conflict in the Hispanic sources on the Armenian Cause (including both the Armenian Genocide and Nagorno Karabakh conflict), the lexicon developed in the conflict, the discursive strategies, and mechanisms, also to mark the extralinguistic factors that affect both the original works and their translations into other languages at the lexical level and beyond the linguistic limits themselves. As you can see, neither History nor Political Sciences can be excluded from this Linguistic research. Moreover, they are needed.”

The initiative, Margaryan said, has received support from political and academic spheres in Spain. “The vice-rector for internationalization of the University of Cádiz, Rafael Jimenez Castañeda, the head of the Linguistic Policy Department Javier de Cos, and the head of the University Center for Cooperation with Eastern Europe and Central Asia Andres Santana were the ones to visit Yerevan State University to inaugurate the Yerevan headquarter of the Center few months ago,” she explained.

The scope of the center will include modern Armenian history too, she explained. “It’s essential to acknowledge that universities generally follow ethical guidelines when addressing sensitive topics. We aim to cover diverse topics of Armenian interest that are relevant to the Spanish academic and civil society, however, all are approached from academic and scientific perspectives. The vision of the Center is to become a strong university center with big international academic involvement.”

Margaryan is a fan of Spain and the Spanish language. That love goes back to age 15, when she overheard a friend speaking Spanish with her mother to keep their conversation private from Armenian friends. “The idea of this seemingly secret communication fascinated me, and I became determined to learn this not-so-common language. It’s amusing because Spanish, as the world’s second-most-spoken language, was not very common in Armenia at that time. Ironically, now, living outside Armenia, Armenian serves as a secret language since only a select few can speak it. This curiosity about secret communication led me to choose Spanish as my career language. My academic journey brought me to Spain for my master’s studies.  And once you are there, it’s very hard not to admire the vibrant and abundant Spanish culture.”