Baron/Paron

[Arpa]

Baron/Paron

 

Recently the name of that all time great Armenian author, satirist and social commentator has been invoked. In my opinion it would be a great disservice to invoke and compare his name with any self appointed social critic of today. However, this item is not about the merits of one over the other. We all know who that greatest of all satirist is/was. The problem is how to spell his name.

How many of us has often hesitated and painfully belabored over the subject? Is it Hagop Baronian, Hakob Paronian or yet another variation?

We will leave Hagop/Hakob aside and deal with the "baron" of that inimitable prince of our satire.

Of all the Armenian words and names Baronian may be the most confusing. Some will spell it correctly as "baronian", others mindful of the politically correct form will spell it as Paronian. Whis is correct? It depends where one is coming from. If we transliterate from the accepted Armenian spelling ä³ñáÝ»³Ý where ä equals the Latin P then it would "paron". Yet it would be more correct to spell it as Baron-, in a way to pay where payment is due. However, the plot thickens even more if we retransliterate from the Latin back to Armenian. That is, if we were to spell it as "baron" then the correct transliteration back to Armenian would have to be ´³ñáÝ spelled with the "ben" which is the equivalent of the Latin B.

Where did we go wrong? And, believe me, we did go wrong!

ä³ñáÝ/Baron is a relatively new loan word that enetered our lexicon. We all know the European usage of the word, it is a princely title used to describe minor royalty. It was introduced during the Kilikian era and used in the same sense as in Europe. It eventually evolved to become a common title to address men, it spread with great ease as the previous titles were becoming more and more difficult to deal with. Feudal titles such as "tiar" or "ter" were being considered unfit for ordinary mortals as they literally mean (my)"lord", (my)"owner".

 

Why is it then that we spell Baron with the Armenian letter Pe and not Ben? A typical case of reverse transliteration!!!

 

This case alone is proof that our cultural, political, social ecclesiastical and linguistic division division is not a recent phenomenon, Western Armenian culture and its corrupted idiom was well in place even as far back as the Kilikian era if not further beyond. However, no matter how old that division may be, no matter how entrenched we may be in our old habits, it may be time that we consciously and deliberately correct it. If I were an "otar" I would find it ridiculous that a handful of people have virtually a separate orthography and transliteration for each and every member. It may not have mattered in the past. East and west seldom did meet, each were smugly happy with their assertion of individuality, idependence and fractured identity. Those were the old days when we hardly talked to one another even less write to one another. Today things are different. When we can go to the moon, when we can send instant messages to Erevan and visa versa, there's got to be better way, a better, simpler, but above all a Standard Universal System of orthography and transliteration. SPECIALLY IF WE WANT OTHERS TO LEARN OUR LANGUAGE. Forget the "others". How many times have we heard diaporans say that they are afraid to go to Yerevan because they are afraid they wnon't undersatnd the language and visa versa?!!

 

IS IT BARON OR PARON?

And for that matter, is it Baruyr of Paruyr?