Western Armenian dialect is on the verge of extinction, according to associate professor of linguistics Avik Marutyan.

As he told a news conference in Yerevan, drastic measures must be taken to preserve the existing dialects.

As the professor stressed, the goal pursued by 1915 Armenian Genocide perpetrators was to wipe any trace of the nation off the face of earth. In the years following the Genocide, Turkey took every effort erase any memory of the Armenians, changing the names of villages, lakes, thus committing linguicide. In case of creation of a dialectic atlas, the professor said, Turkey can be summoned to Hague court.

Dwelling on current state of literary language, Marutyan noted with regret that it’s being distorted in Armenian TV shows. As he stressed, the government itself must address the issue.