AGBU Video's video: Shushan Karapetian: Language Use and Development in the Armenian Diaspora

Produced by AGBU WebTalks www.agbuwebtalks.org What happens when a child transitions from a home environment where Armenian is the primary language to a world where English dominates? Dr. Shushan Karapetian illuminates the challenges facing heritage language speakers and argues that by accepting the limitations of language development in the diaspora, we can move toward more effective systems of language transmission and education for the next generation. Dr. Shushan Karapetian is Deputy Director of the USC Institute of Armenian Studies. She received a PhD in Near Eastern Languages and Cultures from UCLA in 2014, where she taught Armenian Studies and Applied Linguistics courses for ten years. She also serves as associate director of the National Heritage Language Resource Center at UCLA. Karapetian researches, teaches, and writes about the Armenian experience, particularly focusing on competing ideologies at the intersection of language and the construction of transnational identity.