Turkey's state-run channel broadcasts Western Armenian song for the first time

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

The song, titled ‘Tzyuni Patil’ sang by Armenian musician Erlin Tomaoğlu is the first Western Armenian song that have been aired on TRT Turkish TV.

A Western Armenian song video has been aired for the first time ever in the history of the state-owned Turkish TV channel TRT.

The song, “Tzyuni Patil” (Snow Flake) by Armenian musician Erlin Tomaoğlu, was first broadcast on TRT on May 11.

The song depicts the story of a snowflake dreaming of melting into water and flowing from mountains and waterfalls.

Speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News about her album “Dariner Vertch” (After Years), Tomaoğlu expressed her thanks to TRT for broadcasting the music video, allowing it a chance to go before Turkish audiences.

A few years ago, TRT broadcast another Armenian music video, but it was in the Eastern Armenian dialect. Western Armenian, which is on the list of UNESCO’s endangered languages, is a rich dialect used by most of the worldwide Armenian community except in Armenia and Iran. When asked whether she was thinking of reaching a wider audience, Tomaoğlu said: “The TRT broadcast was a significant step, but it is not enough alone. My contacts with other TV channels for the broadcast of the video are ongoing. This bears importance in going beyond our community and reaching larger masses. We also have a concert planned for the winter months; I would like to meet Turkish audiences at that concert.”

The language of love and friendship

Tomaoğlu, who is a music teacher at a historic Armenian school in Istanbul, said she began listening to Western Armenian songs with tapes from abroad during her childhood. “Within time, Eastern Armenian songs took the place of Western ones,” she said. Apart from Armenian songs, Tomaoğlu also sings Turkish songs, as well. A Turkish single named “Senden Sonra” (After You) was released in 2011. “My biggest dream is to meet audiences both in Turkey and the world. I know that songs keep languages alive and form a language of love and friendship,” she said.