Simply incredible pictures. Among sea of people, rainbow flags and posters, you may see numerous Armenian and Turkish signs at Istanbul Gay Pride (27 June 2010). More pictures...
There were two different types of signs in Armenian. One says something like "We are here. Get used to it" which is great. The other is a bit unclear, and does not sound like proper Armenian. Literal translation could be something like "Love gets organised". They are in Western Armenian dialect, used by Turkish Armenians, so probably they use slightly different phraseology to that used in Armenia.
*pictures - via Radikal (thanks to John for the link).
Thanks for sharing this! I really envy the parades happening in different cities, and I can't wait for the one in Amsterdam (it's in August) and I'm definitely going to go there with my cousin and his boyfriend. Though too bad I'll be missing Christopher Street Day in Hamburg with my friend.
ReplyDeleteAbout the second Armenian sign. That's not even Western Armenian dialect (I am spyurqahay.. kind of). It seems that they've simply translated the phrase from Turkish, which means "love is to be organized", and while it (kind of) makes sense in English, it actually sounds weird in Armenian (whether Western or Eastern dialect).
Yes, that second sign sounds weird, even in English :)
ReplyDeleteI'd love to go to Christopher Street Day in Hamburg. A friend of mine keeps recommending it. Unfortunately, cannot make it this year, but may be next year. Have fun at Amsterdam Pride!
Oh, gosh! That's really rare! Wow. I'd like to post it in Armenian as well on my blog, though, some people will definitely say Armenian gays are traitors, etc.
ReplyDeleteAnd about the second sign, methinks it states "Love IS organized" (Սերը կամզակերպվել է in Eastern Armenian), giving the message that gay people are not "messy" and separated anymore, they're together, in an organized way, thus, they stand up all together and claim their rights, civil equality, etc.
At first, that sign is not that "deep", but now that I gave the interpretation (hopefully I'm right), it seems to be a very reasonable and a good statement.
@artmika: I'm gonna try to make it next year as well :) And thanks, will definitely have fun at Amsterdam Pride :D
ReplyDelete@ourmine: I like your interpretation of that banner :)
WOW, ourmine. That's a hell of interpretation :) If that's a case, it makes sense.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, I don't think ourmine's interpretation of the second banner is accurate.
ReplyDeleteThe Western Armenian translation of "Սերը կամզակերպվել է" (ourmine's suggestion) is "Սէրը կամզակերպուեր է" and not "Սէրը կամզակերպուիլ է" (as the banner says). "Սէրը կամզակերպուիլ է" does, in fact, mean "Love is to be organized/mobilized." I believe it is probably a literal translation of a Turkish saying or a slogan used on some of the Turkish banners.
In any event, thank you so much for posting those pictures! What a sight to see, from the prism of Armenian-Turkish relations, Armenian-gay identity, and also for speakers of Western Armenian worldwide. As a Western Armenian four generations removed from the Western Armenian homeland, it is always nice to see Western Armenian continue to be used in public. :)
Karnig, agree, regardless of that 2nd poster meaning, seeing such signs in Istanbul is incredible from so many perspectives.
ReplyDeleteSide by side (2): Armenian presence at Istanbul Gay Pride
ReplyDeleteI hope we get to witness more events like this in Istanbul with friendship and peace. Can't wait for the next gay pride.
ReplyDeleteHello all,
ReplyDeleteI was one of the organizers of the Istanbul LGBT Pride. I came up with your blog while searching for the english version of the slogan that's in discussion. I just wanted to give a few information regarding this. Scwolf-10k was right, the slogan means "love is to be organized", it is actually a part of a poem written by famous Turkish poet Ece Ayhan. The sentence doesn't sound that strange in Turkish. Even though Ayhan expressed that he meant "making love" in that sentence, for most Turkish people it has a revolutionary connotation. The turkish version gives the idea that "love is to gather up-get united and/or establish organizations". (In daily language, the word "örgütlenmek" is primarily used for forming organizations/NGOs.) Apart from english, we tried to translate the slogans mainly in the mother tongue languages of the turkish citizens. (We also had Kurdish slogans). We asked the help of our Turkish Armenian friends to do the translations. When I see them next time I'll definitely inform them about this blog.
Love from Istanbul!
Thanks a lot for clarifications, Sedef. Great job in organising Istanbul LGBT Pride. Respects!!
ReplyDelete