Organised by the Faculty of Philology of Yerevan State University in cooperation with the Armenian Language Research Laboratory, the conference will bring together scholars working on Acharyan’s intellectual legacy and on the many fields to which he contributed: the history of Armenian, historical-comparative linguistics, etymology, lexicography, dialectology, manuscript studies, literature, folklore, Oriental studies, diaspora communities, and - of particular importance for readers of this blog -onomastics and historical toponymy.
Although the abstract deadline has now passed, the event remains one of the major Armenian linguistic gatherings of 2026. It is not only a commemorative conference, but also an opportunity to reassess Acharyan’s scholarship from the perspective of contemporary linguistics. His work belongs to a period in which Armenian studies were being systematised through historical grammar, etymological research, dialect documentation, lexicography, and the careful study of names.
For onomasticians, Acharyan’s anniversary is especially significant. Armenian names - personal names, place names, ethnonyms, historical forms, dialectal variants, and names preserved in manuscripts - are deeply connected with language history, cultural memory, migration, and regional identity. Historical toponymy, in particular, offers a bridge between philology and geography: it helps reconstruct settlement history, language contact, political change, sacred landscapes, and the cultural memory of Armenian communities across different regions.
The conference programme is expected to include invited lectures by leading specialists, papers from members of the Armenian Language Research Laboratory, and selected contributions from submitted proposals. The organisers also plan to bring the results of this conference together with related Acharyan-anniversary events in Paris and Los Angeles in an English-language collective volume in 2027. This planned publication promises to make the anniversary not merely a ceremonial occasion, but a point of departure for new research.
The broader context is also noteworthy. The 150th anniversary of Hrachya Acharyan has been included in UNESCO’s calendar of anniversaries of eminent personalities and important events for the 2026–2027 cycle. In Armenia, the anniversary has also been marked by public commemorative initiatives, including a collector coin dedicated to Acharyan’s birth anniversary. These gestures underline the exceptional status of Acharyan not only as a linguist, but also as a figure of national cultural memory.
The Yerevan conference therefore invites us to look again at a scholar whose work still speaks to many branches of Armenian studies. For name scholars, it is a reminder that onomastics is never isolated from the wider history of language. Names preserve linguistic strata, historical contacts, religious traditions, regional identities, and the movement of communities through time.
In celebrating Hrachya Acharyan, the conference also celebrates the enduring importance of philology: the patient work of reading, comparing, classifying, interpreting, and preserving the words - and names - through which a culture remembers itself.
Event: International Conference Dedicated to the 150th Anniversary of Hrachya Acharyan
Dates: 8–10 October 2026
Venue: Yerevan State University
Organisers: Faculty of Philology, Yerevan State University; Armenian Language Research Laboratory
Focus: Armenian linguistics, philology, etymology, dialectology, lexicography, onomastics and historical toponymy
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