White Genocide
Encyclopedia
White Genocide is the term Western Armenia
Western Armenia
Western Armenia is a term, primarily used by Armenians, to refer to Armenian-inhabited areas of the Armenian Highland that were part of the Ottoman Empire and now are part of the Republic of Turkey....

ns use to describe assimilation
Cultural assimilation
Cultural assimilation is a socio-political response to demographic multi-ethnicity that supports or promotes the assimilation of ethnic minorities into the dominant culture. The term assimilation is often used with regard to immigrants and various ethnic groups who have settled in a new land. New...

 in the West . Armenians were forcibly deported from their homeland in Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...

 during the Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide—also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and, by Armenians, as the Great Crime—refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I...

 in 1915-1923, and never allowed to return.

Western Armenians consider Armenians who assimilate within the local population of the country where they were eventually forced to emigrate (such as United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 etc.) as lost to their nation due to the continuing exile after the actual genocide
Genocide
Genocide is defined as "the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group", though what constitutes enough of a "part" to qualify as genocide has been subject to much debate by legal scholars...

 itself, and thus consider that lost Armenian to be another victim of the genocidal attempt to eliminate the Armenians. The term "White Genocide" was also used for the regions of Northern Artsakh
Northern Artsakh
Northern Artsakh is a political concept used in the Republic of Armenia to refer the region in north-western Azerbaijan, lying north of Nagorno-Karabakh Republic and between the Kura river and the border of the Republic of Armenia, which had a significant Armenian population from antiquity up to...

 and Nakhijevan
Nakhichevan
The Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic is a landlocked exclave of Azerbaijan. The region covers 5,363 km² and borders Armenia to the east and north, Iran to the south and west, and Turkey to the northwest...

 where Armenians were forcibly deported and cleansed from the regions.

United States

According to the 2000 United States Census there were 385,488 ethnic Armenians living in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. But only 202,708 (52.6%) of them referred Armenian as 'Language Spoken at Home'
Language Spoken at Home (U.S. Census)
Language Spoken at Home is a data set published by the United States Census Bureau on languages in the United States. In 2000 and 1990, it was a part of Summary File 3, collected from the long-form questionnaire which was distributed to 1 out of 6 households...

.

Throughout the diaspora, Armenians have developed a pattern of quick acculturation and slow assimilation. Armenians quickly acculturate to their society, learning the language, attending school, and adapting to economic and political life. Meanwhile, they are highly resistant to assimilation, maintaining their own schools, churches, associations, language, and networks of intramarriage and friendship. Sociologist Anny Bakalian observes that across generations, U.S. Armenians move from a more central "being Armenian" to a more surface "feeling Armenian," expressing nostalgic pride in their heritage while acting fully American.

Today's U.S. Armenian community is bound together by a network of Armenian groups including, for example, some 170 church congregations, 33 day schools, 20 national newspapers, 36 radio or television programs, 58 student scholarship programs, and 26 professional associations. Anthropologist Margaret Mead suggested that over the centuries, diaspora Armenians (like Jews) have developed a tight-knit family structure to serve as a bulwark against extinction and assimilation.

Canada

According to the Canada 2001 Census
Canada 2001 Census
The Canada 2001 Census was a detailed enumeration of the Canadian population. Census day was May 15, 2001. On that day, Statistics Canada attempted to count every person in Canada. The total population count of Canada was 30,007,094. This was a 4% increase over 1996 Census of 28,846,761. In...

 there were 40,505 Armenians in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, while 13,330 (32.9%) were multiple responses, meaning only one of their parents was Armenian. Although only 15,150
people (37.4% of the total Armenian population) spoke Armenian language
Armenian language
The Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora...

 as their native.
Armenian Canadian professor Taline Chichekian finds that linguistic assimilation of Armenians in Canada depends first, on size of the ethnic community, second, on institutional completness. Thus, Montreal and Toronto have the highest linguistic relention rates in Canada.

France

According to French National Institute of Demographic Studies
Institut national d'études démographiques
The Institut national d'études démographiques is a French research institute specialized in demography and population studies in general.-A research institute founded in 1945:...

 (INED) there were 4,778 people that were born in the Republic of Armenia (data of 1999). Armenian diaspora organization estimate that up to 400,000 ethnic Armenians live in France.. The reason of the difference of the number of Armenian-born and ethnic Armenians is that many Armenians were born in Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...

, Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....

, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...

, Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...

, etc, but not in the Republic of Armenia.
Because official French statistics don't give any data about the ethnicity or native language, it is so hard to estimate the assimilation rate of French Armenians.

Education
There are twelve Armenian-lnaguage or billingual (French and Armenian) schools in France: 8 elementary, 2 intermediate and 2 high schools.
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