‘Truth’ that Is Far from Being True

• Main Author: Gasparyan, Seda
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Edizioni Ca’ Foscari 2015-06-01
• Series: Annali di Ca’ Foscari: Serie Orientale
• Online Access: http://edizionicafoscari.unive.it/riviste/annali-di-ca-foscari-serie-orientale/2015/1/truth-that-is-far-from-being-true/

The article is devoted to the critical analysis of the book The Armenian Massacres in Ottoman Turkey: A Disputed Genocide by Guenter Lewy who aims to deny the undeniable fact of the horrendous genocidal events in Western Armenia at the end of the nineteenth and beginning of twentieth century. The textological study of the work against the background of the cultural-historical facts characteristic of the period reveals Lewy’s policy of language use and his strategy of affecting the perception of the readers unaware of the essence of the events instigated by the Ottoman authorities. Implementing his long-range persuasion tactics, Lewy tries to expand the Turkish viewpoints by introducing his ‘truth’ about the Armenian Genocide into the work. The examination of the linguistic facts in Guenter Lewy’s book brings out his intention of distorting the historical reality.