ARMENIAN FROM CANADA SPEAKS POLISHED SINGLISH
by Tan Dawn Wei

The Straits Times
February 17, 2008 Sunday
Singapore

WHEN Ara Hampartsoumian, an Armenian-Canadian, got married in the
Armenian Church in Hill Street two years ago, it was the first Armenian
wedding there in many years.

The church, the oldest standing Christian church here, is part of
the Armenians’ rich heritage, of which Mr Hampartsoumian, 39, is proud.

His father was Greek Armenian. He reckons that there are no more than
30 Armenians in Singapore now.

Armenia is a mountainous country bordering Turkey.

Having spent the last seven years here, Mr Hampartsoumian, the business
development director at ad agency Bartle Bogle Hegarty Asia Pacific,
says his Singlish is so polished now that he can fool some people
into believing he is Singaporean.

Born and raised in Montreal, Canada, and trained in graphic design,
he spent most of his early working years in Los Angeles, Las Vegas
and San Francisco.

But one day, tired out, he packed up for the Bahamas where he ‘sat
on a beach and contemplated life’. Within two months, he got bored
and started an ad agency in the capital Nassau with a partner, then
opened his own bar which he later sold.

He headed for Singapore in 2000. Now a permanent resident, his
‘heritage eye’ led him to move in recently into a restored pre-war
shophouse in Everitt Road in Joo Chiat.

His Singaporean wife Lu-lyn, 38, runs a web design company. They have
a 10-month-old daughter.

Q Do French-Canadians see themselves as French, Canadian, or neither?

A Hmm… I’m an Armenian-Canadian and consider myself Armenian first.

Going by that logic, I’d say French-Canadians think of themselves as
French. Oui?

Q Montreal, known as the City of Festivals, has over 90 festivals a
year, from jazz to fireworks. What’s a ‘must do’ there?

A Tough question. If I must pick one, it will be the Montreal
International Jazz Festival, the largest in the world.

The city centre is filled with awesome music from dusk till dawn
for 10 days. And what’s really great is that three-quarters of the
concerts are free.

Q If Montreal is the second largest French-speaking city in the world,
are there uniquely Quebecois words ?

A Yes, many. But most should not be seen in print.

Q What do Canadians feel about being the ‘poorer cousins’ of the
Americans?

A Now, now, you’re asking for trouble. May I remind our neighbours
down south that the Canadian dollar has risen above the US dollar
recently, something that hasn’t happened in 30 years. And besides,
we have more land, so there.

Q What’s the best thing about the fact that Canada – with a population
of over 30 million – has one of the highest per capita immigration
rates in the world?

A Diversity. It’s a huge advantage to grow up with so many different
cultures. The food, music, arts and languages are all there, and
usually at the same time in the neighbourhood cafe.

Q What do you miss about Montreal’s winters, where temperatures are,
on average, minus 14 deg C?

A Ah, you mean waking up at 6am to total darkness for about five
months, putting on six layers of clothing to go outside, shovelling
metre-deep snow from the driveway and scraping thick ice from your
car windscreen as you turn the car heater on at full blast for 30
minutes? No, nothing at all.

Q Jim Carrey, Mike Myers, Martin Short, Leslie Nielsen, Michael J.

Fox, Dan Aykroyd: why are Canadians so good at rib-tickling? Is it,
as Carrey suggests, repression?

A No, I don’t think it’s repression, but I’m sure it has to do with
the long winters. They’re so miserable most of the time, there’s
nothing like a good laugh, usually at one’s expense of course.

Q Apparently, the Royal Montreal Curling Club is the oldest active
sports club in North America. Can you explain why this game, the main
piece of equipment of which is a broom, has so much appeal?

A What I can tell you is that Canadians are passionate about their
sports. If a game uses a broom, so be it.

Someone recently told me that there’s a curling club in Singapore.

Who would have thought of it? Maybe I can convince my colleagues to
get in on some Canadian heritage action.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress