Vartan Matiossian, The Politics of Naming the Armenian Genocide: Language, History and “Medz Yeghern”, London & New York, I.B. Tauris 2022, 279 p., $26,95 (paperback)

Vartan Matiossian's Th e Politics of Naming the Armenian Genocide fi lls a gap, as this is the only academic book aiming to study the way the massacres of the Ottoman Armenians in 1915-16 have been named in the public sphere.Th e fi rst volume in a series edited by historian Bedross Der Matossian titled "Armenians in the Modern and Early Modern World", it meticulously presents the diff erent words and expressions used since the events to name the unnamable and the context in which they have been used.It discusses, in particular, the expression "Medz Yeghern," used in Armenian to refer to the events of 1915-16, and whose initial meaning is (or can be, since other translations are possible) "Great Crime."Matiossian shows how the term became dominant in Armenian and has also been used in other languages (English in particular) but without totally eclipsing other words or expressions (in Armenian in particular).Th e book, whose author has a strong interest in languages, Armenian literature, and philology, is erudite, mobilizing an impressive quantity of sources (from the media, literary works, dictionaries, religious texts, and offi cial documents), predominantly in Armenian and English but also Spanish, Italian, and German.It is divided into two parts and seven chapters, in addition to an introduction whose main goal is to discuss the historical context, a short conclusion, two long and detailed appendixes, and numerous tables.Th e fi rst part focuses mostly on the use of the word "yeghern" in Armenian and the diff erent words and expressions to name the genocide of 1915 in this language and is organized chronologically.Th e second addresses the same issues but internationally and thematically, with a focus on the Vatican, Turkey, and the United States.Th e study starts with a historical epistemology of the Armenian word "yeghern," a term and concept central to the book.