Cultural Diversity in the Armenian Community Essays -- essays research

Abstract   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The cultural context for the Armenian person is the result of upholding and defending a way of life and values that have been maintained for centuries, for perhaps two thousand years. For that reason, although Armenians living in the United States today come from a variety of countries of origin, and may to some extent speak different dialects or even different languages, yet they have many cultural similarities due to centuries of commonality. The cultural similarities among the Armenians can be seen mainly in three different areas: Spirituality, historicity, and family.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Spirituality refers to the perspective of that which is valued in life, and that which must to be upheld and defended under any and all circumstances, regardless of the social environment and surrounding conditions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Historicity refers to that which has been traditionally done, the ‘Armenian way of life,’ – both that which is important and perhaps not as important. Whereas spirituality may refer more to ‘content,’ the important values in life, historicity refers more to the living ‘process,’ how the important values in life are attained.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Family on the other hand is the everyday living environment within which spirituality and historicity are applied and lived out. ‘Family’ in the Armenian community refers to more than the family of origin or the nuclear family. Instead, it includes both of these along with all of the extended family and even the small surrounding community. These family ties are much more important and influential in the decision making process than would initially appear, therefore, they must be acknowledged and understood. All Armenians may not uphold the same spirituality, historicity, and family values, however, they would still approach life’s decisions based on these cultural categories.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Armenians living in the United States, especially those who live in large communities tend to discover opposing trends between the culture in which they were brought up, and those of the dominant culture in which they have to live, work, interface, and survive. Working at the Berjikian Law Firm   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Vicken Berjikian established the Berjikian law firm in 1983, as a criminal defense and personal injury firm. In the past 17 years the Berjikian Law firm has grown to become established and well known in the Armenian community. The... ...h out and help persons and families. All these lead to better and higher quality, as well as more timely services to clients, and a sense of satisfaction for both the client and the professional.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The relationship between the Armenian client and the legal professional is a complex one. It is full of issues that go beyond giving them legal advice or filing a law suit on their behalf, it includes issues relating to a person’s cultural context. In fact, generally the actual legal issues sometimes become secondary, or at least not as central in the person’s priorities. At the beginning, such a relationship can cause great frustration and waste of time in the legal professional’s attempt to provide the appropriate service. Eventually, these communication issues can cause delays in providing professional service, and lead to extra unnecessary legal expenses. The correct understanding of a client’s cultural situation by the legal professional can lead to a higher quality of service, and lower costs. As difficult and complicated as this situation may sound, it is still not impossible. In fact, most experienced professionals learn over th e years to relate to the Armenian culture.