Shared Meaning and Choice as Components of Armenian Immigrant Adaptation

Abstract

The presence of the Armenian community in Washington, D. C. is one example of the persistence of ethnic identity in the United States. This community is a cohesive group ofapproximately 1,000 families whose unity can be attributed neither to lower socio-economic level nor to neighborhood proximity. Its members are middle-class professionals and businesspersons who are residentially scattered throughout the metropolitan area. Community members are united through a shared system of meaning. Nation, church, and family have distinct meaning for American Armenians which differs from that of other Americans. While a shared symbol system has a unifying effect, Armenians as ethnic Americans living in a heterogeneous society have available a wide range of choices in the behavior they can exhibit. Many of these choices are influenced by the metropolitan setting of Washington, D. C. Factors such as physical distance from church, residential dispersion throughout the suburban area, marriage to a non-Armenian, education, and occupation contribute to the behavioral diversity exhibited by Armenians.