Self-taught Turkish ‘linguist’ keeps dead language alive

Mehmet Kusman, an 86-year-old Turkish man with little formal education, has dedicated his life to preserving the ancient Urartian language and culture. Living near the Cavustepe fortress in eastern Turkey, Kusman has spent decades learning the language from the inscriptions and artefacts found during excavations. Despite the difficulty of the script, borrowed from Assyrian cuneiform, Kusman mastered the alphabet in just three years, but it took him 22 years to learn 650 words of vocabulary.

Local historians acknowledge Kusman's enthusiasm and devotion, but they caution that his claim to speak the language is not supported by historical evidence, as the pronunciation remains unknown. Kusman's passion for Urartian culture has made him a local celebrity, with lectures across Europe, America, and Japan. While Kusman's efforts have brought attention to Urartian heritage, many experts view his claims as more of a public curiosity than an academic contribution to the field.