The article deals with a forgotten phenomenon: the role played by Ot­to­man Armenians in the study of the Turkish language in Europe dur­ing the long 19th century. It analyses it by paying attention to its Ottoman context. After de­ve­loping the Italian case, where the Mekhitaritsts of San Lazzaro acted as a re­lais in the teaching of Turkish, the paper enlarges the analysis to Europe. In the schools of Oriental languages, almost all the lecturers (“assistenti indigeni”) of Turk­ish were Armenians. They were in charge of the teaching of “practical Turk­­ish”. This privileged role can be explained first by the linguistic capital of the Ottoman Ar­me­nians, who were largely Turkophone; then by the local pre­sen­ce of an Ar­menian diaspora. The Mekhitarists played a significant role in this trans­mission thanks to their educational network: they provided teachers and participated in the promotion of Turkish. Next to the teaching, Ar­menians also participated in the study of the language and took part in the developing Tur­ko­lo­gy. The phenomenon ended progressively at the turn of the century, when Ar­me­nians were replaced by Turkish-speaking Mus­lim Turks, echoing the on-go­ing nationalization in the Ottoman Em­pire.