LingoflyThe work isn't moving in Armenian
Two colleagues talk: the project dragged on, someone gets distracted, and the deadline looms in Armenian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Ինչու (inchu)՞ է ծրագիրը (tsragirə) ձգձգվում երկրորդ (yerkrord) ամիս (amis)։» — Why has the project been dragging on for a second month?; «Խոչընդոտը մատակարարումն է, ոչ (voch) թե (t'e) մեր (mer) թիմը (t'imə)։» — The obstacle is the supply, not our team. Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: two colleagues talk: the project dragged on, someone gets distracted, and the deadline looms. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- hamadzayn em. yerku arrajadrank' hetadzgenk'Agreed. We'll push two tasks back.
- chhandznvenk'. amen gnov petk' e minchev verj hastsnelWe won't give up. We have to get it done at any cost.
- Այո, և գործը կվերսկսվի բոլոր կանոններով։ayo, yev gortsə kverskvi bolor kanonnerovYes, and the work will resume by all the rules.
Lines one by one
| Armenian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Ինչու (inchu)՞ է ծրագիրը (tsragirə) ձգձգվում երկրորդ (yerkrord) ամիս (amis)։ | inchu e tsragirə dzgdzgvum yerkrord amis? | Why has the project been dragging on for a second month? |
| Խոչընդոտը մատակարարումն է, ոչ (voch) թե (t'e) մեր (mer) թիմը (t'imə)։ | khochəndotə matakararumn e, voch t'e mer t'imə | The obstacle is the supply, not our team. |
| Բայց (bayts) մարդիկ (mardik) նաև (nayev) շեղվում են (en) ուրիշ (urish) առաջադրանքներով։ | bayts mardik nayev sheghvum en urish arrajadrank'nerov | But people also get distracted by other tasks. |
| Համաձայն (hamadzayn) եմ (em)։ Երկու (yerku) առաջադրանք (arrajadrank') հետաձգենք։ | hamadzayn em. yerku arrajadrank' hetadzgenk' | Agreed. We'll push two tasks back. |
| Իսկ (isk) եթե (yet'e) չհասցնենք, ամեն (amen) ինչ (inch) ապարդյուն (apardyun) կլինի (klini)։ | isk yet'e chhastsnenk', amen inch apardyun klini | And if we don't make it, everything will be in vain. |
| Չհանձնվենք։ Ամեն գնով (amen gnov) պետք է (petk' e) մինչև վերջ հասցնել (minchev verj hastsnel)։ | chhandznvenk'. amen gnov petk' e minchev verj hastsnel | We won't give up. We have to get it done at any cost. |
| Ուրեմն (uremn) վաղը (vaghə) ձեռնամուխ (dzerrnamukh) ենք (enk) լինում (linum) նոր (nor) պլանին։ | uremn vaghə dzerrnamukh enk' linum nor planin | Then tomorrow we start on the new plan. |
| Այո (ayo), և գործը (gortsə) կվերսկսվի բոլոր կանոններով (bolor kanonnerov)։ | ayo, yev gortsə kverskvi bolor kanonnerov | Yes, and the work will resume by all the rules. |
How to prepare for a conversation like this
Memorizing the lines is not enough: the other person will say their own thing, not what is written. What helps more is catching the key words by ear and keeping three rescue phrases ready: “I don't understand”, “repeat, please”, “slower”.
And one more thing phrasebooks do not mention: awkwardness gets in the way more than not knowing the words.
- Fear of making mistakes gets in the way of learning a language, and noticeably so. The link turns up study after study, and together those studies cover almost twenty thousand people.checked many timesTeimouri, Goetze & Plonsky, 2019, Studies in Second Language Acquisition 41(2) · 19,933 participants from 23 countries; correlation with results r = −0.36.
- That fear can be dealt with — the methods have been tested and they work.checked many timesXiong et al., 2024, Journal of Language and Social Psychology · 37 studies, anxiety reduced by −0.61. Of the seven conditions examined, only age turned out to matter.
Frequently asked
How do you start a conversation in Armenian in this situation?
“Ինչու (inchu)՞ է ծրագիրը (tsragirə) ձգձգվում երկրորդ (yerkrord) ամիս (amis)։” (inchu e tsragirə dzgdzgvum yerkrord amis?) — Why has the project been dragging on for a second month? The first line in such a conversation is almost always the same, and that is the one worth learning: the other person will carry it from there.
What if you did not understand the reply?
Say “I don't understand” and “repeat, please” — both are in the rescue set. Admitting your language is still shaky almost always makes the other person more patient.
Should you memorize the dialogue?
No. It is more useful to catch the key words by ear: the other person will say their own thing, and a memorized line will not always fit their reply.