LingoflyAt an Armenian course in Armenian
At a language school: level, schedule, price and how progress is checked in Armenian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Բարև ձեզ (barev dzez)։ Հայերենի դասընթացներ եմ փնտրում (hayereni dasənt'atsner em p'ntrum)։» — Hello. I'm looking for Armenian courses; «Բարև (barev)։ Լեզվի (lezvi) ի՞նչ (inch) մակարդակ ունեք (unek)։» — Hello. What's your language level? Every line can be played right on the page.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: at a language school: level, schedule, price and how progress is checked. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- barev dzez. hayereni dasənt'atsner em p'ntrumHello. I'm looking for Armenian courses.
- ayd depk'um — artasanut'yun yev lsoghut'yun. arrajin dasə anvchar eThen pronunciation and listening. The first lesson is free.
- Իսկ քերականությո՞ւնը։ Ինձ դժվար է տրվում։isk k'erakanut'yunə? indz dzhvar e trvumAnd grammar? It's hard for me.
- k'ayl arr k'ayl. tesut'yunə k'ich, praktikan — shatStep by step. Little theory, a lot of practice.
- ayo, arrtsants. ink'nuruyn kverakangnek', yev amen angam aveli lav kliniYes, online. You'll catch up on your own, and it will get better each time.
Lines one by one
| Armenian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Բարև ձեզ (barev dzez)։ Հայերենի դասընթացներ եմ փնտրում (hayereni dasənt'atsner em p'ntrum)։ | barev dzez. hayereni dasənt'atsner em p'ntrum | Hello. I'm looking for Armenian courses. |
| Բարև (barev)։ Լեզվի (lezvi) ի՞նչ (inch) մակարդակ ունեք (unek)։ | barev. lezvi inch makardak unek'? | Hello. What's your language level? |
| Դեռ (derr) սկսնակ (sksnak) եմ (em)։ Կարդում (kardum) եմ (em), բայց (bayts) լսելով (lselov) դժվար (dzhvar) եմ (em) հասկանում (haskanum)։ | derr sksnak em. kardum em, bayts lselov dzhvar em haskanum | I'm still a beginner. I read, but I understand speech with difficulty. |
| Այդ դեպքում (ayd depk'um)՝ արտասանություն (artasanut'yun) և լսողություն։ Առաջին դասը անվճար է (arrajin dasə anvchar e)։ | ayd depk'um — artasanut'yun yev lsoghut'yun. arrajin dasə anvchar e | Then pronunciation and listening. The first lesson is free. |
| Իսկ (isk) քերականությո՞ւնը։ Ինձ (indz) դժվար է տրվում (dzhvar e trvum)։ | isk k'erakanut'yunə? indz dzhvar e trvum | And grammar? It's hard for me. |
| Քայլ առ քայլ (k'ayl arr k'ayl)։ Տեսությունը (tesut'yunə) քիչ (k'ich), պրակտիկան (praktikan)՝ շատ (shat)։ | k'ayl arr k'ayl. tesut'yunə k'ich, praktikan — shat | Step by step. Little theory, a lot of practice. |
| Եթե (yet'e) դաս (das) բաց (bats) թողնեմ, կոնսպեկտ (konspekt) կլինի (klini)՞։ | yet'e das bats t'oghnem, konspekt klini? | If I miss a lesson, will there be notes? |
| Այո (ayo), առցանց (arrtsants)։ Ինքնուրույն (ink'nuruyn) կվերականգնեք, և ամեն անգամ ավելի լավ (amen angam aveli lav) կլինի (klini)։ | ayo, arrtsants. ink'nuruyn kverakangnek', yev amen angam aveli lav klini | Yes, online. You'll catch up on your own, and it will get better each time. |
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?
“Բարև ձեզ (barev dzez)։ Հայերենի դասընթացներ եմ փնտրում (hayereni dasənt'atsner em p'ntrum)։” (barev dzez. hayereni dasənt'atsner em p'ntrum) — Hello. I'm looking for Armenian courses. 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.