LingoflyAt the pharmacy in Western Armenian
At the pharmacy: a cold and a question about a prescription in Western Armenian. 7 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Բարեւ ձեզ (parev tsez)։ Ինչո՞վ կրնամ (grnam) օգնել (oknel)։» — Hello. How can I help?; «Գլուխս կը ցաւի (klukhs gə tsavi), եւ (yev) ջերմութիւն ունիմ (chermut'yun unim)։» — I have a headache and a fever.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: at the pharmacy: a cold and a question about a prescription. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- klukhs gə tsavi, yev chermut'yun unimI have a headache and a fever.
- Ոչ։ Առանց դեղատոմսի բան կա՞յ։voch. Arrants teghadomsi pan gayNo. Is there anything without a prescription?
- ayo. Ays haperə orə yergu ankam, udele yedk'Yes. These pills — twice a day, after meals.
- Շնորհակալութիւն։ Ալերժի չըլլա՞յ։shnorhagalut'yun. Alerzhi chəllayThank you. Will there be no allergy?
Lines one by one
| Western Armenian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Բարեւ ձեզ (parev tsez)։ Ինչո՞վ կրնամ (grnam) օգնել (oknel)։ | parev tsez. Inchov grnam oknel | Hello. How can I help? |
| Գլուխս կը ցաւի (klukhs gə tsavi), եւ (yev) ջերմութիւն ունիմ (chermut'yun unim)։ | klukhs gə tsavi, yev chermut'yun unim | I have a headache and a fever. |
| Դեղատոմս (teghadoms) ունի՞ք (unik')։ | teghadoms unik' | Do you have a prescription? |
| Ոչ (voch)։ Առանց դեղատոմսի բան կա՞յ (arrants teghadomsi pan gay)։ | voch. Arrants teghadomsi pan gay | No. Is there anything without a prescription? |
| Այո (ayo)։ Այս (ays) հաբերը՝ օրը երկու անգամ (orə yergu ankam), ուտելէ ետք (udele yedk')։ | ayo. Ays haperə orə yergu ankam, udele yedk' | Yes. These pills — twice a day, after meals. |
| Շնորհակալութիւն (shnorhagalut'yun)։ Ալերժի (alerzhi) չըլլա՞յ (chəllay)։ | shnorhagalut'yun. Alerzhi chəllay | Thank you. Will there be no allergy? |
| Ոչ (voch)։ Շուտ (shud) լաւցէք։ | voch. Shud lavtsek' | No. Get well soon. |
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 Western Armenian in this situation?
“Բարեւ ձեզ (parev tsez)։ Ինչո՞վ կրնամ (grnam) օգնել (oknel)։” (parev tsez. Inchov grnam oknel) — Hello. How can I help? 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.