LingoflyWhat will the weather be like in Western Armenian
Two people arranging a weekend trip in Western Armenian. 7 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Վաղը (vaghə) ի՞նչ (inch) եղանակ (yeghanag) պիտի (bidi) ըլլայ (əllay)։» — What will the weather be like tomorrow?; «Կ'ըսեն (g'əsen)՝ արեւ (arev) պիտի (bidi) ըլլայ (əllay), տաք (dak')։» — They say it will be sunny, warm.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: two people arranging a weekend trip. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
Lines one by one
| Western Armenian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Վաղը (vaghə) ի՞նչ (inch) եղանակ (yeghanag) պիտի (bidi) ըլլայ (əllay)։ | vaghə inch yeghanag bidi əllay | What will the weather be like tomorrow? |
| Կ'ըսեն (g'əsen)՝ արեւ (arev) պիտի (bidi) ըլլայ (əllay), տաք (dak')։ | g'əsen arev bidi əllay, dak' | They say it will be sunny, warm. |
| Շատ լաւ (shad lav)։ Շաբաթ (shapat') օրը (orə) ազա՞տ ես (yes)։ | shad lav. Shapat' orə azad yes | Very good. Are you free on Saturday? |
| Այո (ayo), ազատ (azad) եմ (em)։ Բայց (payts) կիրակի (giragi) օրը (orə) զբաղած (zpaghadz) եմ (em)։ | ayo, azad em. Payts giragi orə zpaghadz em | Yes, I am free. But on Sunday I am busy. |
| Ուրեմն (uremn) շաբաթ (shapat') երթանք (yert'ank) Սեւան (Sevan)։ | uremn shapat' yert'ank' Sevan | Then let's go to Sevan on Saturday. |
| Հիանալի է։ Ժամը քանիսի՞ն (zhamə k'anisin)։ | hianali e. Zhamə k'anisin | Wonderful. At what time? |
| Առաւօտեան (arravodean) ինը (inə)։ Մի (mi) ուշանար։ | arravodean inə. Mi ushanar | At nine in the morning. Don't be late. |
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?
“Վաղը (vaghə) ի՞նչ (inch) եղանակ (yeghanag) պիտի (bidi) ըլլայ (əllay)։” (vaghə inch yeghanag bidi əllay) — What will the weather be like tomorrow? 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.