LingoflyThe job won't budge in Western Armenian
A talk between two colleagues: the project is dragging, someone gets distracted, and the deadline burns in Western Armenian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Ինչո՞ւ (inchu) ծրագիրը (dzrakirə) կը (gə) ձգձգուի երկրորդ (yergrort) ամիս (amis)։» — Why is the project dragging into its second month?; «Խոչընդոտը մատակարարումն է, ոչ (voch) թէ (t'e) մեր (mer) թիմը (t'imə)։» — The obstacle is the supply, not our team.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a talk between two colleagues: the project is dragging, someone gets distracted, and the deadline burns. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- hamatsayn em Yergu arrachatrank' hedatskenk'Agreed. We'll put off two tasks.
- chhantsnvink' Amen knov bedk' e minchev verch hastsnelWe won't give up. At any cost we must bring it to the end.
- ayo, yev kordzə bidi versgsi polor ganonnerovYes, and the work will resume by all the rules.
Lines one by one
| Western Armenian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Ինչո՞ւ (inchu) ծրագիրը (dzrakirə) կը (gə) ձգձգուի երկրորդ (yergrort) ամիս (amis)։ | inchu dzrakirə gə tsktskvi yergrort amis | Why is the project dragging into its second month? |
| Խոչընդոտը մատակարարումն է, ոչ (voch) թէ (t'e) մեր (mer) թիմը (t'imə)։ | khochəntodə madagararumn e, voch t'e mer t'imə | The obstacle is the supply, not our team. |
| Բայց (payts) մարդիկ (martig) նաեւ կը (gə) շեղուին ուրիշ (urish) առաջադրանքներով։ | payts martig naev gə sheghvin urish arrachatrank'nerov | But people also get distracted by other tasks. |
| Համաձայն (hamatsayn) եմ (em)։ Երկու (yergu) առաջադրանք (arrachatrank') յետաձգենք։ | hamatsayn em Yergu arrachatrank' hedatskenk' | Agreed. We'll put off two tasks. |
| Իսկ (isg) եթէ (yet'e) չհասցնենք, ամէն (amen) ինչ (inch) ապարդիւն (abartyun) պիտի (bidi) ըլլայ (əllay)։ | isg yet'e chhastsnenk', amen inch abartyun bidi əllay | And if we don't manage, everything will be in vain. |
| Չյանձնուինք։ Ամէն գնով (amen knov) պէտք է (bedk' e) մինչեւ վերջ հասցնել (minchev verch hastsnel)։ | chhantsnvink' Amen knov bedk' e minchev verch hastsnel | We won't give up. At any cost we must bring it to the end. |
| Ուրեմն (uremn) վաղը (vaghə) ձեռնամուխ (tserrnamukh) կ'ըլլանք (g'əllank) նոր (nor) պլանին։ | uremn vaghə tserrnamukh g'əllank' nor blanin | Then tomorrow we set about the new plan. |
| Այո (ayo), եւ (yev) գործը (kordzə) պիտի (bidi) վերսկսի բոլոր կանոններով (polor ganonnerov)։ | ayo, yev kordzə bidi versgsi polor ganonnerov | 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 Western Armenian in this situation?
“Ինչո՞ւ (inchu) ծրագիրը (dzrakirə) կը (gə) ձգձգուի երկրորդ (yergrort) ամիս (amis)։” (inchu dzrakirə gə tsktskvi yergrort amis) — Why is the project dragging into its 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.