LingoflyAt the shoe shop in Western Armenian
A shoe shop: size, fitting, color in Western Armenian. 7 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Բարեւ ձեզ (parev tsez)։ Այս (ays) սպորտային (sbordayin) կօշիկը (goshigə) ունի՞ք (unik') քառասուն (k'arrasun) չափսի։» — Hello. Do you have these sneakers in size forty?; «Վայրկեան (vayrgyan) մը (mə) նայիմ։ Այո (ayo), կայ (gay)։» — One minute, let me look. Yes, we do.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a shoe shop: size, fitting, color. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- chap'azants p'ok'r e Aveli medz chap's gayThey are too small. Is there a bigger size?
- sev gam mokhrakuyn Ays chap'sə harmar eBlack or gray. This size fits.
Lines one by one
| Western Armenian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Բարեւ ձեզ (parev tsez)։ Այս (ays) սպորտային (sbordayin) կօշիկը (goshigə) ունի՞ք (unik') քառասուն (k'arrasun) չափսի։ | parev tsez Ays sbordayin goshigə unik' k'arrasun chap'si | Hello. Do you have these sneakers in size forty? |
| Վայրկեան (vayrgyan) մը (mə) նայիմ։ Այո (ayo), կայ (gay)։ | vayrgyan mə nayim Ayo, gay | One minute, let me look. Yes, we do. |
| Կրնա՞մ փորձել (grnam p'ortsel)։ | grnam p'ortsel | May I try them on? |
| Իհարկէ (iharge)։ Փորձասենեակը հոն է (p'ortsaseneagə hon e)։ | iharge P'ortsaseneagə hon e | Of course. The fitting room is over there. |
| Չափազանց փոքր է (chap'azants p'ok'r e)։ Աւելի մեծ (aveli medz) չափս (chap's) կա՞յ (gay)։ | chap'azants p'ok'r e Aveli medz chap's gay | They are too small. Is there a bigger size? |
| Քառասունըմէկը պիտի (bidi) բերեմ։ Ի՞նչ (inch) գոյն (kuyn) կ'ուզէք։ | k'arrasunəmegə bidi perem Inch kuyn g'uzek' | I'll bring size forty-one. What color would you like? |
| Սեւ (sev) կամ (gam) մոխրագոյն (mokhrakuyn)։ Այս (ays) չափսը յարմար է (chap'sə harmar e)։ | sev gam mokhrakuyn Ays chap'sə harmar e | Black or gray. This size fits. |
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)։ Այս (ays) սպորտային (sbordayin) կօշիկը (goshigə) ունի՞ք (unik') քառասուն (k'arrasun) չափսի։” (parev tsez Ays sbordayin goshigə unik' k'arrasun chap'si) — Hello. Do you have these sneakers in size forty? 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.