LingoflyMeeting the family in Western Armenian
In the yard: a talk about children, age and relatives in Western Armenian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Այս (ays) երեխաները (yerekhanerə) ձե՞րն են (en)։» — Are these children yours?; «Այո (ayo)։ Տղաս ինը (inə) տարեկան (daregan) է, աղջիկս՝ չորս (chors)։» — Yes. Our son is nine, and our daughter is four.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: in the yard: a talk about children, age and relatives. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
Lines one by one
| Western Armenian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Այս (ays) երեխաները (yerekhanerə) ձե՞րն են (en)։ | ays yerekhanerə tsern en | Are these children yours? |
| Այո (ayo)։ Տղաս ինը (inə) տարեկան (daregan) է, աղջիկս՝ չորս (chors)։ | ayo Dghas inə daregan e, aghchigs chors | Yes. Our son is nine, and our daughter is four. |
| Շատ (shad) սիրուն (sirun) են (en)։ Աւագը ո՞ր (vor) դպրոց (tbrots) կ'երթայ (g'ert'ay)։ | shad sirun en Avakə vor tbrots g'ert'ay | They are very sweet. Which school does the elder one go to? |
| Բակի (pagi) դիմացի դպրոց (tbrots)։ Ոտքով (vodk'ov) կը (gə) քալէ (k'ale)։ | pagi timatsi tbrots Vodk'ov gə k'ale | The school across from the yard. He walks. |
| Իսկ (isg) ծնողներդ նոյնպէս (nuynbes) Երեւանի (Yerevani) մէջ (mech) կ'ապրի (g'abri)՞ն։ | isg dznoghnert nuynbes Yerevani mech g'abrin | And do your parents also live in Yerevan? |
| Ոչ (voch), գիւղին (kyughin) մէջ (mech)։ Ամէն (amen) շաբաթ (shapat') կ'երթանք (g'ert'ank) անոնց (anonts) մօտ (mod)։ | voch, kyughin mech Amen shapat' g'ert'ank' anonts mod | No, in a village. Every week we go to see them. |
| Երեխաները (yerekhanerə) տատիկի (dadigi) ու (u) պապիկի մօտ (mod) ուրախ (urakh) կ'ըլլան (g'əllan)։ | yerekhanerə dadigi u babigi mod urakh g'əllan | The children are happy at their grandmother's and grandfather's. |
| Ճիշդ ես (jishd yes)։ Քեռիս (k'erris) ալ (al) հոն (hon) կ'ապրի (g'abri), բակը (pagə) մեծ (medz) է։ | jishd yes K'erris al hon g'abri, pagə medz e | You are right. My uncle lives there too; the yard is big. |
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?
“Այս (ays) երեխաները (yerekhanerə) ձե՞րն են (en)։” (ays yerekhanerə tsern en) — Are these children yours? 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.