LingoflyFootball in the yard in Western Armenian
A yard: they call you to play football and agree on a time in Western Armenian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Իրիկունը (irigunə) ֆութպոլ (fut'bol) կը (gə) խաղանք (khaghank)։ Պիտի (bidi) գա՞ս։» — We are playing football in the evening. Will you come?; «Հաճոյքով (hajuyk'ov)։ Ժամը քանիսի՞ն (zhamə k'anisin)։» — With pleasure. At what time?
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a yard: they call you to play football and agree on a time. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Իրիկունը ֆութպոլ կը խաղանք։ Պիտի գա՞ս։irigunə fut'bol gə khaghank' Bidi kasWe are playing football in the evening. Will you come?
- Եօթին, մարզադաշտի կողքի բակին մէջ։yeot'in, marzatashdi goghk'i pagin mechAt seven, in the yard next to the stadium.
- Անցած անգամ պարտուեցանք։ Այս անգամ պիտի յաղթենք։antsadz ankam barduetsank' Ays ankam bidi haght'enk'Last time we lost. This time we'll win.
Lines one by one
| Western Armenian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Իրիկունը (irigunə) ֆութպոլ (fut'bol) կը (gə) խաղանք (khaghank)։ Պիտի (bidi) գա՞ս։ | irigunə fut'bol gə khaghank' Bidi kas | We are playing football in the evening. Will you come? |
| Հաճոյքով (hajuyk'ov)։ Ժամը քանիսի՞ն (zhamə k'anisin)։ | hajuyk'ov Zhamə k'anisin | With pleasure. At what time? |
| Եօթին (yeot'in), մարզադաշտի կողքի (goghk'i) բակին (pagin) մէջ (mech)։ | yeot'in, marzatashdi goghk'i pagin mech | At seven, in the yard next to the stadium. |
| Գնդակ (kntag) ունի՞ք (unik'), թէ (t'e)՞ բերեմ իմս։ | kntag unik', t'e perem ims | Do you have a ball, or shall I bring mine? |
| Բեր (per), մերը կորած (goradz) է։ Երկու (yergu) թիմ (t'im) պիտի (bidi) ըլլանք։ | per, merə goradz e Yergu t'im bidi əllank' | Bring it, ours is lost. There will be two teams. |
| Անցած (antsadz) անգամ (ankam) պարտուեցանք (barduetsank)։ Այս անգամ (ays ankam) պիտի (bidi) յաղթենք (haght'enk)։ | antsadz ankam barduetsank' Ays ankam bidi haght'enk' | Last time we lost. This time we'll win. |
| Երեւի (yerevi)։ Բայց (payts) նախ (nakh) մարզուիլ (marzuil) պէտք է (bedk' e)։ | yerevi Payts nakh marzuil bedk' e | Probably. But first I need a training session. |
| Համաձայն (hamatsayn) եմ (em)։ Եթէ (yet'e) ուշանամ, պիտի (bidi) զանգեմ (zankem)։ | hamatsayn em Yet'e ushanam, bidi zankem | Agreed. If I am late, I'll call. |
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?
“Իրիկունը (irigunə) ֆութպոլ (fut'bol) կը (gə) խաղանք (khaghank)։ Պիտի (bidi) գա՞ս։” (irigunə fut'bol gə khaghank' Bidi kas) — We are playing football in the evening. Will you come? 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.