LingoflyA wedding invitation in Western Armenian
An invitation to a wedding: when, where, what to give in Western Armenian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Կ'ուզեմ քեզ հարսանիքի հրաւիրել (g'uzem k'ez harsanik'i hravirel)։» — I want to invite you to my wedding; «Կը շնորհաւորեմ (gə shnorhavorem)։ Ե՞րբ (yerp) է։» — Congratulations! When is it?
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: an invitation to a wedding: when, where, what to give. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Հոկտեմբերի տասին։ Հրաւէրը վաղը պիտի ուղարկեմ։hogdemperi dasin Hraverə vaghə bidi ughargemOn the tenth of October. I'll send the invitations tomorrow.
- Ո՞ր եկեղեցւոյ մէջ է պսակը։vor yegeghetsvoy mech e bsagəIn which church is the crowning?
Lines one by one
| Western Armenian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Կ'ուզեմ քեզ հարսանիքի հրաւիրել (g'uzem k'ez harsanik'i hravirel)։ | g'uzem k'ez harsanik'i hravirel | I want to invite you to my wedding. |
| Կը շնորհաւորեմ (gə shnorhavorem)։ Ե՞րբ (yerp) է։ | gə shnorhavorem Yerp e | Congratulations! When is it? |
| Հոկտեմբերի տասին (dasin)։ Հրաւէրը (hraverə) վաղը (vaghə) պիտի (bidi) ուղարկեմ։ | hogdemperi dasin Hraverə vaghə bidi ughargem | On the tenth of October. I'll send the invitations tomorrow. |
| Ո՞ր (vor) եկեղեցւոյ (yegeghetsvoy) մէջ (mech) է պսակը։ | vor yegeghetsvoy mech e bsagə | In which church is the crowning? |
| Գիւմրիի (Kyumrii) մէջ (mech), տատիկիս (dadigis) տան (dan) մօտ (mod)։ | kyumrii mech, dadigis dan mod | In Gyumri, near my grandmother's house. |
| Ի՞նչ նուէր բերենք (inch nuer perenk')։ | inch nuer perenk' | What present shall we bring? |
| Ոչինչ (vochinch) պէտք չէ (bedk' che)։ Եկէք (yegek), ատիկա (adiga) բաւական է (pavagan e)։ | vochinch bedk' che Yegek', adiga pavagan e | Nothing is needed. Come — that is enough. |
| Անպայման (anbayman) պիտի (bidi) գանք (kank)։ Երեւի (yerevi) ամբողջ (ampoghch) ընտանիքով (əndanik'ov)։ | anbayman bidi kank' Yerevi ampoghch əndanik'ov | We will certainly come. Probably the whole family. |
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?
“Կ'ուզեմ քեզ հարսանիքի հրաւիրել (g'uzem k'ez harsanik'i hravirel)։” (g'uzem k'ez harsanik'i hravirel) — I want to invite you to my wedding. 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.