LingoflyAt the university dean's office in Western Armenian
At the dean's office: the schedule, a retake, a certificate for the dormitory in Western Armenian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Բարեւ ձեզ (parev tsez)։ Ես (yes) առաջին (arrachin) կուրսի ուսանող (usanogh) եմ (em)։» — Hello. I am a first-year student; «Բարեւ (parev)։ Ո՞ր (vor) ֆակուլտետէն էք (ek)։» — Hello. Which faculty are you from?
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: at the dean's office: the schedule, a retake, a certificate for the dormitory. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Կենսաբանութեան։ Դասացուցակը փոխուած է՞։gensapanut'ean Tasatsutsagə p'okhuadz eBiology. Has the timetable changed?
- ayo, yergushapt'i tasakhosut'yunə zhamə dasin eYes, on Monday the lecture is at ten o'clock.
- Շնորհակալութիւն։ Ֆիզիկայի քննութենէ կտրուած եմ, ե՞րբ է վերահանձնումը։shnorhagalut'yun Fizigayi k'nnut'ene gdruadz em, yerp e verahantsnuməThank you. I failed the physics exam — when is the retake?
- Յունուարի քսանին։ Նիւթը նորէն կրկնեցէք։hunuari k'sanin Nyut'ə noren grgnetsek'On the twentieth of January. Go over the material again.
Lines one by one
| Western Armenian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Բարեւ ձեզ (parev tsez)։ Ես (yes) առաջին (arrachin) կուրսի ուսանող (usanogh) եմ (em)։ | parev tsez Yes arrachin gursi usanogh em | Hello. I am a first-year student. |
| Բարեւ (parev)։ Ո՞ր (vor) ֆակուլտետէն էք (ek)։ | parev Vor faguldeden ek' | Hello. Which faculty are you from? |
| Կենսաբանութեան (gensapanut'ean)։ Դասացուցակը փոխուած է (tasatsutsagə p'okhuadz e)՞։ | gensapanut'ean Tasatsutsagə p'okhuadz e | Biology. Has the timetable changed? |
| Այո (ayo), երկուշաբթի (yergushapt'i) դասախօսութիւնը ժամը տասին է (tasakhosut'yunə zhamə dasin e)։ | ayo, yergushapt'i tasakhosut'yunə zhamə dasin e | Yes, on Monday the lecture is at ten o'clock. |
| Շնորհակալութիւն (shnorhagalut'yun)։ Ֆիզիկայի (fizigayi) քննութենէ (k'nnut'ene) կտրուած եմ (em), ե՞րբ (yerp) է վերահանձնումը (verahantsnumə)։ | shnorhagalut'yun Fizigayi k'nnut'ene gdruadz em, yerp e verahantsnumə | Thank you. I failed the physics exam — when is the retake? |
| Յունուարի (Hunuari) քսանին։ Նիւթը (nyut'ə) նորէն (noren) կրկնեցէք (grgnetsek)։ | hunuari k'sanin Nyut'ə noren grgnetsek' | On the twentieth of January. Go over the material again. |
| Լաւ (lav)։ Հանրակացարանի համար (hamar) տեղեկանք (deghegank') պէ՞տք է։ | lav Hanragatsarani hamar deghegank' bedk' e | All right. Is a certificate needed for the dormitory? |
| Այո (ayo)։ Դիմում (timum) ներկայացուցէք (nergayatsutsek), եւ (yev) վաղը (vaghə) պիտի (bidi) պատրաստենք։ | ayo Timum nergayatsutsek', yev vaghə bidi badrasdenk' | Yes. Submit an application, and tomorrow we'll have it ready. |
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)։ Ես (yes) առաջին (arrachin) կուրսի ուսանող (usanogh) եմ (em)։” (parev tsez Yes arrachin gursi usanogh em) — Hello. I am a first-year student. 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.