LingoflyAfter the evening news in Western Armenian
At home after the evening news: a source, a rumour and a live broadcast in Western Armenian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Երեկոյեան (yeregoyean) լուրերը տեսա՞ր։» — Did you see the evening news?; «Տեսայ (desay)։ Այդ (ayt) յօդուածը մեծ սկանդալ առաջացուց (hotvadzə medz sgantal arrachatsuts)։» — I did. That article caused a big scandal.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: at home after the evening news: a source, a rumour and a live broadcast. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Տեսայ։ Այդ յօդուածը մեծ սկանդալ առաջացուց։desay Ayt hotvadzə medz sgantal arrachatsutsI did. That article caused a big scandal.
- Ես կը կարծեմ, որ լրագրողները կը չափազանցնեն։yes gə gardzem, vor lrakroghnerə gə chap'azantsnenI think journalists exaggerate.
- masamp hamatsayn em, payts deghegut'yunə bedk' e sdukelI partly agree, but the information has to be checked.
- Վաղը նախարարը հարցազրոյց պիտի տայ։vaghə nakhararə hartsazruyts bidi dayTomorrow the minister will give an interview.
Lines one by one
| Western Armenian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Երեկոյեան (yeregoyean) լուրերը տեսա՞ր։ | yeregoyean lurerə desar | Did you see the evening news? |
| Տեսայ (desay)։ Այդ (ayt) յօդուածը մեծ սկանդալ առաջացուց (hotvadzə medz sgantal arrachatsuts)։ | desay Ayt hotvadzə medz sgantal arrachatsuts | I did. That article caused a big scandal. |
| Իսկ (isg) աղբիւրը (aghpyurə) յայտնի (haydni)՞ է։ | isg aghpyurə haydni e | And is the source known? |
| Ոչ (voch), առայժմ (arrayzhm) այդ ընդամէնը ասեկոսէ է (ayt əntamenə asegose e)։ | voch, arrayzhm ayt əntamenə asegose e | No, for now it is only a rumour. |
| Ես կը կարծեմ (yes gə gardzem), որ (vor) լրագրողները (lrakroghnerə) կը (gə) չափազանցնեն (chap'azantsnen)։ | yes gə gardzem, vor lrakroghnerə gə chap'azantsnen | I think journalists exaggerate. |
| Մասամբ համաձայն եմ (masamp hamatsayn em), բայց (payts) տեղեկութիւնը (deghegut'yunə) պէտք է (bedk' e) ստուգել։ | masamp hamatsayn em, payts deghegut'yunə bedk' e sdukel | I partly agree, but the information has to be checked. |
| Վաղը (vaghə) նախարարը (nakhararə) հարցազրոյց (hartsazruyts) պիտի (bidi) տայ (day)։ | vaghə nakhararə hartsazruyts bidi day | Tomorrow the minister will give an interview. |
| Ուղիղ (ughigh) եթերին (yet'erin) մէջ (mech)։ Ի դէպ (i teb), ատիկա (adiga) ամէն (amen) բան (pan) պիտի (bidi) պարզէ։ | ughigh yet'erin mech I teb, adiga amen pan bidi barze | Live. By the way, that will clear everything up. |
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?
“Երեկոյեան (yeregoyean) լուրերը տեսա՞ր։” (yeregoyean lurerə desar) — Did you see the evening news? 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.