LingoflyAt the passport office in Western Armenian
At the passport office: registration, a translated document and the review term in Western Armenian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Բարեւ ձեզ (parev tsez)։ Հաշուառման համար (hamar) եկած (yegadz) եմ (em)։» — Hello. I have come about a registration; «Բարեւ ձեզ (parev tsez)։ Նոյնականացման քարտը ներկայացուցէք (noynaganatsman k'ardə nergayatsutsek')։» — Hello. Please show your ID card.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: at the passport office: registration, a translated document and the review term. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Բարեւ ձեզ։ Նոյնականացման քարտը ներկայացուցէք։parev tsez Noynaganatsman k'ardə nergayatsutsek'Hello. Please show your ID card.
- Ահա։ Ծննդեան վկայականը ալ բերած եմ։aha Dznntean vgayaganə al peradz emHere. I have also brought my birth certificate.
- Լաւ։ Փաստաթուղթի թարգմանութիւնը վաւերացուա՞ծ է։lav P'asdat'ught'i t'arkmanut'yunə vaveratsuadz eAll right. Is the translation of the document certified?
- Այս ձեւաթուղթը լրացուցէք մեծատառերով։ays tsevat'ught'ə lratsutsek' medzadarrerovFill in this form in capital letters.
- Քննարկման ժամկէտը որքա՞ն է։k'nnargman zhamgedə vork'an eWhat is the review term?
Lines one by one
| Western Armenian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Բարեւ ձեզ (parev tsez)։ Հաշուառման համար (hamar) եկած (yegadz) եմ (em)։ | parev tsez Hashuarrman hamar yegadz em | Hello. I have come about a registration. |
| Բարեւ ձեզ (parev tsez)։ Նոյնականացման քարտը ներկայացուցէք (noynaganatsman k'ardə nergayatsutsek')։ | parev tsez Noynaganatsman k'ardə nergayatsutsek' | Hello. Please show your ID card. |
| Ահա (aha)։ Ծննդեան (dznntean) վկայականը ալ (al) բերած (peradz) եմ (em)։ | aha Dznntean vgayaganə al peradz em | Here. I have also brought my birth certificate. |
| Լաւ (lav)։ Փաստաթուղթի (p'asdat'ught'i) թարգմանութիւնը (t'arkmanut'yunə) վաւերացուա՞ծ է։ | lav P'asdat'ught'i t'arkmanut'yunə vaveratsuadz e | All right. Is the translation of the document certified? |
| Այո (ayo), նօտարի (nodari) մօտ (mod) վաւերացուցի (vaveratsutsi)։ | ayo, nodari mod vaveratsutsi | Yes, I certified it at a notary. |
| Այս (ays) ձեւաթուղթը (tsevat'ught'ə) լրացուցէք (lratsutsek) մեծատառերով (medzadarrerov)։ | ays tsevat'ught'ə lratsutsek' medzadarrerov | Fill in this form in capital letters. |
| Քննարկման (k'nnargman) ժամկէտը (zhamgedə) որքա՞ն (vork'an) է։ | k'nnargman zhamgedə vork'an e | What is the review term? |
| Մէկ (meg) ամիս (amis)։ Պատասխանը (badaskhanə) գրաւոր (kravor) պիտի (bidi) ուղարկուի։ | meg amis Badaskhanə kravor bidi ughargui | One month. The answer will be sent in writing. |
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)։ Հաշուառման համար (hamar) եկած (yegadz) եմ (em)։” (parev tsez Hashuarrman hamar yegadz em) — Hello. I have come about a registration. 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.