LingoflyIn the kitchen, by the recipe in Western Armenian
Cooking for two: a recipe, vegetables, the oven and the order of steps in Western Armenian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Ի՞նչ (inch) կ'եփենք (g'ep'enk) այսօր (aysor)։ Բաղադրատոմս (paghatradoms) ունի՞ս (unis)։» — What are we cooking today? Do you have a recipe?; «Տատիկիս (dadigis) բաղադրատոմսով (paghatradomsov)՝ սմբուկ (smpug) եւ (yev) լոլիկ (lolig) ջեռոցին մէջ (mech)։» — By grandmother's recipe: eggplants and tomatoes in the oven.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: cooking for two: a recipe, vegetables, the oven and the order of steps. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- inch g'ep'enk' aysor Paghatradoms unisWhat are we cooking today? Do you have a recipe?
- Լաւ։ Նախ բանջարեղէնը մաքրեմ։lav Nakh panchareghenə mak'remAll right. First I'll clean the vegetables.
- Կտրատելու տախտակը առ։ Սխտորն ալ մանրացուր։gdradelu dakhdagə arr Skhdorn al manratsurTake the cutting board. Mince the garlic too.
- Ջուրը եռացնե՞մ, թէ՞ ուղղակի ջեռոցին մէջ թխենք։churə yerratsnem, t'e ughghagi cherrotsin mech t'khenk'Shall I boil the water, or shall we just bake it in the oven?
Lines one by one
| Western Armenian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Ի՞նչ (inch) կ'եփենք (g'ep'enk) այսօր (aysor)։ Բաղադրատոմս (paghatradoms) ունի՞ս (unis)։ | inch g'ep'enk' aysor Paghatradoms unis | What are we cooking today? Do you have a recipe? |
| Տատիկիս (dadigis) բաղադրատոմսով (paghatradomsov)՝ սմբուկ (smpug) եւ (yev) լոլիկ (lolig) ջեռոցին մէջ (mech)։ | dadigis paghatradomsov smpug yev lolig cherrotsin mech | By grandmother's recipe: eggplants and tomatoes in the oven. |
| Լաւ (lav)։ Նախ (nakh) բանջարեղէնը (panchareghenə) մաքրեմ։ | lav Nakh panchareghenə mak'rem | All right. First I'll clean the vegetables. |
| Կտրատելու (gdradelu) տախտակը (dakhdagə) առ (arr)։ Սխտորն ալ (al) մանրացուր (manratsur)։ | gdradelu dakhdagə arr Skhdorn al manratsur | Take the cutting board. Mince the garlic too. |
| Ջուրը (churə) եռացնե՞մ, թէ (t'e)՞ ուղղակի (ughghagi) ջեռոցին մէջ (mech) թխենք (t'khenk)։ | churə yerratsnem, t'e ughghagi cherrotsin mech t'khenk' | Shall I boil the water, or shall we just bake it in the oven? |
| Ջեռոցին մէջ (mech)։ Շատ (shad) աղել (aghel) պէտք չէ (bedk' che), ետքը պիտի (bidi) աղենք։ | cherrotsin mech Shad aghel bedk' che, yedk'ə bidi aghenk' | In the oven. No need to salt it much — we'll salt it later. |
| Կափարիչը (gap'arichə) գոցե՞մ։ Եւ (yev) որքա՞ն (vork'an) ժամանակ (zhamanag) պէտք է (bedk' e)։ | gap'arichə kotsem Yev vork'an zhamanag bedk' e | Shall I put the lid on? And how much time is needed? |
| Քառասուն (k'arrasun) վայրկեան (vayrgyan)։ Հանելէ ետք (yedk') թող (t'ogh) քիչ մը (k'ich mə) հովանայ (hovana)։ | k'arrasun vayrgyan Hanele yedk' t'ogh k'ich mə hovana | Forty minutes. After you take it out, let it cool a little. |
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?
“Ի՞նչ (inch) կ'եփենք (g'ep'enk) այսօր (aysor)։ Բաղադրատոմս (paghatradoms) ունի՞ս (unis)։” (inch g'ep'enk' aysor Paghatradoms unis) — What are we cooking today? Do you have a recipe? 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.