LingoflyTwenty years later in Western Armenian
Two classmates meet by chance: life stories, changes and agreeing to meet in Western Armenian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Մի՞թէ (mit'e) դուն (tun) ես (yes)։ Քսան (k'san) տարի (dari) իրար չենք (chenk) տեսած (desadz)։» — Is it really you? We haven't seen each other for twenty years; «Այ քեզ բան (ay k'ez pan)։ Դուն (tun) գրեթէ (kret'e) չես (ches) փոխուած (p'okhuadz)։» — Well I never. You have hardly changed.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: two classmates meet by chance: life stories, changes and agreeing to meet. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Այ քեզ բան։ Դուն գրեթէ չես փոխուած։ay k'ez pan Tun kret'e ches p'okhvadzWell I never. You have hardly changed.
- Դպրոցն աւարտեցի եւ արտերկիր տեղափոխուեցայ։tbrotsn avardetsi yev ardergir deghap'okhvetsaI finished school and moved abroad.
- ayt yergrin mech hink dari abretsa Hedo amen inch p'okhvetsavI lived in that country for five years. Then everything changed.
- hantibink' hankisd Tsangatsadz zhami zanke, yes azad em orvan yergrort gesinLet's meet and take our time. Call at any hour; I am free in the afternoon.
Lines one by one
| Western Armenian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Մի՞թէ (mit'e) դուն (tun) ես (yes)։ Քսան (k'san) տարի (dari) իրար չենք (chenk) տեսած (desadz)։ | mit'e tun yes K'san dari irar chenk' desadz | Is it really you? We haven't seen each other for twenty years. |
| Այ քեզ բան (ay k'ez pan)։ Դուն (tun) գրեթէ (kret'e) չես (ches) փոխուած (p'okhuadz)։ | ay k'ez pan Tun kret'e ches p'okhvadz | Well I never. You have hardly changed. |
| Դպրոցն (tbrotsn) աւարտեցի (avardetsi) եւ (yev) արտերկիր (ardergir) տեղափոխուեցայ։ | tbrotsn avardetsi yev ardergir deghap'okhvetsa | I finished school and moved abroad. |
| Լո՞ւրջ (lurch)։ Հոն (hon) քանի՞ (k'ani) տարի (dari) ապրեցար։ | lurch Hon k'ani dari abretsar | Really? How many years did you live there? |
| Այդ (ayt) երկրին (yergrin) մէջ (mech) հինգ (hink) տարի (dari) ապրեցայ (abretsa)։ Յետոյ (hedo) ամէն ինչ փոխուեցաւ (amen inch p'okhvetsav)։ | ayt yergrin mech hink dari abretsa Hedo amen inch p'okhvetsav | I lived in that country for five years. Then everything changed. |
| Դէպի լաւը (tebi lavə), յուսով (husov) եմ (em)։ Ընտանիք (əndanik') կազմեցի՞ր։ | tebi lavə, husov em Əndanik' gazmetsir | For the better, I hope. Did you start a family? |
| Այո (ayo), երկու (yergu) երեխայ (yerekha)։ Հիմա (hima) հայրենի (hayreni) քաղաքին (k'aghak'in) մէջ (mech) ենք (enk), ժամանակաւորապէս (zhamanagavorabes)։ | ayo, yergu yerekha Hima hayreni k'aghak'in mech enk', zhamanagavorabes | Yes, two children. Now we are in our home city, for a while. |
| Հանդիպինք (hantibink) հանգիստ (hankisd)։ Ցանկացած ժամի (tsangatsadz zhami) զանգէ (zanke), ես (yes) ազատ (azad) եմ (em) օրուան երկրորդ կէսին (orvan yergrort gesin)։ | hantibink' hankisd Tsangatsadz zhami zanke, yes azad em orvan yergrort gesin | Let's meet and take our time. Call at any hour; I am free in the afternoon. |
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?
“Մի՞թէ (mit'e) դուն (tun) ես (yes)։ Քսան (k'san) տարի (dari) իրար չենք (chenk) տեսած (desadz)։” (mit'e tun yes K'san dari irar chenk' desadz) — Is it really you? We haven't seen each other for twenty years. 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.