LingoflyThe yard cleanup in Western Armenian
Two neighbors agree on cleaning the yard and collecting money for a playground in Western Armenian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Շաբաթ (shapat') օրը (orə) բակը (pagə) պիտի (bidi) մաքրենք։ Պիտի (bidi) գա՞ք։» — On Saturday we are cleaning the yard. Will you come?; «Անպայման (anbayman)։ Մինչեւ (minchev) հիմա (hima) քանի՞ (k'ani) բնակիչ (pnagich) գրանցուած (krantsvadz) է։» — Certainly. How many residents have signed up so far?
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: two neighbors agree on cleaning the yard and collecting money for a playground. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- hrashali Aghpə hert'ov bidi hanenk', vor voch vok' ampoghch orə chmnaGreat. We'll take the garbage out in turns, so that nobody stays the whole day.
- Երեխաներս ալ պիտի բերեմ։ Թող պզտիկուց սորվին բնութիւնը պահպանել։yerekhaners al bidi perem T'ogh bzdiguts sorvin pnut'yunə bahbanelI'll bring the children too. Let them learn to protect nature from childhood.
Lines one by one
| Western Armenian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Շաբաթ (shapat') օրը (orə) բակը (pagə) պիտի (bidi) մաքրենք։ Պիտի (bidi) գա՞ք։ | shapat' orə pagə bidi mak'renk' Bidi kak' | On Saturday we are cleaning the yard. Will you come? |
| Անպայման (anbayman)։ Մինչեւ (minchev) հիմա (hima) քանի՞ (k'ani) բնակիչ (pnagich) գրանցուած (krantsvadz) է։ | anbayman Minchev hima k'ani pnagich krantsvadz e | Certainly. How many residents have signed up so far? |
| Քսան (k'san) հոգի (hoki), մեծամասնութիւնը (medzamasnut'yunə)՝ երկրորդ (yergrort) մուտքէն։ | k'san hoki, medzamasnut'yunə yergrort mudk'en | Twenty people; most are from the second entrance. |
| Իսկ (isg) խաղահրապարակին (khaghahrabaragin) համար (hamar) գումար (kumar) կը (gə) հաւաքէ (havak'e)՞ք։ | isg khaghahrabaragin hamar kumar gə havak'ek' | And are you collecting money for the playground? |
| Այո (ayo), հինգ (hink) հազար (hazar) դրամ (tram) մէկ (meg) բնակարանէն, ով կրնայ (grnay)։ | ayo, hink hazar tram meg pnagaranen, ov grnay | Yes, five thousand drams per apartment, from whoever can. |
| Կու (gu) տամ (dam)։ Հօրեղբայրս (horeghpayrs) ալ (al) կամաւոր (gamavor) է, ան (an) ճօճանակ (jojanag) պիտի (bidi) շինէ։ | gu dam Horeghpayrs al gamavor e, an jojanag bidi shine | I'll give. My uncle is a volunteer too; he'll build a swing. |
| Հրաշալի։ Աղբը (aghpə) հերթով (hert'ov) պիտի (bidi) հանենք, որ (vor) ոչ ոք (voch vok') ամբողջ օրը (ampoghch orə) չմնայ։ | hrashali Aghpə hert'ov bidi hanenk', vor voch vok' ampoghch orə chmna | Great. We'll take the garbage out in turns, so that nobody stays the whole day. |
| Երեխաներս ալ (al) պիտի (bidi) բերեմ։ Թող (t'ogh) պզտիկուց (bzdiguts) սորվին բնութիւնը պահպանել (pnut'yunə bahbanel)։ | yerekhaners al bidi perem T'ogh bzdiguts sorvin pnut'yunə bahbanel | I'll bring the children too. Let them learn to protect nature from childhood. |
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?
“Շաբաթ (shapat') օրը (orə) բակը (pagə) պիտի (bidi) մաքրենք։ Պիտի (bidi) գա՞ք։” (shapat' orə pagə bidi mak'renk' Bidi kak') — On Saturday we are cleaning the yard. Will you come? 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.