LingoflyTickets to the show in Western Armenian
At the theatre box office: a premiere, free seats and the price in Western Armenian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Բարեւ (parev), ուրբաթ (urpat') օրուան (oruan) ներկայացման տոմս (doms) կա՞յ (gay)։» — Hello, are there tickets for Friday's show?; «Ուրբաթ (urpat') պրեմիերա (bremiera) է, միայն (miayn) վերջին (verchin) շարքերը մնացած (mnatsadz) են (en)։» — Friday is the premiere; only the last rows are left.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: at the theatre box office: a premiere, free seats and the price. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- ayt baragayin shapat' oruan doms arrnem Inch arzheIn that case I'll take a ticket for Saturday. How much is it?
Lines one by one
| Western Armenian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Բարեւ (parev), ուրբաթ (urpat') օրուան (oruan) ներկայացման տոմս (doms) կա՞յ (gay)։ | parev, urpat' oruan nergayatsman doms gay | Hello, are there tickets for Friday's show? |
| Ուրբաթ (urpat') պրեմիերա (bremiera) է, միայն (miayn) վերջին (verchin) շարքերը մնացած (mnatsadz) են (en)։ | urpat' bremiera e, miayn verchin shark'erə mnatsadz en | Friday is the premiere; only the last rows are left. |
| Իսկ (isg) բեմը հոնկէ (honge) լա՞ւ կ'երեւի (g'erevi)։ | isg pemə honge lav g'erevi | And is the stage visible well from there? |
| Կ'երեւի (g'erevi), բայց (payts) դերասաններուն դէմքերը հեռու (herru) են (en)։ | g'erevi, payts terasannerun demk'erə herru en | It is visible, but the actors' faces are far away. |
| Այդ պարագային (ayt baragayin) շաբաթ (shapat') օրուան (oruan) տոմս (doms) առնեմ (arrnem)։ Ի՞նչ (inch) արժէ (arzhe)։ | ayt baragayin shapat' oruan doms arrnem Inch arzhe | In that case I'll take a ticket for Saturday. How much is it? |
| Չորս (chors) հազար (hazar) դրամ (tram)։ Ուսանողի քարտով (k'ardov)՝ երեք (yerek') հազար (hazar)։ | chors hazar tram Usanoghi k'ardov yerek' hazar | Four thousand drams. With a student card — three thousand. |
| Երկու (yergu) տոմս (doms) տուէք (duek)։ Ծափահարութիւնները (dzap'aharut'yunnerə) երկա՞ր կը (gə) տեւեն։ | yergu doms duek' Dzap'aharut'yunnerə yergar gə deven | Give me two tickets. Do the applause last long? |
| Այս (ays) ռեժիսորին քով (k'ov)՝ միշտ (mishd)։ Ազդագիրը (aztakirə) առէք (arrek), հոն (hon) սիւժէն (syuzhen) կայ (gay)։ | ays rrezhisorin k'ov mishd Aztakirə arrek', hon syuzhen gay | With this director — always. Take a playbill; the plot is there. |
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 (parev), ուրբաթ (urpat') օրուան (oruan) ներկայացման տոմս (doms) կա՞յ (gay)։” (parev, urpat' oruan nergayatsman doms gay) — Hello, are there tickets for Friday's show? 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.