LingoflyA late order in Western Armenian
A call to an online shop: the order has not arrived in time, and the delivery fee has already been charged in Western Armenian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Բարեւ ձեզ (parev tsez), պատուէրս երկու (yergu) շաբաթ (shapat') է որ (vor) չէ (che) հասած (hasadz)։» — Hello, my order hasn't arrived for two weeks; «Ըսէք պատուէրին թիւը (t'ivə), առաքման (arrak'man) ժամկէտը (zhamgedə) պիտի (bidi) ստուգեմ (sdukem)։» — Tell me the order number, and I'll check the delivery term.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: a call to an online shop: the order has not arrived in time, and the delivery fee has already been charged. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Ըսէք պատուէրին թիւը, առաքման ժամկէտը պիտի ստուգեմ։əsek' badverin t'ivə, arrak'man zhamgedə bidi sdukemTell me the order number, and I'll check the delivery term.
Lines one by one
| Western Armenian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Բարեւ ձեզ (parev tsez), պատուէրս երկու (yergu) շաբաթ (shapat') է որ (vor) չէ (che) հասած (hasadz)։ | parev tsez, badvers yergu shapat' e vor che hasadz | Hello, my order hasn't arrived for two weeks. |
| Ըսէք պատուէրին թիւը (t'ivə), առաքման (arrak'man) ժամկէտը (zhamgedə) պիտի (bidi) ստուգեմ (sdukem)։ | əsek' badverin t'ivə, arrak'man zhamgedə bidi sdukem | Tell me the order number, and I'll check the delivery term. |
| Երկու (yergu) հազար (hazar) քառասունըեօթը։ Կայքին (gayk'in) վրայ (vra) գրուած (kruadz) էր (er) հինգ (hink) օր (or)։ | yergu hazar k'arrasunəyeot'ə Gayk'in vra krvadz er hink or | Two thousand forty-seven. The site said five days. |
| Կը (gə) տեսնեմ (desnem)։ Ապրանքը պահեստին մէջ է (abrank'ə bahesdin mech e), բայց (payts) առաքիչը (arrak'ichə) հիւանդ (hivant) էր (er)։ | gə desnem Abrank'ə bahesdin mech e, payts arrak'ichə hivant er | I see. The goods are at the warehouse, but the courier has been ill. |
| Իսկ (isg) առաքման (arrak'man) արժէքը (arzhek'ə) արդէն (arten) առած (arradz) եք (ek)։ Կ'ուզեմ (g'uzem) ետ (yed) ստանալ (sdanal)։ | isg arrak'man arzhek'ə arten arradz ek' G'uzem yed sdanal | And you have already charged the delivery fee. I want it back. |
| Իրաւունք (iravunk) ունիք (unik)։ Պիտի (bidi) վերադարձնենք կամ (gam) պիտի (bidi) ղրկենք առանց (arrants) վճարի։ | iravunk' unik' Bidi veratartsnenk' gam bidi ghrgenk' arrants vjari | You are right. We'll return it or send it free of charge. |
| Թող (t'ogh) ղրկեն, բայց (payts) նոր (nor) ժամկէտը (zhamgedə) գրաւոր (kravor) հաստատեցէք։ | t'ogh ghrgen, payts nor zhamgedə kravor hasdadetsek' | Let them send it, but confirm the new term in writing. |
| Նամակը (namagə) այսօր (aysor) պիտի (bidi) ստանաք (sdanak)։ Վճարումը (vjarumə)՝ ստանալու (sdanalu) ատեն (aden), առանց (arrants) նախավճարի։ | namagə aysor bidi sdanak' Vjarumə sdanalu aden, arrants nakhavjari | You will get the letter today. Payment — on delivery, without a prepayment. |
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), պատուէրս երկու (yergu) շաբաթ (shapat') է որ (vor) չէ (che) հասած (hasadz)։” (parev tsez, badvers yergu shapat' e vor che hasadz) — Hello, my order hasn't arrived for two weeks. 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.