LingoflyAt the doctor's in Western Armenian
At an appointment: a complaint, an examination, a diagnosis and what to do next in Western Armenian. 8 phrases that the conversation is made of: «Բարեւ ձեզ (parev tsez), նստեցէք (nsdetsek)։ Ի՞նչը ձեզ (tsez) կ'անհանգստացնէ։» — Hello, take a seat. What is troubling you?; «Երեք (yerek') օր (or) է՝ ստամոքսս (sdamok'ss) կը ցաւի (gə tsavi), եւ (yev) վատ կը զգամ (vad gə zkam)։» — For three days my stomach has been aching, and I feel unwell.
How the whole thing sounds
The situation: at an appointment: a complaint, an examination, a diagnosis and what to do next. First the whole conversation, then each line on its own, with a translation.
- Բարեւ ձեզ, նստեցէք։ Ի՞նչը ձեզ կ'անհանգստացնէ։parev tsez, nsdetsek' Inchə tsez g'anhanksdatsneHello, take a seat. What is troubling you?
- yerek' or e sdamok'ss gə tsavi, yev vad gə zkamFor three days my stomach has been aching, and I feel unwell.
- Ջերմութիւն կա՞յ։ Ջերմաչափը դրա՞ծ էք այսօր։chermut'yun gay Chermachap'ə dradz ek' aysorDo you have a fever? Have you taken your temperature today?
- pzhshgagan znnum bidi antsnik', hedo tiaknozin masin bidi khosink'You will have a medical examination, and then we'll talk about the diagnosis.
- gareli e, payts voch tadarg sdamok'sin Goghmnagi aztetsut'yun uniYou may, but not on an empty stomach. It has a side effect.
- Հասկցայ։ Իսկ եթէ չլաւնամ, պէ՞տք է հիւանդանոց պառկիմ։hasgtsa Isg yet'e chlavnam, bedk' e hivantanots barrgimUnderstood. And if I don't get better, do I have to go to hospital?
Lines one by one
| Western Armenian | Reading | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Բարեւ ձեզ (parev tsez), նստեցէք (nsdetsek)։ Ի՞նչը ձեզ (tsez) կ'անհանգստացնէ։ | parev tsez, nsdetsek' Inchə tsez g'anhanksdatsne | Hello, take a seat. What is troubling you? |
| Երեք (yerek') օր (or) է՝ ստամոքսս (sdamok'ss) կը ցաւի (gə tsavi), եւ (yev) վատ կը զգամ (vad gə zkam)։ | yerek' or e sdamok'ss gə tsavi, yev vad gə zkam | For three days my stomach has been aching, and I feel unwell. |
| Ջերմութիւն (chermut'yun) կա՞յ (gay)։ Ջերմաչափը (chermachap'ə) դրա՞ծ էք (ek) այսօր (aysor)։ | chermut'yun gay Chermachap'ə dradz ek' aysor | Do you have a fever? Have you taken your temperature today? |
| Երէկ (yereg) երեսունըութը (yeresunəut'ə) էր (er)։ Կարծես թէ (gardzes t'e) բան մը (pan mə) կերած (geradz) եմ (em)։ | yereg yeresunəut'ə er Gardzes t'e pan mə geradz em | Yesterday it was thirty-eight. It seems I ate something. |
| Բժշկական զննում (pzhshgagan znnum) պիտի (bidi) անցնիք, յետոյ (hedo) դիագնոզին մասին (masin) պիտի (bidi) խօսինք (khosink)։ | pzhshgagan znnum bidi antsnik', hedo tiaknozin masin bidi khosink' | You will have a medical examination, and then we'll talk about the diagnosis. |
| Ցաւազրկող (tsavazrgogh) կարելի (gareli)՞ է խմել (khmel), մինչեւ որ (minchev vor) պատասխանը (badaskhanə) գայ (kay)։ | tsavazrgogh gareli e khmel, minchev vor badaskhanə kay | May I take a painkiller until the answer comes? |
| Կարելի (gareli) է, բայց (payts) ոչ (voch) դատարկ (tadarg) ստամոքսին։ Կողմնակի ազդեցութիւն (goghmnagi aztetsut'yun) ունի (uni)։ | gareli e, payts voch tadarg sdamok'sin Goghmnagi aztetsut'yun uni | You may, but not on an empty stomach. It has a side effect. |
| Հասկցայ (hasgtsa)։ Իսկ (isg) եթէ (yet'e) չլաւնամ, պէ՞տք է հիւանդանոց (hyuantanots) պառկիմ (barrgim)։ | hasgtsa Isg yet'e chlavnam, bedk' e hivantanots barrgim | Understood. And if I don't get better, do I have to go to hospital? |
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), նստեցէք (nsdetsek)։ Ի՞նչը ձեզ (tsez) կ'անհանգստացնէ։” (parev tsez, nsdetsek' Inchə tsez g'anhanksdatsne) — Hello, take a seat. What is troubling you? 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.