Lesson 5

In this lesson we are going to finish with the letters of the Armenian alphabet. The remaining letters are the following:

Ժ ժ (zhe=ʒe) as in "pleasure"

Ձ ձ (dz'a / tsa=c'a) EA pronunciation - as in the Italian "mezzo"; WA pronunciation of this letter is the same with that of Ց ց (tso=c'o).

Պ պ (pe / be) EA pr. - as in "speak"; WA pr. - as in "bed"

Կ կ (ken / gen) EA pr. - as in "skate"; WA pr. - as in "get"

Տ տ (tiun / diun) EA pr. - as in "step"; WA pr. - as in "desk"

The above three letters are for the unaspirated variants of the aspirated voiceless consonants Փ փ (p'), Ք ք (k'), Թ թ (t'). They are letters for voiced consonants in WA.

The following two letters when pronounced according to the Eastern Armenian pronunciation are the hardest for foreigners and the Western Armenians. These sounds also exist in Georgian, the sound system of which is very similar to that of Classical and Eastern Armenian languages. These two sounds are the unaspirated variants of the aspirated voiceless consonants Ց ց (c'o) and Չ չ (ch'a) and are letters for voiced consonants in WA.

Ծ ծ (tsa=ca / dza) In the EA pronunciation this letter is a variant of Ց ց (tso=c'o). Hear it in the recording and if you are unable to distinguish it from Ց ց (tso=c'o) or pronounce it correctly, pronounce as Ց ց (tso=c'o).

---- In the WA pronunciation this letter sounds like the sound "dz" in the Italian word "mezzo".

Ճ ճ (che / je) In the EA pronunciation this letter is a variant of Չ չ (ch'a). Hear it in the recording and if you are unable to distinguish it from Չ չ (ch'a) or pronounce it correctly, pronounce as Չ չ (ch'a).

---- In the WA pronunciation this letter sounds like the "j" in "jam".

Now we know all the 36 letters of the Mesropian alphabet. 10 letters of the alphabet are pronounced differently in the Western and Eastern Armenian languages. These 10 letters represent 10 different sounds in the Classical and Eastern Armenian languages and don't repeat the sounds of the other letters of the alphabet. Due to the historical sound change, they represent only 5 sounds in the Western Armenian language and repeat the sounds of other 5 letters of the alphabet.

Those 10 letters are:

Բ, Գ, Դ, Ձ, Ջ (for voiced consonants in CA and EA; for voiceless aspirated consonants in WA and repeating the voiceless aspirated Փ, Ք, Թ, Ց, Չ)

Պ, Կ, Տ, Ծ, Ճ (for voiceless unaspirated consonants in CA and EA; for voiced consonants in WA)

Reading and some grammar

Այս է դաս մեր հինգերորդ։ (Ays e das mer hingerord / Ays e t'as mer hink'erort') - This is our fifth lesson. 
Ժամ է յառնել ի քնոյ։ (ʒam e har'nel i k'no) - It is time to wake up from sleep. 
Ժամ է երթալ յեկեղեցի։ (ʒam e yert'al hekełec'i hegełec'i) - It is time to go to church. 
ժամ (ʒam) - hour; time 
յառնել (har'nel) - to get up, to rise 
քուն (kun) - sleep 
ի քնոյ (i k'no) - from sleep 
մտանել ի քուն (mtanel i k'un / mdanel i k'un) - lit. to enter into sleep (to fall asleep) 
մտանել (mtanel / mdanel) - to enter 
եկեղեցի (yekełec'i / yegełec'i) - church 
յեկեղեցի (hekełec'i / hegełec'i) - to church
մտանել յեկեղեցի (mtanel hekełec'i / mdanel hegełec'i) - to enter church 
տուն (tun / dun) - home, house 
ի տուն  (i tun / i dun) - (to) home 
Գնա´ի տուն։ (Gna i tun / K'na i dun) - Go home. 
քաղաք (k'ałak') town, city 
ի քաղաք (i k'ałak') to town 
այգի (aygi / ayk'i) garden 
յայգի (haygi / hayk'i) to garden

The preposition ի (յ) is used with different cases and may express different meanings, even with the same case. When it is used with the accusative case, it may correspond to the English "to" and show the direction of the action.
Before a consonant this preposition is ի and is written separately. Before a vowel ի changes into յ and is not separated from the word it precedes.

քաղաք մեծ (k'ałak' mec / medz') - big / large town 
քաղաքք մեծք (k'ałak'ək' mecək' / medz'ək') - big towns (nominative case, usually the subject of the sentence) 
քաղաքս մեծս (kaghak'əs mecəs / medz'əs) big towns (accusative case, direct object, indefinite form) 
մեծ (mec / medz') - big, great 
Գնալ ի քաղաք մեծ։ (Gnal i kałak' mec / K'nal i kałak' medz') - To go to a big town. 
Գնալ ի քաղաքս մեծս։ (Gnal i kałak'əs mecəs / K'nal i kałak'əs medz'əs) - To go to big towns. 
այգի գեղեցիկ (aygi gełec'ik / ayk'i k'ełec'ig) - beautiful garden 
այգիք գեղեցիկք (aygik' gełec'ikək' / ayk'ik' k'ełec'igək') - beautiful gardens (nominative case) 
այգիս գեղեցիկս (aygis gełec'ikəs / ayk'is k'ełec'igəs) - beautiful gardens (accusative case, direct object, indefinite form)

As you might notice, the plural ending  ք ("k'") changes into ս ("s") in the accusative case.

ձայն զանգակի (dz'ayn zangaki / c'ayn zank'agi) - voice of a bell 
ձայն (dz'ayn / c'ayn) - voice 
զանգակ (zangak / zank'ag) - bell 
մեծ զանգակ (mec zangak / medz' zank'ag) - big bell 
զանգակք ոսկիք (zangakək' voskik' / zank'agək' vosgik') - golden bells 
ոսկի (voski / vosgi) - gold (noun); golden (adjective)

Քրիստոս Փրկիչ (K'ristos P'rkich' / K'risdos Prgich') - Christ the Saviour 
Աստուած եւ Տէր (Astvac yev Ter / Asdvadz' yev Der) - God and Lord 
կեանք եւ մահ (keank' yev mah / geank' yev mah) - life and death 
ծեր եւ մանուկ (cer yev manuk / dz'er yev manug) - (the) old and (the) children (lit. child) 
դուռն դրախտին (dur'ən draxtin / t'ur'ən t'raxdin) - the door of the paradise 
դրախտ (draxt / t'raxd) - paradise 
երկինք երրորդ (yerkink' yerrord / yergink' yerrort') - the third heaven 
երկինք (yerkink' / yergink') - heaven, sky 
երկիր մեր (yerkir mer / yergir mer) - our earth / land / country 
ծով կապոյտ (cov kapuyt / dz'ov gabuyd) - blue sea 
ծով (cov / dz'ov) - sea 
լիճ փոքր (lich p'ok'ər / lij p'ok'ər) - small lake 
լիճ (lich / lij) - lake 
ճանապարհ բարի (chanaparh bari / janabarh p'ari) - good way 
ճանապարհ (chanaparh / janabarh) - way, road 
աջ (aj or ach' / ach') - right 
ձախ (dz'ax / c'ax) - left 
դատաստան ահեղ (datastan aheł / t'adasdan aheł) - awesome judgment 
դատաստան (datastan / t'adasdan) - judgment 
գործ բարի  (gorc bari / k'ordz' p'ari) - good work / deed / act 
գործք բարիք (gorcək' barik' / k'ordzək' p'arik') - good works

Capital letters: ԳՈՐԾ, ԾՈՎ, ԼԻՃ, ԵԿԵՂԵՑԻ, ԵՐԿԻՆՔ, ԵՐԿԻՐ, ԱՅԳԻ, ԴԱՏԱՍՏԱՆ, ԱՀԵՂ, ԱՋ, ՁԱԽ, ՃԱՆԱՊԱՐՀ, ԿԱՊՈՅՏ, ԴՐԱԽՏ, ԿԵԱՆՔ, ՄԱՀ, ԾԵՐ, ՄԱՆՈՒԿ, ՔԱՂԱՔ, ԺԱՄ, ՔՈՒՆ, ԵՐԹԱԼ, ՄԵԾ, ՄՏԱՆԵԼ, ՅԱՌՆԵԼ։

********

Listen to the Armenian letters, words and sentences in this lesson.

Lesson 4

We have learned 22 letters so far: Ա, Բ, Գ, Դ, Ե, Զ, Է, Ը, Թ, Լ, Հ, Մ, Յ, Ն, Ո, Ռ, Ս, Վ, Ր, Ւ, Փ, Ք.

From the letters representing vowels only one letter has remained to learn, which is Ի ի (ini). Be careful not to confuse its capital letter with the capital letter Ւ (viun).   The latter has a small ending to its shorter element, while Ի (ini) doesn't have it (the font I'm using now shows the letter Ւ differently, with a horizontal small line).

Շ շ (sha)  as in "shame"

Չ չ (ch'a)  as in "chair". We shall represent this letter as ch' in our transcriptions (that is, with an apostrophe, as in the transcription system of the Library of Congress).

Ջ ջ (je/che) as in "jam" (in WA as in "chair")

Compare carefully the shapes of the following three letters with each other to remember the small differences that they have, as they are like each other and can be easily confused with each other. 

Զ զ (za) ---------Ջ ջ (je/che) --------- Չ չ (ch'a) 

The sounds of the following three letters do not have their equivalents in the English sound system but have in German.

   Ց ց (c'o=tso). It is pronounced like the German Z z. We'll represent this letter with the IPA character c' (c with an apostrophe) in our transcriptions. Please, don't confuse it with the English "c". The reason we choose to use this IPA character for this sound instead of "ts" is to avoid confusing this simple sound with the combination of the two sounds "t" and "s".

   Խ խ (xe=khe). This is pronounced almost like the German "ch", as in the word "Bach". It's a guttural sound. We'll represent this letter with the IPA character x in our transcriptions. Please, don't confuse it with the English "x". The reason we choose this IPA character is the same as in case of the above letter.

   Ղ ղ ( ł - ghat/ghad). This is pronounced like the German or French "r". It's a guttural sound too. However, in the Grabar times, for example, in the 5th century, and perhaps until the 9th century, this letter was for another kind of the sound "l", a hard "l" which was approximately like the sound "l" in the English word "ball" (more similar to the sound "l" in the Russian word "лысый".) It is interesting that in several Indo-European languages different non-guttural sounds changed to the guttural "gh". In Greek the sound "g" (expressed by the letter Γγ) changed into "gh", in German and French the sound "r", while in Armenian the hard sound "l" changed into "gh". That is why in the Hübschmann-Meillet-Benveniste transliteration system the character for this Armenian letter is ł. We shall read this letter as "gh", according to the traditional pronunciation of Armenian, and shall represent this sound with the character ł. 

Grammar

The infinitive and some history

    The infinitive in the Classical Armenian has 3-5 endings. To understand why I have written 3-5, we need first to learn a little about the history of Grabar. Grabar used in the literature before 460s or so is usually called Mesropian Armenian. This is perhaps the most important and fruitful period, the Golden Era, of the Armenian literature, created by Sts Mesrop and Sahak, together with their disciples, through numerous translations from Greek and Syriac and through their own original writings too. The language of the period after 460s is called Post-Mesropian. There are other periods and classifications too, but we'll be satisfied now with this information only. This division or classification is made because of the linguistic differences of the Armenian language used in different periods. Now, the infinitive of the Mesropian Armenian has only 3 endings, while that of Post-Mesropian Armenian - 4. The endings of the infinitive are:

-ել (-el)

-իլ (-il) This is not used in the Mesropian Armenian; the ending -ել (-el) is used instead.

-ալ (-al)

-ուլ (-ul)

There is also only one defective verb which has the ending -ոլ (-ol). It is the verb գոլ (gol / k'ol) which means "to be". So if we count this ending too, then there are 5 endings in total.

սիրել (sirel) - to love, գրել (gərel / k'ərel) - to write, ասել (asel) - to say

լինել // լինիլ (linel // linil) - to be, to exist, ուսանել // ուսանիլ (usanel // usanil) - to study, to learn, ունել // ունիլ (unel // unil) - to have, to hold

գնալ (gənal / k'ənal) - to go, գալ (gal / k'al) - to come, ջանալ (janal / chanal) - to try, to endeavour

թողուլ (tołul) - to leave, to give up, առնուլ (arnul) - to take, զգենուլ (zgenul or əzgenul / əzk'enul) - to put on

The negative article ոչ (voch') or չ- (ch'-)

ոչ ես, ոչ դու (voch' yes, voch' du / t'u) - neither I, nor you

ոչ ոք (voch' vok') - nobody

չսիրել (ch'əsirel) - not to love

չգնալ (ch'əgənal / ch'ək'ənal) - not to go

*****************

*************

հաց եւ ջուր (hac' yev jur / ch'ur) - bread and water

հաց եւ գինի (hac' yev gini / k'ini) - bread and wine

սեղան (sełan) - table, altar

հայ (hay) - Armenian (noun)

հայերէն (hayeren) - Armenian (of the language) (adjective)in Armenian (adverb); 

բան հայերէն (ban / p'an hayeren) - Armenian word

բանք հայերէնք (bank' hayerenk' / p'ank' hayerenk') - Armenian words

ասել հայերէն (asel hayeren) - to say in Armenian

լեզու հայոց (lezu hayoc') - the language of the Armenians

ուսանել զլեզու հայոց (usanel əzlezu hayoc') - to study the Armenian language

Հա՞յ ես։ (Hay es?) - Are you (an) Armenian?

Ո՛չ, ոչ եմ հայ։ (Voch, voch em hay). - No, I'm not (an) Armenian.

Or:

Չեմ հայ։ (Chem hay). - I'm not (an) Armenian. 

Բարի է սիրել զամենեսեան։ (Bari / P'ari e sirel zamenesean.) - It is good to love every one.

Ո՞ւր ես, Ադա՛մ։ (Ur es, Adam / At'am) - Where are you, Adam?

աթոռ (at'or') - chair

դուռն (dur'ən / t'ur'ən) - door

խաչ (xach') - cross

ունել ինչ (unel inch') - to have something

Զի՞նչ է այդ։ (Zinch e ayd / ayt'?) - What is that? 

աշխարհ (ashxarh) - world

աշխարհ ամենայն (ashxarh amenayn) - the whole world

ամենայն (amenayn) - all, every, the whole

ամենայն ոք (amenayn vok') - everyone

ամենայն ինչ (amenayn inch') - everything

ամենայն սեղան (amenayn sełan) - every table

սեղանք ամենայն (sełank' amenayn) - all tables

շուն (shun) - dog; adulterer

շնացող (shənac'oł) - adulterer

ցաւ (c'av) - pain

լոյս (luys) - light

խաւար (xavar) - dark; darkness

բայց (bayc' / p'ayc') - but

Երուսաղէմ (Yerusałem) - Jerusalem

աղաւնի (ałavni) - dove

եղբայր (yełbayr / yeghp'ayr) - brother

որդի (vordi or vort'i / vort'i) - son

հոգի (hogi or hok'i / hok'i) - spirit, soul

մարմին (marmin) - body, flesh

սուրբ (surb or surp' / surp') - holy, saint

Հոգի Սուրբ (Hogi Surb or Hok'i Surp' / Hok'i Surp') - Holy Spirit 

Սուրբ Հոգի (Surb Hogi or  Hok'i Hok'i / Surp' Hok'i) - the same

չար (ch'ar) - evil, bad

բարի (bari / p'ari) - good, kind

խորհուրդ (xorhurd or xorhurt' / xorhurt') - thought; sacrament; mystery; meaning

խորհուրդ չար (xorhurd ch'ar) - evil thought

խորհուրդ սքանչելի (xorhurd sk'anch'eli / əsk'anch'eli) - wonderful mystery 

խորհուրդք սքանչելիք (xorhurdək' sk'anch'elik' / xorhurt'ək' (ə)sk'anch'elik') - wonderful mysteries

Capital letters: ՀԱՑ (hac'), Ջուր (jur / ch'ur), ԳԻՆԻ (gini / k'ini), ՍԵՂԱՆ (sełan), Աթոռ (at'or'), ԽԱՉ (xach'), ԱՇԽԱՐՀ ԱՄԵՆԱՅՆ (ashxarh amenayn), Շուն (shun), Շնացող (shənac'oł), Ցաւ (c'av), Լոյս (luys), Խաւար (xavar), ԲԱՅՑ (bayc' / p'ayc'), ԵՐՈՒՍԱՂԷՄ (Yerusał em), Խորհուրդ (xorhurd), Սքանչելի (sk'anch'eli / əsk'anch'eli), ՉԱՐ (ch'ar), ԲԱՐԻ (bari / p'ari), ՈՐԴԻ (vord'i or vort'i/ vort'i), ՀՈԳԻ (hogi or hok'i / hok'i), Բան (ban / p'an) , Բանք (banək' / p'anə'k), Դուռն (durn/ t'urn), Բարի է (bari e / p'ari e), ԵՂԲԱՅՐ (yeł bayr or yełpayr / yełp'ayr), ԱՂԱՒՆԻ (ałavni), ԽԱՉ (xach'), Ադամ (Adam / At'am), Զամենեսեան (zamenesean), ԱՍԵԼ (asel), ՋԱՆԱԼ (janal / ch'anal), Սուրբ (surb or surp' / surp'), ՀԱՅ (hay), Հայերէն (hayeren), Լեզու հայոց (lezu hayoc'), Չսիրել (chəsirel), Չգնալ (chəgənal / chək'ənal)։

Listen to the Armenian letters, words and sentences in this lesson.

Lesson 3

We have already learned the following letters: Ա, Բ, Գ, Դ, Ե, Զ, Է, Թ, Լ, Յ, Ո, Ռ, Ր, Փ, Ք. The next letter that we are going to learn is Ը ը (ət'). It is the Armenian schwa and sounds like the unstressed English indefinite article "a". We shall represent it with the IPA character ə in our transcriptions of the words. This letter is usually used at the beginning of a word. In all other positions when this sound is heard between consonants we normally don't write it, if not for some special reason, for example, in the poetry or songs, to make clear how this or that word must be correctly divided into syllables to read or sing it correctly.

Two letters for the sound "v"

If Ը ը is normally used at the beginning of a word, Ւ ւ (viun) is NOT used at the beginning of a word. This letter is pronounced as "v". There is an opinion that it sounded like the English "w" in old times because of which in the IPA system for Classical Armenian this letter is presented with the character "w". However, there is another opinion too that considers that even in ancient times this letter's pronunciation was "v". That is why we shall not present this letter in our lessons as "w" so that the learners may not be confused and pronounce it as the English "w". Ւ ւ in the alphabet corresponds to the Greek Υυ though again they are not completely the same in their pronunciations, as I have already mentioned concerning some other letters. This letter following the letter Ո ո (vo) makes a digraph for the sound "u" (="oo") - ՈՒ ու (that is, "vo" + "viun"). This is like the Greek "ου".

Now, if Ւ ւ is not used at the beginning of a word, the letter Վ վ (vev) which sounds similarly is used in Classical Armenian at the beginning of a word and after the letter Ո ո (vo). For example, գովել (govel / k'ovel). We can't write Ւ ւ here instead of Վ վ because, as we have just told, Ւ ւ following Ո ո makes the digraph for "u" (="oo"). That is why, in order to read "ov" and not "u" we need to write the other letter for the sound "v" - Վ վ.

As you may see from the description of these two letters, they are just allographs, that is, two letters for the same sound.

Some other letters

Մ մ (men)

Ն ն (nu=noo)

Հ հ (ho)

Ս ս (se)

These letters represent the sounds with which their names begin. They are pronounced as their English equivalents.

Grammar
Personal Pronouns

ես (yes) I

դու (du / tu) you (singular)

նա (na) he, she, it

մեք (mek') we

դուք (duk' / tuk') you

նոքա (nok'a) they

The Armenian language, whether Classical or modern, does not have grammatical gender, just like the modern English language. There are not nouns, adjectives etc that are of the feminine, masculine or neutral gender. And even the personal pronouns do not distinguish between male and female persons. So there is only one նա (na) for both "he" and "she".


The present short forms of the verb "to be"

եմ (em) am

ես (es) (you) are

է (e) is

եմք (emk') (we) are

էք (ek') (you) are

են (en) (they) are

Be careful not to confuse the letters ե and է. Also pay attention that the above forms that start with ե are pronounced today in their ancient pronunciation, as "em", "es", "emk'", "en" and not "yem", "yes" etc according to the rule of the letter Ե ե (as we have already learned, we normally read this letter as "ye" at the beginning of a word). You will hear these forms to be read with the initial sound "y" by some Western Armenians when reading Classical Armenian texts. But this is not recommended.

Ես եմ (yes em) I am

Դու ես (du es / tu es) you are

Նա է (na e) he / she / it is

Մեք եմք (mek' emk') we are

Դուք էք (duk' ek' / t'uk ek') you are

Նոքա են (nok'a en) they are

Ո՞ է նա (vo e na?). Ո՞վ է նա (Ov e na?).
Both mean: Who is he/she?
The words ո (vo) and ով (ov) are synonymous but the second word is read according to the ancient Armenian pronunciation, that is, not "vov", but "ov". This is an exception. There are several other exceptions too, which we'll learn later.

Հայր քո։ (Hayr k'o) - Your father.
Մայր քո։ (Mayr k'o) - Your mother.
Նա է հայր մեր։ (Na e հayr mer) - He is our father.
մեր (mer) - our
նորա (nora) - his/her

Սա է հայր քո։ (Sa e hayr k'o) - This is your father.

Այս է հայր քո։ (Ays e hayr k'o) - the same

Դա է մայր նորա։ (Da / T'a e mayr nora) - That is his/her mother.
Այդ է մայր նորա։ (Ayd / ayt' e mayr nora) - the same
Ո՞ւր է մայր նորա։ (Ur e mayr nora?) - Where is his/her mother?
ուր (ur=oor) - where
Անդ է մայր նորա։ (And /ant' e mayr nora) - His/her mother is there.
անդ (and / ant') - there
մարդ (mard or mart'/ mart') - man, human being 

հաւ (hav) - grandfather; bird

հան (han) - grandmother
հարսն (ha´rsən) - bride

նու (nu=noo) - daughter-in-law, sister-in-law

նաւ (nav) - ship
հով (hov) - cool
զով (zov) - cool
արեւ (arev) - sun
դեւ (dev / t'ev) - demon
աւազան (avazan) - basin, font 

ընդ քեզ (ənd/ənt' kez) - with you
ընդդէմ (ənddem/ənt't'em) - against
ըմբռնել (əmbər'nel/əmp'ər'nel) - to take, to hold; to comprehend
ընթանալ (ənt'anal) - to go, to run, to walk
ընթեռնուլ (ənt'er'nul=ənt'er'nool) - to read

Անուն քո Վահա՞ն է։ (Anun k'o Vahan  e?) - Is your name Vahan?
անուն (anun) - name
Այո՛, Վահան է։ (Ayo, Vahan e) - Yes, it is Vahan.
այո (ayo) - yes
վահան (vahan) - shield

Յովհաննէս (Hovhannes) - John
Վարդան (Vardan or Vart'an / Vart'an)
Մովսէս (Movses) - Moses
Աբրահամ (Abraham / Ap'raham)

Այս է դաս մեր երրորդ։ (Ays e das / t'as mer yerrord / yerrort') - This is our third lesson.
դաս (das / t'as) - lesson
երրորդ (yerrord / yerrort') - third


FOR PRACTICE
EA pronunciation - գամ (gam), գաս (gas), գան (gan), գայք (gayk'), դառն (darən), լոյս (luys), յոյս (huys), բոյս (buys), գոյն (guyn), մանանայ (manana), նայել (nayel), վարդ (vard/vart'), վազել (vazel), վագր (vagər), աւազան (avazan), գաւազան (gavazan), բաւ (bav), հաւ (hav), գայլ (gayl), սայլ (sayl), յարդ (hard), հարթ (hart'), մարդ (mard/mart'), դաս (das), բարդ (bard/bart'), բան (ban), բանք (bank'), գէս (ges), վէս (ves), հեզ (hez), բեռն (ber'ən), գառն (gar'ən), սառն (sar'ən), թոռն (t'or'ən), սեաւ (seav), բալ (bal), ահաւոր (ahavor), թագաւոր (t'agavor), դուռն (dur'ən), բուռն (bur'ən), թերանալ (t'eranal), հեռանալ (her'anal), գոյանալ (goyanal), գոյ (goy), փառք (p'ar'k'), փառաւոր (p'ar'avor), վառ (var'), լեառն (near'ən), յառնել (har'nel), ընդել (əndel), ընդդէմ (ənddem), ընթա (ənt'a), ընթեռնում (ənt'er'num), ընթեռնուս (ənt'er'nus), ընթեռնու (ənt'er'nu)։


WA pronunciation - գամ (k'am), գաս (k'as), գան (k'an), գայք (k'ayk'), դառն (t'arən), լոյս (luys), յոյս (huys), բոյս (p'uys), գոյն (k'uyn), մանանայ (manana), նայել (nayel), վարդ (vart'), վազել (vazel), վագր (vak'ər), աւազան (avazan), գաւազան (k'avazan), բաւ (p'av), հաւ (hav), գայլ (k'ayl), սայլ (sayl), յարդ (hart'), հարթ (hart'), մարդ (mart'), դաս (t'as), բարդ (p'art'), բան (p'an), բանք (p'ank'), գէս (k'es), վէս (ves), հեզ (hez), բեռն (p'er'ən), գառն (k'ar'ən), սառն (sar'ən), թոռն (t'or'ən), սեաւ (seav), բալ (p'al), ահաւոր (ahavor), թագաւոր (t'ak'avor), դուռն (tur'ən), բուռն (p'ur'ən), թերանալ (t'eranal), հեռանալ (her'anal), գոյանալ (k'oyanal), գոյ (k'oy), փառք (p'ar'k'), փառաւոր (p'ar'avor), վառ (var'), լեառն (lear'ən), յառնել (har'nel), ընդել (ənt'el), ընդդէմ (ənt't'em), ընթա (ənt'a), ընթեռնում (ənt'er'num), ընթեռնուս (ənt'er'nus), ընթեռնու (ənt'er'nu)։


Capital letters:
Գամ (gam), Գաս (gas), Դառն (darən), Լոյս (luys), Յոյս (huys), Բոյս (buys), Մանանայ (manana), Վարդ (vard/vart'), Վազել (vazel), Վագր (vagər), ԱՒԱԶԱՆ (avazan), ԲԱՒ (bav), ՀԱՒ (hav), ԳԱՅԼ (gayl), Սայլ (sayl), ՅԱՐԴ (hard), ՀԱՐԹ (hart'), Մարդ (mard/mart'), ԴԱՍ (das), Բարդ (bard/bart'), ԲԱՆ (ban), ԲԱՆՔ (bank'), ԳԷՍ(ges), Վէս (ves), ՀԵԶ (hez), ԲԵՌՆ (ber'ən), Սառն (sar'ən), Թոռն (t'or'ən), Սեաւ (seav), Բալ (bal), Ահաւոր (ahavor), ԹԱԳԱՒՈՐ (t'agavor), Դուռն (dur'ən), Բուռն (bur'ən), ԹԵՐԱՆԱԼ (t'eranal), ՀԵՌԱՆԱԼ (her'anal), Գոյանալ (goyanal), ԳՈՅ (goy), ՓԱՌՔ (p'ar'k'), Փառաւոր (p'ar'avor), Վառ (var'), Լեառն (lear'ən), Յառնել (har'nel), ԸՆԴԵԼ (əndel), Ընդդէմ (ənddem), ԸՆԹԱ (ənt'a), Ընթեռնում (ənt'er'num), Ընթեռնուս (ənt'er'nus), Ընթեռնու (ənt'er'nu)։

Listen to the Armenian letters, words and sentences in this lesson.

Lesson 2

Now let's stop following the alphabetical order of the letters and learn some voiceless aspirated consonants of Armenian which are pronounced similarly in both modern Armenian languages. One of them is Թ թ (t'o). It corresponds to the Greek Θ but does not sound like that Greek letter. It sounds like the English “t” both in Eastern and Western Armenian languages. But we need to know the Armenian equivalents to the Greek letters so that we may know how Greek words, especially proper nouns, were borrowed and transcribed with the Armenian letters.

The next letter for another voiceless aspirated consonant is Փ փ (p'iur) which sounds almost like the English “p”. Its shape is like the Greek Φ and it corresponds to that Greek letter, so it will be easy to remember. Though I say it corresponds to the Greek Φ, it doesn't sound like that Greek letter (see the comment and its answer below this lesson). Why? Because the Armenian language in old times did not have the sound “f” at all. And even now you'll not find genuine Armenian words that have this sound, except for some 2-3 onomatopoeic words. So the sound “f” is alien to Armenian. And when borrowing words from other languages which had that sound, the Armenians had to transcribe and read it as “p'” instead of “f”, until the 11th-12th centuries when the Armenians had to add the letter Ֆ ֆ (fe) to their alphabet in order to write the foreign words more correctly.

From the Lesson 1 we know the letter Ք ք for the voiceless aspirated consonant “k'”. In that lesson we also learned the letters Բ, Գ, Դ which are voiced consonants in the Classical and Eastern Armenian languages and correspond to the English “b”, “g”, “d”. However, as you could see in the Lesson 1, I put two pronunciations for these letters, the second of which is for Western Armenian. In Western Armenian, these voiced consonants have become voiceless aspirated consonants. The analysis of the medieval Armenian dialect of Cilicia shows that this sound change had occurred in some western regions of Armenia or Anatolia already in the times of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia. Because of this sound change Western Armenian has double letters for the voiceless aspirated consonants.

Voiced consonants
Classical Armenian, Eastern Armenian


Բ բ (b)


Գ գ (g)


Դ դ (d)




Voiceless aspirated consonants
Classical Armenian and Eastern Armenian


Փ փ (p')


Ք ք (k')


Թ թ (t')




Voiceless aspirated consonants

Western Armenian


Բ բ (p')


Գ գ (k')

Դ դ (t')


Փ փ (p')


Ք ք (k')


Թ թ (t')

Let's learn also five other letters which can be remembered more or less easily. They are:

Ո ո   vo (Sounds like “vo” at the beginning of a word and “o” in other positions. In old times it sounded like “o” also at the beginning of a word. Its shape is like the corresponding Greek or Latin letter O, just delete the bottom line of O and make the letter somewhat thinner :).)

Յ յ   hi (Sounds like “h” at the beginning of a word and “y” (as in English “year”, “yard” etc) in other positions. In old times it sounded like “y” also at the beginning of a word. The capital letter is like the number 3, the small one is a little like “y”, without the upper left small line.)

Լ լ  liun (=lioon) (As you can see, it's like its Latin equivalent – L l.) 

Ր ր  re (This is a very soft “r” which is more used in Armenian than the hard “r'” and its shape is a little like the corresponding Greek letter and Latin small letter. This sound is like the English "r" in the word "grew". If you know Russian, then it sounds like the “р” in the Russian words “время”, “признак” etc.) 

Ռ ռ  r'a (This is a hard “r”. Not like the English "r", but that of many other languages, for example, Italian, Russian etc. If you look at its shape carefully, you'll see that it's formed of two soft “r”s: put two Ր -s one under the other and you have Ռ.)


All these new letters of this lesson are pronounced in the same way in the Eastern and Western Armenian languages.

Some Punctuation Marks

՞ is the question mark. We put it exactly on that vowel which we pronounce in the tone of question. The Armenian language does not have the punctuation mark ?.

: is the end mark in the punctuation system of the Armenian language.

Ո՞ է դա։ (Vo e da?/ Vo e ta?) Who is that?
Դա է Գէորգ։ (Da e Georg / Ta e K'eork') That is George.
Zi՞nch է դա։ What is that? 
or:
Zi՞nch է այդ։ (Zinch e ayd / ayt?)
Քար է այդ։ (K'ar e ayd / ayt'.) That is a stone.
Այդ քար է։ (Ayd / ayt' k'ar e.) the same
Այդ է քար։ (Ayd e k'ar.) the same
Դա քար է։ (Da / t'a k'ar e.) the same
Դա է քար։ (Da e k'ar.) the same
Քար է դա։ (K'ar e da.) the same
Բառ է այդ։ (Bar' e ayd / P'ar' e ayt'.) That is a word.
Զարդ է այդ։ (Zard e ayd / Zart' e ayt'.) That is an adornment.


Ո՞ է դա։ Քո՞յր քո է։ (Vo՞ e da? K'u՞yr k'o e? / Vo e t'a? K'u՞yr k'o e?) Who is that? Is that your sister?
քոյր (k'uyr (=k'ooyr) - sister. Written as “k'oyr” but read as “k'uyr”.

* The sound "oo" will always be represented in the lessons with the letter "u".

փոքր (p'ok'ər) - small, little
քո (k'o) - your (singular)
Քոյր քո փոքր է։ (K'uyr k'o p'ok'r e) - Your sister is small.

Rule:

In closed syllables (that is, before a consonant), the diphthong “ոյ” (“oy”) is pronounced as “uy”.

բոյր (buyr /p'uyr) fragrance, scent
դոյլ (duyl / t'uyl) bucket
յոյզ (huyz) examination, inquiry; emotion

Some Grammar

The Plural Form of Nouns

There are several endings that make the plural form of the nouns in Classical Armenian. But the most common ending is Ք ք (k'). It is only used for the nominative case, that is, mainly for the subjects of sentences.

բառ (bar' / p'ar') - word
բառք (barək' or bar'k' / p'ar'ək' or p'ar'k') - words
գայլ (gayl / k'ayl) - wolf
գայլք (gaylək' or gaylk' / k'aylək' or k'aylk') - wolves
քայլ (k'ayl) - step
քայլք (k'aylək' or k'aylk') - steps
լար (lar) - string
լարք (larək' or lark') - strings 

The Preposition Զ զ 

Զ զ is a preposition. Its mane function is being a definite article for the direct object (in the accusative case). It is used for other purposes too, but we shall talk about them later.

Բե՛ր զայդ։ (Ber zayd! / P'er zayt'!) - Bring that!
Ա՛ռ զդա։ (Ar' əzda! / Ar' əzta!) - Take that!
Գրեա՛ զբառդ զայդ։ (Grea əzbarəd zayd! / K'rea əzp'arət' zayt'!) - Write that word!

In these examples you might notice that before այդ (“ayd”) only “z” is pronounced, while before դա (“da”) and բառդ (“barəd”) an additional sound, that is, schwa is added. (About the additional դ “d” at the end of the word բառ “bar” we'll speak later.)

Rule:

When the preposition զ precedes a vowel, it is pronounced as “z”, while when it precedes a consonant, it is usually pronounced as “əz”.

այր (ayr) - man
զայր (zayr) - the man (accusative case (definite), direct object)
քոյր (k'uyr) - sister
զքոյր (əzk'uyr) - the sister (accusative case (definite), direct object)

*****************************************************************

FOR PRACTICE 

EA pronunciation: բառ (bar'), այդ (ayd), դա (da), քայլ (k'ayl), փայլ (p'ayl), թեր (t'er), թերթ (t'ert'), փոքր (p'ok'ər), քոյր (k'uyr), դեր (der), զարդ (zard or zart')*, բարդ (bard or bart'), յարդ (hard), յարգ (harg), յոյզ (huyz), գայլ (gayl), դեռ (der'), բոյր (buyr), բոյլ (buyl), թոյլ (t'uyl), լար (lar),  թեք (t'ek'), թէ (t'e), գորգ (gorg), դար (dar),  քար (k'ar), գէր (ger), քոր (k'or), որդ (vord or vort'), որթ (vort'), ազգ (azg), ազդ (azd), գրել (gərel), բրել (bərel), թրել (tə'rel), յարել (harel), քորել (k'orel), փորել (p'orel), դլալ (dəlal), գթալ (gət'al), լռել (lər'el), լոր (lor), որայ (vora), ռայ (r'a), ռահ (r'ah), առ (ar'): 


NOTE

* Though the letters բ, գ, դ are normally pronounced as "b", "g", "d" in both Classical and Eastern Armenian languages, in today's Eastern Armenian, in many words, when following the letter "ր" they are pronounced as "p'", "k'", "t'". However, foreigners who study Classical Armenian can read them in the usual and more correct way, that is, as "b", "g", "d". This is why I have provided two variants of EA pronunciation for some words.

WA pronunciation: բառ (p'ar), այդ (ayt'), դա (t'a), քայլ (k'ayl), փայլ (p'ayl), թեր (t'er), թերթ (t'ert'), փոքր (p'ok'ər), քոյր (k'uyr), դեր (t'er), զարդ (zart'), բարդ (p'art'), յարդ (hart'), յարգ (hark'), յոյզ (huyz), գայլ (k'ayl), դեռ (t'er'), բոյր (p'uyr), բոյլ (p'uyl), թոյլ (t'uyl), լար (lar),  թեք (t'ek'), թէ (t'e), գորգ (k'ork'), դար (t'ar),  քար (k'ar), գէր (k'er), քոր (k'or), որդ (vort'), որթ (vort'), ազգ (azk'), ազդ (azt'), գրել (k'ərel), բրել (p'ərel), թրել (tə'rel), յարել (harel), քորել (k'orel), փորել (p'orel), դլալ (t'əlal), գթալ (k'ət'al), լռել (lər'el), լոր (lor), որայ (vora), ռայ (r'a), ռահ (r'ah), առ (ar'): 


 Capital letters: Բառ, Այդ, Դա, Քայլ, Փայլ, Թեր, Թերթ, Փոքր, Քոյր, Դեր, Զարդ, Բարդ, Յարդ, Յարգ, Յոյզ, Գայլ, Դեռ, Բոյր, Բոյլ, Թոյլ, Լար, Թեք, Թէ, Գորգ,  Դար, Քար, Գէր, Քոր, Որդ, Որթ, Ազգ, Ազդ, Գրել, Բրել, Թրել, Յարել, Քորել, Փորել, Դլալ, Գթալ, Լռել, Լոր, Որայ, Ռայ, Ռահ, Առ:  


******************************

Listen to the Armenian letters, words and sentences in this lesson.