Level 1 / Lesson 4 / Punctuation Marks

Hello again!
I'm sure you remember all the 3 lessons we had already passed. Before we continue let's learn the punctuation marks of the Armenian language.

Here are the main punctuation marks of the Armenian language:

Let's discuss each of them.

Storaket
This punctuation mark is called [storaket] in Armenian which means "a dot below". It's the same as the comma. The comma in Armenian language has the same shape as in many languages.

In Armenian it's always puted on the line. The Armenian language dosen't have an "apostrophe", the punctuation mark that is put above the line, inside the words.

We mainly use the "storaket" when we want to separate items in lists. Ex: cat, dog, etc.

The "storaket" is also used in other cases that will be discussed in Level 2.

Mijaket
This punctuation mark is called [mijaket] in Armenian which means "a dot between". It's nearly has the same meaning as the colon in English.

It's mainly used in the following cases:

-introduces a sentence with the role of apposition with respect to the previous one

-introduces the logical consequence, or effect, of a fact stated before

The "mijaket" is also used in other cases that will be discussed in Level 2.

Verjaket

This punctuation mark is called [verjaket] in Armenian which means "end dot". It's nearly has the same meaning as the full stop or dot in English.

It's commonly placed at the end of the sentences.

Other usages of the "verjaket" will be discussed in Level 2.

Bazmaket
This punctuation mark is called [bazmaket] in Armenian which means "many dots".

It's nearly has the same meaning as the ellipsis in English.

The "bazmaket" is mainly used to indicate an unfinished thought.

Other usages of the "bazmaket" will be discussed in Level 2.

Note: as you may notice the main part of all the above mentioned punctuation mark names is the word "ket" which means poin, dot in Armenian. So, you have learned one more Armenian word.

Gtsik

This punctuation mark is called [gtsik] in Armenian which means "a small dash".

It's nearly has the same meaning as the dash in English.

The "gtsik" is used during the word hyphenation. In Armenian, if there isn't enough space for the word at the end of the row, it is common to move the second part of the word to the next row. This process is called "word hyphenation". However, there are some rules for word hyphenation that you will learn in Level 2.

Other usages of the "gtsik" also will be discussed in Level 2.

Boot

This punctuation mark is called [boot] in Armenian. Though this word means which means "dull or obtuse" I think it dosen't have any coonnection whit this kind of a people.

There are 2 reasons why this punctuation mark of the Armenian language is called "boot" (meaning "dull or obtuse"). First of all, may be it's because it forms an obtuse angle with the line. Secondly, as the words that come after the "boot" mainly explain the meaning of the sentence before it, this may be a reason to call it "dull". However, the first one is a more official explanation.

It's nearly has the same meaning as the dash in English. The "boot" is put on the last letter of the word.

Other usages of the "boot" will be discussed in Level 2.

Shesht

This punctuation mark is called [shesht] in Armenian which means "accent, stress, emphasis".

The meaning of the name shows where it is used. We use "shesht" to emphasize the meaning of the word, speech, etc or to show that the speaker is talking louder here.

The "shesht" should be put on the last vowel of the last syllable. There are some exceptions for this rule that you will learn in Level 2.

Batsakanchakan Nshan

This punctuation mark is called [batsakanchakan nshan] in Armenian which means "exclamation mark".

There aren't punctuation marks in English equal to this on in Armenian.

As the meaning of the name shows it is used to emphasize the exclamation type of the speech.

The "batsakanchakan nshan" should be put on the last vowel of the last syllable.

There are some exceptions for this rule that you will learn in Level 2.

Pakagits

This punctuation mark is called [pakagits] in Armenian.

This is the same as the "round brackets" in English.

It's usually used to show additional information.

This round brakets usually contain material that could be omitted without destroying or altering the meaning of a sentence.

Other usages of the "pakagits" will be discussed in Level 2.

Chakert

This punctuation mark is called [chakert] in Armenian.

This mark has the same shape as guillemets or angle quotes. It's mainly used as a quotaion mark, especially in the cases when the person's thought are written.

It's also used when the word is used in a figurative (an extended) sense.

Level 1 / Lesson 3 / The Letter "R"

Learn

Now let’s learn another letter of the Armenian alphabet, the letter “R”. It's the 32nd letter of the Armenian alphabet.

It's very interesting that in Armenian there are only 3 words that start with the letter "R":
1.Raffi - the penname of famous Armenian author, poet Meliq Hakob Hakobyan (1835-1888) and now it's an Armenina male name

2.rope - [rope] means "minute"

3.rabuni - means "teacher" (but usually isn't used)

Though there are only 3 words that start with "R", but it's used in words quite often.

Typed forms:
Capital Letter: Ր
Small Letter: ր
Pronunciation: [r] (like "r" in English word "rabbit") in all cases
You can see different typed forms of "Ր" on the photo below.

As you already know the letters ա, ս and ր now you can make some words. You already know

սա-[sa] this

սար-[sar] mountain

Let's learn some new words:

ասա - [asa] means "say!" (imperative)

արա - [ara] means "do!" (imperative)

Արա - [ara] an Armenian popular male name, it's also a name of a town and a mountain in Armenia

Here are the typed forms of all the Armeinan words you have already know.
The name Ara came from the name of an Armenian king who was known for his beauty and was named Ara Geghetsik (means "Ara The Beautiful"). There is also a wonderful story about King Ara the Beautiful and Shamiram. Here it is. (some historians say that the story is about the historical Armenian king of Ararat known as Aram who ruled in the 9th century BC)

Ara The Beautiful and Shamiram

From the History of Armenia, by Moses of Khorene

For a few years before the death of Ninus, Ara reigned over Armenia. But that wanton and lustful woman Semiramis (Shamiram - in Armenian), having heard for many years about beauty of Ara, wished to possess him; only she ventured not to do anything openly. After the death (or the escape to Crete) of Ninus, she discovered her passion freely, and sent messengers to Ara the Beautiful with gifts and offerings, with many prayers and promises of riches; begging him to come to her to Nineveh and either marry her and reign over all that Ninus had possessed, or fulfil her desires and return in peace to Armenia, with many gifts.

When the messengers had been returned many times and Ara had not agreed, Semiramis became very wroth and took her army and attacked the Armenian land, against Ara. She arrived in this turmoil at the plains of Ara, called after him Aïrarat. She had declared beforehand not to kill Ara and bring him by force to fulfil the desires of her passion. But in the fighting the army of Ara was beaten, and Ara was killed by the warriors of Semiramis. And after the battle the Queen sent out to the battlefield to search for the body of her beloved amongst those who had died. And they found the body of Ara amongst the brave ones that had fallen, and she commanded them to place it in an upper chamber in her castle.

When the Armenians arose once more against Queen Semiramis to avenge the death of Ara, she said: "I have commanded the gods to lick his wounds, and he will live again." At the same time she thought to bring Ara back to life by witchcraft and charms, for she was maddened by the intensity of her desires. But when the body began to decay, she commanded to bury him at the foot of the mountain in Armenia (now also located in Armenia and called Ara Ler-Ara Mountain). Ara's spirit rose, forming the top of the mountain into his sleeping likeness. The top of the mountain resembles the contour of a man's face.

Semiramis dressed up one of her men as Ara and sent the fame of him thus: "The gods have licked Ara and have brought him back to life again, thus fulfilling our prayers and our pleasure. Therefore from this time they should be more glorified and worshipped by us, as they are the givers of joy and the fulfillers of desire." She also erected a new statue in honour of the gods and worshipped it with many sacrifices, showing unto all as if the gods had brought Ara back to life again. And having caused this report to be spread over all the Armenian lands and satisfy the people who want to fight. She took the son of Ara whom his beloved wife Nouvart had borne unto him and who was twelve years old at the time of his father's death. And she called him Ara in the memory of her love for Ara the Beautiful, and appointed him as the ruler over the land of Armenia, trusting him in all things.

Painting by Vardges Sureniants Shamiram stares at the corpse of Ara the Beautiful

Write

Let’s start from the capital letter. You will need to do 2 simple steps to write this letter.

1. Draw a curve above the line like it is shown on the picture below (step 1) and then go down. As you see the height of your symbol should be the same as the height of the capital letter "A".

2. Draw another curve starting nearly from the top of the first one. This is the same (first) curve you draw for the capital letter "A". Remember, you shoul start to write this particle not right from the top of the first particle (number 2 on the photo).

Now you know how to write the capital letter “R” of the Armenian alphabet (number 3 on the photo above).

Let’s learn how to write the small letter “s” of the Armenian alphabet. You again will need to do 2 simple steps to write this letter.

1. Drow a line starting from the level of the top of the small letter "a", as it's shown on the picture (number 4).

2.Draw a curve starting nearly from the top of the line. This is the same (second) curve you draw for the capital letter "A". Remember, you shoul start to write this particle not right from the top of the first line (number 5 on the picture). The height of this particle should be as the height of the small curve of the capital letter "A".

Now you know how to write the small letter “r” of the Armenian alphabet (number 6 on the picture above).

Review

Now you know:
3 Armenian letters: Ա, Ս and Ր
5 Armenian words:

սա-[sa] this
սար-[sar] mountain

ասա - [asa] means "say!" (imperative)
արա - [ara] means "do!" (imperative)
Արա - [ara] an Armenian popular male name, it's also a name of a town and a mountain in Armenia

You may also want to repeat the whole writting process, so, here it is.

Level 1 / Lesson 2 / The Letter "S"

Learn

Now let’s learn another letter of the Armenian alphabet, the letter “S”. It isn't the 2nd letter of the alphabet (it's the 29th) but you will learn it easier now as the form of "S" is similar to the form of “A”.

Typed forms:

Capital Letter: Ս

Small Letter: ս

Pronunciation: [s] (like "s" in English word "sit") in all cases

You can see different typed forms of "Ս" on the photo below. Here you can also compare the letters Ա and Ս. As you see they have a lot in common.

The letter of the Armenian alphabet "S" has the same shape as the English "U".

In ancient Armenian manuscripts the letters (especially the first letters of the page) are usually decorated with ornaments, flowers, animals, etc. Here you can see the letter we have just learned decorated with lions and Armenian ornaments.
Many of those manuscripts now are cept at Matenadaran in Yerevan.

As you know 2 Armenian letters you can make words. So, you can learn an Armenian word "սա" (pronunced [sa]) which means "this". Though you haven't learned the Armenian letter "R", you may also learn the word "սար" (pronunced [sar]) which means "mountain".

Write

Let’s start from the capital letter. You will need to do 2 simple steps to write this letter.
1. Draw a curve above the line like it is shown on the picture below (step 1). This is the same curve like the first curve of the capital letter “A” (you can compare the curves, number 2 on the picture below). Start from the top, then go down and turn the line to the right. Don’t write it straight (vertical). In written forms of the Armenian alphabet the letters are a little bit tilted to the right. The height of this curve is equal to the height of the capital letters in other languages, for example the capital letter “M” in English.
2. Then draw another particle: start from the level of the top of the curve, then go down and at the end turn the line to the right like it is shown on the picture below (number 3).

Now you know how to write the capital letter “S” of the Armenian alphabet (number 4 on the picture above).

Let’s learn how to write the small letter “s” of the Armenian alphabet. You again will need to do 2 simple steps to write this letter. I think you already know how to do it, as it’s just first 2 steps of the small letter “a”. Let’s just repeat it briefly.
1. Draw a small curve above the line (like the first part of the written form of English “w”), like it is shown on the picture below (step 5). The height of this particle should be the same as the height of the small curve of the capital letter “A”. Compare those heights (6 on the picture below).
2. Draw the same particle again. The second particle should touch the end of the first one, like it is shown on the picture below (step 7).

Now you know how to write the small letter “s” of the Armenian alphabet (number 8 on the picture above).

It’s easier to write the Armenian letters if you compare the written forms and the typed letters. Please, compare these two types of the letter “S”.

Review

Now you know:

2 Armenian letters: Ա and Ս.

2 Armenian words: սա-[sa] this

սար-[sar] mountain

You may also want to repeat the whole writting process, so, here it is.

Level 1 / Lesson 1 / The Letter "A"

Learn

One of the most important letters of most of the alphabets in the world is the first letter, “A”. And Armenian alphabet isn’t an exception. So, we are going to learn the first letter, “A”.

Typed forms:
Capital Letter: Ա
Small Letter: ա
Pronunciation: [a] (like "a" in English word "answer") in all cases


The letter Ա is written above the line, like the English letter "A". You can see different typed forms of Ա on the photo below.


Near Aparan (in Armenia) there is an open-air museum of the Armenian letters. It exhibits huge Armenian stone-letters with different ornaments. Both Armenians and tourists like to make photos near those letters. So, hear you can see one such photo. The man is posing near the letter we have just learned-Ա.

Write

Let’s start. Now we will learn how to write the first letter of the Armenian alphabet – “A”. As you have already known all the letters of the Armenian alphabet have capital letter and small letter. Let’s start from the capital letter.

You will need to do 3 simple steps to write this letter.

1. Draw a curve above the line like it is shown on the picture below (step 1). Start from the top, then go down and turn the line to the right. Don’t write it straight (vertical). In written forms of the Armenian alphabet the letters are a little bit tilted to the right. The height of this curve is equal to the height of the capital letters in other languages, for example the capital letter “M” in English.

2. Then draw a tilted straight line like it is shown on the picture below (step 2). This line should touch the end of the curve that you have drowned on step 1.

3.Now start to draw a smaller curve starting from the point where you have finished the curve that you have drowned on step 1, like it is shown on the picture below (step 3). The height of this curve should be nearly 1/3 of the height of the whole letter.

Now you know how to write the capital letter “A” of the Armenian alphabet (number 4 on the picture above).

Let’s learn how to write the small letter “a” of the Armenian alphabet.

You again will need to do 3 simple steps to write this letter. This is easier than the capital letter, as all the steps are the same.

1. Draw a small curve above the line (like the first part of the written form of English “w”), like it is shown on the picture below (step 5). The height of this particle should be the same as the height of the small curve of the capital letter “A” (described above, step 3). Compare those heights (6 on the picture below)

2. Draw the same particle again. The second particle should touch the end of the first one, like it is shown on the picture below (step 7).

3. Draw the same particle again. The third particle should touch the end of the second one, like it is shown on the picture below (step 8).

Now you know how to write the small letter “a” of the Armenian alphabet (number 9 on the picture above).

It’s easier to write the Armenian letters if you compare the written forms and the typed letters. Please, compare these two types of the letter “A”.

Review

Please, do the following:

1. Take a piece of paper and draw the typed forms of the Armenian Capital and Small Letters "A".

2. You may want to repeat the whole writting process, so, here it is.

How to Learn Armenian More Effectively?

Before starting the lessons please read carefully this short “How to learn Armenian more effectively?” section and follow the steps.

How to learn Armenian more effectively?

1. Please start with Lesson 1 to avoid any confusion. For those of you who are, to some extent, familiar with Armenian letters the first lessons may seem to be boaring but it’s not right. REMEMBER, we don’t want to miss anything, as soon we are going to speak Armenian.

2. If you can’t find the translation of any word in the lesson it means you haven’t learned your previous lessons well, (we strongly advise you to review them) as all the words are translated when they are used for the first time. So, again we come to the point that starting from the first lesson is advised. However, you can also look the unknown words in our Lessons’ Dictionary.

3. If you have some questions during the first lessons, please follow the lessons patiently and you will certainly find the answer during the next lessons.

4. The whole course consists of Levels, each Level consists of Units and each Unit consists of Lessons. So, the whole construction of the Course is:

Course > Levels > Lessons

All the lessons have the same construction. Each lesson consists of 4 sections:

Learn (introduces the new lesson)
Write (gives you texts to write by hand and text to translate in Armenian
Review (gives interesting excersises to remember what you learned in the previous sections)
Speak (gives you the possibility to speak in Armenian)

Again we come to the point that you should learn all the sections one by one, as, for example, you can’t do the "Review" section without the "Learn" section, i.e. without learning the lesson.

So, WELCOME TO THE MAGICAL WORLD OF ARMENIAN LANGUAGE!

Introduction

This is the start of my "Armenian Language Learning" (ALL) charity project. Here I'll help you to learn Armenian for free.

The lessons of Armenian language here are very interesting and colourful, combined with photos, slide-shows, musics and videos. You will also learn about Armenian culture, traditions, history and many other things through those lessons. If you follow all the mentioned steps, I promise that soon you will speak, read and writh in Armenian.


Introduction to the Armenian Language

The Armenian language is an Indo-European language, spoken by the Armenian people. Because of its uniqueness, linguists typically classify Armenian as an independent branch of the Indo-European Language family.

It is the official language of the Repblic of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora. The Armenian has its own script, the Armenian alphabet. The Armenian alphabet that Armenians use now (for both Eastern and Western Armenian) has been used for more than 1600 years. Eastern Armenian is the official language of the country and Western Armenian is spoken by approximately 50% of over 10,000,000 Armenians worldwide. Here we will learn Eastern Armenian as it’s the official language of Armenia.

The Armenian alphabet was created by Saint Mesrop Mashtots in AD 405 primerely for a Bible translation to the Armenian and classifies as one of the oldest alphabets in the world.

The Statue of Saint Mesrop Mashtots and scholar Koryun in front of Matenadaran (The biggest Institute of Ancient Armenian Manuscripts in the world) in Yerevan, Armenia. At the stone you can see the original letters (i.e. only uppercase) in their original shapes.

So, let’s begin from the Armenian alphabet.
Don’t be scared and don't try to remember all these letters now. We will learn them step by step.