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.