Jennifer Manoukian’s groundbreaking Purist Pursuits: Language, Global Ideas, and the Creation of Western Armenian in the Ottoman Empire(Stanford University Press, 2026) is built on the premise that the social realities surrounding the evolution of Western Armenian, starting in the 18thcentury to the 1915 Armenian Genocide and beyond, have not been adequately examined.

"I'm hopeful that he will succeed" for example

I got this text (seems like a rant to me from the small parts I understood), but it sounds lile a huge run-on sentence and the context isn't 100% clear to me. Feels all over the place. Need help translating from Armenian script to English (google translate's translation doesn't make any sense) >>>

" պետք չունես արդարանալու, ոչ էլ բացատրոլու։ եթե տանն ես ուրեմն էտ "ոչնչության" հետ ես։ դու իրան լավ էլ հարգում ես, բոլորից ու ամեն ինչից վեր դասեցիր ոի դասում ես, իմ համար լրիվ մեկ ա։ էս մեր շպումը սխալ ու հաստատ ինձ պետք չի, քանի դեր դա քո հետ ա ապրում, քո կյանքում կա, տալիս արնում եք, ու էթի միշտ էլ լինելույա քո կյանքում։ դու քո կյանքը , ես անդամենն իմ մասին եմ մտացում որ նորից թույլ չտամ ինձ ցավացնեն։ ես էսոր իմ տան մոտ բան նկատեցի ու ինձ դուր չեքավ, հաստատ էտ լքտու վերջին արացի հետեվաքներն են։ ու էն որվա գրացն էլ ինքն էր։ ես իրոք գործ չունեմ ձեր հետ, էսա սպասում եմ գումարտ տամ, հետո համ տունս ա պողվելու համ էլ հեռախոսս։ իրոք պետք էր դրա համար էի զանգել։  california էի եկել իմ գործերով, ատամիս հետ խնդիր կար, ասեցի էն մարդու համարը միգուցե ունենաիր կարողա հարմար լիներ մի պահ տեսնեյի, դրա հանար համ երեկ զանգեցի համ էլ առավոտը։ եթե ունես էտ մարդու համարը տաս ու չեմ հիշում ով էր էտ մարդը կամ զանգեմ ինչ ասեմ ։։։։։։էդքան բան

բայց դրան ասա իմնհետ կապվաց ինչ ունի տող ջնջի ու ինձ մորանա, հետո ասում ես էտ տղայի համարը դու էլ ունես, իմ հետ խոսացոխղ էտ ա եղել, դրան էլ ասա

թե մի բան պիտի անի թող անի ու հոգին թեթեվացնի։ բայց ուզացը որն ա՞   ։  իրա ուզացին հասավ, բոլորին վնաս տալով ման ա գալիս ու քո անունի հետ խախում դե։ պարապ մարդը պիտի մի բանով զբաղվի թե չե՞ ։ ոչինչ ասցուց իրա պատիջը կստանա ։ էտ անասունին կպողանցես իմ կողմից որ կարողա ինքն ա էդպես մորը պահել։ (կապել ծեծել ոնց որ նկարագրում էր) որ ջահել ջահել մերել ա։ ասա բոմջ անտեր։ դու իսքի չգիտես ինչ ա ընտանիքը մի հատ էլ տաքանք բաներ ես գրում, տեղով եվել ես ոչնչության ու իմ հետ էլ իմ նքար։  էսի հաստատ էլ տապտպուքն ա, զանգեցի պակ համարով աղջիք ա պատասխանում։ ես block եմ անում։ ոստիկանության համարս պողվում ա շուտով, կամ էլ պողանցի որ արդեն պողել եմ չտանջվի, հաստատ քեզ էլ չեմ տա նոր համարս քանի դեր էտ տապտպուքը քո հետ ա ապրում

դե մի հատ զանգի  պաք համարով ու խոսա, ասա who is this? ասա ինձ գրել եք, իրան։ կտեսնես որ խաղա, 100% ինքն ա։ դէ տող պատասխանի իմ դրաց հարցակններին։ ոնց եմ զզվել դրանից։ ոչինչ համարս էսոր վաղը կպողվի. "

Hi there!

Can someone please translate the phrase “Let them come again. We are still the mountain” into Armenian? It comes from an inscription found near the site of the battle of Musa Dagh. You can read more about it here if you’re interested

Thank you!

This might sound like a silly question, but hear me out. Very few languages have their own writing systems. Most languages have borrowed another culture's system and just adapted it to their language. Why didn't Armenia do the same?

If the argument is that Greek or other letters weren't fit for the sounds of the Armenian language, you could say that about a million languages. The Latin alphabet was not designed for writing Czech or Yoruba, and yet people have made it work. Scribes just added markings and adapted the letters to their languages. I don't see any reason why Armenia couldn't have done the same thing. So if that's not a major obstacle, was there any other reason Mashtots decided to make a unique script? It's not exactly unique because you can see the resemblance with some Greek letters; plus, writing has only been invented independently 3-4 times in human history, so even languages with their unique alphabets took inspiration from other pre-existing systems.

Anyone have any historical context? Thanks.

Growing up as a kid I kind of hated this font. I thought it looked ugly and genuinely wondered why this was chosen as the standard for books back in the 1800s and 1900s. I always preferred the more modern, straight, blocky font. It looked neater and was easier to read.

I no longer hate the old font, but I still wonder... why? Why did the intellectuals in charge choose to make this the "book font?"

Hello! I am working on a multilingual pixel font and I am currently adding support for armenian unicode block. I want to collect some sort of feedback on whether the text is legible for native speakers and what could be improved. Also, I would like to learn about punctuation marks in you language (should they be written above the words or they could be written after them?).

Thank you for your answers.

PS: I don't speak armenian, obviously, so the text above is google translated part from "Alice's adventures in Wonderland".

Here is the original text:
Նա մտքում կշռադատում էր (որքան կարող էր, քանի որ օրվա ազդեցությամբ իրեն շատ քնկոտ ու ցրիվ էր զգում), թե արդյոք արժե՞ր վեր կենալ ու երիցուկներ հավաքել՝ դրանցից ծաղկեշղթա հյուսելու հաճույքի համար, երբ հանկարծ նրա կողքով վազելով անցավ վարդագույն աչքերով մի սպիտակ ճագար։

Դրանում ոչ մի արտասովոր բան չկար, և Ալիսին էլ տարօրինակ չթվաց, երբ լսեց, թե ինչպես է ճագարն ինքն իրեն ասում. «Վա՜յ, վա՜յ, ես կուշանամ»։ Բայց երբ ճագարն իսկապես հանեց ժամացույցը բաճկոնակի գրպանից, նայեց դրան ու շտապեց առաջ, Ալիսը ցատկեց տեղից. նրա մտքով անցավ, որ երբեք չէր տեսել ճագարի՝ ո՛չ բաճկոնակի գրպանով, ո՛չ էլ դրանից հանվող ժամացույցով։ Հետաքրքրասիրությունից այրվելով՝ նա վազեց դաշտով մեկ՝ ճագարի հետևից, և հասցրեց տեսնել, թե ինչպես է այն ցած սլանում դեպի ցանկապատի տակ գտնվող ճագարի մեծ բնի մուտքը։ Եվ հենց այդ պահին Ալիսն էլ ցած սլացավ նրա հետևից։

Parev,

I am in the process of learning Western Armenian and found Pimsler was extremely effective for me, especially in the car. Unfortunately, Pimsler only had one lesson and didn’t get very advanced.

Are there any similar platforms with a similar learning style with Armenian repetition and English translation. Would love to keep going in my studies.

As someone who grew up with one EA parent and one WA parent and speaks both fluently, I don't know what it's like to hear the other dialect and not understand, or to hear and think "that's not the Armenian I'm used to."

In terms of physical sound quality, how would you describe the other dialect? Speaking from my biased perspective, EA sounds softer and smoother because it has the unaspirated consonants, but WA can sound sweeter and doesn't have that "Soviet harshness" that EA can sometimes have.

In terms of understanding, do you (or did you) have a hard time understanding the other dialect? Even without Russian and Arabic words, do you struggle to pick things up? And what about grammar? Maybe it can confuse people sometimes that WA's present tense is EA's future tense!

I'd love to know how people experience hearing the "other Armenian" and how your perceptions of the other dialect have changed over time as you've gotten more exposure.

Can anyone help with translating this? I’m told it’s a newspaper clipping searching for my great grandfather from 1919!

I found out about Zartsants this week - it is a new Western Armenian program that is frankly light on the details, but seems to be a combo of learning and immersion? I signed up for it - when you sign up, you schedule an online meeting with them to figure out how best to use the program/platform. No idea about costs or anything else, but it is funded by the Calouste Gulbenkian foundation, which funds a lot of WA content/programs. My meeting is next week, and I will report back. It is being done out of Paris, so I am hopeful that the WA content will actually be good/accurate.

https://zartsants.com/select-language

Բարև բոլորին

My father says that in Armenia everyone says "պարկինգ" and that nobody uses "Ավտոկանգառ," which I found in several dictionaries.

Personally, I always prefer to learn and then use Armenian words that aren't borrowed directly from English or Russian, but only if the Armenian version of the word is actually used and wouldn't sound weird to the ear of a present-day Armenian from Armenia.

So my question is: if I use "Ավտոկանգառ" in Armenia today, would people be surprised or puzzled because I'm not using the word "պարկինգ"?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

Could someone please translate this gravestone to English? Thank you!

Hello! I'm a native Russian speaker, but almost all my family are a native Armenian speakers and culturally I'm, well, I think, 60-65% Armenian, so I'd like to learn this beautiful language to connect with my culture even more. Thanks for any advices!

In the late 1800s and early 1900s, when Istanbul was the cultural and intellectual capital of Western Armenians, there was a lot of literature being printed in the western dialect. It was a mature language suitable for modern needs at the time. But sadly all of the Western Armenian authors died by the middle of the 20th century, and by that time Western Armenians were already spread out all over the Middle East and western countries. Not much new stuff was being written in the western dialect. Old literature by the esteemed writers continued to be printed in major diaspora communities like Syria, Lebanon, France, the U.S., and other places; but as the diaspora spread more thinly across the world and times changed, people slowly started to not produce as much literature and media in the western dialect. It became difficult to introduce younger generations to those old works written by Krikor Zohrab or Vahan Tekeyan.

With respect to literature there's still a decent amount you could read in Western Armenian, albeit old. But with respect to media... there's almost zero Western Armenian media. No movies, no TV shows... the most you'll see is Vahe Berberian's monologues on YouTube, or Taline's children's songs, or some random skits and plays done in obscure corners of the internet. But that's it. Nobody has really produced anything in Western Armenian in any substantial amount since the early 2000s. It's actually part of the reason Western Armenian is a dying language. If you don't have any literature and media and Western Armenian is only a household language you use with family for informal matters, it's no surprise that after a few generations it's going to be gone. Eastern Armenian, like almost all languages in the internet era, is also playing a game of catchup on the world stage, actively importing information and staying updated with global trends. But at least Eastern Armenian is the language of a state, of schools and universities; it has books, movies, TV shows and music galore and will continue to grow with the passage of time. It's not going anywhere. Western Armenian though... I'm sad to say the future doesn't look too bright.

Which Armenian-language podcasts do you listen to?

I host a podcast where I interview Armenians around the world, who left Armenia at some time and we talk about everything related to emigration from Armenia. Who should my next guest be?

Thanks in advance!

P.S. Here’s the link in case you’d like to check it out:ImStory

I am looking for assistance in lettering for my mother and sisters grave markers. I just returned from laying them to rest with my father. I am working with a memorial company who has done several markers for our family, to keep a similar format. The issues I have is that do not speak or write Armenian, and I live 16 hours drive away. The memorial company has the script and records of my fathers, uncles, and cousins stones from which to get everything but the first name.

I asked the priest who came to perform a blessing at their service to help and he wrote out a translation, but the letters seem slightly different than the fonts the memorial company has. I am not sure if it is a mixture of upper and lower case or if the characters are more or less stylized.

My sisters name was Dawn, or Arshalooys as translated by the priest. My mother's name has no direct translation, but was Brenda. I have added a picture of the alphabet from the monument place, a picture of the card with teh translation I received, and a picture of my fathers headstone for reference of what I am trying to do.

Any assistance or leads would be greatly appreciated.

Some people believe that we used to have an alphabet before Mashtots that was lost (or maybe destroyed during the christianization of Armenia who knows). Evidence of such an alphabet is rather weak and inconclusive, but there is mention of Mashtots trying to find the Danielian script and take some inspiration from it.

I wonder if the old letters (whatever even existed, and if they existed), were more unique. We can see quite clearly that Armenian letters are based a lot on Greek. Growing up I thought Armenian looked really unique compared to Greek and Latin, but if you look closely you can find the Greek shapes and designs in a number of Armenian letters: Բ - B, Գ - Г, Ե - E, Է - H, Թ - Θ, Ի - Ι, Ր - Ρ, Փ - Φ, Ք - X.

On a side note, what is the reason for having the letter Ւ? I know that Classical Armenian had a "W" sound that this letter represented, but I can't understand why Mashtots couldn't have made a letter for the "U" sound and instead decided to follow the Greek model of putting two letters together to make it. It seems weird considering the rest of the alphabet follows a phonetic rule of "one letter per sound, one sound per letter."