Armenian Class

[HyeJinx1984]

Yea, right now my biggest fear is not beeing able to grapple the Armenian alphabet because it's sooooo different to the alphabet I'm used to. But once you learn that everything else probably falls into place.

[Stark Evade]

Funny...
The LA Valley College Armenian class is the one I tried to get into yesterday. I stood outside for a bit but there were too many people trying to add. I noticed a black girl in there. Interesting.

[ckBejug]

Oh something interesting I realized about the alphabet... the letters are multi-syllabic . The only Alphabet I know is English, an dall those letters are one syllable, but I was really surprised to see some Armenian letters having two and I think even three syllables in them, it's like they're more like words then letters.

I think what you mean is that ayp, pen, kim, they have 3-4 letters instead of just one like A, B, C. Right? I am pretty sure that they aren't multi-syllabic.

[jgm1975]

I found it confusing to be honest. English has been planted in my brain so well that It was difficult to understand the concept of the Armenian alphabet, let alone forming scentences. I found it odd (please, no one be offended by that comment) how armenians form sentences by placing the before the noun. Such as "Yes kez sirumen"- translated it sounds in english as "I you love." As we would say , I love you.

This is a special characteristic of Armenian. Unlike other Indo-European languages, Armenian places a heavy emphasis on the object rather than the verb or the noun. So while in English you would say "I want the house", in Armenian we would say "The house I want" (Tunuh uzum em or Dunuh g'uzem). "Tun" or "Dun" means house. I think that this emphasis on the object may also be shared by another language, but I do not remember which one.

[Stark Evade]

Actually, that happens in many languages, and that includes Latin. Probably all of the languages where the declensions of a verb are decided by a suffix or a prefix.

[HyeJinx1984]

Funny...
The LA Valley College Armenian class is the one I tried to get into yesterday. I stood outside for a bit but there were too many people trying to add. I noticed a black girl in there. Interesting.

Dude! You shoulda came in, we woulda been classmates!

[HyeJinx1984]

I think what you mean is that ayp, pen, kim, they have 3-4 letters instead of just one like A, B, C. Right? I am pretty sure that they aren't multi-syllabic.

Lyoon
Dyoon
Hyoon

all have two syllabels... unless I'm just pronouncing them wrong, which may very well be the case.

[ckBejug]

Those are mono-syllabic my dear. Keep up the good work though.

p.s. Is the teacher arevelahay or arevmdahay?

[HyeJinx1984]

Those are mono-syllabic my dear. Keep up the good work though.

p.s. Is the teacher arevelahay or arevmdahay?

I don't know what either of those terms mean, he's Bairuitsi

[ckBejug]

That means he's speaking arevmdahayeren.

Arevmdahay = beirutsi halebtsi, more Arabic-influenced
Arevmoodk= Where the Sun sets. Arev= Sun. Moodk= To come in.

Arevelahay = hayastantsi, more Russian-influenced
Arevelk= Where the Sun rises. Arev= Sun. Yelk= To go up.

I guess the words come from whereabouts the Armenians lived and got influenced from their neighboring countries.