What cultural traits do Armenians share?

[magdalinka]

If you are to insist and defend judaism so much i guess there are some simliarites between jews and armenians im sad to say.


If u should listen to the jews...then israel too was always jewish from the begninng.

Have i yunderstood it wrongly or is judism not infact the complete opposite to christianity , if you loook at the Old and New testamente History cannot justify anything, and certainly it cant justify how they are treating people today ,palestians first of all, and their racist ways.
Besides if you'd ask a jew he would never be on the side of an armenians no matter what.. in the conflict with Turkey or in karabahk...
that you fail to see how the sionist and religios jews defend this acts of crimes in Israel and the their politics against Armenia and you as an "armenian" are to defent the jews. I am sorry for you.

speaking about palestinians: aren't they the ones who go around and blow themselves up? i actually dont feel safe being in a same room with a muzlim person.
and by the way, why should anyone ever care what jewish people have to say about turks or kharabakh. does anyone ask what armenians think about israel and palestine?

[magdalinka]

Armenian does have very old borrowings from semitic languages, from Aramaic too. Words like "shuka" for market, "targmanich" for translator, and some others I can't really remember now. But they are certainly not related languages.

And Armenians are certainly not Jews Although once in a while you see some striking similarities

dear rabinovich, these words like many other ones came into our language through farsi and/or turkish. because these muzlim countries are our neighbours and they tried to invade our land a bunch of times, so after they left some of the words stayed.

[ArmoBarbi]

Magdalinka, you misunderstood my post. I simply wanted to see if you guys agreed with me or this woman/show. Im not dissapointed. lol

I know exactly where Armenian belongs, and Russian is not a group of its own it belongs to the Slavic group.

Also, I think youre right about the words having rubbed off. I dont see any evidence that there is any similarity in origin. People influence each other when they share an environment.

[Shoshan]

My hyper-link is not operational--Sorry! Here is the only article I've found regarding this issue.

The Armenian Character and Psyche
By John Semerdjian - Copyright © 2002. All rights reserved.

The main characteristics of the Armenian character and psyche.

Armenians are born survivors. Since the start of our history over 3000 years ago we have been the subjects of all kinds of atrocities, foreign domination, natural disasters, hardships and genocide. But in spite of all those tragedies, Armenians have survived and we continue to rebuild our lives wherever we find refuge. We value our freedom and always endeavour to live in peace and harmony with others.

Armenians are proud and honest people. We have strong family ties and work together to preserve that unity. We respect our elders and try to learn from their experiences. Thus passing on this knowledge from one generation to another, and by doing so insuring the continuity and the preservation of our cumulative intelligence. We often delude ourselves to being masters of all topics, and in most cases try to advise others on matters that we know little about.

Armenians are very polite and hospitable people. We enjoy good food, music and entertainment. We like get-togethers with family and friends to celebrate special occasions. Armenians spare no expense during such occasions, especially during weddings, Christenings and special birthday parties. There’s an abundance of food and drink (in most cases too much) accompanied by music that is constant and loud!x

Armenians excel in many trade and artistic fields. We are hard working people with sound business and negotiation skills. Negotiating is in our blood. The intensity of the negotiation varies depending on whom we are dealing with. In some extreme cases this practice can result in unnecessary arguments and lead to embarrassing moments.

Because of our inherent business skills, Armenians tend to treat everything as a business transaction. However, if the work to be undertaken does not promise to deliver instant outcomes and/or personal profit, we do not wish to give support or get involved in it. Even if that work or project may benefit the community in the future.

Armenians are inherently jealous people. We have a dominant ‘jealousy’ gene in our character. This may sound bad, but in reality this is one of the main reasons why Armenians are known to be hard working people. We can not except the idea that someone else is better or more well off than ourselves, so we work hard to surpass them.

Armenians can be self-centred and sometimes never satisfied. We seem to think and care only of ourselves and constantly ask for assistance (free assistance) from others without even acknowledging and/or giving them credit for their hard work. There is a very suitable Armenian saying – “You stretch your hand to help, they want the whole arm”.

In fact, Armenians would like everything to be for free. I will illustrate this characteristic with a joke I received by e-mail, which goes like this:

A Florist goes to a Barber for a haircut. After the haircut, he tries to pay the Barber and the Barber says - “Sorry, I cannot accept your money, this is a community service”. The Florist is pleasantly surprised and leaves the shop. The next morning when the Barber opens his shop, he finds a 'Thank you' card and a dozen roses waiting at his door.x

A Few hours later a Policeman enters for a haircut. After the haircut, he tries to pay the Barber and the Barber says - “Sorry, I cannot accept your money, this is a community service”. The Policeman is pleasantly surprised and leaves the shop. The next morning when the Barber opens his shop, he finds a 'Thank you' card and a dozen donuts waiting at his door.x

The same day an Armenian enters for a haircut. After the haircut, he tries to pay the Barber and the Barber says - “Sorry, I cannot accept your money, this is a community service”. The Armenian is pleasantly surprised and leaves the shop. The next morning when the Barber opens his shop… Guess what he finds there?

A dozen Armenians waiting for a free haircut!
The Armenian in the above anecdote was kind enough to let his friends know about the free haircut. In most cases we like to keep things a secret and not tell others about them, possibly revealing the secret only after it has no value.x

Armenians appreciate art and music. But unfortunately know or understand very little about the true value of an artistic work. We always tend to measure the value of a work-of-art by its material cost instead of its true artistic merit.

Often Armenians like to exaggerate or let’s say “extend” reality a bit. We like to make things look harder, bigger or more complicated than they really are. We like to boast about our achievements regardless of the outcome or the quality of the final product.

Punctuality is not one of our strong characteristics. We never manage to start a function or a gathering on time. On such occasions it’s common to hear the Armenian phrase “Haygagan Jamatrootuon”, which means ‘Armenian Timing’ (uttered in a critical tone).

[Shoshan]

Armenians are known to be more of a serious nation than a humorous one. Not that we don’t have a sense of humour, we do, but unlike others we find it hard to laugh at our own faults. Because the history of the Armenian nation is full of tragedies and hardships, our capability to relax and look at the funny side of life has been dramatically effected or diminished.

The two main facets of the Armenian character

Armenians in general have what I call ‘Two Faces’. No! We are not two faced. It’s just that for some reason our character changes when interacting with foreigners as opposed to one of our own.

Lets have a look at “Face one” – ‘Armenians interacting with Armenians’.

In general, Armenians are polite and hospitable people who live in close knit communities. We treat each other with respect and courtesy, as long as both parties act in a humble manner and stay within their social and intellectual boundaries. Basically, not to say or do things that might upset the other person.

Unfortunately, we may fall victim to unfounded gossip circulating amidst the community. When this happens we tend to loose our manners and change our attitude towards each other. We start to look for faults in each other’s personality and lifestyle and use that information to criticise. We may even say things that we know will result in hurting the other person’s feelings. I believe the ‘jealousy’ gene plays a big roll in these situations. It tends to cloud our judgement and makes us act in an unethical way towards our fellow countrymen.

Armenians have a very well known saying when doing business with one another -“You can’t do business with an Armenian”. This attitude is one of the biggest downfalls of our nation. We find it very difficult to work with each other. As a mater of fact, we prefer to give work to foreigners than to one of our own. The reasons for this attitude are complex, but never the less worth examining.

* As a ‘client’ an Armenian will always expect to pay less for more. We always negotiate, even after we have received a special discount. We expect that we can make changes to the job specification without having to pay any extra for them.

* The Armenian ‘tradesman’ on the other hand, may adopt the unethical attitude of “They are Armenians, what do they know?” As a result he may do a substandard job or exaggerate the true value of the project at hand.

* When undertaking any dealings with Armenian institutions, there are even more factors that come into consideration regardless of your Armenian descent or whether the work you intend to do will benefit the Armenian community as whole. The first question inevitably will be, will it cost them any money? Secondly, which political, social or religious denomination do you belong to? Thirdly, what are the immediate benefits to the ‘Institution’ if they decide to support you? Etc. etc. etc… Well, I think you get the picture.

* Alternately when the Armenian business owner is approached by an Armenian institution, their first expectation is that they receive the job/merchandise for free or for a generously discounted price. Since most Armenian institutions consider themselves non-profit organisations they somehow believe that the business owner (most probably a hard working parent of two children, who has all kinds of business and family expenses) can afford to do the job for free or give it to them at less than cost price.

* When Armenian institutions work together… well no need to continue this, because they never manage to agree to do anything ‘together’ and in those very unique situation when they do so, it always ends up in controversy, unnecessary arguments and final break up.

So, as seen above, Armenians find it very hard to work together. Invariably this can be attributed to jealousy, lack of respect for each other’s financial needs and a selfish expectation of immediate personal gain. We refuse to help or support one another and in some extreme cases we may even stoop to circulating unfounded rumours to sabotage each other’s hard work.

It really doesn’t take a genius to figure it out - If each and every one of us supported each other then Armenian businesses and individuals would become better off and in return would have the financial capability to help our institutions to grow and prosper. Thereby benefiting the whole community, especially the future generations.

Armenians develop a superiority complex when assigned positions of leadership. This is very apparent when interacting with Armenian community representatives. The fact is that most of our community leaders/representatives do not have the necessary skills or the qualifications to lead or even represent us as a nation. Lack of true leadership skills combined with old fashioned/outdated ideas, pompous and selfish attitudes, secrecy and lack of transparency, and an unwillingness to take responsibility for their actions, encourages many individuals and families to distance themselves from our institutions, in particular the younger generation.

When dealing with Armenian community representatives the phrase “I don’t know, ask him” is a common response. Finding someone who will readily assist you with your inquiries is rare. Unfortunately, it seems nobody knows what is happening. The reality is that they don’t want to get involved and simply give you the run around just to keep you out of their hair (so to speak).

Armenians are quick to wrongfully judge each other. We think we are right even though we haven’t invested enough thought to the subject at hand. We seem to immediately see the negative side of things even though the positive side far outweighs it. We tend to discourage people with good ideas and intensions without allowing them the benefit of the doubt.

Armenians are self opinionated and very competitive. We seem to regularly disagree with each other and try to force our ideas on one another. There is an Armenian saying – “When two Armenians come together, they create three different Churches (denominations) and five different political persuasions”.

When socialising amongst ourselves, we have the tendency of accepting or rejecting people depending on their social and/or religious background. For some reason just being an Armenian seems not to be enough. If even one of the religious, social or political inclinations of a person dose not meet our own criteria, then that person will not be accepted within our “social circle”. This type of discrimination is one of the major contributors to “The White Genocide”. This is the main reason why a great deal of Armenians are distancing themselves from everything ‘Armenian’. By doing so, they are gradually and unknowingly being assimilated into other cultures, much to the detriment of our Armenian identity.

Now lets have a look at “Face Two” – ‘Armenians interacting with Foreigners’.

Armenians go through an amazing character metamorphosis when interacting with foreigners. Suddenly, we become very friendly, social and willing to please.

Some Armenians seem to believe that foreigners, in particular Westerners/Europeans are superior to us. We try to imitate them, talk like them, act like them and in extreme cases even try to hide or deny our own unique culture by adopting theirs. Of course, there are many of us who are very proud of our heritage and try to educate foreigners about the riches of our culture whenever we get the chance to do so.

Armenians are more tolerant towards other nations’ so called “bad habits” as opposed to our own. We seem to think that that is part of their culture and in most cases try not to judge them for their faults. This ‘tolerance’ sends out the wrong message to our younger generation. In effect we may be giving them the ‘green light’ to imitate other cultures and to do as they wish.

One of the most noticeable changes in the character of the Armenian younger generation living in the diaspora today, is the misguided perception that they need to adopt their host country’s language and cultural habits as their primary tool for communication and self-expression. There is nothing wrong with learning other languages.x In fact I encourage every Armenian to learn their host country’s language and culture to the best they can. After all, we live in a foreign culture and it’s our duty as good citizens to try our best to interact and contribute to the well being of the community that we have chosen to be part of. But let’s do so without compromising our own language and culture. For we are no longer Armenians if we stop practising our own Mother language amongst ourselves and dismiss our cultural traditions as being old fashioned and irrelevant.

Armenians find it easy to do business with foreigners. In fact we prefer to do so, rather than with one of our own (for the same reasons as mentioned in the previous section). We become more accommodating and willing to please. Our politeness is at its peak and we tend to agree on things more often than we normally do. Some of us think that “Negotiation” is a bad word when dealing with foreigners, and it is considered “A shame” if you try to bargain when doing business with Westerners. Of course, anyone with sound and confident business sense will know that this is not true, and as the saying goes – “There are no rules when doing business” – as long as you act in an ethical and professional manner.

[Shoshan]

Yes, I used too much space and yes, it is impolite... but I was so amazed that this is the ONLY article available to anyone seeking info about Armenian culture, that I felt compelled to post it.

That said, please don't let me interupt you.....

[CatWoman]

Shoshan, the article you posted is indeed true!
Beautiful! I can't agree more...

[rabinovich]

Yes, I used too much space and yes, it is impolite... but I was so amazed that this is the ONLY article available to anyone seeking info about Armenian culture, that I felt compelled to post it.

That said, please don't let me interupt you.....

While there are true points, the author is either not being serious at some parts, or he is overgeneralizing. For one thing, I don't think jealosy is such a descriptive characteristic of Armeinans. I have seen much more jealousy in the nations surrounding us. Most jealous people I have ever met in my life were Russians, but I don't want to generalize on this either.

There is some other BS too in the articles, and of course it's not the only thing in Internet about Armenians You'd be surprised how much, and how many bad things people write about us

But for good things you can look at:

http://www.armenianhighland.com/main.html

The truth of the statements these guys make is doubtful, their megalomania is out of doubt, but the site leaves an overall positive impression.
Try searching on Google, there's thousands of sites about Armenians and their culture.

[rabinovich]

Some Armenians seem to believe that foreigners, in particular Westerners/Europeans are superior to us. We try to imitate them, talk like them, act like them and in extreme cases even try to hide or deny our own unique culture by adopting theirs. Of course, there are many of us who are very proud of our heritage and try to educate foreigners about the riches of our culture whenever we get the chance to do so.

Mister homemade psychoanalyst fails to realize that some Armenians ARE in fact Westerners, not just imitate them. And I hate how this guy uses the word "educate", I just know the type of people who speak like this. Educate yourself first, moron!

[rabinovich]

dear rabinovich, these words like many other ones came into our language through farsi and/or turkish. because these muzlim countries are our neighbours and they tried to invade our land a bunch of times, so after they left some of the words stayed.

no magdalinka, those words are much older borrowings. Aramaic words could not come through Turkish, for example, there is a gap of a dozen or two centuries

As for related languages - Armenian is an Indo-European language, related to most European languages and some Asian ones. This includes English.

There are many cognate words in English and Armenian, which are not directly visible. "Tsar" tree, "Katu" cat, "Qarort" quarter, "Gnal" to go, "Armunk" arm. There's thousands, if you think about it, and they are much more obvious on Latin-derived languages. Those are not borrowings, and I really know what I'm talking about, so don't start telling me I'm wrong

As for English borrowings form Armenian language, one possibility is "heathen", which is "hethanos" in Armenian, but this link is not proven.