Gor-Gor

Garodtser eik zis?? Shadonts eh chei aytseladz ays gaykechuh. I was just talking to my Stantsi friend and she said they don't really use "havanapar" -- we Westerners use it a lot. I'd actually never heard of teryevs (deryevs) used as "still" -- you learn something every day. We also use "gareli" (kareli) to mean possibly/maybe.

I hate to hijack this thread...lol But I was born and raised in Los Angeles. "New York, Boston, California, inch aghvor, inch siroun, inch aghvor e na..." (It's the only song I could think of!! lol)

Well, then -- thank you, Armen. Apsos about missing Astral! I've been making a list of all the places I wanna go to when I go back to Yerevan this summer (hooysov em, anyway). Astral is at the top! Ohhhh, just thinking about walking down Apovian is giving me the chills. It's been 5 long years....

Asdvadz im... Thanks to whoever created this thread. I love the fusion of Armenian folk + contemporary music. And that picture inside Astral nightclub is teasing me!! I'm already dying to go to Yerevan and experience some of its nightlife.

Has anyone got the lyrics to Shirkhani? I've been looking all over the 'net, no luck. And my yerkaran doesn't have it either.

Arpa -- that last one brought back so many memories of our music classes in elementary schools... La rit tmprlalla ha ha ha...

Well it's true.

It sounds too elegant to be Arabic! It's probably a bastardization of the French word.

I always thought it was umbatsoghig (umpatsoghik). Or go the easy way and just say "shalimon"

Boghos: That's exactly what I was going to reply after reading Proud Expat's last post. The Western phonology, incorrect as it may be, is a natural component of the Western dialect, and I would be against any effort to change it. Besides, that would be, I think, a fruitless effort. For one, I can't make the proper b/g/d middle sounds. Second, how can you get Diaspora WA teachers (and parents!) to start teaching 'proper' pronunciation to students? Third, even when I try to use such pronunciation, it takes quite an effort to remember the spelling of each word to know how to pronounce it. And finally, for me personally, I feel a connection to my perished family members -- they spoke this way, and so will I. Nairi: Thanks for that! I didn't know "Mayreni Lezou" was a Yerevan publication. The new generation of youngsters at my old school are using those now. Lucky them! Our books were old, raggedy, and had no pictures. On this topic - is anyone aware of a new volume of Armenian language textbooks that were published last year in Greece (or was it Cyprus?)? I'm tying to get more info about it. The neat thing about it was that the selected works, poems, etc tried to use subject matter that is relevant to today's urban Armenian diasporans, so that the new generation could relate to the works. Because I know that when I was in high school, I would think that the stories and poems we read were so ... "hedamnats" to an extent. And of course, they use modern fonts, colors, design -- which were only but a dream for us just a few years ago. I want to present this volume of books to my old school.

We've all got our annoying habits and idiosynchracies... Here in LA, some Armenians from Armenia speak in a certain manner piss me off too. So what?

Storming: It is certainly a unique dish, and not something as commonplace as bbq. Madnakash (matnaqash) is a traditional puffy, soft Armenian bread. It is dipped in the butter until the bread soaks the butter. I asked my mom about her childhood memories with kha'ourma. She said her mom used to prepare very large amounts in the fall, then store the meat in jars, completely ensconced in the butter. The jars would then be stored underground, as a refrigeration method. And then during the winter, they'd take some of the meat out, warm them up and eat it. There was a lack of meat in the winter and otherwise they'd not be able to eat meat during that season.

Bardizban-ian.

Dave: I don't doubt that. I know some Bolsahay families that speak Turkish in the home. The reason the persecutions always stick out in my head is because my (late) Armenian teacher used to call us "yeni cheri"s when we were being loud, obnoxious, etc. Of course I only recently realized what that meant while doing some web surfing. Yeni Cheris was the name given to the Turks who would literally chop off Armenian speakers' tongues. And I also remember this was the case in the southern/southwest regions. So while the parents could speak Armenian, they spoke only Turkish to their kids, to save everyone from persecution. I actually have a (fiction) book written in standard WA, but the characters speak in the Dikranagerdtsi dialect. There's a glossary at the end that translates the parpar words (and lots of Turkish words, too) into standard WA. It's great. It is the only book I've ever read (English or Armenian) where I could truly relate, because the characters use "gor" and "haydeh" and "ham" and "na" and "eferim" and "khalo" and "illa" and "mey-muh" and every other foreign adaption to our slang. lol Plus, the dialect sounds like my mom and grandma!! lol

Thank you! Some days I think our culture is more Turkish than Armenian! Assimilation, apparently, is an old tradition for Armenians...

Now I'm not a big meat-eater, but every time my mom makes kha'ourma, I can't help but eat it!! It is probably the most fattening meat dish you will ever eat. I'm told that it is a native Dikranagerd dish. And that it is a dying recipe. None of my Armenian friends (even a Dikranagertsi) have heard of it. But my mom is famous for this food, and our kertasdan anxiously awaits the next time she prepares it. So, it's basically lamb meat, cut in large 2-3 inch cubes. They are cooked in a "gatsa" on low heat for HOURS (probably 6 or more) in pure melted butter. The meat becomes so tender, and with the butter, it melts in your mouth. Then there are whole quinces cooked along with the meat. Best of all, it is served with madnakash that has been "tatkhvadz" in the butter. So so good!! Has anyone heard of this/tasted this? I'm not sure if this is an Armenian or a Turkish recipe. The name clearly isn't Armenian "kha'ourma" -- the "kh" is pronounced low in the throat, like in Arabic. Maybe it had an Armenian name at one time but was lost in Ottoman Turkey.

Domino: I was in absolute shock the first few days in Armenia. It's like Glendale, but on steroids. No just kidding. It's a remarkable experience, specifically for someone whose family isn't from the Armenian republic or its Soviet predecessor - so I'd never heard stories of Armenia, etc. No one in my family came from a place where everybody spoke Armenian, where storefronts advertised in Armenian, etc. It was surreal, and I loved it. Cheesy as it sounds, I felt like I finally belonged somewhere...well, for as long as my tourist visa dictated anyway...

I'd read about that in my Constitutional Law class last year. Interesting, isn't it?

Since we're in picture mode, here are some recent pictures of Republic Square. (You'll have to excuse me -- I love urbanity and I love Armenia. So Yerevan's city center is pretty much heaven for me...lol) http://www.armeniantourinfo.com/cpg/albums/userpics/10002/1.28.jpg http://www.armeniantourinfo.com/cpg/albums/userpics/10002/3.28.jpg Vakh, vakh...whoever planned this should be imprisoned. http://www.armeniantourinfo.com/cpg/albums/userpics/10002/1.12.jpg My favorite. http://www.armeniantourinfo.com/cpg/albums/userpics/10002/normal_DSCN0008.jpg And a bonus. This is the new shopping complex in Yerevan. Anyone know what kind of stores are inside? http://www.armeniantourinfo.com/cpg/albums/userpics/10002/normal_DSCN0022.jpg

Oh that's beautiful!! Where is that? I doesn't look like a church pladag..

I found this from another website, and I thought it would be fitting to post it here. If the size is too big, please let me know and I'll take it off. It was taken by an American just a few weeks ago. http://www.sanpetebiz.com/yerevpano.jpg

Pari yegar! I have (distant) relatives in Venezuela. You pose a great question - but I'm afraid I have very limited information about this. I'm really interested in Western Armenian issues as well. About the language differences. For the most part, Western Armenians spoke 'Western Armenian' (Arevmdahayeren). However, there were distinct dialects as you went from region to region (kavaraparpar, or just parpar nowadays). This is a natural phenomenon, and is not exclusive to Armenians. However, some Armenians, even before the Genocide, spoke languages other than Armenian. Some spoke Turkish (not so much because of assimilation, but because of government persecutions -- they were threatened to have their tongues chopped if they spoke more than 5 words of Armenian back-to-back). I don't know which regions this was more common in...I think maybe south Anatolia? Others spoke Arabic. My father's mother's family (my paternal grandmother) was born in Aleppo (Haleb) -- and her family had been living there for many generations before the Genocide. They spoke only Arabic. My mother's side of the family is from Dikranagerd. My grandfather (who passed away many years ago) spoke only in his Dikranagerd dialect, so I hear my mom talk with her sisters in the dialect sometimes. But for the most part, the 'Western Armenian' dialect of today is based on the dialect of the Armenians of Istanbul/Bolis/Constantinople -- because that is where the Western Armenian intellectuals were located. I hope I helped a little...

Guh nerek zis, baron mos. Chei kider ays anartar orenkin masin... Lav, suhsi chem grnar oozel. Ooremn indzi inch bidi hramtsnek? Sulamita: Yete megoon pan muh khosdanas, bedk e PM kordzadzes!! Yete voch, bardavor es polorin bahel ayt khosdumt.

Isg im domsags ov bidi kne? Share the wealth.

Yeah! Tant Nelly and Ammo Garbis. Azat: I'm glad you enjoy the restaurant! I was afraid you guys would think I was trying to simply advertise the place -- but it's honestly the best Armenian/MidEast food I've ever had. I've been eating their food ever since I was little kid. Did you have the beorags?? Ohhh I would kill for one right now. 18970 Ventura Blvd Tarzana, CA 91356 818.708.8986