whoislight Posted December 30, 2003 Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 (edited) Hi all, I've been compelled to learn how to speak Armenian for the last two years, but I'm not sure which type I should study - Western or Eastern? Which dialect is spoken in Beirut? I've searched for tutors (mostly online) in the Sacramento area (where I live), but I have not had any luck. I think this would be the best way to learn how to speak in a short period of time (less than a year). Not sure where else to look... Any advice/help would be much appreciated. Thank you. Edited December 30, 2003 by whoislight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vava Posted December 30, 2003 Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 You're looking for Western Armenian. Eastern Armenian is spoken in Armenia, and Iran - most other diasporan Armenian communities speak the western dialect. Good luck in your search. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vava Posted December 30, 2003 Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 Also, i hear that the Pimsleur courses are very good. I have not tried them - but I understand that it seem to be quite effective. You can find out more at their Website. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whoislight Posted December 30, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 You're looking for Western Armenian. Eastern Armenian is spoken in Armenia, and Iran - most other diasporan Armenian communities speak the western dialect. Good luck in your search. you rock, vava! thank you! yes, i will need help, because the population of armenians in sacramento is pretty low, unfortunatley...i hope i won't have to move to l.a.! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vava Posted December 30, 2003 Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 Thank you - and welcome to HF If you search the language forum, you'll probably find other resources mentioned by some of the members here that might help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-=VAHE=- Posted December 30, 2003 Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 Mind I ask but why Beirut Dialect ? (I don't know why but I don't like western Armenian) Come to Glendale a lot of people will teach you. You can probably get a choice of 30 dialects if you want. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whoislight Posted December 30, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 (edited) Mind I ask but why Beirut Dialect ? (I don't know why but I don't like western Armenian) Come to Glendale a lot of people will teach you. You can probably get a choice of 30 dialects if you want. hi vahe, my father and relatives are from beirut and i want to make sure i begin learning the correct dialect (i.e., what they would understand in a conversation). thank you for the invite ...no offense, but i'm just not a fan of the l.a. area. so...maybe i'll just move to fresno! i've ordered the pimsleur tapes (western), thanks to vava's suggestion...hopefully that'll give me a good foundation... Edited December 30, 2003 by whoislight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
edward demian Posted December 30, 2003 Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 As a late learner of Armenian I could offer you the benefit of my experience. I learned Armenian in an Armenian Seminary where no one spoke any language that I spoke. I was 11-12years old. I ca't duplicate that even for my own chilldren. My parents and grandparents did not know Armenian. Having said that, Western Armenian otherwise refferred to as Turkish Armenian or Lebanese Armenian or French Armenian etc. is the most desirable to learn. It is closer to classical Armenian and is a far richer language. The greatest and the more numerous literary works are in western Armenian and it is the accepted Lingua Franca everywhere outside Hayastan and Iran. All schools outside these two countries teach in Western Armenian. Once you learn it you will understand Eastern Armenian as well. For centuries Eastern Armenian was a remote regional mountain dialect. It matured as a spoken language and with soviet tinkering became even more confusing. It's literary works go back not much more than 150 years and mostly Communist Rubbish. Eastern Armenians will not as easily open up to outsiders. Unles you marry one. They are very provincial and have had 80 years of suspicion bred into them to breed out of their system. Western Armenian is the diaspora Language of my choice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vava Posted December 30, 2003 Report Share Posted December 30, 2003 Edward - that kind of post will get you into lots of trouble! So let's not get into which version of Armenian is 'better' or 'richer' or 'more proper'. Many armenians have differing views on this. Furthermore I think this divisive issue contributes greatly to the divide between our nation - the Republic of Armenia and the diasporan communities. Ideally, those that speak Western Armenian will make an effort to learn/understand Eastern Armenian - Eastern Armenian speakers should also accept that Western Armenian IS in fact the primary language spoken in diaspora. Mutual undertanding and respect will be required if we are to achieve a stronger Armenia in the future. Attitudes like yours, while they may carry some truth, won't help our collective community. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
-=VAHE=- Posted December 31, 2003 Report Share Posted December 31, 2003 (edited) Western Armenian IS in fact the primary language spoken in diaspora. Really? It sure does not seem like that here. It's a dying language. The people that speak it here in the states in 2 or 3 generations won't even know Armenian maybe the Church will keep it but without a nation that language is gone. You can thank the Turks for that. Edited December 31, 2003 by Vahe G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DominO123 Posted December 31, 2003 Report Share Posted December 31, 2003 (edited) Armenian is Armenian, the structure is the same on Western or Eastern Armenian, verbs etc... the only difference is that Eastern Armenians have a more richer vocabulary and different expressions. There is not really dialects in Armenian like for Kurdish in instance, the difference between the two is just a question of accents pronounciation and some expressions etc... of course there id exeptions. If you want to learn Armenian, it doesn't make a big difference what you learn, the real difference here is the prononciation, the accent etc.. and this will come by practicing it with the people you want the dialect of(if we could call it that). When I read Eastern Armenian, the only real difference I see is that there is more reacher words and that I have to use more the dictionnary, but when I hear Eastern Armenian, I don't understand at all. This is my opinion, I may be wrong. Oh and, of course in Beirut where many Marashtis or other Ottoman originating Armenians lives as well as the mixes with Arabic and even french, some words get mixed up and are used in the so-called dialect, but still in the majority of cases they are considered as improper. Edited December 31, 2003 by Fadix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DominO123 Posted December 31, 2003 Report Share Posted December 31, 2003 As a late learner of Armenian I could offer you the benefit of my experience. I learned Armenian in an Armenian Seminary where no one spoke any language that I spoke. I was 11-12years old. I ca't duplicate that even for my own chilldren. My parents and grandparents did not know Armenian. Having said that, Western Armenian otherwise refferred to as Turkish Armenian or Lebanese Armenian or French Armenian etc. is the most desirable to learn. It is closer to classical Armenian and is a far richer language. The greatest and the more numerous literary works are in western Armenian and it is the accepted Lingua Franca everywhere outside Hayastan and Iran. All schools outside these two countries teach in Western Armenian. Once you learn it you will understand Eastern Armenian as well. For centuries Eastern Armenian was a remote regional mountain dialect. It matured as a spoken language and with soviet tinkering became even more confusing. It's literary works go back not much more than 150 years and mostly Communist Rubbish. Eastern Armenians will not as easily open up to outsiders. Unles you marry one. They are very provincial and have had 80 years of suspicion bred into them to breed out of their system. Western Armenian is the diaspora Language of my choice. Care to bring evidences for what you advance? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angel4hope Posted December 31, 2003 Report Share Posted December 31, 2003 this is reffereing to the post made by edward demian: it is not right to make generalizations--i suggest you refer to an experimental study or some type of research study before you imply things about one group of people--maybe through your experiences it has proved true butit is not of a good pool of experimental samples~unless you can prove or have support for such implications it is not wise to say so...with all do respect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whoislight Posted December 31, 2003 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2003 (edited) uh oh...what have i started?...oh, the beauty of forums thank you everyone, i appreciate all the info. all these fervent "opinions"...wow. Domino, for my purpose, it does matter what style/dialect i learn. once i feel comfortable 'conversationaly' (with my family), then i would definitely like to learn about the differences/nuances of both eastern and western armenian. one step at a time... shenorhavor nor dari! Edited December 31, 2003 by whoislight Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DominO123 Posted December 31, 2003 Report Share Posted December 31, 2003 (edited) uh oh...what have i started?...oh, the beauty of forums thank you everyone, i appreciate all the info. all these fervent "opinions"...wow. Domino, for my purpose, it does matter what style/dialect i learn. once i feel comfortable 'conversationaly' (with my family), then i would definitely like to learn about the differences/nuances of both eastern and western armenian. one step at a time... shenorhavor nor dari! Actually, for reading Armenians, you can always try to learn Eastern Armenians without those "lini" everywhere and some little things like that, and you get Western Armenian. If you want help to learn, feel free to ask. Edited December 31, 2003 by Fadix Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mx5 Posted January 3, 2004 Report Share Posted January 3, 2004 Oh and, of course in Beirut where many Marashtis or other Ottoman originating Armenians lives as well as the mixes with Arabic and even french On the street many people will use many words that come handy,according in which country they live,that has nothing to do with the language itself,in Armenia as I know from many friends who live here in Beirut,they use lots of Russian words, now they've started even to add some arabic words to their vacabularies!!. The western Armenian is spoken in its pure way in many Armenian families in Beirut and all over the diaspora,its great language,eastern Armenian is even better , largely depends on how well are they mastered or spoken. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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