The Many Meanings of Life

Every language has its unique expression when raising a glass for a toast. While English speakers say “Cheers,” which is meant to inspire courage, hope, life, or animation, or all of them together, Spanish speakers say “Salud” and just mean “health,” which is the basis of life.

What do Armenian speakers say? They say Genats (Կենաց). If you are sitting at a table in Armenia, the first toast is usually Hay zhoghovrtee genatseh (Հայ ժողովրդի կենացը), which basically means “To the Armenian people.”

While genats seems to be related to the verb genal (կենալ “to stop, to stay”), actually it is not. The word is a Classical Armenian declined form from geank (կեանք), “life.” Thus, when you make a toast, you are making it “To the life of...”

Now, the root of geank and of many other words where “life” is involved is the Classical Armenian verb geal (կեալ) “to live.” This verb is not used in Modern Armenian, where we simply say abril(ապրիլ), which is written exactly the same as the name of the month of April (Abril/Ապրիլ). 

Among the above mentioned words we have the third person in singular, future tense of the verbgeal, which gives a very usual word in Armenian: getseh (կեցցէ) “will live.” This is the equivalent of the English expression “Long live.” Thus, when you want to say “Long live Armenia,” you just say Getseh Hayastan (Կեցցէ Հայաստան), which is... one syllable shorter than in English! And if you hear someone telling you getsehs (կեցցես), then you are getting a “Bravo!”

The same as genats and getseh, our third example also comes from Classical Armenian:gentanee (կենդանի). While any person knowledgeable in Armenian may point out that the word means “animal” and a dog is a gentanee, let us remind him or her that God too is a gentanee, according to the Bible.

How come?

Matthew 16:15 calls Christ «Vorti Astudzoh gentanvoh» (Որդի Աստուծոյ կենդանւոյ), which in Modern Armenian is read gentani Asdudzoh Vorteen (կենդանի Աստուծոյ Որդին) and in English “Son of living God.”

The difference is only grammatical: the noun gentanee refers to any live being (“animal”), including humans; the adjective gentanee refers to the fact that someone (including God) is “alive” or “”living.”

Warning: if someone tells you that you are a gentanee, be assured that he or she is comparing you to a non-speaking, two-legged or four-legged being. Not a nice thing to say!

Food and Lunch Are Not the Same Thing

If you are very skinny, some well-intentioned person may give you this logical advice: “You need to eat food.”  Of course, if (s)he spoke to you in Armenian, (s)he would logically say: “Bedk e geragoor oodes” (Պէտք է կերակուր ուտես).

There is another word for “food,” oodelik (ուտելիք). However, the same person would not say: “Bedk e oodelik oodes” (Պէտք է ուտելիք ուտես). The reason is that oodelik and oodes sound quite odd in the same sentence.

Despite the fact that many people do it, the acquaintance of Mr. or Ms. Skinny would never say: “Bedk e jash oodes” (Պէտք է ճաշ ուտես).Why? Because jash does not mean “food,” but “meal” and, by extension, “lunch.”

Geragoor also means “meal.” If you are a child, you may announce to your parents after finishing your meal: “Geragoors gera” (Կերակուրս կերայ). You may also say “Jashs gera” (Ճաշս կերայ) if it is noon and you have finished lunch. But you don’t eat lunch when the sun has set, do you? At that time of the day, “Jashs gera” would be incorrect.

In conclusion,

“Food”: geragoor – oodelik

“Meal”: geragoor – jash

“Lunch”: jash

Let’s end by listing the names of the different meals of the day:

nakhajash --- նախաճաշ --- “breakfast”

jash --- ճաշ --- “lunch”

nakhuntrik --- նախընթրիք --- “snack”

untrik --- ընթրիք --- “dinner, supper”

The Circus Is Not New

You may know nothing about the origin of English words, but when you hear the word circus, you will probably bet your money on a Latin origin, since the circus, as a spectacle, was invented in Rome. You are dead right, indeed. English and German circus is a straightforward derivation from the Latin circus “ring, circular line,” a name applied by Romans to arenas for performances and contests, and courses for racing.

The Armenian language has derived very few words from Latin, because, despite the long political interaction between the Roman Empire and the Armenian kingdom, there was very little Roman cultural and linguistic influence over Armenia. For this reason, English circus and Armenian կրկէս (grges, in Western Armenian pronunciation; krkes, in Classical/Eastern Armenian) mean the same, but have different origins. In the Armenian case, the source is the Greek word κίρκος (kirkos), “a circle, a ring,” which in the time of Homer and his Iliad was spelledκρίκος (krikos). The Armenian word was already attested in the fifth century.

In any case, once again, if the parents of circus and grges are different, their grandparent is the same. The Proto-Indo-European language (the “mother” of the family language to which Armenian, English, Greek, and Latin belong) had a root that meant “to turn, to bend” (*(s)ker). That root, at its turn, originated another one, *kirk, and this is how we have certain words in English, such as “circle” and “cycle,” that also come via Latin, from the same idea of “ring” or “circle.”

By the way, the Yerevan Circus has existed since the 1930s. The building was privatized in 2005 and demolished in 2012. A new building is under construction and it is scheduled to be finished next year. Thus, the next time you go to Yerevan you will hopefully be able to see, and perhaps to enter, the new grges.

I Can Be With You, but Not in Armenian

When the Apostle Paul was in Corinth, says the Bible, one night the Lord appeared to him in a vision and said: “Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent; for I am with you (...)” (Acts 18:9-10). Because God implied that he was spiritually together with his apostle, the Western Armenian translation of “I am with you” has been rendered as follows: «Ես քեզի հետ եմ (...)» (Yes kezi hed em).

We all know that if you are physically together with your friend, you would probably say, “I’m with you,” e.g. “I go with you.” In this case, you can obviously say “Yes kezi hed em.”

We also know that if you are in agreement with your friend about something, you would probably say, “I’m with you,” e.g., “I agree with you.” To be with someone, at least in the Armenian language, always implies a relation of togetherness, either physical or spiritual. If you want to tell your friend in California that you agree with his views over the phone from New York, and you say “Yes kezi hed em,” your friend will probably look around to see where you are.

The puzzle is solved when you think in Armenian and say: «Ես համաձայն եմ քեզի հետ» (Yes hamatzayn em kezi hed), e.g. “I’m in agreement with you” or “I agree with you.”  By adding the crucial word hamatzayn (literally “agreeable”), you will have replaced Armenian “thought” in English by Armenian thought in Armenian. And your friend in California will not be looking around for you.

You Eat It, You Do Not Have It

Someone may approach you anywhere in the world and ask: «Կրնա՞մ սուրճ մը ունենալ» (Gurnam soorj muh oonenal?). Even if you do not recognize his or her accent, be sure that the person is bringing the English flavor to her Armenian speech: a literal translation of “May I have a coffee?”

Two words may have the same meaning in both Armenian and English. It does not mean that you can apply a given Armenian word (or vice versa) for all the meanings of the same word in English.

Oonenal is such a case. If Martin Luther King Jr. had spoken his famous “I Have a Dream” speech in Armenian, he would have started: «Երազ մը ունիմ» (Yeraz me oonim). The reason is that in both languages you can have a dream, a pen, a house, or a child when you own them.

When you intend to get something which is not yours, you ask: “May I have a pencil?” This is true, but only for the English language. You cannot be own (e.g. oonenal) something that it is not yours.  Since you need to get it first, the proper way to ask for a pencil in Armenian would be: “Կրնա՞մ մատիտ մը առնել» (Gurnam madid muh arnel?). The word arnel (“to take”) here means “to get.”

In the same way, you do not “have” coffee with someone: in Armenian, you “get” (arnel) it. The following example is from Antranig Dzarugian’s memoir, Ethereal Aleppo (Երազային Հալէպ), a source very fitting in these days of disarray for Syrian Armenians:

«Ամառուան արձակուրդն է, դպրոցները փակ։ Անակնկալօրէն Միհրան էֆէնտին մեր տունը կու գայ, Նոր Գիւղ, սուրճ մը առնելու» (Amarvan artzagoortn eh, tbrotsnereh pag. Anagngaloren Mihran efendeen mer doonuh goo kah, Nor Kugh, soorj me arneloo)։

“It is the summer vacation, the schools are closed. All of a sudden, Mihran Efendi comes to our home, in Nor Kugh, to have a coffee.”

If Mihran Efendi had gone to “have something to eat,” of course Dzarugian would not have said «կերակուր ունենալու» (geragoor oonenaloo), but, simply, «կերակուր ուտելու» (geragoor oodeloo). Because, when you are “having your meal”, you say: «Ես կերակուր կ՚ուտեմ» (Yes geragoor g’oodem), but never ever... «Ես կերակուր կ՚ունենամ» (Yes geragoor g’oonenam).

Sometimes, you just need to think differently.

The Armenian Squirrel

The Greek language has been a provider of Armenian words from very old times, although it may have been played a less remarkable role than the impact of French over the English language.

Squirrels are very cute when they run around parks and backyards, but they may become pesky if they turn to get refuge into someone’s home. In any case, that’s an issue for a specialized company. Our issue is to explain how Anglo-American and Armenian squirrels are related to each other.

The Armenian squirrel (սկիւռ skiour) got its name from the Greek language: skiouros, literally “shadow-tailed,” from skia “shadow” and oura “tail.” But the name does not appear in Classical Armenian literature, thus it must have been borrowed in later time. Linguist Hrachia Adjarian even suspected that the word may have actually come from Latin.

As a matter of fact, the Latin word is sciurus, which seems to have originated from the Vulgar Latin word *scurius and its diminutive *scuriolus. From this last word came the Old French escureuil (Modern French écureuil), which became the Anglo-French esquirel and then, after the fourteenth century, appeared in the English language as squirrel.

In conclusion, American and Armenian squirrels are distant cousins.

Don’t Crush the Computer!

When you are on a ship or sit on a chair, we all agree that you have something under your feet. The Armenian language agrees too. That’s why it is accurate to say «Ես նստած եմ աթոռի մը վրայ» (Yes nusdadz em atoree muh vra “I’m sitting on a chair”) or «Ես նաւուն վրան եմ» (Yes navoon vran em “I’m on the ship”).(*)

However, what happens when you are on the computer, you are on a committee, or the light is on? None of those phrases is related to something physical. The logic of grammar is stretched in these colloquial expressions. If you applied actual logic, a) you would crush the computer by being on it; b) you would be sitting on the heads of the committee members; and c) the light would be placed on something and not turned on.

Every language has its own way of thinking. You cannot translate literally from English into Armenian or vice versa. That’s why you can only use վրայ (vra) when you are literally or metaphorically on or over something physical. Otherwise, you come up with ridiculous results:

1. Wrong: «Ես համակարգիչին վրայ էի» (Yes hamagarkeecheen vra eyi), “I was on the computer.
   Right: «Ես համակարգիչին առջեւը նստեցայ» (Yes hamagarkeecheen archevuh nusdetsa), namely, “I sat before the computer”.
2. Wrong: «Լոյսը վրան է» (Looysuh vran eh), “The light is on.”
   Right: «Լոյսը վառած է» (Looysuh varadz eh), namely, “The light is turned on.
3. Wrong: «Ես յանձնախումբին վրան եմ (Yes hantznakhoompeen vran em), “I am on the committee.”
   Right: «Ես յանձնախումբին անդամ եմ» (Yes hantznakhoompeen antam mun em), namely, “I am a member of the committee.”

The most comic and interesting example is the mix of French, English, and Armenian in the following phrase, common among Armenians from the Middle East: «Ֆիշը վրան է» (Fishe vran eh). This is the equivalent of English “The plug is in.”

Here we have:

1. The French word fiche (English plug, Armenian խցակ/khutsag);
2. A contamination of the English concept of something on, replacing “in”;
3. The Armenian verb “to be” in the form eh.

Now, if you want us to believe that you are speaking proper Armenian, then you should say «Խցակը դրուած է» (Khutsagu turvadz eh) or «Խցակը միացած է» (Khutsagu miatsadz eh). It sounds more idiomatic for one simple reason: it is thought in Armenian, not in English. That is the first rule to follow when you speak any given language: to think in that language.
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(*) Vra is used when the following word starts with a consonant; it becomes vran when the following word is a vowel.