Our centuries-old Armenian language has been praised by not only great Armenians, but also foreigners. Let us recall, for example, British poet George Byron, who once said: “Armenian is the language to speak with God.” French writer Victor Hugo wrote the following to praise the Armenian language: “I don’t know your ancient language, but I love it. I feel the Orient therein, I note the centuries therein, I see the gleam of the mysterious shadow of the past. Translating into Armenian is glorious for me.”

The list of words filling your soul with pride is endless. Perhaps these are the words that became a source of inspiration for the foreign students of Armenian universities to learn the Armenian language.

On February 21, on the occasion of International Mother Language Day, Hayern Aysor’s correspondent sat down for interviews with the Indian, Arab and Persian students of the General Medicine Faculty of Yerevan State Medical University after Mkhitar Heratsi, as well as the University’s Diaspora Armenian students and Head of the YSMU Chair of Armenian Language Henrieta Sukiasyan.

In the beginning, we talked to Head of the Chair of Armenian Language Henrieta Sukiasyan about the goals of teaching the foreign students Armenian.

“The Chair of Armenian Language of Yerevan State Medical University has many years of experience in teaching foreign students Armenian. We have Indian, Arab, Persian and Greek students, as well as Diaspora Armenian students.

The teaching of Armenian is aimed at helping our foreign students get in touch with our Mother Language, the sources of the national spirit and the works of national and universal value as much as possible. The goal of the courses is to develop patterns for the foreign students to engage in monologues, dialogues and conversations and develop in them the culture of verbal speech in order for them to be able to compose their thoughts in Armenian the right way, have command of conversational Armenian and talk about daily topics in Armenian.

Teaching foreign students Armenian is not only of instructive, but also of cognitive significance. Foreigners get to know Armenia through Armenian, and that is why it is necessary to spark interest among the foreign students in our ancient language and culture. In order to have the teaching serve its goal, the foreign students must feel the language and hear the sound of it,” Henrieta Sukiasyan noted.

According to the head of the Chair, the organizing of field trips is also of great significance. Experience has shown that foreign students are very interested in the language and visit the Mesrop Mashtots Institute of Ancient Manuscripts (Matenadaran) with great pleasure to become familiar with ancient and centuries-old Armenian manuscripts. They also visit the temple in Garni, Geghard Monastery, Oshakan and the Mother See of Holy Etchmiazin with admiration.

“The disciplinary activities for the foreign students run parallel to the organizing of literary and musical events that gifted students participate in with pleasure.

The students attend lessons with dedication and are almost never absent. They are very interested in the Armenian language.

Foreign students learn Armenian for three years. Whereas we place emphasis on command of daily conversations in the beginning, later we teach them the medical language and terminology. They can communicate with doctors, nurses and patients at the hospitals in Armenian at ease,” Henrieta Sukiasyan concluded.

And now let us “listen” to the students.

Parinaz Paren moved from Iran to Armenia three years ago. She says she has always heard that Iran and Armenia have been neighboring states and have had friendly relations. This is what instilled hope in the girl to come to Armenia.

She loves Armenian since it has become a familiar language for her. She has already forgotten about the obstacles that she faced when learning the language. What has always inspired her is the thought that everything in life happens for a reason and that one needs to take steps to achieve success. Parinaz sees similarities between the Armenian and Persian languages and says there are even words that sound different because of only one letter, like the words “dzhvar” (difficult), “bzhishk” (doctor) and many other words.

The Armenian saying “The more languages you know, the more of a person you are” has become familiar to her. It motivates the Persian student and serves as a stimulus to learn new languages. She also teaches her mother Armenian, and the latter is already fluent.

Parinaz compares the Armenian language with a quiet and tranquil sea, saying that if you don’t want to drown, you need to learn how to swim well.

Mrinal Kandpal came to Armenia from Delhi. He had heard about Armenia from his friends who had also studied here. They told him that Armenia is a very old and beautiful country with a rich culture, and now he has become convinced himself. He loved the Medical University, as well as the lecturers and his classmates. He has noticed that the University has done everything possible to make sure they receive high-quality education. He says the Chair of Armenian Language has played a huge role in helping them learn Armenian.

Whenever he is at a public place, he starts talking as much as he can in Armenian with people and even his foreign friends in order to improve his knowledge of the language. The word and phrase “Chgitem” (I don’t know) and “Inch Ka Chka” (What is going on?) are the word and expression that he always uses jokingly and entertains the people around him. When lecturers ask him for his homework, he uses the word “chgitem”. However, the lecturers understand that he is saying that word to make people laugh. There are many beautiful words and expressions in Armenian that Mrinal is learning and using.

It took the boy a long time to learn the language, but he didn’t give up and put in all his efforts to learn the Armenian language. On his free time, he also reads books in Armenian so that he can improve his knowledge. He reads many books in Armenian and loves Hamo Sahyan’s poems, especially the poem “Hayastan Aselis” (Whenever I say Armenia). Mrinal considers himself a particle of Armenia. He believes it is his duty to learn Armenian since he is living in Armenia.

Mrina shared an entertaining story, the “main character” of which was the lack of knowledge of Armenian. His friends at the university taught him how to approach a girl standing in the yard and say “Yes Kez Sirum Em” (I Love You). Not knowing the meaning of that phrase, he confessed his love to a girl, who was surprised.

Sulvada Pravash still remembers the inconvenience at the airport due to his lack of knowledge of Armenian when visiting Armenia for the first time. However, Sulvada didn’t panic and tried to ask for help from the employees in English.

Sulvada believes the Armenian language is flexible and a rich language. The professional words and terms in Armenian sound beautiful to Sulvada, and in daily life, Sulvada likes to pronounce the words “barev” (Hello) and “shnorhakalutyun” (Thank you).

Vivek Dauli loves medicine, and that is why he chose it as a profession.

He also faced difficulties when learning Armenian, but overcame the language barrier with ease, thinking that the difficulties are transient. The words “Khndrem” (please) and “Shnorhakalutyun” (thank you) are close to his heart, and he often uses the expressions “inch ka chka” (What’s going on?) and “Amen Inch Lav Eh” (everything is fine) as well.

Vivek feels good in Armenia and loves Armenian vegetables that he eats a lot of. The boy is charmed when reading the poems of Paruyr Sevak and sets aside the poem “I Hate Your Name”, which he constantly read when he loved a girl, but she didn’t love him.

In the beginning, he faced a problem when he would go to the store to buy something and hadn’t been able to explain what he wanted to the sellers. That was exactly one of the reasons why he decided to have good knowledge of Armenian.

Lakshmi Priya Hari Krishna heard about Yerevan State Medical University in India, and after consulting with her parents, decided to study in Armenia. Talking about Armenia, she says it has a rich culture like India and feels good. She has become so attached to Armenia that she considers it her second home. It was the expression of love that helped her master Armenian at ease. Of course, the Chair of Armenian Language of the University also played a major role.

For her, Armenian is a sweet language. The words “Barev Dzez” (Hello (formal)) especially sound sweet since those words were the first words she learned in Armenian.

Nazi Dahdal is of Arab descent. He moved from Syria to Armenia three years ago. He came to Armenia to study after taking the advice of his father’s Armenian friend, who had always told him about the advantages of studying at an Armenian university.

Nazi expresses his gratitude to the Chair of Armenian Language of the University for learning the language. The lecturers put in all their efforts to make sure foreign students have good knowledge of Armenian. The boy feels calm and safe in Armenia. He highly appreciates the hospitality and warm attitude of the Armenian people towards foreigners.

He learned Armenian with great motivation and has never given up, knowing that difficulties can be overcome, if one has the will and aspiration.

Nazi is captivated by Armenian music. His favorite singer is Ruben Hakhverdyan whom he can listen to every day and never get tired.

Nishand Vorma is studying at the Medical University with the advice of one of his acquaintances. When he came to Armenia, he immediately fell in love with the Armenians and was charmed by their kindness and generosity. He says it is his duty to learn Armenian since he is living in Armenia. It is also a sign of respect.

He attaches importance to excellent knowledge of Armenian due to his job with patients so that he can instill confidence in them.

Shamid is also from India. He learned Armenian easily and only faced problems with grammar. He has managed to make Armenian friends who help him learn the language. He smiled as he told us how he would have to use the language of “gestures” when he lacked good knowledge of Armenian in the market.

Sona Sahakyan was born and raised in Moscow. Before settling in Armenia once and for all, she would always spend her summer vacations with her grandparents in Armenia. She loves Armenia. Her love for the country was the reason why she decided to continue her studies in the Homeland.

Sona has noticed that Armenia provides high-quality education and trains good professionals. She has never had a problem with the language since Armenian has always been her household language. She has attended the “Hayordats Toon” School/Center of Moscow to communicate with Armenians. Of course, coming to Armenia helped her speak in Armenian literately.

Sona says Armenian sounds like a song and doesn’t feel like that when being introduced to another language. She takes pride in the Armenian language and presents the language to her foreign friends with pride.

Heghina Adashian is from Aleppo. She has many friends with whom she has established cordial ties.

Her friends ask her to teach them words or phrases in Western Armenian and tell them about the traditions of the Armenians of Aleppo. Heghina had trouble making the transition from Western Armenian to Eastern Armenian, especially in terms of grammar, but she worked with an unbreakable spirit and tried to study Eastern Armenian well.

Heghina believes Armenian is a unique language and can’t be compared with any other language. She calls on all Armenians of the world to never forget their language and to preserve the image of the nation.

By Gevorg Chichyan