paran

Thank you so much, SAS! You guys make translation so much easier!!

Back to Bakunts. Hope you can help me... I'm proofreading an earlier translation of "Հանավանք" and I came across this phrase "տզի պես": Տարիներ անցան: Գյուղը տղի պես փակչել էր հայրենի հանդին: [Full text: http://www.eanc.net/EANC/library/Fiction%5...ace_language=en] Initially I paraphrased it ("tightly held onto to its native pastures"), but now I realize that I don't even know what "տզի պես" means. I tried looking it up, but got answers that seemed irrelevant in this context.

Thank you so much, SAS! I think I'm done for now.

Once again, Kars, you're amazing! Thank you so much! Well, I was actually here just a few weeks ago. I posted this: http://forum.hayastan.com/index.php?showtopic=43513 It's just unfortunate right now that I don't have as much free time to translate Armenian literature, but I'm still doing it as time allows. It's just at a much slower pace. Anyway, I didn't notice that the first two were not red. I must have done something wrong. Let me try again: 1) ունեինք բնակելի տուն, գոմ, ախոր, հորթատուն, թոնրատուն, և մառան բարեկեցիկ կյանք: 2) գրել-կարդալս սովորել եմ նախ հորս մոտ. երկու տարի հաճախել եմ...

Dear friends, No, I haven't disappeared. I'm still working on translations of Bakunts as time allows, but right now I need help with transliterating a handwritten text. I've done most of it. There's just a few small parts that I'm having trouble deciphering. I was hoping you could help me with those parts. To contextualize: the text is a page and a half out of a genocide survivor's biography. It's written in Western Armenian, but it has some spelling and grammatical errors. What I need is a transliteration, preferably with Hayastan Armenian spelling (i.e. the current standard spelling used in Armenia), and without the spelling errors. I'll only post the parts that I'm having trouble with. If someone is interesting in proofreading the whole, let me know, and I'll private message you what I've got. Here's the original text: http://www.4shared.com/photo/uk8GXFxM/letter.html Here are my problem areas, in red: 1) ունեինք բնակելի տուն, գոմ, ախոր, հորթատուն, թոնրատուն, և բարեկեցիկ կյանք: 2) գրել-կարդալս սովորել եմ նախ հորս մոտ. երկու տարի հաճախել եմ... 3) Մեր հաշվին և կպահանջեին որ հայրս հանձնվի, բայց հայրս պահտրած էր սարերն ուրիշ փախստականների հետ: 4) Ոստիկանները սկսան փախստականների տներն այրել և տնեցիներին չար չարել, հայրս չդիմանալով իր ընտանիք չարչարանքներին հանձնում եր Տաճիկ ոստիկան--թվա 5) բայց նախքան հասնել Սիվազ, կես ճանապարհին, բոլորին սպաննել էին կիսթնո առաջնորդի If you find other issues with these parts, let me know! And, again, if you wish to proofread all of my transliteration, let me know, and I'll send it to you through PM. Hope it's not too much and thanks again for your help!! Best,

For those who are curious, these are the stories I have posted on the blog so far, with excerpts (all of them so far are stories by Aksel Bakunts): "Dark Valley" by Aksel Bakunts: "The only path leading to Dark Valley closes off with the first snowfall--until spring, no one sets foot in its forests. However, even now there are dense forests in Dark Valley where no one has ever been. Trees fall, decay, and in their fallen places new ones grow. Bears dance and whistle like shepherds; wolves howl, pointing their snouts to the moon; boars dig the black earth with their tusks, gathering autumn’s rotten acorns." http://parapian.blogspot.com/2011/09/dark-valley.html ----- "Vandunts Badi" by Aksel Bakunts: "Badi had a patriarchal demeanor and temper, but he was honest and righteous. He wanted for his child to follow the same path, to be hospitable, to love tradition, to respect his elders, and to be a well-mannered man in the village. And then one day in the pasture, after a conversation, Habud asked his father a question: “Dad, why is it that in our herd the Isanants have nine cows, but we only have one?”" http://parapian.blogspot.com/2011/10/aksel...nts-badi-1.html ----- "In Akar" by Aksel Bakunts: "Sandukht was wearing a new dress. Whenever the wind fluttered the flaps of her dress, her heart grew wider. But as soon as she saw Ohan’s son, her joy would instantly subside; she would pull back and draw into her coat like a snail’s tentacles." http://parapian.blogspot.com/2012/02/aksel...ts-in-akar.html ------ "On Mount Ayu's Slope" by Aksel Bakunts: "Peti felt a sort of vibrant bliss at the beginning of spring. Like the brooklets that were formed from the melting snow, the blood in his veins seethed quicker, and he laughed, gurgling at the same time. He was no different than a horse neighing in delight when its stable is replenished with golden barley." http://parapian.blogspot.com/2012/04/aksel...ayus-slope.html ------ "Apricot Field" by Aksel Bakunts: "Apricot Field would have nothing of value to be remembered by had it not been stuck between the endless fights of the two villages Mir and Mrots, had it not been a topic of discussion and contention, and had the two neighboring villages, Mir and Mrots, not fought each other countless times with clubs over the course of years." http://parapian.blogspot.com/2012/05/aksel...icot-field.html

Dear readers, A few months ago, I started a blog to post my attempts at translating some of my favorite Armenian literature into English. I hope you enjoy these stories as much as I enjoyed translating them! I would also like to give a special shout-out to SAS and Kars, among others, without whom I would have never been able to complete these translations. I truly hope that they will continue to dedicate their time and effort to helping me decipher linguistic peculiarities in Armenian literature. http://parapian.blogspot.com/

Thank you, Kars! How about "well and good"? Also, thank you for your warning about Google Translate. Luckily, I'm already very aware of the pitfalls of those online dictionaries (or of any other dictionary, for that matter).

Yes, "shag" can mean many things, including dirty things. Still the same story: խերով-բարով Մի օր էլ հոր հետ միասին դուրգար Դավիթի մոտ գնացին՝ խերով-բարով Հաբուդին նրա մոտ թողնելու համար: Habud is taken to Davit to learn his craft. That's as far as the context goes.

Soon, soon. I wish I could spend all of my time doing this and not much else, but other duties call.

Hi Kars, You can buy waste wool or wool waste if you want. In fact, a quick search reveals a number of sellers online. It's just the name of the product. Maybe shag is fitting, too, but it is a very coarse fabric, from what I gather, usually only reserved for rough carpets. I wonder if bedding could be made of it.

I like both of your solutions, Kars and SAS. I'm looking to see if I can find a midway. In the meantime, here's what I got for qolq: waste wool. So, something like: "...I'll spin it and make a load of bedding out of its waste."

Thank you, Kars! Here's what I got out of it, more or less. (I only changed a little from my first version--apparently I understood more of it in my first reading than now. ). "If you can, this autumn, when you cross the trade route through the mountain, buy some wool for me to spin and make a load of bedding out of fleece." Trade route? I must have found that somewhere at the time. What do you think? And also "a load of" for "մի ձեռք". I'd like to leave out "also" in ""համ էլ" to make the sentence read more fluently (as it does in Armenian, even though I know that according to some I'll be committing a translation sin.)

God, it's been a while... I haven't abandoned you, or Armenian literature, though. Okay, so, I'm still proofing through older texts that I've already read (and translated), and I'm catching errors and possible misunderstandings on my part. I hope you can help me clarify some things. Here's two for now from "Վանդունց Բադի". The full-text is available here: http://www.eanc.net/EANC/library/Fiction%5...ace_language=ru 1. — Թող գրաճանաչ լինի, որ հետո գերեզմանս չանիծի: My initial translation for this was: "May he be literate, so he does not curse my grave later." Is this what he's saying? 2. — Դու որ կարենաս, էս աշունք, քոչը սարովն անցնելիս, մի քիչ բուրդ առ, մանեմ, համ էլ քոլքից մի ձեռք տեղաշոր կապեմ: I understand some details in this sentence, but the bulk of it escapes me, especially the last part. Can anyone rephrase this in "standard" Armenian? Much, much thanks again!

Thanks!

Thank you, SAS! Always extremely helpful (what would I do without you?). One more question on this topic: should I always read ապեր as "grandpa"? How can I tell when it's "brother"? Here's another example from «Ձմռան մի գիշեր»: Ներս մտնողը Առաքել ապոր Ավանն էր... Does this mean: "Grandpa Arakel's Avan" or "Brother Arakel's Avan"? Full-text is here: http://www.eanc.net/EANC/library/Fiction%5...ace_language=en

Thank you so much, SAS!

Hi, I'm going over some older works and have new questions about them. Hope you can help me again! Here's one from «Տրախտորի Մաշին». The full text is here: http://www.eanc.net/EANC/library/Fiction%5...ace_language=en I have a question about this construction: — Քյասիբը թող մեզ հետ գա, Մուքի ապեր: I'm wondering whether "Մուքի" is a possessive or not. In other words, does it mean "brother Muki" or "Muk's brother"? Later in the story, when Մուքի ապեր is an old man, he's referred to as Մուքի ամի. Once again, I wonder what it means. — Հլա շատ կզարմանաս, Մուքի ամի. Thanks for any help!

Thank you so much! So could I go for something like: "...when every Apostolic Armenian was “united and independent” of shopkeepers, enlisting voluntarily and dying honorably"? Quaestor is a strange word... It had a very specific meaning in Rome. Is there another way the word was used in Armenian? Something like a magistrate or functionary?

No one can help me with the above? Here's the next one, still in the same story: Այն ժամանակ պատմական օրեր էին, երբ յուրաքանչյուր հայ լուսավորչական «միացյալ էր և անկախ» դուքանչին՝ աբոզ գրվող, պատվով մեռնող: I think I understand what it says, but I'm not sure. Is he saying that every "enlightened Armenian" was united and free of shopkeepers? Does it mean that Armenians at this time no longer felt they had to be dependent on shopkeepers who, in those days, were often viewed as corrupt and tyrannical?

Hi! I'm back again with fresh questions. Would appreciate your help very much, as usual... I'm working on «Էն Տարին». The full text is here: http://www.eanc.net/EANC/library/Fiction%5...es_2.htm?page=2 My first question is: քվեստոր «Ձախը» անպատճառ պիտի հարցապնդում աներ, աղմկեր, նախագահը երկու անգամ զանգահարեր, իսկ երրորդ անգամ՝ քվեստորին աչքով աներ, որ դուրս տանեն հարցապնդման հեղինակին: Thanks!

Hi, hope you all had a wonderful new year and an even better year to come. Before I go on asking more questions (I know I've been inactive here for a while, but that won't last forever), I'd like to share a translation with you that I would not have been able to complete without your help. Feedback and comments are naturally welcome! http://www.groong.org/tlg/tlg-20110108.html Once again, thank you very, very much (esp. SAS and Kars)!!

Thanks! I'll see what I can find.

Oh, I have many more things. One at a time. Anyway, thanks! I still have a question about this, though. Now I'm not sure about the meaning of the expression. I tried to look it up, but all I can find is «աչք առնել», and I wonder if it's the same. Any ideas on what the expression «Տվածնիս աչքերն առնի» could mean?

Hi, I'm revisiting some stories and it's making me question my understanding of some things. Here's one from «Նամակ ռուսաց թագավորին». The text is here: http://hy.wikisource.org/wiki/Ն...;ին — Տվածնիս աչքերն առնի, բա հիմա ինչ է ուզում․․․ What does Տվածնիս mean in this context? On first reading I thought it meant something like "given to me," i.e. "the eyes that were given to me," but now I'm not so sure. Thanks for any help!