Customer Reviews

Elementary Modern Armenian Grammer (Hippocrene) (Hippocrene Language Studies)

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Written nearly a century ago, it's not the best book for the study of Armenian as it's spoken today. Bardakjian's book is much better.

The other reviewers of this book are correct that this is not a great grammar book for those not thoroughly familiar with the Armenian alphabet. A native Armenian speaker, I began reading this book out of curiosity rather than a desire to learn the language and probably for that reason found it a delightful and entertaining read. A good number of the words seem to me out of date. (Interestingly, the fact that this book was written before the Genocide probably explains the strange referenes to the bravery of Turkish soldiers). It is also a good book for those who want to brush up on their knowledge of grammar. However, those who are new to the language should probably stick to an easier book.

This book provides a detailed grammatical text on Armenian, eventually working up to samples of Armenian literature--an added bonus. The only problem with it is that it is extremely difficult for someone not familiar with the Armenian alphabet. The alphabet is what is first explained, but it could have been written such that each word in the Armenian alphabet be accompanied by a version in the Roman alphabet for pronunciation's sake