Lesson 6. ղ, ռ, ժ, ֆ, the sign և, the full stop, and the question mark

Ղ ղ [ʁ] is the voiced partner of խ: the same sound at the back of the mouth, but with the voice on, close to a French r. աղ [ɑʁ], “salt”; քաղաք [kʰɑʁɑkʰ], “city”. Ռ ռ is a rolled (trilled) r, as in Spanish “perro”. The familiar ր is a single tap of the tongue, like the tt of American “butter”. Neither is the English r: ռուս [rus], “Russian”, but նոր [nɔɾ], “new”. To an English ear the pairs ղ – խ and ռ – ր sound close. So, like the letters of the series, learn them by eye: we don't test them by ear. Look-alike letters: ռ and ո; ր and ը. One letter, a different word: լուր “news”, լուռ “silent, quiet”. Compare two similar words too: սար “mountain”, սառը “cold”. Ժ ժ is the s of “measure”: ժամ [ʒɑm], “hour”. Ֆ ֆ is English f: ֆիլմ [film], “movie”. Here it is, the letter for f; փ is p with a puff of air. Common mistakes: • NOT ղ as the g of “go” — the tongue doesn't close; the sound flows, like a French r. • NOT փ where you hear f — the letter for f is ֆ. • NOT ռ and ր as one letter — the checker tells them apart.

և is a sign of its own, with no capital form. As a word on its own, և means “and” and is read [jɛv]. After a vowel it is [jɛv] too: նաև [nɑjɛv], “also”. After a consonant it is [ɛv]: բարև [bɑɾɛv], “hi”; Երևան [jɛɾɛvɑn], Yerevan; որովհետև [vɔɾɔvhɛtɛv], “because”. Inside a word and at the end of a word, write the sign և, not two letters. For later: at the start of a word and in a word typed in capitals only, you write Եվ and ԵՎ, as in ԲԱՐԵՎ. The full stop is ։: it is not a colon. The question mark ՞ does not go at the end of the sentence: it sits over the last vowel of the word you ask about, as in Ի՞նչ։ (“What?”) and Հիմա՞։ (“Now?”). A question ends with the same full stop ։. You don't need to type the question mark or the full stop: the checker ignores them. Type the sign և like a letter. Common mistakes: • NOT two letters instead of the sign և inside or at the end of a word. • NOT the question mark at the end of the sentence — it sits over the word. • NOT reading ։ as a colon.