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An essential prerequisite for linguistic research of Armenian is the existence of a balanced corpus, including both texts and speech. As a first step towards its creation, in June-July 2006, a broad selection of native Armenian speakers living in Syria were recorded in different environments and situations. The project was financially supported by a grant from the Knights of Vartan organization. The recordings are currently being sorted and transcribed. Examples of the data with transcriptions are given below, together with an exact description of the content of the corpus. For all questions and issues related to the corpus, please contact Marie Nilsenova by email at m.nilsenova"AT"uvt.nl.

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The corpus consists of four types of recordings: free conversations (wav) read monologues (wav) semi-free monologues (wav) Map Task conversations (instructor, follower, transcription) To analyze and listen to the recordings, you may want to make use of PRAAT, a free software program for speech analysis. The free conversations were recorded with speakers of different linguistic and sociodemographic background and in different surroundings. All the read monologues consisted in reading a newspaper text from Marmara online (the text is readable in TrueType font, not UNICODE). As a basis for the Map Task conversations, the following two maps were used: map instructor, map follower. To read more about Map Task, visit the related web site of the HCRC at the University of Edinburgh. A complete description of the content of the corpus can also be found in the attached pdf (not yet available) document.

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Knights of Vartan A service organization that supports Armenian projects. Haigazian University An Armenian institution of higher learning in Beirut which uses English as the language of instruction. NIASD The Netherlands Institute for Academic Studies in Damascus facilitates academic exchange between the Netherlands and Syria. Guest rooms are available. IFPO The French Institute for the Middle East offers support to foreign academics working in Syria and Lebanon. Guest rooms are available. Armenian Summer Language Institute For those interested in taking courses in Western, Classical or Eastern Armenian in Armenia. Bert Vaux Prof. Bert Vaux is a specialist in Armenian phonology and dialects. His articles and books are in English and many of them can be downloaded from his homepage.

Last updated: August 6, 2006.