Կուլտուրը Կշուրնե - Kyuren Culture
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i.e. who speaks this awful language and how you can sound like an idiot in it
This public article was written by [Deactivated User], and last updated on 12 Mar 2021, 07:24. Editing of this article is shared with Kşurne Vaxanz.
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Kyuren is spoken by Kyureni Kurds (Kyuren: Կուրդօնը Կշուրնե Kurdân-ə Kşurne; Kurds who live in Southern Armenia and in East Azerbaijan). They number around ~30,000, of which ~15,000 speak Kyuren, the rest speaking mostly Armenian or Farsi. The majority are Christians, which is generally uncommon among Kurds.
Kyureni Kurdish culture is very similar to general Kurdish culture but with some Armenian influence. Kyureni Kurds celebrate Nowruz (Kyuren: Նորոջ Noroj), use tattoos (Kyuren: դաջ daj), and live in traditional mud houses (Kyuren: կատօյը շարահ katây-ə şarah).
Kyuren music is very diverse, with folk music being the most popular. The most famous instrument is the duduk (Kyuren: դուդուկ duduk), which is an indigenous Armenian woodwind, and the tanbur (Kyuren: տանբուր tanbur). Kyureni music borrows much from Kurdish music in Iran.
Kyuren cuisine is generally Kurdish, with Armenian influence. Some of the staple dishes include kofta (Kyuren: կոֆտե kofte), kibbeh (Kyuren: կաբեհ kabeh), doogh (Kyuren: տօն tân), kuku (Kyuren: կուկու kuku), maqluba (Kyuren: մակլուբօ maklubâ), and dolma (Kyuren: դոլմա dolma).
As a result of the Armenian genocide, Kyureni Kurds has a wide diaspora in the United States (~20,000). During the 19th century under the Ottoman Empire, Kyuren culture prospered, and most literary works in Kyuren were produced at the time. There are hundreds of words in the language that only where used during this time period that now are obsolete in Modern Kyuren.
Below is a table of basic kinship terms in Kyuren:
Kyuren has a variety of different proverbs, most of Armenian origin, especially from the Bible. Here are a couple examples with explanations:
Խոր նօ տիղազէկ հիգե նոյը։
Xor nâ tiğazêk hige noyə.
[xor nɒ tiɣaˈzɛk ˈhid͡ʑe ˈnojə]
The sun won't stay behind the cloud.
Meaning: The truth will eventually come out; No lie remains secret forever.
Ըվ դրե թող, ըվ դասրե թող։
Əv dre thoğ, əv dasre thoğ.
[əv dəˈre θ̞oɣ | əv ˈdasəre θ̞oɣ]
Let it be late, let it be good.
Meaning: It doesn't matter how long you take to do something, as long as the result is desirable. Basically don't be hasty, take your time.
Նօն եճ, ետո պաս։
Nân eç, eto pas.
[nɒn eɕ ˈeto pas]
First bread, then question.
Meaning: Issues can always be resolved later. As with most Kyuren sayings, it has a second meaning, a more literal one. It is commonly said to guests who try to banter before sitting down to eat. It is also a traditional proverb said during the most important Kyuren holiday, Nowruz, in which, as symbolized by the phrase, Kyureni Kurds eat the meal first.
Րախտօյը դոկե կիտէբ խազ կւանդիկ սե։
Raxtây-ə doke kitêb xaz kwandik se.
[raxˈtɒjə ˈdot͡ɕe kiˈtɛb xaz ˈkʷandik se]
Both sides of a book should be read.
Meaning: There is a flip side to the coin; consider multiple options; there is no good without evil. This is a very common trope in Kyuren proverbs - opposites and the dichotomy of the universe. There is even a name for these types of sayings in Kyuren: տարուսէվդի tarusêvdi lit. "the black and whites", which comes from the proverb ճկա տար ու սէվդ ան օֆ çka tar u sêvd an âf "there is black and white in the water". As mentioned above, it is very common for Kyuren proverbs to have more than one meaning, and this is no exception, emphasizing either the importance of considering multiple sides or opinions or the play of opposites.
Kyuren slang, mostly used in the Meghrani dialect, has various origins:
Armenian: պոր [por] "money", զրի [zəˈri] "free"
Farsi: մախտաբ [maxˈtab] "school", սոհ [soh] "hard; difficult"
English: պարտի [ˈparti] "party", լոկեր [ˈlot͡ɕer] "locker"
Russian: պիվա [ˈpiva] "beer", պապկա [ˈpapka] "folder; binder"
Internal: ջանամ [ˈd͡ʑanam] "tall boi", խորամ [xoˈram] "hottie"
Apocope: մոբիլ [moˈbil] "cellphone", Իր [ir] "Iran"
Syncope: վաջտէբ [vad͡ʑˈtɛb] "library", ճտան [ɕtan] "stop"
Note:
Most Kyuren slang words have a somewhat despective connotation. I'll take this moment to make an interesting cultural aside: there are four movies that have been made in Kyuren, all four in Meghri. The most famous of these, a comedic film called Պակման Pakman "the Rescuer" (which is about a secret agent trying to save a wealthy woman, except everyone is a double agent) has a specific scene I'd like to discuss. First of all, the word զրի "free", as I've discussed, has a sort of despective aspect. Specifically, it refers to things that are free for a reason (usually because they are worthless). Now, in this scene, the main character is walking down a street and sees something, but we don't see what that is because of the camera angle. The main character mutters պուլ զրի "free money", and since he used զրի the audience assumes that the money on the ground is something worthless, like a penny for example. But then the camera pans down and a large stack of money is revealed. Top-tier comedy!
Another thing to know is that some slang words, especially ones of internal origin did not used to be slang, so do not be surprised to find them older works of Kyuren literature. For example, in one of the main compendiums of Kyuren folklore, the Վագեսե Կշուրնե Vagese Kşurne "Kyuren Storybook", a giant has the name Ջանամ Janam, which at the time the tales were written meant "one who is tall", but now is slang for a tall person, similar to English "giraffe". Another is ճօվո çâvo, which now primarily means "drunk (adjective)", but used to mean solely "drunk (participle)" (often had the literary sense of "empty"), analogous to the situation in English. As a result, you can find expressions like ֆենջ ճօվո fenj çâvo "an empty cup" that now mean "an intoxicated cup".
Kyuren also has quite extensive internet slang:
xnd խնդ "lol; lmao" from խինդար xindar "funny"
rts րտս "tbf; tbh; tbqh" from րտսար rtsar "truly"
rxt րխտ "btw" from րախտե raxte "side"
mxk մխկ "af; tf" from մեթ խօկ meth xâk "like shit"
jgn ջգն "wtf" from ջի գնա ji gna "fucking what?"
naç նաճ "idk" from նօ ճանըմ nâ çanȩm "I don't know"
Note: of these, the first five are not pronounced, but the last, նաճ naç [naɕ], is often said casually, akin to in English saying "mmm" and shrugging your shoulders. When the first five are pronounced (with a syllabic consonant, i.e. [xn̩d] "lol; lmao") it has a mocking or satirical connotation.
Non-phrasal abbreviations:
n ն "I" from ըն ən "I"
v վ "he/she/it" from ըվ əv "he/she/it"
dst դստ "bf" from դոստօր dostâr "boyfriend"
dsk դսկ "gf" from դոսկեզ doskez "girlfriend"
Note: sometimes տու tu "you" is abbreviated as տ t, but this is viewed as immature and childish, similar to "u" in English. Basically to be avoided.
Example of a text in Kyuren:
րտս վ ջուի նաճ խնդ, րխտ ն մխկ ճօվո մեթ կե բուջի խոզե
rts v jui naç xnd, rxt n mxk çâvo meth ke buji xoze
"tbh idk where it is lol, btw i'm drunk af so that's probably why"
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on 12/03/21 07:24-10[Deactivated User]ortho
on 07/05/20 15:23+377[Deactivated User]added more culture, always better
on 05/05/20 20:000[Deactivated User]b b
on 05/05/20 19:57+175[Deactivated User]added kinship