Kurkjian’s textbook served as an

Kurkjian’s textbook served as an essential and accessible resource for me, as a student with
little prior exposure to Armenian. It approached grammar and content in a way that felt fun and
relatable, with its clear explanations of grammatical concepts that otherwise might be frustrating,
like the dative and genitive cases. I especially remember the little stories provided by Kurkjian at
the end of each section to practice reading at an accessible level and answer content-related
questions at the end, which also provided an opportunity to practice new grammar. I knew that I
wanted familiarity with both Western and Eastern Armenian dialects, and Kurkjian’s approach to
teaching Western Armenian truly provided the bases on which to build my later understanding of
Eastern Armenian, and to appreciate the similarities and differences between the two.