Armenian Language and Literature
What the exam tests
This section rewards precise control of standard Armenian (աշխարհաբար) grammar and a working knowledge of the classical and modern literary canon. Expect items on orthography (ուղղագրություն), the distinction between written and spoken norms, parts of speech, sentence structure (simple vs. compound, coordination vs. subordination), and punctuation. Literary items ask you to match authors, works, genres, and movements, and to interpret short passages.
Concepts to master
- Spelling rules: the use of և, the handling of compounds, prefixes such as ան-, and the rules governing ւ and վ.
- Morphology: case endings, verb conjugation (synthetic and analytic forms), and the correct formation of participles.
- Stylistics: recognizing tropes (metaphor, simile, epithet) and figures (anaphora, antithesis).
- Canon: the medieval heritage (Movses Khorenatsi, Narekatsi, Frik), the 19th-century revival (Abovyan, Nalbandian, Tumanyan, Isahakyan), and 20th-century prose and poetry.
Traps
Questions often offer a near-correct spelling that violates one silent rule, or pair a famous author with a work by someone else. Interpretation items tempt you to choose a plausible theme that the passage does not actually support. Read the stem for words like «հիմնական», «ճիշտ է», «սխալ է» before answering.
Rule of thumb
For orthography, isolate the doubtful morpheme and test it against a known word with the same root. For literature, anchor each work to its author, century, and genre before evaluating the options.
Worked example
If asked which sentence is punctuated correctly, check whether the subordinate clause is introduced by a conjunction (որ, երբ, թե) and whether it is set off by a comma. Verify the main clause is complete on its own; the option that leaves the main clause intact and marks the boundary is usually correct.