The Commemoration Program: When Commas Carry Reference
A student editorial board is finalizing a one-page program for a school commemoration. The draft contains this sentence: «Ուսուցիչը, որը նոր էր եկել դպրոց, բացատրեց, թե ինչու ենք հարգում լեզուն»։ Two editors disagree. Editor A wants to remove both commas around «որը նոր էր եկել դպրոց» and the comma before «թե», arguing that short clauses need no commas. Editor B wants to keep them but also add a dash after «լեզուն» in the separate sentence «Լեզուն ազգի հոգին է»։ The printer's style sheet requires standard literary Armenian punctuation and forbids stylistic experiments. There are 300 copies and a two-hour deadline. A third line has nested direct speech: «Նա ասաց. «Ես կգամ»»։ The board must decide, not merely copy a rule.
1. Which commas in the first sentence are normatively required, and which depend on whether the relative clause is restrictive or non-restrictive? Give the reasoning the board should use.
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Normative core: The comma before «թե» is required because «թե» introduces an explanatory subordinate clause after «բացատրեց»։ Without it, the reader can misparse the boundary between the main clause and the reported content.
The «որը» clause is the real judgement call. If the clause is non-restrictive - it adds background about a already identified teacher - then both commas are required: «Ուսուցիչը, որը նոր էր եկել դպրոց, բացատրեց...»։ If the school has several teachers and the clause identifies which one, the clause is restrictive and takes no commas: «Ուսուցիչը որը նոր էր եկել դպրոց բացատրեց...» (though the board should still smooth the sentence).
Board reasoning: Decide the intended referent first. The definite «ուսուցիչը» and the background tone favour the non-restrictive reading, so keep the commas. Editor A's argument about length is not a punctuation rule; commas here mark clause function, not word count.
2. Should the board add a dash in «Լեզուն ազգի հոգին է»? How should the nested direct speech be punctuated or recast under a no-experiment style sheet?
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Dash: No. Standard literary Armenian does not require a dash between subject and nominal predicate when the copula «է» is present. A dash would be an expressive, emphatic choice; the style sheet forbids stylistic experiments. The safe version is «Լեզուն ազգի հոգին է»։
Nested speech: Repeating identical outer and inner quotation marks is the main problem. The clean editorial fix is to recast as indirect speech: «Նա ասաց, որ կգա»։ If direct speech must stay, use outer « » and a distinct inner mark, for example «Նա ասաց. „Ես կգամ“»։ The board should choose one convention and apply it to all 300 copies, not mix systems.
3. Give a final one-sentence version of the first sentence and one example where removing a comma would change the intended referent or truth conditions.
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Final version: «Ուսուցիչը, որը նոր էր եկել դպրոց, բացատրեց, թե ինչու ենք հարգում լեզուն»։
Meaning-changing example: Compare «Աշակերտները, որոնք ուշ էին եկել, չմասնակցեցին» with «Աշակերտները որոնք ուշ էին եկել չմասնակցեցին»։ In the first, the clause is explanatory: all the students had come late, and they did not take part. In the second, the clause is restrictive: only the students who had come late did not take part. The punctuation does not decorate the sentence; it selects the set of students being talked about. That is why the board cannot settle the first sentence by counting words.