Armenian Language & Literature Unified Exam study guide
Armenian Language & Literature Unified Exam · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Armenian Language and Literature unified exam is a standardized subject examination used in Armenia as part of university admission. It is intended for secondary-school graduates and other candidates who need a certified result in Armenian language and literature, most often for entry to philology, journalism, education, history, translation and related programmes, though individual universities decide how they weight the score. The Armenian Language & Literature Unified Exam study guide has 10 sections and about 2,608 words.
01Orthography and Punctuation
Candidates must know that modern Armenian has two accepted norms: the classical (Մաշտոցյան) orthography used widely in the diaspora, and the reformed orthography adopted in Soviet Armenia in the 1920s and used in the Republic. Exam tasks usually follow the norm stated in the paper; mixing them is a common trap.
302 words, about 2 min02Lexicology, Phraseology, and Stylistics
Lexicology studies the word and the vocabulary. Candidates must distinguish direct (ուղղական) and figurative (փոխաբերական) meaning, polysemy (բազմիմաստություն), homonymy (համանունություն), synonymy (հոմանիշություն), antonymy (հականիշություն) and paronymy (պարանունություն).
263 words, about 1 min03Morphology
Morphology covers the parts of speech and their grammatical categories. For nouns and pronouns, master number, definiteness (the article -ը/-ն), and the seven cases: nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, ablative, instrumental and locative.
268 words, about 1 min04Syntax
Syntax asks how words combine into phrases and sentences. Revise the simple sentence and its main parts (ենթակա, ստորոգյալ, լրացումներ), agreement between subject and predicate, and the default subject–object–verb order.
270 words, about 1 min05History of the Armenian Language and General Linguistics
Know the standard periodization: Grabar (գրաբար), the classical literary language fixed in the 5th century; Middle Armenian (միջին հայերեն), attested from the 11th–12th centuries; and modern Armenian (աշխարհաբար), with Eastern and Western variants. The alphabet was created by Mesrop Mashtots in 405, and the 5th century is called the Golden Age of Armenian literature.
255 words, about 1 min06Ancient and Medieval Armenian Literature (5th–18th Centuries)
The 5th century produced the core canon: Koryun's Life of Mashtots, Yeghishe's History of Vardan and the Armenian War, Movses Khorenatsi's History of Armenia, Agathangelos, Pavstos Buzand's Epic Histories, and the philosophical works of David the Invincible. Know the genres: վարք (saints' lives), պատմություն (historiography), ճառ (oration), տաղ (hymn), ողբ (lament).
250 words, about 1 min0719th-Century Armenian Literature
The 19th century is the age of modern Armenian literature. Khachatur Abovyan's Wounds of Armenia (written 1841, published 1858) is conventionally called the first modern Armenian novel and uses the vernacular.
246 words, about 1 min0820th-Century and Contemporary Armenian Literature
The 20th century begins with the poetry of Vahan Teryan, Daniel Varoujan, Siamanto and Ruben Sevak, many of whom died in the 1915 genocide. Yegishe Charents is the central modernist voice; his collection Land of Nairi includes the famous «Ես իմ անուշ Հայաստանի…».
244 words, about 1 min09Literary Theory and Analysis of Literary Texts
Literary theory supplies the vocabulary for close reading: theme and idea, plot and story, composition, conflict, character and characterisation, setting, narrator and point of view, tone and style. Know the genres - epic, lyric, drama - and their subgenres.
251 words, about 1 min10Written Composition / Essay
The written composition is assessed on relevance, structure, argument, use of evidence and language. Plan before writing: read the prompt, underline the key terms, and formulate a thesis that answers the question rather than restating it.
259 words, about 1 min