The word is still being chosen
The Armenian word for aquascaping is still up for grabs, and three candidates are live.
This is the rare situation where a hobby gets to name itself. The state Language Committee, the Nayiri lexicon and the Bararan lexicon have all yet to rule on it71, and the Armenian encyclopedia has no article to anchor a spelling either, checked through its own interface on 8 September 20264. Whatever the community writes most is what will stick.
Aquarium itself is settled. The main free English to Armenian dictionary gives one translation and only one, ակվարիում, and algae is still waiting for its headword there1. Algae is not a niche word, so the vocabulary of this hobby is being built from the ground up in Armenian, one term at a time. That is what the ninety entries below are.
Candidate one, formal
ջրաբնապատկերում
jrabnapatkerum
A proper Armenian compound: ջր water, plus բնապատկեր landscape, plus the action ending. The right form for a formal document, a school text or a legal one. The related descriptive phrase Ջրային լանդշաֆտի ձևավորում does the same job at greater length.
Candidate two, colloquial
ակվարիումի ձևավորում
akvariumi dzevavorum
Aquarium decorating. What a shop assistant will actually say, and it is not wrong. It is only vaguer, because it also covers plastic castles. Probably the form that wins, because it is the one already in use.
Candidate three, the loan
ակվասկեյպինգ
akvaskeyping
The sounded out English word, and what people type into a search box. Note the spelling: Armenia's largest aquarium group writes it with a plain պ, where the reference document proposed ակվասկեյփինգ with the aspirated փ.67 Both are legitimate. The community's spelling is the one in the wild.
This hub's position
Headline ակվասկեյպինգ. Carry ակվասկեյփինգ as an alternate spelling so that either one finds the site. Gloss it once as ջրաբնապատկերում in the first paragraph of any article. And never argue with anyone who says ակվարիումի ձևավորում.
How to read this
Five labels, and one of them means we made it up.
Established
The Armenian word exists in a dictionary, in the Armenian encyclopedia, or in standard scientific Armenian. Use it. It is not ours to change. Forty one of the ninety.10
Compositional
Not a fixed dictionary term, but built entirely from ordinary Armenian words in the ordinary way. No invention involved. A native speaker understands it on first hearing. Twenty four of the ninety.10
Proposed here
A new coinage. This hub is making it up, and the reasoning is given every time so you can suggest a better term. Twenty two of the ninety.10
Trade usage
What the Armenian trade or the Russian speaking hobby actually says. Where a shop catalog proves it, that is marked.5 Where it is only expected, it is marked as expected.
Transliteration
A foreign proper name written in Armenian script. Two of the ninety.10
One honest caveat on the loans
Every Russian loan label here is a prediction, not a measurement. Armenian technical vocabulary was built through Russian for most of the twentieth century, and the aquarium hobby in this region is still largely a Russian language hobby online, so գրունտ, կոռյագա, ֆիլտր, դոզավորում and կրեվետկա are what you would expect to hear in a Yerevan shop. But no Armenian group posts could be read during this research. Anyone who can should read fifty real posts and correct this page. That is a two hour job and it would turn a good guess into a fact.
Group one, five terms
The name of the thing.
aquascaping No official term
ակվասկեյպինգ
akvaskeyping / jrabnapatkerum / akvariumi dzevavorum
Arranging plants, stone, wood and substrate inside an aquarium so the result looks like a landscape. Three live forms, none settled. See the section above.
an aquascape, the layout Proposed here
ջրաբնապատկեր
jrabnapatker
The arrangement itself, as opposed to the activity of making it. Formed by dropping the action ending, exactly parallel to բնապատկեր, the ordinary word for a landscape or a scenic view.
planted tank Compositional
բուսական ակվարիում
busakan akvarium
A tank whose point is the living plants. բուսական means plant based. The longer ջրային բույսերով ակվարիում, aquarium with water plants, is also clear.
aquarium Established
ակվարիում
akvarium
Confirmed in the Bararan English to Armenian dictionary and in the Armenian encyclopedia, which carries a full article under this title.
aquarist, hobbyist Compositional
ակվարիումասեր
akvariumaser
Literally aquarium lover. The -սեր ending is native and productive: բնասեր is a nature lover, գրքասեր a book lover. Better Armenian than the loan ակվարիումիստ.
Group two, nine terms
Structure and materials.
hardscape Proposed here
կարծր հենք
kardzr henk
The stone and wood. Everything solid you build with before any plant goes in. կարծր is hard, հենք a base or framework. In casual speech կմախք, skeleton, works well and is what the structure actually is. The loan հարդսկեյփ also circulates.
softscape Proposed here
բուսական շերտ
busakan shert
The planting, as the counterpart to hardscape. Literally plant layer.
substrate Proposed here Loan expected
հատակաշերտ
hatakashert
The material on the bottom of the tank: sand, gravel or nutrient soil. հատակ is floor, շերտ layer. The Russian loan գրունտ is the likely spoken form. The Armenian encyclopedia's aquarium article uses no term at all here; it just says grey river sand and tells you to spread five or six centimeters of it.
aqua soil, active soil Proposed here
սննդահող
snndahogh
Baked, nutrient loaded granules made for planted tanks. They feed roots and pull the pH down. սնունդ is food, հող soil, so the word says nutrient soil. The loans սոյլ and ակվագրունտ are plausible in speech.
sand Established
ավազ
avaz
Also the shop category name, so this one needs no thought at all.
gravel Compositional
մանրախիճ
manrakhich
խիճ alone is the established Armenian for gravel or shingle. մանր means fine or small.
stone, rock Established
քար
kar
Plural քարեր, which is what the shop calls the hardscape aisle.
driftwood, bogwood Trade usage, verified
ծառարմատ
tsararmat
Literally tree root. This entry corrects an earlier proposal. We had suggested ջրափայտ, water wood. Then the Gazanik catalog turned out to list the category as Ծառարմատ (коряга), with the Russian in brackets because the shop knows its customers think in Russian. Real usage beats a coinage. Keep ջրափայտ only for the water worn, non root kind of wood, if the distinction is ever needed.
spiderwood, azalea root Proposed here
սարդարմատ
sardarmat
սարդ spider, արմատ root. A direct calque of the trade name, and the trade name is honest: the material really is rhododendron and azalea root.
Group three, twelve terms
Plants.
Armenian botany is in good shape. Most of this group needed no work at all.234
aquatic plant Established
ջրաբույս
jrabuys, or ջրային բույս, jrayin buys
Used in running text in the Armenian encyclopedia's aquarium article, which also has an article on aquatic vegetation linked to the English one.
carpet plant Proposed here
գորգային բույս
gorgayin buys
A low plant that spreads sideways and covers the floor of the tank. Barely a coinage: գորգ is carpet, one of the strongest words in the language, and գորգային is a normal adjective from it.
carpet, the effect Established, new sense
գորգ
gorg
An established word used in a new sense. No Armenian speaker will misunderstand it.
stem plant Compositional
ցողունային բույս
tsoghunayin buys
A plant that grows as an upright shoot. You trim the top and replant the cutting. ցողուն is the established botanical word for a stem and has its own encyclopedia article.
rosette plant Compositional
վարդակաձև բույս
vardakadzev buys
վարդակ is a rosette, -աձև means shaped like.
epiphyte Established
էպիֆիտ
epifit
A plant that grows attached to a surface instead of rooted in soil. In a tank that means Anubias, Bucephalandra and ferns, tied or glued to wood and stone. Their rhizome must stay above the substrate or it rots.
moss Established
մամուռ
mamur
Plural մամուռներ, which is the encyclopedia article title.
floating plant Established
լողացող բույս
loghatsogh buys
This exact phrase appears in the Armenian encyclopedia's aquarium article.
emersed growth Compositional
վերջրյա աճ
verjrya ats
Grown in air, leaves above water. Nurseries grow most plants this way, in humid air. The leaves look different from the underwater ones and often melt back after planting.
submersed growth Established
ստորջրյա աճ
storjrya ats
ստորջրյա is the ordinary Armenian for underwater and appears in several encyclopedia article titles.
dry start method Proposed here
չոր մեկնարկ
chor meknark
Plant the tank damp rather than flooded, cover it, wait several weeks while the carpet roots in humid air, then fill it. մեկնարկ is the established Armenian for a start or a launch.
trimming, pruning Established
էտ, էտում, էտել
et, etum, etel
A clean win. The English article on pruning links directly to the Armenian article Էտ. Armenian gardeners have used this word for a very long time. Nothing needed inventing.
Group four, fifteen terms
CO2 and equipment.
This is where Armenian stopped and Russian and English took over. Most of the coinages on this page are in this group and the next.108
carbon dioxide, CO2 Established
ածխաթթու գազ
atskhattu gaz
The encyclopedia article is linked to the English one. The shop leaves the category label in Latin script as CO2 and translates nothing.
CO2 injection Compositional
ածխաթթու գազի մատակարարում
atskhattu gazi matakararum
մատակարարում is supply or delivery. For the single act of injecting, ներարկում is the standard Armenian for injection.
drop checker Proposed here
կաթիլային ցուցիչ
katilayin tsutsich
A small glass bulb of indicator fluid hung inside the tank. Green means the CO2 level is about right, blue too little, yellow too much. Well founded as coinages go: ցուցիչ is already the approved Armenian for a chemical indicator and is the second half of the standard Armenian term for pH. Only the pairing with կաթիլային, drop, is new.
diffuser Compositional
ցրիչ
tsrich
ցրել is to scatter, so ցրիչ is a disperser. It is what the part does: it breaks the gas into a mist of tiny bubbles.
filter Trade usage, verified
ֆիլտր
filtr
This entry corrects an earlier proposal. The native զտիչ is a real Armenian technical noun, used for example in acoustic filter. But every filtration category in the country's one specialist shop uses ֆիլտր and ֆիլտրացիա, and զտիչ appears nowhere. Lead with ֆիլտր. Keep զտիչ as the formal alternative.
filter media Trade usage, verified
լցոնիչ
ltsonich
This entry corrects an earlier proposal. We had suggested զտանյութ. The trade already says Լցոնիչներ: լցոնել is to stuff or to fill, so the word means the stuffing. The sponges, ceramic rings and floss inside the filter. Their real job is not to trap dirt, it is to hold the bacteria colony, which is why you never wash them under a tap.
canister, external filter Compositional
արտաքին ֆիլտր
artakin filtr
A sealed drum in the cabinet below the tank with two hoses running up to it. The shop uses exactly this phrase, and it matches Russian habit, where external filter is said far more often than canister.
sponge filter Compositional
սպունգային ֆիլտր
spungayin filtr
Also recorded as սպունգային զտիչ in the formal register.
hang on back filter Compositional
արտաքին կախվող ֆիլտր
artakin kakhvogh filtr
The shop's own category name. կախովի or կախվող means hanging.
sump Proposed here
ստորավազան
storavazan
A second, open tank underneath the display tank. Water falls into it, is filtered and heated there, and is pumped back up. ավազան is the ordinary word for a basin or pool, ստոր- the prefix for lower. The loan սամփ will also be heard.
lily pipe Proposed here
շուշանափող
shushanapogh
The flared glass outlet, shaped like a lily flower, that returns water to the tank. շուշան lily, փող pipe. Built on an existing pattern rather than against it: շնչափող is the windpipe. And Armenian already calls the water lily ջրաշուշան, so the root is already doing this job in an aquatic context. The plain alternative ապակե խողովակ, glass tube, will be understood in any shop.
inflow and outflow Compositional
ներհոս, արտահոս
nerhos, artahos
հոսք is flow, ներ- in, արտ- out.
heater Established
տաքացուցիչ
takatsutsich
Used both in the Armenian encyclopedia's aquarium article and as the shop's category name, which is as settled as a word in this field gets.
lighting Established
լուսավորություն
lusavorutyun
The lights themselves are լույսեր in the trade.
aeration Established
աերացիա
aeratsia
An air pump is օդամղիչ in the trade catalog.
Group five, twenty terms
Water and chemistry.
Soviet era Armenian science translated chemistry properly, so most of this group was already waiting.23
water column Compositional
ջրասյուն
jrasyun
The body of water itself, as opposed to the substrate or the surface. A fertiliser dosed into the water column goes in for leaves to take up, rather than into the soil for roots.
dosing Proposed here Loan expected
չափաբաժնում
chapabazhnum
Adding a measured amount of fertiliser on a schedule. չափաբաժին is an established word for a measured portion. The Russian loan դոզավորում is the likely spoken form.
fertiliser Established
պարարտանյութ
parartanyut
Liquid fertiliser is հեղուկ պարարտանյութ. Root tabs are արմատային պարարտանյութ հաբերով.
macro and micronutrients Established
մակրոտարրեր, միկրոտարրեր
makrotarrer, mikrotarrer
Established in Armenian agronomy and chemistry. Nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are the macros. Iron and the trace metals are the micros.
ammonia Established
ամոնիակ
amoniak
The first waste product from fish, food and rotting plants. Poisonous even at low levels.
ammonium Established
ամոնիում
amonium
The less harmful form ammonia turns into in acidic water. Plants take it up directly.
nitrite Established
նիտրիտ
nitrit, plural նիտրիտներ
The second step. Still poisonous. In a working tank it should read zero.
nitrate Established
նիտրատ
nitrat, plural նիտրատներ
The third and much safer step. Plants use it as food. You remove the surplus with water changes.
nitrogen cycle Compositional
ազոտի շրջապտույտ
azoti shrjaptuyt
շրջապտույտ is the standard Armenian word for a natural cycle and is already used for the water cycle, and ազոտ is nitrogen, so this compound reads correctly to any Armenian speaker.
cycling a tank Proposed here
ակվարիումի հասունացում
akvariumi hasunatsum
Running a new tank for several weeks with no fish, until the bacteria colony is big enough to turn ammonia into nitrate as fast as it appears. հասունացում is ripening or maturation, which is the honest description: you are waiting for something biological to mature. Longer and clearer: ազոտային շրջապտույտի գործարկում.
beneficial bacteria Compositional
օգտակար բակտերիաներ
ogtakar bakterianer
Also նիտրիֆիկացնող բակտերիաներ, nitrifying bacteria. They live on surfaces, mainly in the filter media and the substrate, not in the water.
water change Compositional
ջրի փոխարինում
jri pokharinum, short form ջրափոխ
A partial change is ջրի մասնակի փոխարինում. The short form ջրափոխ is proposed here.
pH Established
ջրածնային ցուցիչ
jratsnayin tsutsich
How acid or alkaline the water is. Most planted tanks sit between 6.0 and 7.0. This is the Armenian encyclopedia's own title for the English article.
general hardness, GH Compositional
ընդհանուր կարծրություն
endhanur kardzrutyun
How much calcium and magnesium the water holds. Shrimp and soft water fish care about it a lot. կարծրություն is the ordinary word for hardness and carries this sense without strain, so this compound is safe to use in writing.
carbonate hardness, KH Compositional
կարբոնատային կարծրություն
karbonatayin kardzrutyun
The water's ability to resist a change in pH. High KH fights CO2 injection and holds the pH up.
total dissolved solids, TDS Compositional
լուծված նյութերի ընդհանուր քանակ
lutsvats nyuteri endhanur kanak
Everyone will use the abbreviation TDS as it stands, and that is fine.
reverse osmosis water Compositional
հակադարձ օսմոսի ջուր
hakadardz osmosi jur
Water with almost everything stripped out, which you then remineralise to the exact hardness you want. օսմոս is established; the encyclopedia has an article on forward osmosis.
tannins Established
դաբաղանյութեր
dabaghanyuter
A genuine find. Armenian already has a native word, with a companion article for tannin bearing plants. The root is դաբաղ, tanning, as in tanning leather, which is exactly where the English word comes from too. Tannins leach out of wood and leaves, stain the water the color of tea, lower the pH slightly and are mildly antibacterial. The loan տանիններ will also be understood.
blackwater Proposed here
սևաջուր
sevajur, or թեյագույն ջուր, teyaguyn jur
Soft, acidic, tea stained water full of tannins, like the Rio Negro. A warning about this coinage: Armenian already uses կեղտաջուր for dirty water and կոյուղաջուր for sewage, so սևաջուր is free, but you might hear it as “bad water”. The descriptive թեյագույն ջուր, tea coloured water, is safer for beginner material.
biotope Established
կենսատոպ
kensatop
A biotope aquarium is կենսատոպային ակվարիում: a tank that copies one real place, with only the fish, plants, wood and substrate that occur there.
Group six, eleven terms
Algae.
The general words are solid, because Armenian biology named them. The specific hobby names are not, so six of the eleven are coinages.310
algae Established
ջրիմուռ
jrimur, plural ջրիմուռներ
Worth noting: the main free English to Armenian dictionary has no entry for algae and returns a word not found page. The word exists in Armenian. The dictionary just does not carry the English side of it.
green algae Established
կանաչ ջրիմուռներ
kanach jrimurner
Its own encyclopedia article.
red algae Established
կարմիր ջրիմուռներ
karmir jrimurner
This matters more than it looks. Black beard algae is a red alga, not a green one, and that is why the treatments that work on green algae do not touch it.
diatoms, brown algae Established
դիատոմային ջրիմուռներ
diatomayin jrimurner
The brown dust that coats a new tank in the first weeks. Usually harmless, and usually goes away on its own.
cyanobacteria, BGA Established
ցիանոբակտերիաներ
tsianobakterianer
The slimy dark green sheet that peels off in one piece and smells bad. Colloquially կապտականաչ ջրիմուռ, blue green alga, which is biologically wrong because these are bacteria, but it is what people say in every language.
black beard algae, BBA Proposed here
սև մորուք ջրիմուռ
sev moruk jrimur
Short black tufts on leaf edges, wood and equipment. A sign of unstable CO2 or poor flow. Direct calque; մորուք is beard.
hair algae, thread algae Proposed here
թելանման ջրիմուռ
telanman jrimur
թել is thread, -անման means resembling. մազանման ջրիմուռ, hair like, is equally good.
staghorn algae Proposed here
եղջյուրանման ջրիմուռ
eghjyuranman jrimur
եղջյուր is a horn or antler.
green spot algae, GSA Proposed here
կանաչ բծային ջրիմուռ
kanach btsayin jrimur
Hard green dots on glass and on old Anubias leaves. Usually means not enough phosphate. բիծ is a spot or a stain.
green dust algae, GDA Proposed here
կանաչ փոշենման ջրիմուռ
kanach poshenman jrimur
փոշի is dust.
green water, algal bloom Compositional
ջրի ծաղկում
jri tsaghkum, or ծաղկած ջուր
Literally flowering of the water, which is the standard way Russian and Armenian scientific writing describe a bloom. Lake Sevan has had major blooms so Armenian environmental reporting uses this phrase, but no specific Armenian citation could be pulled, so it is marked compositional rather than established.
Group seven, six terms
Livestock.9
fish Established
ձուկ
dzuk, plural ձկներ, dzkner
Aquarium fish is ակվարիումային ձկներ, which is a section heading in the Armenian encyclopedia's aquarium article.
shrimp, the dwarf freshwater kind Proposed here
խեցգետնիկ
khetsgetnik
Needed, because the existing word is wrong. The Armenian encyclopedia gives ծովախեցգետին for the shrimp group Caridea, but that literally means sea crustacean, and Neocaridina and Caridina are freshwater. Calling a cherry shrimp a sea crustacean is simply incorrect. խեցգետին alone is the established word for a crayfish or crab, so the diminutive gives little crustacean: short, native and unambiguous in a tank context. The trade sells them formally as Խեցգետնակերպեր, crustaceans, and the Russian loan կրեվետկա is almost certainly the spoken form.
snail Established
խխունջ
khkhunj
Already in use for aquariums: the Armenian encyclopedia's aquarium article describes լճախխունջ, the pond snail, eating your plants. The trade sells them formally as Փափկամարմիններ, molluscs.
crayfish Established
գետային խեցգետին
getayin khetsgetin
Armenia has its own, the Astacus of Lake Sevan, so this word carries local weight.
freshwater Established
քաղցրահամ ջուր
kaghtsraham jur
Literally sweet tasting water. Used in the encyclopedia's aquarium article and as the shop's top level category, Քաղցրահամ Ակվարիում.
live food Established
կենդանի կեր
kendani ker
Daphnia are ջրալվեր. Both appear in the Armenian encyclopedia's aquarium article.
Group eight, twelve terms
Styles and stone.
Armenian geology named every rock on this list long ago. One of the names is a trap.248
Iwagumi Transliteration
իվագումի
ivagumi
A stone only layout, always an odd number of stones, with one dominant main stone.
Nature Aquarium Compositional
բնական ակվարիում
bnakan akvarium
Takashi Amano's approach: an underwater imitation of a real land landscape.
Dutch style Compositional
հոլանդական ոճ
holandakan voch
ոճ is style.
jungle style Compositional
ջունգլիների ոճ
jungliner-i voch
Deliberately overgrown, with the trimming kept light.
Wabi-kusa Transliteration
վաբի-կուսա
vabi-kusa
A planted ball or mound grown mostly out of the water, in an open bowl.
limestone Established
կրաքար
krakar
A useful accident of the language: կիր is lime, so կրաքար says lime stone on its face. An Armenian beginner can be told, correctly, that anything with կիր in the name will push GH and KH up.
volcanic tuff Established, and a trap
հրաբխային տուֆ
hrabkhayin tuf
The Armenian encyclopedia's article titled plain Տուֆ is linked to the English article for tufa, the calcium carbonate rock, while the English article for tuff, the volcanic ash rock, links to Հրաբխային տուֆ. Two different rocks, one Armenian word in casual use, and the confusion is live inside the encyclopedia itself. Always say հրաբխային, and test the stone anyway.
volcanic scoria, lava rock Established
հրաբխային խարամ
hrabkhayin kharam
A naming warning that could cost real money. On its own խարամ means metallurgical slag, furnace waste from metal smelting, and Armenia has copper smelter slag heaps at Alaverdi. Asking a builders' yard for խարամ could get you smelter waste. Always say հրաբխային խարամ.
basalt Established
բազալտ
bazalt
Stable against temperature change, mechanical impact, acids, alkalis and sea salt. If an Armenian aquascaper wants one safe local rock and no thinking, it is this.
obsidian Established
վանակատ
vanakat
A lovely native word, and no loan needed. Chemically perfect for a tank and mechanically dangerous, because conchoidal fracture gives edges sharper than a scalpel.
pumice Established
պեմզա
pemza
Inert, extremely light, and it floats until it waterlogs. Useful as a hidden filler under soil to build a slope without spending on substrate.
travertine Established
տրավերտին
travertin
Calcium carbonate laid down by mineral springs. Widespread in Ararat, Shirak, Vayots Dzor and Syunik, and the rock most likely to be sold to you as տուֆ by mistake.
A bonus, not part of the ninety
Nine plant genus names Armenian botany already had.
All confirmed through Armenian encyclopedia article titles and their English language links.24 There is nothing to invent or transliterate here.
| Genus | Armenian | Romanised | Literal sense |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vallisneria | Վալիսներիա | Valisneria | loan |
| Ceratophyllum, hornwort | Եղջերատերև | Eghjeraterev | antler leaf |
| Elodea, waterweed | Ջրաժանտախտ | Jrazhantakht | water plague, a calque of the European nickname |
| Myriophyllum, milfoil | Բյուրատերևուկ | Byuraterevuk | myriad leaflet |
| Lemna, duckweed | Ջրոսպ | Jrosp | water lentil |
| Potamogeton, pondweed | Շերեփուկախոտ | Sherepukakhot | tadpole grass |
| Nymphaea, water lily | Ջրաշուշան | Jrashushan | water lily |
| Typha, bulrush | Կեռոն | Kerron | sense not established |
| Sagittaria, arrowhead | Նետատերև | Netaterev | arrow leaf |
The Armenian encyclopedia's aquarium article recommends վալիսներիա, ջրասպար and նետատերև for a first tank, with ջրոսպ or ռիչիա floating. That is a sixty year old Armenian planting list and most of it still holds up. One loose end: ջրասպար has no English language link, so its identity is unconfirmed. Somebody with an Armenian botanical dictionary should pin it down.
Evidence
One real shop catalog corrected three of our proposals in ten minutes.
The best evidence in this whole glossary is a live, Armenian language aquarium shop catalog. Gazanik navigates entirely in Armenian, and its category names are real Armenian trade vocabulary,5 chosen by people who sell this for a living rather than by a lexicographer.
| Armenian | Romanised | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Քաղցրահամ Ակվարիում | kaghtsraham akvarium | freshwater aquarium |
| Ծովային Ակվարիում | tsovayin akvarium | marine aquarium |
| Ակվարիումային բնակիչներ | akvariumayin bnakichner | aquarium inhabitants, that is, livestock |
| Բույսեր | buyser | plants |
| Դեկոր / Ձևավորում | dekor / dzevavorum | decor and layout |
| Ծառարմատ (коряга) | tsararmat | driftwood, literally tree root, glossed by the shop with the Russian |
| Քարեր | karer | stones |
| Խեցգետնակերպեր | khetsgetnakerper | crustaceans, that is, shrimp |
| Փափկամարմիններ | papkamarminner | molluscs, that is, snails |
| Ֆիլտրացիա, Արտաքին ֆիլտրեր | filtratsia, artakin filtrer | filtration, external filters |
| Լցոնիչներ | ltsonichner | filter media |
| Օդամղիչներ | odamghichner | air pumps |
| Տաքացուցիչներ | takatsutsichner | heaters |
| Ջերմաչափեր | jermachaper | thermometers |
| Լույսեր | luyser | lights |
| Դեղորայք / հավելումներ / Թեստեր | deghorayk, havelumner, tester | medicines, supplements, test kits |
| CO2 | left in Latin script, untranslated |
Correction one
The trade says ֆիլտր
Every filtration category uses ֆիլտր and ֆիլտրացիա. The native զտիչ appears nowhere.5 So ֆիլտր is the real word and զտիչ is the one a purist would prefer. This glossary now leads with the real one.
Correction two
Driftwood is ծառարմատ
Written on the shop's own menu as Ծառարմատ (коряга).5 That is a shop putting the Russian in brackets because it knows its customers think in Russian. It is direct proof of the Russian loan layer, printed on a menu, and it beats our ջրափայտ.
Correction three
Filter media is լցոնիչ
Not our զտանյութ. And a fourth observation that is not a correction: shrimp and snails are sold under their formal zoological group names, crustaceans and molluscs,5 which tells us what a careful shop writes but not what a customer says out loud.
Scorecard
Where Armenian stopped and English took over.
The established words cluster in chemistry, botany and geology, because Soviet era Armenian science translated all of that properly. The invented words cluster in equipment and technique, because nobody has ever had to write those down in Armenian before. That is a very clear picture of a boundary.
40 established.10 In dictionaries, the Armenian encyclopedia, or standard scientific Armenian. Not ours to change.
24 compositional.10 Ordinary Armenian words combined in the ordinary way. No invention involved.
20 proposed here.10 Coinages, each flagged in place with the reasoning, so you can help improve each term.
The first draft of this glossary counted 41 established, 24 compositional and 22 proposed.10 Three entries then moved, which is why the numbers above differ: two coinages were withdrawn in favor of words the trade was found to be using, ջրափայտ giving way to ծառարմատ and զտանյութ to լցոնիչ, and one established word, զտիչ, was demoted below the loan ֆիլտր that the shop actually prints. That is the correct direction of travel, and we expect more of it. If you use these words in a shop in Yerevan and something here is wrong, we would rather know.
- Bararan.am, English to Armenian dictionary. Entry for aquarium, bararan.am/en/aquarium, and the absent entry for algae, bararan.am/en/algae.
- Հայերեն Վիքիպեդիա, article Ակվարիում, hy.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ակվարիում. Old encyclopedia text, visibly translated from Soviet era Russian, and the single largest body of real Armenian aquarium prose in public. Source of լողացող բույս, տաքացուցիչ, կենդանի կեր, ջրալվեր, լճախխունջ and the sixty year old planting list.
- Հայերեն Վիքիպեդիա, articles Ջրիմուռներ, Կանաչ ջրիմուռներ, Կարմիր ջրիմուռներ, Դիատոմային ջրիմուռներ, Ցիանոբակտերիաներ, Դաբաղանյութեր, Կենսատոպ, Էպիֆիտներ, Ջրածնային ցուցիչ, Մամուռներ, Ածխաթթու գազ, Ամոնիակ, Նիտրիտներ, Նիտրատներ, Պարարտանյութեր, Աերացիա and Էտ, each checked with its English language link.
- MediaWiki language link interface, used to confirm that the English article Aquascaping has no Armenian counterpart, and to expose the tuff and tufa cross linking error. Read through the Armenian language links on each English article.
- Գազանիկ, gazanik.am and the shop's own published category list. The source of every trade usage label on this page.
- Ակվարիումիստների Ակումբ Հայաստանում, the Facebook group of about 7,900 members, whose own welcome text is the source for the community spelling ակվասկեյպինգ.
- Armenian Translations for Aquascaping, supplied directly and not published online. Establishes that the Language Committee and the Nayiri and Bararan lexicons have no entry for aquascaping, and sets out the three live candidate forms. Note: lezvikomite.am and termbank.am publish nothing on this, so the committee's position is reported here rather than independently verified.
- Aquascaping Glossary and Materials Guide, in Russian, supplied directly and not published online. Used for the style and stone definitions, and the origin of the observation that Armenia is a source of volcanic lava rock.
- Hayrapetyan, Tigran (2018). Latin, Armenian, Russian and English dictionary of the names of the vertebrate animals of Armenia. Yerevan State University Press. ISBN 978-5-8084-2276-6. Fish on pages 15 to 20. Not consulted directly; recorded here because it is the citable Armenian authority for animal names and the hub should own a copy.
- The ninety labelled entries on this page. Every count in the label key and in the scorecard is a count of the entries in groups one to eight above, each of which carries its own label chip and its own reasoning in place. The arithmetic is recountable from the page itself, which is why the labels are printed on every row rather than summarised.
Continue
Where to go next.
The Armenian scene
Tap water by district, the one real shop, the stone under your feet, and the law on keeping a wild animal.
Reading
Books, papers and the honest gaps. A search for the Russian word for aquascaping at Russia's largest bookshop returns zero results.
Read together
Where this vocabulary gets tested hardest, because a five year old will not accept a word that does not mean anything.
Trade and geography
The trade words in the glossary, with the customs codes and the countries behind them.