Hear the Armenian sound system

Start by listening to whole words. The neutral vowel ə is a short, relaxed sound. Some consonant groups contain a helping ə that is heard but not written; spelling is not a recording of every tiny detail of speech.

Some Armenian consonant families distinguish a voiced sound, a plain voiceless sound and an aspirated sound with a puff of air. The b/p family and d/t family are examples. Later lessons let you hear and practise each contrast with the same vowel. Do not treat aspiration as an extra h syllable.

Armenian distinguishes a short tap and a stronger rolled r. Listen to whole-word models rather than using a long English r for both. A letter recording can contain a short helper vowel; that helper is separate from vowels printed in the word.

Here are a thing, cheese, and wood. Listen for a voiced start, a plain start, and a puff of air. There is no spelling question yet.