Excerpts from various e-mails
and reviews received in the year 2000
www.dorasakayan.com > letters to the author
Dear Dora,
Let me thank you for sending me an autographed copy of your most recent book, "Modern Western
Armenian". The book obviously represents a monumental effort. As a Western Armenian speaker myself
I am honored to have the most urbane and prestigious register of my dialect recognized expertly. Your book
is precisely what the new generations of young Armenians born in the Western diaspora need. This almost
desperate need for formal Western Armenian education was passionately recognized by several speakers at
the Sixth International Conference on Armenian Linguistics held at INALCO, in Paris, July 1999. (...) I look
forward to your future contributions to our mother tongue. (From an e-mail, dated April 3, 2000)
Dear Dora,
Thank you for your textbook, which I plan to order and use in my courses. It is an excellent book and a
very valuable contribution to our field. Accept my humble thanks and praise. I received today the list of
corrigenda and I will duly affix it to the volume. (...)
(From a handwritten letter, dated March 29, 2000)
Dear Dora,
I acknowledge receipt of the book and find it very good indeed. I immediately put it in the box of Barlow
Der Mugrdechian who is currently teaching Western Armenian for possible adoption. (...) I can see from
a casual glance that it should become the standard college text for Western Armenian. (...)
(From an e-mail, dated March 19, 2000)
Dear Dr. Sakayan,
Thank you very much for sending me a copy of your Modern Western Armenian. I glanced through the
book quickly and found the approach very interesting. It is obvious that the meticulously screened grammatical
and conversational material, the feedback coming from the classroom as well as the modern
methodology will be very effective in the classroom. (...) (From a letter, dated March 7, 2000)
Dear Dr. Sakayan,
First, I would like to say that I have tried your new textbook out on my students (I am currently teaching
Modern Western Armenian at the Universityof Michigan) and have found it a very useful textbook. I congratulate
you on the production of a fine textbook. (...) (From an e-mail, dated March 27, 2000)
A month later:
(...) As I mentioned, I tested this book out in my Armenian class at UM. (I taught Armenian there this year
while Kevork Bardakjian was on sabbatical.) Both I and my students were very pleased with the book. (...)
The supplementary texts at the back of the book are wonderful. I used several of these with my students,
and it was an effective way to introduce some Armenian history and culture. The themes of the texts are
well chosen, and the vocabulary and syntax presented therein is useful. I also appreciated the thematic organization
of vocabulary throughout the book. (...) There is no question in my mind that, if I were at liberty
to choose which language text I used, I would use your text. It is really a long-needed and very welcome
addition to the corpus of Armenian teaching materials. (From an e-mail, dated May 2, 2000)
Dear Dora,
Your textbook arrived safe and sound some days ago. I’ve been dipping into it in the interim. (..) MODERN
WESTERN ARMENIAN marks a step beyond what is currently available in the field. Best wishes,
Peter (From an e-mail, dated March 18, 2000)
Dear Dora,
I received it [Modern Western Armenian] earlier this week and have had great delight in reviewing it. I
have also sent along the advertisement to our order department so that we can order a copy. I am now going
to work my way slowly through it. (...) (From an e-mail, dated March 17, 2000)
Dear Dora,
Today your textbook arrived. My congratulations and thank you very much for sending me a copy. It must
have been a huge work! But the outcome is equally impressive. (...) (From an e-mail, dated March
28, 2000)
A few days later:
Dear Dora, this thought of translating your book into Dutch does not leave me. (...) ( From an e-mail,
dated April 2, 2000)
Dear Dora,
I want you to know that I very much appreciate having your Modern Western Armenian. First of all, it is
a book that will finally teach me to read Armenian - if I ever can finish writing and start concentrating on
learning the alphabet. As I speak Western Armenian (to a degree) and because your book looks so intelligent
- I think it is my book for learning. It is also the one I will send to my son Jeremy. The one who
knows the alphabet but not much of the vocabulary. I am sending it to him now. I know he will love it too.
(...) Much good luck with it. (from a letter, dated April 3, 2000)
Dr. Sakayan,
Richard Kloian has shown your book to me. I am learning Armenian at the Zaroukian Centre in San
Francisco and your book is just what I have been looking for. I particularly like the way it provides the
structure of the language so that, as an adult learner, I can understand the logic of sentence structure and
regular and irregular constructions. (...) Congratulations on a tour de force. (From an e-mail, dated April 2, 2000)
Liebe Frau Sakayan,
Gestern habe ich Ihr Buch bekommen, herzlichen Dank. Es sieht wirklich sehr gut aus, sowohl
optisch als auch didaktisch und inhaltlich, nicht zuletzt durch die das Nachdenken anregenden
Sprichwörter. Wie Sie das alles schaffen!
Ich wünsche Ihnen weitere Erfolge und alles Gute für Sie!
Ihr Winfried Boeder (From an e-mail, dated May 19, 2000)
Dear Professor Sakayan,
(...)I have reviewed your textbook and I found it to be really interesting and different from those that
have been on the market for almost two decades. Its approach is fresh and it combines the necessary
tools for the teaching of the Western Armenian language in the setting of a modern college
and university. I will be glad to introduce the textbook to my classes at Glendale Community
College as of the 2001-2002 academic year (Next year's textbooks had already been ordered when
I received the copy of your textbook). I wish you success in all your endeavors.
(From an e-mail, dated May 12, 2000)
Dear Dora,
My heartfelt congratulations on this superb work. You deserve to win an award for it. You are a
pro. I am sure it will facilitate the dissemination of our language. I felt tenderness in the pages
unlike other language books. The poetry, the stories complement the book nicely and help foreigners
become acquainted with our culture. I wish you all the health and energy to promote the
book. (From an e-mail, dated May 19, 2000)
(From a letter, dated June 2, 2000)
Dear Dr. Sakayan,
I am very pleased to acknowledge your letter of March 30, 2000. I am grateful for the gift
of your recent publication, MODERN WESTERN ARMENIAN.
I found the publication to be very interesting. The presentation is commendable in all
respects. I congratulate you for this valuable work. I deeply appreciate your sending me a copy.
I hope that you have success in the promotion of your book and your worthy endeavors.
(From a letter, dated May 17, 2000)
