#10 Spelling things H-Y-E

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The gift that keeps on giving in the Armenian community is that one of our most common words, “Hi” is a homonym for Armenians. In Armenian, “Armenian” is “hye.” (Pronounced ‘hi’)

So Armenians will naturally write, “Hi” as “Hye” (especially in emails). You can identify an Armenian whenever you see the “Hi” or even “High” spelled “Hye”. So businesses will be called things like “Hye Quality.” To the untrained mind, it may seem that these Armenians can’t spell (of course, they may not be able to spell, but this is not what should press you to conclude that).

In my opinion, spelling things “Hye” is cute and witty the first couple times. Maybe the third and fourth time as well. But it’s no longer creative or unique to do that. Of course, spelling things “Hye” may be a way to communicate to others that “I am Armenian.” But we have to remember, that sometimes that may be more of a liability than an asset (depending on how people perceive / judge Armenians)