Armenian Keywords

Lists of Armenian and Armenia-related keywords in multiple languages. This repository is used to filter Armenia-related cultural objects, books, paintings, etc. from Europeana, Australian Trove, Russian electronic library, Russian Goskatalog, and other public sources of digital heritage related to Armenia.

Data Structure

All data files are comma-separated CSV files organized by language in the data/ directory:

data/
├── ru/          # Russian language data
│   ├── geonames.csv
│   ├── keywords.csv
│   ├── midnames.csv
│   ├── names.csv
│   └── surnames.csv
├── en/          # English language data
│   ├── geonames.csv
│   ├── keywords.csv
│   ├── names.csv
│   └── surnames.csv
└── [lang]/      # Other languages (see guidelines below)
    ├── geonames.csv
    └── keywords.csv

CSV File Format

All CSV files follow the same structure:

value,category

Where:

• value - the keyword, name, or place name
• category - one of: keyword, geoname, name, surname, midname

Categories

• geonames.csv - Geographic names (cities, regions, historical places, mountains, etc.)
• keywords.csv - Common keywords related to Armenia and Armenian culture
• names.csv - First names (given names)
• surnames.csv - Family names (last names)
• midnames.csv - Middle names / patronymics

Recent Changes

Processing Goskatalog Data (Latest Update)

The repository has been updated with data extracted from _legacy/goskatalog/ directory:

• Geonames: 225 entries extracted from armenian_toponyms.txt including:

  • Major cities (Ереван, Гюмри, Ванадзор, etc.)
  • Historical regions (Карабах, Арцах, Киликия, etc.)
  • Geographic features (Арарат, Севан, etc.)
  • Historical and alternative names

• Keywords: 110 entries extracted from patterns.txt and filtered from armenian.txt:

  • Basic Armenia terms (армения, армянин, армянский, etc.)
  • Cultural and religious terms (вардапет, католикос, etc.)
  • Historical terms (урарту, спюрк, etc.)
  • Filtered out false positives (бармен, жандармен, etc.)

• Names: 51 entries including historical figures (Тигран, Арташес, Маштоц, Месроп, etc.)

• Midnames: 41 entries (patronymics like арменович, арменовна, etc.)

English Data Expansion

The English dataset has been significantly expanded to match the coverage of the Russian dataset:

• Geonames: Extended to 79 entries covering major cities, regions, and historical places.
• Keywords: Expanded to 42 entries covering cultural, historical, and key figures.
• Names: Added new file with 54 common Armenian given names.
• Surnames: Added new file with 54 common Armenian surnames (including variations).

Adding Keywords in Other Languages

To add Armenia-related keywords in other languages (Spanish, French, German, Italian, etc.), follow these guidelines:

1. Create Language Directory

Create a new directory under data/ using the ISO 639-1 language code:

mkdir -p data/es  # Spanish
mkdir -p data/fr  # French
mkdir -p data/de  # German
mkdir -p data/it  # Italian
# etc.

2. Create CSV Files

Create the appropriate CSV files for your language. At minimum, create:

• geonames.csv - Geographic names
• keywords.csv - Common keywords

Optionally add:

• names.csv - First names (if applicable)
• surnames.csv - Family names (if applicable)
• midnames.csv - Middle names/patronymics (if applicable)

3. Translation Guidelines

Geonames (Geographic Names)

Include:

• Country name and variations:

  • Spanish: Armenia, República de Armenia
  • French: Arménie, République d'Arménie
  • German: Armenien, Republik Armenien

• Major cities:

  • Spanish: Ereván, Gyumri, Vanadzor
  • French: Erevan, Gyumri, Vanadzor
  • German: Jerewan, Gjumri, Wanadsor

• Historical regions:

  • Spanish: Karabaj, Artsaj, Cilicia
  • French: Karabagh, Artsakh, Cilicie
  • German: Bergkarabach, Arzach, Kilikien

• Geographic features:

  • Spanish: Ararat, Sevan
  • French: Ararat, Sévan
  • German: Ararat, Sewan

• Historical names (when different from modern):

  • Spanish: Eriván (historical name for Ereván)
  • French: Erivan (historical name for Erevan)

Keywords

Include:

• Basic terms:

  • Spanish: armenio, armenios, armenia, armenio/a
  • French: arménien, arméniens, arménienne, arméniennes
  • German: armenisch, Armenier, Armenierin, Armenierinnen

• Cultural terms:

  • Spanish: catolicós, vardapet
  • French: catholicos, vardapet
  • German: Katholikos, Vardapet

• Historical terms:

  • Spanish: Urartu, Cilicia, diáspora armenia
  • French: Ourartou, Cilicie, diaspora arménienne
  • German: Urartu, Kilikien, armenische Diaspora

• Language terms:

  • Spanish: idioma armenio, alfabeto armenio
  • French: langue arménienne, alphabet arménien
  • German: armenische Sprache, armenisches Alphabet

4. Example Files

Spanish (data/es/keywords.csv)

value,category
armenia,keyword
armenio,keyword
armenios,keyword
armenia,keyword
armenio/a,keyword
catolicós,keyword
vardapet,keyword
urartu,keyword
cilicia,keyword
diáspora armenia,keyword

Spanish (data/es/geonames.csv)

value,category
armenia,geoname
república de armenia,geoname
ereván,geoname
gyumri,geoname
vanadzor,geoname
karabaj,geoname
artsaj,geoname
ararat,geoname
sevan,geoname

5. Quality Guidelines

• Use lowercase for all entries (except proper nouns if your language requires capitalization)
• Remove duplicates - check existing entries before adding
• Use standard transliterations - follow common conventions for your language
• Include variations - add alternative spellings and historical names
• Filter false positives - avoid generic terms that might match non-Armenian content
• Maintain consistency - use the same transliteration system throughout

6. Testing

After adding new language data:

1. Verify CSV files are valid (no syntax errors)
2. Check for duplicates within the file
3. Ensure category values are correct (keyword, geoname, name, surname, midname)
4. Test with sample queries to ensure keywords match relevant content

Contribution

Contributions are welcome! Please:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a branch for your changes
3. Add or update CSV files following the guidelines above
4. Test your changes
5. Submit a pull request with a description of your changes

Priority Languages

High priority for adding keywords:

• Spanish (es)
• French (fr)
• German (de)
• Italian (it)
• Portuguese (pt)
• Turkish (tr)
• Persian/Farsi (fa)
• Arabic (ar)

Legacy Data

Historical data and source files are preserved in the _legacy/ directory:

• _legacy/goskatalog/ - Original Russian Goskatalog keyword lists
• _legacy/data/ - Previous data structure

License

See LICENSE file for details.