Armenian language

Armenian
հայերէն/հայերեն, hayeren
"Armenian language" in the Armenian alphabet
Pronunciation	[hɑjɛˈɾɛn]
Native to	Armenia
Ethnicity	Armenians
Native speakers	5.3 million (1.6 million for Western Armenian and 3.7 million for Eastern Armenian) (2013–2021)
Language family	Indo-European Armenian
Early forms	Proto-Armenian Classical Armenian Middle Armenian
Standard forms	Eastern Armenian Western Armenian
Dialects	Yerevan Homshetsi Karabakh Karin Mush Kharberd–Yerznka Shabin–Karahisar Kakavaberd Zok
Writing system	Armenian alphabet Armenian Braille
Official status
Official language in	Armenia Artsakh Organisations: Eurasian Economic Union
Recognised minority language in	Cyprus Hungary Iraq Poland Romania Ukraine
Regulated by	Armenian National Academy of Sciences (Armenia) Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (Western Armenian, de facto)
Language codes
ISO 639-1	hy
ISO 639-2	arm (B) hye (T)
ISO 639-3	Variously: hye – Eastern Armenian hyw – Western Armenian xcl – Classical Armenian axm – Middle Armenian
Glottolog	arme1241
Linguasphere	57-AAA-a
The current distribution of the Armenian language in the southern Caucasus
Official language spoken by the majority   Recognized minority language   Significant number of speakers

Armenian (հայերեն (reformed), հայերէն (classical), hayeren, pronounced [hɑjɛˈɾɛn]) is an Indo-European language and the sole member of an independent branch of that language family. It is the native language of the Armenian people and the official language of Armenia and the unrecognized Republic of Artsakh. Historically spoken in the Armenian highlands, today Armenian is widely spoken throughout the Armenian diaspora. Armenian is written in its own writing system, the Armenian alphabet, introduced in 405 AD by the canonized saint Mesrop Mashtots. The estimated number of Armenian speakers worldwide is between five and seven million.

History

Classification and origins

Main article: Proto-Armenian language

See also: Armenian hypothesis

Armenian is an independent branch of the Indo-European languages. It is of interest to linguists for its distinctive phonological changes within that family. Armenian exhibits more satemization than centumization, although it is not classified as belonging to either of these subgroups. Some linguists tentatively conclude that Armenian, Greek (and Phrygian) and Indo-Iranian were dialectally close to each other; within this hypothetical dialect group, Proto-Armenian was situated between Proto-Greek (centum subgroup) and Proto-Indo-Iranian (satem subgroup). Ronald I. Kim has noted unique morphological developments connecting Armenian to Balto-Slavic languages.

The Armenian language has a long literary history, with a 5th-century Bible translation as its oldest surviving text. Its vocabulary has historically been influenced by Western Middle Iranian languages, particularly Parthian; its derivational morphology and syntax were also affected by language contact with Parthian, but to a lesser extent. Contact with Greek, Persian, and Syriac also resulted in a number of loanwords. There are two standardized modern literary forms, Eastern Armenian (spoken mainly in Armenia) and Western Armenian (spoken originally mainly in modern-day Turkey and, since the Armenian genocide, mostly in the diaspora). The differences between them are considerable but they are mutually intelligible after significant exposure. Some subdialects such as Homshetsi are not mutually intelligible with other varieties.

Although Armenians were known to history much earlier (for example, they were mentioned in the 6th-century BC Behistun Inscription and in Xenophon's 4th century BC history, The Anabasis), the oldest surviving Armenian-language writing is etched in stone on Armenian temples and is called Mehenagir. The Armenian alphabet was created by Mesrop Mashtots in 405, at which time it had 36 letters. He is also credited by some with the creation of the Georgian alphabet and the Caucasian Albanian alphabet.

While Armenian constitutes the sole member of the Armenian branch of the Indo-European family, Aram Kossian has suggested that the hypothetical Mushki language may have been a (now extinct) Armenic language.

Early contacts

W. M. Austin (1942) concluded that there was early contact between Armenian and Anatolian languages, based on what he considered common archaisms, such as the lack of a feminine gender and the absence of inherited long vowels. Unlike shared innovations (or synapomorphies), the common retention of archaisms (or symplesiomorphy) is not considered conclusive evidence of a period of common isolated development. There are words used in Armenian that are generally believed to have been borrowed from Anatolian languages, particularly from Luwian, although some researchers have identified possible Hittite loanwords as well. One notable loanword from Anatolian is Armenian xalam, "skull", cognate to Hittite ḫalanta, "head".

In 1985, the Soviet linguist Igor M. Diakonoff noted the presence in Classical Armenian of what he calls a "Caucasian substratum" identified by earlier scholars, consisting of loans from the Kartvelian and Northeast Caucasian languages. Noting that Hurro-Urartian-speaking peoples inhabited the Armenian homeland in the second millennium BC, Diakonoff identifies in Armenian a Hurro-Urartian substratum of social, cultural, and animal and plant terms such as ałaxin "slave girl" ( ← Hurr. al(l)a(e)ḫḫenne), cov "sea" ( ← Urart. ṣûǝ "(inland) sea"), ułt "camel" ( ← Hurr. uḷtu), and xnjor "apple (tree)" ( ← Hurr. ḫinzuri). Some of the terms he gives admittedly have an Akkadian or Sumerian provenance, but he suggests they were borrowed through Hurrian or Urartian. Given that these borrowings do not undergo sound changes characteristic of the development of Armenian from Proto-Indo-European, he dates their borrowing to a time before the written record but after the Proto-Armenian language stage.

Contemporary linguists, such as Hrach Martirosyan, have rejected many of the Hurro-Urartian and Northeast Caucasian origins for these words and instead suggest native Armenian etymologies, leaving the possibility that these words may have been loaned into Hurro-Urartian and Caucasian languages from Armenian, and not vice versa. A notable example is arciv, meaning "eagle", believed to have been the origin of Urartian Arṣibi and Northeast Caucasian arzu. This word is derived from Proto-Indo-European *h₂r̥ǵipyós, with cognates in Sanskrit (ऋजिप्य, ṛjipyá), Avestan (ərəzifiia), and Greek (αἰγίπιος, aigípios). Hrach Martirosyan and Armen Petrosyan propose additional borrowed words of Armenian origin loaned into Urartian and vice versa, including grammatical words and parts of speech, such as Urartian eue ("and"), attested in the earliest Urartian texts and likely a loan from Armenian (compare to Armenian եւ yev, ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *h₁epi). Other loans from Armenian into Urartian includes personal names, toponyms, and names of deities.

Loan words from Iranian languages, along with the other ancient accounts such as that of Xenophon above, initially led linguists to erroneously classify Armenian as an Iranian language. Scholars such as Paul de Lagarde and F. Müller believed that the similarities between the two languages meant that Armenian belonged to the Iranian language family. The distinctness of Armenian was recognized when philologist Heinrich Hübschmann (1875) used the comparative method to distinguish two layers of Iranian words from the older Armenian vocabulary. He showed that Armenian often had two morphemes for one concept, that the non-Iranian components yielded a consistent Proto-Indo-European pattern distinct from Iranian, and that the inflectional morphology was different from that of Iranian languages.

Graeco-Armenian hypothesis

Main article: Graeco-Armenian

The hypothesis that Greek is Armenian's closest living relative originates with Holger Pedersen (1924), who noted that the number of Greek-Armenian lexical cognates is greater than that of agreements between Armenian and any other Indo-European language. Antoine Meillet (1925, 1927) further investigated morphological and phonological agreement and postulated that the parent languages of Greek and Armenian were dialects in immediate geographical proximity during the Proto-Indo-European period. Meillet's hypothesis became popular in the wake of his book Esquisse d'une histoire de la langue latine (1936). Georg Renatus Solta (1960) does not go as far as postulating a Proto-Graeco-Armenian stage, but he concludes that considering both the lexicon and morphology, Greek is clearly the dialect to be most closely related to Armenian. Eric P. Hamp (1976, 91) supports the Graeco-Armenian thesis and even anticipates a time "when we should speak of Helleno-Armenian" (meaning the postulate of a Graeco-Armenian proto-language). Armenian shares the augment and a negator derived from the set phrase in the Proto-Indo-European language *ne h₂oyu kʷid ("never anything" or "always nothing"), the representation of word-initial laryngeals by prothetic vowels, and other phonological and morphological peculiarities with Greek. Nevertheless, as Fortson (2004) comments, "by the time we reach our earliest Armenian records in the 5th century AD, the evidence of any such early kinship has been reduced to a few tantalizing pieces".

Greco-Armeno-Aryan hypothesis

Main article: Graeco-Aryan

Graeco-(Armeno)-Aryan is a hypothetical clade within the Indo-European family, ancestral to the Greek language, the Armenian language, and the Indo-Iranian languages. Graeco-Aryan unity would have become divided into Proto-Greek and Proto-Indo-Iranian by the mid-3rd millennium BC. Conceivably, Proto-Armenian would have been located between Proto-Greek and Proto-Indo-Iranian, consistent with the fact that Armenian shares certain features only with Indo-Iranian (the satem change) but others only with Greek (s > h).

Graeco-Aryan has comparatively wide support among Indo-Europeanists who believe the Indo-European homeland to be located in the Armenian Highlands, the "Armenian hypothesis". Early and strong evidence was given by Euler's 1979 examination on shared features in Greek and Sanskrit nominal flection.

Used in tandem with the Graeco-Armenian hypothesis, the Armenian language would also be included under the label Aryano-Greco-Armenic, splitting into Proto-Greek/Phrygian and "Armeno-Aryan" (ancestor of Armenian and Indo-Iranian).

Evolution

Classical Armenian (Arm: grabar), attested from the 5th century to the 19th century as the literary standard (up to the 11th century also as a spoken language with different varieties), was partially superseded by Middle Armenian, attested from the 12th century to the 18th century. Specialized literature prefers "Old Armenian" for grabar as a whole, and designates as "Classical" the language used in the 5th century literature, "Post-Classical" from the late 5th to 8th centuries, and "Late Grabar" that of the period covering the 8th to 11th centuries. Later, it was used mainly in religious and specialized literature, with the exception of a revival during the early modern period, when attempts were made to establish it as the language of a literary renaissance, with neoclassical inclinations, through the creation and dissemination of literature in varied genres, especially by the Mekhitarists. The first Armenian periodical, Azdarar, was published in grabar in 1794.

The classical form borrowed numerous words from Middle Iranian languages, primarily Parthian, and contains smaller inventories of loanwords from Greek, Syriac, Aramaic, Arabic, Mongol, Persian, and indigenous languages such as Urartian. An effort to modernize the language in Bagratid Armenia and the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia (11–14th centuries) resulted in the addition of two more characters to the alphabet ("օ" and "ֆ"), bringing the total number to 38.

The Book of Lamentations by Gregory of Narek (951–1003) is an example of the development of a literature and writing style of Old Armenian by the 10th century. In addition to elevating the literary style and vocabulary of the Armenian language by adding well above a thousand new words, through his other hymns and poems Gregory paved the way for his successors to include secular themes and vernacular language in their writings. The thematic shift from mainly religious texts to writings with secular outlooks further enhanced and enriched the vocabulary. "A Word of Wisdom", a poem by Hovhannes Sargavak devoted to a starling, legitimizes poetry devoted to nature, love, or female beauty. Gradually, the interests of the population at large were reflected in other literary works as well. Konsdantin Yerzinkatsi and several others took the unusual step of criticizing the ecclesiastic establishment and addressing the social issues of the Armenian homeland. These changes represented the nature of the literary style and syntax, but they did not constitute immense changes to the fundamentals of the grammar or the morphology of the language. Often, when writers codify a spoken dialect, other language users are then encouraged to imitate that structure through the literary device known as parallelism.

In the 19th century, the traditional Armenian homeland was once again divided. This time Eastern Armenia was conquered from Qajar Iran by the Russian Empire, while Western Armenia, containing two thirds of historical Armenia, remained under Ottoman control. The antagonistic relationship between the Russian and Ottoman empires led to creation of two separate and different environments under which Armenians lived. Halfway through the 19th century, two important concentrations of Armenian communities were further consolidated. Because of persecutions or the search for better economic opportunities, many Armenians living under Ottoman rule gradually moved to Istanbul, whereas Tbilisi became the center of Armenians living under Russian rule. These two cosmopolitan cities very soon became the primary poles of Armenian intellectual and cultural life.

The introduction of new literary forms and styles, as well as many new ideas sweeping Europe, reached Armenians living in both regions. This created an ever-growing need to elevate the vernacular, Ashkharhabar, to the dignity of a modern literary language, in contrast to the now-anachronistic Grabar. Numerous dialects existed in the traditional Armenian regions, which, different as they were, had certain morphological and phonetic features in common. On the basis of these features two major standards emerged:

• Western standard: The influx of immigrants from different parts of the traditional Armenian homeland to Istanbul crystallized the common elements of the regional dialects, paving the way for a style of writing that required a shorter and more flexible learning curve than Grabar.
• Eastern standard: The Yerevan dialect provided the primary elements of Eastern Armenian, centered in Tbilisi, Georgia. Similar to the Western Armenian variant, the Modern Eastern was in many ways more practical and accessible to the masses than Grabar.

Both centers vigorously pursued the promotion of Ashkharhabar. The proliferation of newspapers in both versions (Eastern & Western) and the development of a network of schools where modern Armenian was taught, dramatically increased the rate of literacy (in spite of the obstacles by the colonial administrators), even in remote rural areas. The emergence of literary works entirely written in the modern versions increasingly legitimized the language's existence. By the turn of the 20th century both varieties of the one modern Armenian language prevailed over Grabar and opened the path to a new and simplified grammatical structure of the language in the two different cultural spheres. Apart from several morphological, phonetic, and grammatical differences, the largely common vocabulary and generally analogous rules of grammatical fundamentals allows users of one variant to understand the other as long as they are fluent in one of the literary standards.

After World War I, the existence of the two modern versions of the same language was sanctioned even more clearly. The Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic (1920–1990) used Eastern Armenian as its official language, whereas the diaspora created after the Armenian genocide preserved the Western Armenian dialect.

The two modern literary dialects, Western (originally associated with writers in the Ottoman Empire) and Eastern (originally associated with writers in the Russian Empire), removed almost all of their Turkish lexical influences in the 20th century, primarily following the Armenian genocide.

• 
  Armenian manuscript, 5th–6th centuries.
• 
  The Four Gospels, 1495, Portrait of St Mark Wellcome with Armenian inscriptions
• 
  First printed Armenian language Bible, 1666
• 
  Armenian language road sign.

Geographic distribution

In addition to Armenia and Turkey, where it is indigenous, Armenian is spoken among the diaspora. According to Ethnologue, globally there are 1.6 million Western Armenian speakers and 3.7 million Eastern Armenian speakers, totalling 5.3 million Armenian speakers.

Armenian speakers, Ethnologue (26th ed., 2023)

Country	Armenian speakers	Main variety
Armenia	3,000,000	Eastern
Russia	510,000	Eastern
Lebanon	340,000	Western
United States	240,000	Western
Argentina	150,000	Western
Georgia	150,000	Western
Republic of Artsakh /  Azerbaijan	120,000	Eastern
Iran	110,000	Eastern
Turkmenistan	84,000	Western
France	70,000	Western
Iraq	70,000	Western
Turkey	67,000	Western
Uzbekistan	66,000	Western
Syria	60,000	Western
Ukraine	50,000	Western
Brazil	47,000	Western
Canada	45,000	Western
Germany	27,000	Western
Greece	20,000	Western
Kazakhstan	16,000	Western
Spain	12,000	Western
Australia	11,000	Western
Kuwait	11,000	Western
Jordan	10,000	Western

In Georgia, Armenian speakers are concentrated in Ninotsminda and Akhalkalaki districts where they represent over 90% of the population.

Status and usage

The short-lived First Republic of Armenia declared Armenian its official language. Eastern Armenian was then dominating in institutions and among the population. When Armenia was incorporated into the USSR, the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic made Eastern Armenian the language of the courts, government institutions and schools. Armenia was also russified. The current Republic of Armenia upholds the official status of the Armenian language. Eastern Armenian is the official variant used, making it the prestige variety while other variants have been excluded from national institutions. Indeed, Western Armenian is perceived by some as a mere dialect. Armenian is also official in the Republic of Artsakh. It is recognized as an official language of the Eurasian Economic Union although Russian is the working language.

Armenian (without reference to a specific variety) is officially recognized as a minority language in Cyprus, Hungary, Iraq, Poland, Romania, and Ukraine. Western Armenian is the language of the diaspora, it is the medium of instruction in the majority of Armenian-language schools outside Armenia. In particular, in the Samtskhe-Javakheti region of Georgia, although Armenian has no legal status, there were 144 state-funded schools in the area as of 2010 where Armenian is the main language of instruction. The Lebanese curriculum allows Armenian schools to teach the Armenian language as a basic language. In California, home to a large Armenian American community, various state government agencies provide Armenian translations of their documents: the California Department of Social Services, California Department of Motor Vehicles, California superior courts. In the city of Glendale, there are street signs in Armenian.

In Iran, article 15 of the constitution allows the use of "regional and tribal languages" in the mass media as well as within the schools. However, these languages do not receive formal status and are not officially regulated by the authorities. Armenian Iranians are de facto the only non-Persian ethnic group in Iran enjoying this right. They have their own private schools, where Armenian is the medium of instruction.

Phonology

Spoken Eastern Armenian

Proto-Indo-European voiceless stop consonants are aspirated in the Proto-Armenian language, one of the circumstances that is often linked to the glottalic theory, a version of which postulated that some voiceless occlusives of Proto-Indo-European were aspirated.

Stress

In Armenian, the stress falls on the last syllable unless the last syllable contains the definite article [ə] or [n], and the possessive articles ս and դ, in which case it falls on the penultimate one. For instance, [ɑχɔɾˈʒɑk], [mɑʁɑdɑˈnɔs], [ɡiˈni] but [vɑˈhɑɡən] and [ˈdɑʃtə]. Exceptions to this rule are some words with the final letter է (ե in the reformed orthography) (մի՛թէ, մի՛գուցե, ո՛րեւէ) and sometimes the ordinal numerals (վե՛ցերորդ, տա՛սներորդ, etc.), as well as նաեւ, նամանաւանդ, հիմա, այժմ, and a small number of other words.

Vowels

Modern Armenian has six monophthongs. Each vowel phoneme in the table is represented by three symbols. The first is the sounds transcription in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). After that appears the corresponding letter of the Armenian alphabet. The last symbol is its Latin transliteration.

Armenian vowel phonemes

	Front	Central	Back
Close	/i/ ի i		/u/ ու u
Mid	/ɛ/ ե, է e, ē	/ə/ ը ë	/ɔ/ ո, օ o, ō
Open			/ɑ/ ա a

• Western and other dialects may also have /ʏ, œ/.

Consonants

The following table lists the Eastern Armenian consonantal system. The occlusives and affricates have an aspirated series, commonly transcribed with a reversed apostrophe after the letter. Each phoneme in the table is represented by IPA, Armenian script and romanization.

Eastern Armenian consonant phonemes

		Labial	Dental/ Alveolar	Palatal	Velar	Uvular	Glottal
Nasal		/m/ մ – m	/n/ ն – n		(ŋ)
Plosive	voiced	/b/ բ – b	/d/ դ – d		/ɡ/ գ – g
	voiceless	/p/ պ – p	/t/ տ – t		/k/ կ – k
	aspirated	/pʰ/ փ – pʻ	/tʰ/ թ – tʻ		/kʰ/ ք – kʻ
Affricate	voiced		/d͡z/ ձ – j	/d͡ʒ/ ջ – ǰ
	voiceless		/t͡s/ ծ – c	/t͡ʃ/ ճ – č
	aspirated		/t͡sʰ/ ց – cʻ	/t͡ʃʰ/ չ – čʻ
Fricative	voiceless	/f/ ֆ – f	/s/ ս – s	/ʃ/ շ – š	/x ~ χ/ խ – x		/h/ հ – h
	voiced	/v/ վ – v	/z/ զ – z	/ʒ/ ժ – ž	/ɣ ~ ʁ/ ղ – ġ
Approximant		(ʋ)	/l/ լ – l	/j/ յ – y
Trill			/r/ ռ – ṙ
Flap			/ɾ/ ր – r

The major phonetic difference between dialects is in the reflexes of Classical Armenian voice-onset time. The seven dialect types have the following correspondences, illustrated with the t–d series:

Correspondence in initial position

Armenian Letter	Թ	Տ	Դ
Indo-European	*t	*d	*dʰ
Karin, Sebastia	tʰ	d	dʱ
Istanbul		d
Kharberd, Middle Armenian		d	t
Malatya, SWA			tʰ
Classical Armenian, Agulis, SEA, Yerevan		t	d
Van, Artsakh		t

Morphology

Armenian corresponds with other Indo-European languages in its structure, but it shares distinctive sounds and features of its grammar with neighboring languages of the Caucasus region. The Armenian orthography is rich in combinations of consonants, but in pronunciation, this is broken up with schwas. Both classical Armenian and the modern spoken and literary dialects have a complicated system of noun declension, with six or seven noun cases but no gender. In modern Armenian, the use of auxiliary verbs to show tense (comparable to will in "he will go") has generally supplanted the inflected verbs of Classical Armenian. Negative verbs are conjugated differently from positive ones (as in English "he goes" and "he does not go") in many tenses, otherwise adding only the negative չ to the positive conjugation. Grammatically, early forms of Armenian had much in common with classical Greek and Latin, but the modern language, like modern Greek, has undergone many transformations, adding some analytic features.

Noun

Armenian has no grammatical gender, not even in the pronoun, but there is a feminine suffix (-ուհի "-uhi"). For example, ուսուցիչ (usucʻičʻ, "teacher") becomes ուսուցչուհի (usucʻčʻuhi, female teacher). This suffix does not have a grammatical effect on the sentence. The nominal inflection reserves several types of inherited stem classes. Historically, nouns were declined for one of seven cases: nominative (ուղղական uġġakan), accusative (հայցական haycʻakan), locative (ներգոյական nergoyakan), genitive (սեռական seṙakan), dative (տրական trakan), ablative (բացառական bacʻaṙakan), or instrumental (գործիական gorciakan), but in the modern language, the nominative and accusative cases, as well as the dative and genitive cases, have merged.

Examples of noun declension in Eastern Armenian

Հեռախոս Heṙaxos (telephone)

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	հեռախոս(ը/ն)* heṙaxos(ë/n)* հեռախոս(ը/ն)* heṙaxos(ë/n)*	հեռախոսներ(ը/ն)* heṙaxosner(ë/n)* հեռախոսներ(ը/ն)* heṙaxosner(ë/n)*
Dative	հեռախոսի(ն) heṙaxosi(n) հեռախոսի(ն) heṙaxosi(n)	հեռախոսների(ն) heṙaxosneri(n) հեռախոսների(ն) heṙaxosneri(n)
Ablative	հեռախոսից heṙaxosicʻ հեռախոսից heṙaxosicʻ	հեռախոսներից heṙaxosnericʻ հեռախոսներից heṙaxosnericʻ
Instrumental	հեռախոսով heṙaxosov հեռախոսով heṙaxosov	հեռախոսներով heṙaxosnerov հեռախոսներով heṙaxosnerov
Locative	հեռախոսում heṙaxosum հեռախոսում heṙaxosum	հեռախոսներում heṙaxosnerum հեռախոսներում heṙaxosnerum

Մայր Mayr (mother)

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	մայր(ը/ն)* mayr(ë/n)* մայր(ը/ն)* mayr(ë/n)*	մայրեր(ը/ն)* mayrer(ë/n)* մայրեր(ը/ն)* mayrer(ë/n)*
Dative	մոր(ը/ն)* mor(ë/n)* մոր(ը/ն)* mor(ë/n)*	մայրերի(ն) mayreri(n) մայրերի(ն) mayreri(n)
Ablative	մորից moricʻ մորից moricʻ	մայրերից mayrericʻ մայրերից mayrericʻ
Instrumental	մորով morov մորով morov	մայրերով mayrerov մայրերով mayrerov

Which case the direct object takes is split based on animacy (a phenomenon more generally known as differential object marking). Inanimate nouns take the nominative, while animate nouns take the dative. Additionally, animate nouns can never take the locative case.

Հանրապետություն Hanrapetut'yun (republic)

Case	Singular	Plural
Nominative	հանրապետություն(ը/ն)* hanrapetutʻyun(ë/n)* հանրապետություն(ը/ն)* hanrapetutʻyun(ë/n)*	հանրապետություններ(ը/ն)* hanrapetutʻyunner(ë/n)* հանրապետություններ(ը/ն)* hanrapetutʻyunner(ë/n)*
Dative	հանրապետության(ը/ն)* hanrapetutʻyan(ë/n)* հանրապետության(ը/ն)* hanrapetutʻyan(ë/n)*	հանրապետությունների(ն) hanrapetutʻyunneri(n) հանրապետությունների(ն) hanrapetutʻyunneri(n)
Ablative	հանրապետությունից hanrapetutʻyunicʻ հանրապետությունից hanrapetutʻyunicʻ	հանրապետություններից hanrapetut'yunnericʻ հանրապետություններից hanrapetut'yunnericʻ
Instrumental	հանրապետությամբ hanrapetutʻyamb հանրապետությամբ hanrapetutʻyamb	հանրապետություններով hanrapetutʻyunnerov հանրապետություններով hanrapetutʻyunnerov
Locative	հանրապետությունում hanrapetut'yunum հանրապետությունում hanrapetut'yunum	հանրապետություններում hanrapetut'yunnerum հանրապետություններում hanrapetut'yunnerum

Examples of noun declension in Western Armenian

	դաշտ tašd (field)		կով gov (cow)
	singular	plural	singular	plural
Nom-Acc (Ուղղական-Հայցական)	դաշտ tašd դաշտ tašd	դաշտեր tašder դաշտեր tašder	կով gov կով gov	կովեր gover կովեր gover
Gen-Dat (Սեռական-Տրական)	դաշտի tašdi դաշտի tašdi	դաշտերու tašderu դաշտերու tašderu	կովու govu կովու govu	կովերու goveru կովերու goveru
Abl (Բացառական)	դաշտէ tašdē դաշտէ tašdē	դաշտերէ tašderē դաշտերէ tašderē	կովէ govē կովէ govē	կովերէ goverē կովերէ goverē
Instr (Գործիական)	դաշտով tašdov դաշտով tašdov	դաշտերով tašderov դաշտերով tašderov	կովով govov կովով govov	կովերով goverov կովերով goverov

	գարուն karun (spring)		օր ōr (day)		Քոյր koyr (sister)
	singular	plural	singular	plural	singular	plural
Nom-Acc (Ուղղական-Հայցական)	գարուն karun գարուն karun	գարուններ karunner գարուններ karunner	օր ōr օր ōr	օրեր ōrer օրեր ōrer	քոյր koyr քոյր koyr	քոյրեր koyrer քոյրեր koyrer
Gen-Dat (Սեռական-Տրական)	գարնան karnan գարնան karnan	գարուններու karunneru գարուններու karunneru	օրուայ ōruay օրուայ ōruay	օրերու ōreru օրերու ōreru	քրոջ kroč քրոջ kroč	քոյրերու koyreru քոյրերու koyreru
Abl (Բացառական)	գարունէ karunē գարունէ karunē	գարուններէ karunnerē գարուններէ karunnerē	օրուընէ ōruënē օրուընէ ōruënē	օրերէ ōrerē օրերէ ōrerē	քրոջմէ kročmē քրոջմէ kročmē	քոյրերէ koyrerē քոյրերէ koyrerē
Instr (Գործիական)	գարունով karunov գարունով karunov	գարուններով karunnerov գարուններով karunnerov	օրով ōrov օրով ōrov	օրերով ōrerov օրերով ōrerov	քրոջմով kročmov քրոջմով kročmov	քոյրերով kuyrerov քոյրերով kuyrerov

	հայր / hayr (father)		Աստուած / Asdvaj (God)		գիտութիւն / kidutiwn (science)
	singular	plural	singular	plural	singular	plural
Nom-Acc (Ուղղական-Հայցական)	հայր hayr հայր hayr	հայրեր hayrer հայրեր hayrer	Աստուած Asdvaj Աստուած Asdvaj	աստուածներ asdvajner աստուածներ asdvajner	գիտութիւն kidutiwn գիտութիւն kidutiwn	գիտութիւններ kidutiwnner գիտութիւններ kidutiwnner
Gen-Dat (Սեռական-Տրական)	հօր hōr հօր hōr	հայրերու hayreru հայրերու hayreru	Աստուծոյ Asdujoy Աստուծոյ Asdujoy	աստուածներու asdvajneru աստուածներու asdvajneru	գիտութեան kidutean գիտութեան kidutean	գիտութիւններու kidutiunneru / / գիտութեանց kiduteancʻ գիտութիւններու / գիտութեանց kidutiunneru / kiduteancʻ
Abl (Բացառական)	հօրմէ hōrmē հօրմէ hōrmē	հայրերէ hayrerē հայրերէ hayrerē	Աստուծմէ Asdujmē Աստուծմէ Asdujmē	աստուածներէ asdvajnerē աստուածներէ asdvajnerē	գիտութենէ kidutenē գիտութենէ kidutenē	գիտութիւններէ kidutiwnnerē գիտութիւններէ kidutiwnnerē
Instr (Գործիական)	հօրմով hōrmov հօրմով hōrmov	հայրերով hayrerov հայրերով hayrerov	Աստուծմով Asdujmov Աստուծմով Asdujmov	աստուածներով asdvajnerov աստուածներով asdvajnerov	գիտութեամբ kiduteamp / / գիտութիւնով kidutiwnov գիտութեամբ / գիտութիւնով kiduteamp / kidutiwnov	գիտութիւններով kidutiwnnerov գիտութիւններով kidutiwnnerov

Verb

Main article: Armenian verbs

Verbs in Armenian have an expansive system of conjugation with two main verb types in Eastern Armenian and three in Western Armenian changing form based on tense, mood and aspect.

Dialects

Main article: Armenian dialects

Map of the Armenian dialects in early 20th century:

  -owm dialects, nearly corresponding to Eastern Armenian

  -el dialects (intermediate)

  -gë dialects, nearly corresponding to Western Armenian

Armenian is a pluricentric language, having two modern standardized forms: Eastern Armenian and Western Armenian. The most distinctive feature of Western Armenian is that it has undergone several phonetic mergers; these may be due to proximity to Arabic- and Turkish-speaking communities.

Classical Armenian (Grabar), which remained the standard until the 18th century, was quite homogeneous across the different regions that works in it were written; it may have been a cross-regional standard. The Middle Armenian variety used in the court of Cilician Armenia (1080–1375) provides a window into the development of Western Armenian, which came to be based on what became the dialect of Istanbul, while the standard for Eastern Armenian was based on the dialect around Mount Ararat and Yerevan. Although the Armenian language is often divided into "east" and "west", the two standards are actually relatively close to each other in light of wealth of the diversity present among regional non-standard Armenian dialects. The different dialects have experienced different degrees of language contact effects, often with Turkic and Caucasian languages; for some, the result has been significant phonological and syntactic changes. Fortson notes that the modern standard as well has now attained a subordinate clausal structure that greatly resembles a Turkic language.

Eastern Armenian speakers pronounce (թ) as [tʰ], (դ) as [d], and (տ) as a tenuis occlusive [t˭]. Western Armenian has simplified the occlusive system into a simple division between voiced occlusives and aspirated ones; the first series corresponds to the tenuis series of Eastern Armenian, and the second corresponds to the Eastern voiced and aspirated series. Thus, the Western dialect pronounces both (թ) and (դ) as [tʰ], and the (տ) letter as [d].

There is no precise linguistic border between one dialect and another because there is nearly always a dialect transition zone of some size between pairs of geographically identified dialects.

Armenian can be divided into two major dialectal blocks and those blocks into individual dialects, though many of the Western Armenian dialects have become extinct due to the effects of the Armenian genocide. In addition, neither dialect is completely homogeneous: any dialect can be subdivided into several subdialects. Although Western and Eastern Armenian are often described as different dialects of the same language, many subdialects are not readily mutually intelligible. Nevertheless, a fluent speaker of one of two greatly varying dialects who is also literate in one of the standards, when exposed to the other dialect for a period of time will be able to understand the other with relative ease.

Distinct Western Armenian varieties currently in use include Homshetsi, spoken by the Hemshin peoples; the dialects of Armenians of Kessab (Քեսապի բարբառ), Latakia and Jisr al-Shughur (Syria), Anjar, Lebanon, and Vakıflı, Samandağ (Turkey), part of the "Sueidia" dialect (Սուէտիայի բարբառ).

Forms of the Karin dialect of Western Armenian are spoken by several hundred thousand people in Northern Armenia, mostly in Gyumri, Artik, Akhuryan, and around 130 villages in Shirak Province, and by Armenians in Samtskhe–Javakheti province of Georgia (Akhalkalaki, Akhaltsikhe).

Nakhichevan-on-Don Armenians speak another Western Armenian variety based on the dialect of Armenians in Crimea, where they came from in order to establish the town and surrounding villages in 1779 (Նոր Նախիջևանի բարբառ).

Western Armenian dialects are currently spoken also in Gavar (formerly Nor Bayazet and Kamo, on the western shore of Lake Sevan), Aparan, and Talin in Armenia (Mush dialect), and by the large Armenian population residing in Abkhazia, where they are considered to be the first or second ethnic minority, or even equal in number to the local Abkhaz population

Examples

English	Eastern Armenian	Western Armenian
Yes	Ayo (Այո)	Ayo (Այո)
No	Vočʻ (Ոչ)	Voč (Ոչ)
I see you	Yes kʻez tesnum em (Ես քեզ տեսնում եմ)	Yes kez(i) gë desnem (Ես քեզ(ի) կը տեսնեմ)
Hello	Barev (Բարեւ)	Parev (Բարեւ)
I'm going	Gnum em (Գնում եմ)	G'ertam (gor) (Կ՚երթամ (կոր))
Come!	Ari! (Արի՛)	Yegur! (Եկո՛ւր)
I will eat	Utelu em (Ուտելու եմ)	Bidi udem (Պիտի ուտեմ)
I must do	Piti/petkʻ ē anem (Պիտի/պետք է անեմ)	Bēdk ē ënem (Պէտք է ընեմ)
I was going to eat	Utelu ēi (Ուտելու էի)	Bidi udēi (Պիտի ուտէի)
Is this yours?	Sa kʻonn ē? (Սա քո՞նն է)	Asiga kugt ē? (Ասիկա քո՞ւկդ է)
His grandma	Nra tatikë (Նրա տատիկը)	Anor nēnēn / mej maman (Անոր նէնէն / մեծ մաման)
Look at that one!	Dran nayir (Դրան նայիր)	Ador nayē / Anor nayē (Ատոր նայէ / Անոր նայէ)
Have you brought these?	Du es berel srankʻ? (Դո՞ւ ես բերել սրանք)	Asonk tun peraj es? (Ասոնք դո՞ւն բերած ես)
How are you? I'm fine.	Inčʻpes es? / Voncʻ es? Lav em (Ինչպե՞ս ես։ / Ո՞նց ես։ Լավ եմ։)	Inčbēs es? Lav em (Ինչպէ՞ս ես։ Լաւ եմ։)
Did you say it? Say it!	Du asacʻir (asecʻir)? Asa! (Դո՞ւ ասացիր (ասեցիր): Ասա՛։)	Tun ësir? Ësē! (Դո՞ւն ըսիր։ Ըսէ՛։)
Have you taken it from us?	Mezanicʻ es vercʻrel? (Մեզանի՞ց ես վերցրել)	Mezmē araj es? (Մեզմէ՞ առած ես)
Good morning	Bari luys (Բարի լույս)	Pari luys (Բարի լոյս)
Good evening	Bari yereko (Բարի երեկո)	Pari irigun / Parirgun (Բարի իրիկուն / Բարիրկուն)
Good night	Bari gišer (Բարի գիշեր)	Kišer pari (Գիշեր բարի)
You love me	Sirum es inj (Սիրում ես ինձ)	Inji gë sires (Ինծի կը սիրես)
I am Armenian	Yes hay em (Ես հայ եմ)	Yes hay em (Ես հայ եմ)
I missed you	Karotel em kʻez (Կարոտել եմ քեզ)	Garōdcay kezi (Կարօտցայ քեզի)

Orthography

Main articles: Armenian alphabet and Armenian Braille

Armenian keyboard layout using the Armenian alphabet.

The Armenian alphabet (Armenian: Հայոց գրեր, romanized: Hayots grer or Armenian: Հայոց այբուբեն, romanized: Hayots aybuben) is a graphically unique alphabetical writing system that is used to write the Armenian language. It was introduced around AD 405 by Mesrop Mashtots, an Armenian linguist and ecclesiastical leader, and originally contained 36 letters. Two more letters, օ (ō) and ֆ (f), were added in the Middle Ages.

During the 1920s orthography reform in Soviet Armenia, a new letter և (capital ԵՎ) was added, which was a ligature before ե+ւ, whereas the letter Ւ ւ was discarded and reintroduced as part of a new letter ՈՒ ու (which was a digraph before). This alphabet and associated orthography is used by most Armenian speakers of Armenia and the countries of the former Soviet Union. Neither the alphabet nor the orthography has been adopted by Diaspora Armenians, including Eastern Armenian speakers of Iran and all Western Armenian speakers, who keep using the traditional alphabet and spelling.

Vocabulary

Indo-European cognates

Armenian is an Indo-European language, so many of its Proto-Indo-European-descended words are cognates of words in other Indo-European languages such as English, Latin, Greek, and Sanskrit.

Due to extensive loaning, only around 1,500 words (G. Jahukyan) are known to have been inherited from Indo-European by the Classical Armenian stage; the rest were lost, a fact that presents a major challenge to endeavors to better understand Proto-Armenian and its place within the family, especially as many of the sound changes along the way from Indo-European to Armenian remain quite difficult to analyze.

This table lists some of the more recognizable cognates that Armenian shares with English words descended from Old English.

Armenian	English	Latin	Classical and Hellenistic Greek	Persian	Sanskrit	Russian	Old Irish	PIE
մայր mayr "mother"	mother ( ← OE mōdor)	māter	μήτηρ mētēr	مادر mâdar	मातृ matṛ	мать mat'	máthair	*méh₂tēr "mother"
հայր hayr "father"	father ( ← OE fæder)	pater	πατήρ patēr	پدر pedar	पितृ pitṛ		athair	*ph₂tḗr "father"
եղբայր eġbayr "brother"	brother ( ← OE brōþor)	frāter	φράτηρ phrātēr "brother-in-arms, comrade"	برادر barâdar	भ्रातृ bhrātṛ	брат brat	bráthair	*bʰréh₂tēr "brother"
դուստր dustr "daughter"	daughter ( ← OE dohtor)	(Oscan futrei)	θυγάτηρ thugátēr	دختر doxtar	दुहितृ duhitṛ	дочь doč'	der, Dar- "daughter (of)"	*dʰugh₂tḗr "daughter"
կին kin "woman, wife"	queen ( ← OE cwēn "queen, woman, wife")		γυνή gunē	زن zan	ग्ना gnā/ जनि jani	жена žena "wife"	ben "woman"	*gʷḗn "woman, wife"
իմ im "my, mine"	my, mine ( ← OE min)	me-us, -a, -um etc.	ἐμ-ός, -ή, -όν em-ós, -ē, -ón etc.	من، ـم man,-am	मम mama	мой moy	mo "my, me"	*h₁me- "my, mine"
անուն anun "name"	name ( ← OE nama)	nōmen	ὄνομα ónoma	نام nâm	नामन् nāman	имя im'a	ainm	*h₃nom-n̥- "name"
յոթ yotʻ ( ← եաւթն "eawtʻn") "seven"	seven ( ← OE seofon)	septem	ἑπτά heptá	هفت haft	सप्तन् saptán	семь sem'	secht	*septḿ̥ "seven"
ութ utʻ "eight"	eight ( ← OE eahta)	octō	ὀκτώ óktō	هشت hašt	अष्ट aṣṭa	во́семь vosem'	ocht	*oḱtṓw "eight"
ինն inn "nine"	nine ( ← OE nigon)	novem	ἐννέα ennéa	نه noh	नवन् navan	де́вять dev'at'	noí	*h₁néwn̥ "nine"
տասը tas (<տասն "tasn") "ten"	ten ( ← OE tien) ( ← P.Gmc. *tehun)	decem	δέκα déka	ده dah	दश daśa	де́сять des'at'	deich	*déḱm̥ "ten"
աչք ačʻkʻ "eye"	eye ( ← OE ēge)	oculus	ὀφθαλμός ophthalmós		अक्षि akṣi	око oko (archaic)		*H₃okʷ- "to see"
արմունկ armunk (<*h₂(e)rH-mo-+ -ուկն) "elbow"	arm ( ← OE earm "joined body parts below shoulder")	armus "shoulder"	ἁρμός harmós "a joint"	ارم arm "arm"	ईर्म īrma "arm"	рамя ram'a "shoulder" (archaic)		*h₂er- "fit, join (that which is fitted together)"
ծունկ cunk "knee"	knee ( ← OE cnēo)	genū	γόνυ gónu	زانو zânu	जानु jānu		glún	*ǵénu- "knee"
ոտք otkʻ "foot, leg"	foot ( ← OE fōt)	pēs, pedis	πούς, πόδος poús, pódos	پا، پای pâ, pây "foot"	पाद् pād "foot"		(Gaul. ades "feet")	*pod-, *ped- "foot, leg"
սիրտ sirt "heart"	heart ( ← OE heorte)	cor, cordis	καρδία kardía	دل del	हृदय hṛdaya	се́рдце serdce	cride	*ḱerd- "heart"
մուկ muk "mouse"	mouse ( ← OE mūs)	mūs, mūris	μῦς mûs "mouse, muscle"	موش muš	मूष् mūṣ	мышь myš'		*múh₂s "mouse, muscle"
կով kov "cow"	cow ( ← OE cū)	bōs, bovis	βοῦς boûs	گاو gâv	गो go	говядина gov'adina "beef"	bó	*gʷṓws "cow"
շուն šun "dog"	hound ( ← OE hund "hound, dog")	canis	κύων kúōn	سگ sag	श्वन् śvan	сука suka "bitch"	cú	*ḱwṓ "hound, dog"
ամիս amis "month"	moon, month ( ← OE mōnaþ)	mēnsis	μήν mēn "moon, month"	ماه mâh "moon, month"	मास māsa "moon, month"	месяц mes'ac	mí	*meH₁ns- "moon, month"
ամառ amaṙ ( ← Proto-Armenian *sm̥h₂er-m̥ <*s(e)m-eh₂-) "summer"	summer ( ← OE sumor)			هامین hâmin (archaic)	समा samā "season"		sam "summer"	*semh₂- "summer, hot season"
ջերմ ǰerm "warm"	warm ( ← OE wearm)	formus	θερμός thérmos	گرم garm	घर्म gharma "heat"	жарко žarko "hot"	geirid "warm (v)"	*gʷʰerm- "warm"
լույս luys "light"	light ( ← OE lēoht "brightness")	lūx	λευκός leukós "bright, shining, white"	روز ruz "day"	रोक roka	луч luč' "beam"	lóch "bright"	*leuk- "light, brightness"
հուր hur "flame"	fire ( ← OE fȳr)	(Umbrian pir "fire")	πῦρ pûr "fire"					*péh₂wr̥ "fire"
հեռու heṙu "far"	far ( ← OE feor "to a great distance")	per "through"	πέρα péra "beyond"	فرا farâ "forward"	परस् paras "beyond"	пере- pere- "through", про- pro- "forth"	íre "further"	*per- "through, across, beyond"
լվանալ lvanal "to wash"	flow ( ← OE flōwan)	pluĕre "to rain"	πλύνω plúnō "I wash"		प्लु plu "to float, swim"	плавать plavat' "swim"	luí "rudder"	*pleu- "to flow, float, wash"
ուտել utel "to eat"	eat ( ← OE etan)	edō	ἔδω édō		अद्मि admi	есть jest'	ithid	*h₁ed- "to eat"
գիտեմ gitem "I know"	wit ( ← OE wit, witan "intelligence, to know")	vidēre "to see"	οἶδα oîda	ویده vida "knowledge"	विद् vid	видеть videt' "see, understand"	adfet "tells"	*weyd- "to see"
գետ get "river"	water ( ← OE wæter)	(Umbrian utur "water")	ὕδωρ húdōr "water"		उदन् udan "water"	вода voda "water"	uisce "water"	(*wodor, *wedor, *uder-) from *wed- "water"
գործ gorc "work"	work ( ← OE weorc)		ἔργον érgon	ورز varz				*werǵ- "to work"
մեծ mec "big, great"	much ( ← OE mycel "great, big, many")	magnus	μέγας mégas	مه، مهست meh, mahest	मह maha	много mnogo "many"	maige "great, mighty"	*meǵ- "great"
ճանաչել čanačʻel ( ← *ծանաչել canačʻel) "to recognize"	know ( ← OE cnawan)	nōscere "to learn, recognize"	γιγνώσκω gignōskō "I know"	شناختن šenâxtan "to know"	जानाति jānāti "to know"	знать znat' "to know"	ad·gnin "to know"	*ǵneH₃- "to know"
մեռնել meṙnel "to die"	murder ( ← OE morþor)	morī	βροτός brotós "mortal"	مردن mordan "death"	मरति marati	мереть meret'	marb "dead"	*mer- "to die"
միջին miǰin "middle"	mid, middle ( ← OE mid, middel)	medius	μέσος mésos	میان miyân	मध्य madhya	меж mež "between"	mide	*médʰyos from *me- "mid, middle"
այլ ayl "other"	else ( ← OE elles "other, otherwise, different")	alius	ἄλλος állos				aile "other"	*h₂élyos "other"
նոր nor "new"	new ( ← OE nīwe)	novus	νέος néos	نو now	नव nava	новый novyj	núae	*néwo- "new"
դուռ duṙ "door"	door ( ← OE dor, duru)	foris	θύρα thúrā	در dar	द्वार dvāra	дверь dver'	dorus	*dʰwer- "door, doorway, gate"
տուն tun "house"	timber ( ← OE timber "trees used for building material, structure")	domus	δόμος domos		दम dama	дом dom		*domo-, *domu- "house"
բերել berel "to bring"	bear ( ← OE beran "give birth, carry")	ferre "to carry"	φέρω phérō	بردن، برـ bordan, bar- "to carry"	भरति bharati "to carry"	брать brat' "to take"	beirid "carry"	*bʱer- "to carry"

See also

• Armenian PowerSpell, electronic text corrector
• Armenian Sign Language
• Auguste Carrière
• Languages of Armenia
• Language families and languages
• List of Indo-European languages
• Classical Armenian orthography

References

• Dum-Tragut, Jasmine (2009), Armenian: Modern Eastern Armenian, Amsterdam: John Benjamins Publishing Company
• Fortson, Benjamin W. (2004), Indo-European Language and Culture, Oxford: Blackwell Publishing
• Hübschmann, Heinrich (1875), "Über die Stellung des armenischen im Kreise der indogermanischen Sprachen", Zeitschrift für Vergleichende Sprachforschung, 23: 5–42, archived from the original on 2005-12-21
• Livshits, Vladimir (2006). "Armeno-Partho-Sogdica". Iran & the Caucasus. 10 (1): 77–86. doi:10.1163/157338406777979412.
• Price, G. (1998), Encyclopedia of European languages, Oxford University Press

Further reading

• Adjarian, Hrachya H. (1909) Classification des dialectes arméniens, par H. Adjarian. Paris: Honoré Champion.
• Clackson, James. 1994. The Linguistic Relationship Between Armenian and Greek. London: Publications of the Philological Society, No 30. (and Oxford: Blackwell Publishing)
• Holst, Jan Henrik (2009) Armenische Studien. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz.
• Mallory, J. P. (1989) In Search of the Indo-Europeans: Language, Archaeology and Myth. London: Thames & Hudson.
• Martirosyan, Hrach (2013). "The place of Armenian in the Indo-European language family: the relationship with Greek and Indo-Iranian". Journal of Language Relationship. 10 (1): 85–138. doi:10.31826/jlr-2013-100107. S2CID 212688448.
• Vaux, Bert. 1998. The Phonology of Armenian. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
• Vaux, Bert. 2002. "The Armenian dialect of Jerusalem". In Armenians in the Holy Land. Louvain: Peters.

External links

• Armenian Lessons (Archived 2016-02-16 at the Wayback Machine) (free online through the Linguistics Research Center at UT Austin)
• Armenian Swadesh list of basic vocabulary words (from Wiktionary's Swadesh list appendix)
• ARMENIA AND IRAN iv. History, discussion, and the presentation of Iranian influences in Armenian Language over the millennia
• Nayiri.com (Library of Armenian dictionaries)
• dictionaries.arnet.am Collection of Armenian XDXF and Stardict dictionaries
• Grabar (Brief introduction to Classical Armenian also known as Grabar)
• բառարան.հայ – Armenian dictionary