Spelling reform of the Armenian language 1922-1924
Encyclopedia
The spelling reform of the Armenian language 1922–1924 was a spelling reform of the Armenian alphabet
conducted in the Armenian SSR. Although it is barely practiced outside of Armenia
and the Post-Soviet states
because it was not adopted by Armenians
in the diaspora
, about half of the Armenian population in the world, it is the spelling of the current official language
of the Republic of Armenia. The Armenian language
has two contemporary equally popular literary branches, the Eastern Armenian and the Western Armenian, and one archaic literary form called the Grabar
. The two contemporary literary branches of the Armenian language have distinctive but not essential spelling and grammar differences and a more distinctive difference of language stylistics
and lexicology
, which do not contribute as significantly to language incomprehension.
Armenian alphabet
The Armenian alphabet is an alphabet that has been used to write the Armenian language since the year 405 or 406. It was devised by Saint Mesrop Mashtots, an Armenian linguist and ecclesiastical leader, and contained originally 36 letters. Two more letters, օ and ֆ, were added in the Middle Ages...
conducted in the Armenian SSR. Although it is barely practiced outside of Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
and the Post-Soviet states
Post-Soviet states
The post-Soviet states, also commonly known as the Former Soviet Union or former Soviet republics, are the 15 independent states that split off from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in its dissolution in December 1991...
because it was not adopted by Armenians
Armenians
Armenian people or Armenians are a nation and ethnic group native to the Armenian Highland.The largest concentration is in Armenia having a nearly-homogeneous population with 97.9% or 3,145,354 being ethnic Armenian....
in the diaspora
Armenian diaspora
The Armenian diaspora refers to the Armenian communities outside the Republic of Armenia and self proclaimed de facto independent Nagorno-Karabakh Republic...
, about half of the Armenian population in the world, it is the spelling of the current official language
Official language
An official language is a language that is given a special legal status in a particular country, state, or other jurisdiction. Typically a nation's official language will be the one used in that nation's courts, parliament and administration. However, official status can also be used to give a...
of the Republic of Armenia. The Armenian language
Armenian language
The Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora...
has two contemporary equally popular literary branches, the Eastern Armenian and the Western Armenian, and one archaic literary form called the Grabar
Grabar
Classical Armenian is the oldest attested form of the Armenian language. It was first written down at the beginning of the 5th century, and all Armenian literature from then through the 18th century is in the Grabar Armenian language. Many ancient Greek, Persian, Hebrew, Syriac, and Latin...
. The two contemporary literary branches of the Armenian language have distinctive but not essential spelling and grammar differences and a more distinctive difference of language stylistics
Stylistics
Stylistics might apply to:* The Stylistics, a Philadelphia soul group* Stylistics , the study of language and its context...
and lexicology
Lexicology
Lexicology is the part of linguistics which studies words, their nature and meaning, words' elements, relations between words , word groups and the whole lexicon....
, which do not contribute as significantly to language incomprehension.
History
| Examples | |
|---|---|
| Classical Spelling | Soviet Union Soviet Union The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991.... was the rise in the overall population's literacy which began in the early 1920s and, most probably, this urgent need was one of the reasons for reforming Armenian spelling. This and a variety of other educational reforms resulted in almost 90% literacy throughout the country by the early 1950s. Although the orthography Orthography The orthography of a language specifies a standardized way of using a specific writing system to write the language. Where more than one writing system is used for a language, for example Kurdish, Uyghur, Serbian or Inuktitut, there can be more than one orthography... of the Armenian language was changed by this reform, it is hardly plausible to assess this change as a simplification. In fact, some other nations of the former USSR changed their entire scripts from Arabic (Central Asian Central Asia Central Asia is a core region of the Asian continent from the Caspian Sea in the west, China in the east, Afghanistan in the south, and Russia in the north... nations) and Latin Latin alphabet The Latin alphabet, also called the Roman alphabet, is the most recognized alphabet used in the world today. It evolved from a western variety of the Greek alphabet called the Cumaean alphabet, which was adopted and modified by the Etruscans who ruled early Rome... (Moldova Moldova Moldova , officially the Republic of Moldova is a landlocked state in Eastern Europe, located between Romania to the West and Ukraine to the North, East and South. It declared itself an independent state with the same boundaries as the preceding Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic in 1991, as part... ) to Cyrillic. However, it was a rather progressive step in the spirit of these historical developments in that it did not hinder the ability of all of the former Soviet nations to develop literature, education, research and science. These changes in the official Armenian language Armenian language The Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora... have helped Armenia to develop a progressive system of education and to flourish in literature and sciences as well. The original orthography is known today in the Republic of Armenia as the archaic classical orthography, and also with pride referred to as Mashdotsian orthography (Armenian Armenian language The Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora... : Դասական ուղղագրութիւն Dasakan uġġagrut'yun) (named after Saint Mesrob Mashdots Saint Mesrob Saint Mesrop Mashtots was an Armenian monk, theologian and linguist. He is best known for having invented the Armenian alphabet, which was a fundamental step in strengthening the Armenian Church, the government of the Armenian Kingdom, and ultimately the bond between the Armenian Kingdom and... , who is known to be the inventor of the Armenian alphabet in the 440s (5th century); and the reformed spelling is known as the Contemporary Official Orthography (Armenian Armenian language The Armenian language is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora... : Հայաստանյան ուղղագրություն Hayastanyan uġġagrut'yun). Social and political issuesSince the establishment of the third Republic of Armenia in 1991, there has been a fringe movement in some Armenian academic circles to reinstate the Classical spelling as official policy in Armenia. Some members of the Armenian church in Armenia also support the use of the Classical spelling. However, neither the official circles nor general population or pedagogical and scientific communities in Armenia see either the expediency or the rationale of turning back an almost hundred year old reform and restituting the old orthographic rulesRegulations of Reformed SpellingIn the cases where pronunciation has changed in the course of time, one should, today, write as one would speak. This issue concerns the letter pairs յ/հ, ու/վ and diphthongDiphthong A diphthong , also known as a gliding vowel, refers to two adjacent vowel sounds occurring within the same syllable. Technically, a diphthong is a vowel with two different targets: That is, the tongue moves during the pronunciation of the vowel... s ոյ/ույ, եա/յա, եօ/յո, իւ/յու. In the following, more complex changes are made:
See also
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