Western Armenian language
Encyclopedia
Western Armenian is one of the two standardized
forms of modern Armenian
, the other being Eastern Armenian. The two standard forms form a pluricentric language
. For historical reasons explained below, generally speaking, Western Armenian is used outside the Republic of Armenia, while Eastern Armenian is used both inside and outside of it. While the Republic of Armenia does not legally distinguish between the two forms in declaring "Armenian" to be its official language, its de facto official language is Eastern Armenian, as all spheres of life in the country (including government, education, and the media) use that form almost exclusively.
Western Armenian was developed and cultivated by the Armenians indigenous to Anatolia (today in Turkey). Following the Armenian Genocide
in the early 20th century, and the expulsion of almost all the Armenians from Anatolia, Western Armenian was deprived of the land on which it was indigenously spoken. For the last 100 years, Western Armenian has been relegated to a language spoken only in diaspora—namely, by the Armenians who managed to survive the Armenian Genocide and migrated to various countries in the Middle East, Europe, North America, South America, and Oceania. As a diasporic language, and as a language that is not an official language of any state, Western Armenian faces extinction as its native speakers lose fluency in Western Armenian amid pressures to assimilate into their host countries. Recent estimates place the number of fluent speakers of Western Armenian at less than one million. Many Armenians view this result—the possible extinction of the Western Armenian dialect—as the last stage of the Armenian Genocide.
code hy. The ISO 639-3
code for both is hye. The Armenian wikipedia is coded hy and is largely Eastern Armenian. Some commercial translation agencies advise that translation from English should normally be into Eastern Armenian.
spoken by the Armenian diaspora
, mainly in North America
and South America
, Europe
and most of the Middle East
except for Iran
. It is spoken by only a small percentage of Armenians in Turkey
, with 18 percent among the community in general and 8 percent among younger people.
On February 21, 2009 International Mother Language Day
has been marked with the publication of a new edition of the "Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger" by UNESCO
where the Western Armenian language in Turkey is defined as a definitely endangered language
.
sounds.
(IPA), followed by the corresponding Armenian letter in parentheses.
and affricates
.
First, while Classical Armenian
has a three-way distinction of stops and affricates: one voiced and two voiceless — a plain version and an aspirated
one — Western Armenian has kept only a two-way distinction — one voiced and one aspirated. For example, Classical has three bilabial stops: /b/ (<բ>), /p/ (<պ>), and /pʰ/ (<փ>); Western Armenian, has two bilabial stops: /b/ (<պ>) and /pʰ/ (<բ> or <փ>).
Second, Western Armenian has shifted the Classical Armenian voiced stops and voiced affricates into aspirated stops and aspirated affricates, and replaced the plain stops and plain affricates with voiced ones.
Specifically, the following are the changes from Classical Armenian to Western Armenian:
As a result, a word like [dʒuɹ] (spelled ջուր in Classical Armenian, 'water') is cognate with Western Armenian [tʃʰuɹ] (also spelled ջուր). However, [tʰoɹ] ('grandson') and [kʰaɹ] ('stone') are pronounced identically in Classical and Western Armenian.
and affricates
(as in the difference with Classical Armenian).
First, Eastern Armenian is notable for retaining plain stops and plain affricates of Classical Armenian. Therefore, while Eastern Armenian has a three-way distinction of stops and affricates: one voiced and two voiceless — a plain version and an aspirated
one — Western Armenian has only a two-way distinction — one voiced and one aspirated. For example, Eastern Armenian has three bilabial stops: [b] (<բ>), [p] (<պ>), and [pʰ] (<փ>); Western Armenian, has two bilabial stops: [b] (<պ>) and [pʰ] (<բ> or <փ>).
Second, Western Armenian has shifted the Classical Armenian voiced stops and voiced affricates into aspirated stops and aspirated affricates, and replaced the plain stops and plain affricates with voiced ones.
The following is a comparison of the stops and affricates in Eastern Armenian and Western Armenian:
, also known as classical orthography or Mashdotsian orthography. Reformed Armenian orthography (introduced in Soviet Armenia and still used by most Eastern Armenian speakers from the Republic of Armenia) has not been adopted in Western Armenian.
(subject), Accusative
(direct object), Genitive
(possession), Dative
(indirect object), Ablative
(origin) and Instrumental
(means). Of the six cases, the nominative and accusative are the same, except for personal pronouns, and the genitive and dative are the same, meaning that nouns have four distinct forms for case. Nouns in Armenian also decline for number (singular and plural), but do not decline for gender (i.e. masculine or feminine).
Declension in Armenian is based on how the genitive is formed. There are several declension
s, but one is dominant (genitive in i), while half a dozen other forms are in gradual decline, and are being replaced by the i, which has virtually attained the status of a regular form:
mart mə ('a man', Nom.sg), martu mə ('of a man', Gen.sg)
The definite article is a suffix attached to the noun, and is one of two forms, either -ə or -n, depending on whether the final sound is a vowel or a consonant, and whether a preceding word begins with a vowel or consonant:
martə ('the man', Nom.sg)
karin ('the barley' Nom.sg)
but:
Sa martn e ('This is the man')
Sa karin e ('This is the barley')
The indefinite article becomes mən under the same circumstance as -ə becomes -n:
mart mə ('a man', Nom.sg)
but:
Sa mart mən e ('This is a man')
agheg martə ('the good man', Nom.sg)
agheg martun ('to the good man', Gen.sg)
for more detailed information.)
The "present" tense in Western Armenian is based on three conjugation
s (a, e, i):
The present tense (as we know it in English) is made by adding the particle gə before the "present" form, except yem (I am), unim (I have), kidem (I know) and gərnam (I can), while the future is made by adding bidi:
Yes kirk'ə gə gartam (I am reading the book or I read the book, Pres)
Yes kirk'ə bidi gartam (I will read the book, Fut).
For the exceptions: bidi əllam, unenam, kidnam, garenam (I shall be, have, know, be able).
In vernacular language, the particle "gor" is added after the verb to indicate present progressive tense, apparently borrowed from Turkish -yor-: cf. seviyorum: gə sirem gor (I love). The distinction is not made in literary Armenian.
" Yes kirk'ə gə gartam gor (I am reading the book)
The verb without any particles constitutes the subjunctive mood:
Udem
(if I eat, should I eat, that I eat, I wish I eat)
Udes
(if you eat, etc.)
Udê
(if it eats)
Udenk'
(if we eat)
Udêk'
(if you all eat)
Uden
(if they eat)
Standard language
A standard language is a language variety used by a group of people in their public discourse. Alternatively, varieties become standard by undergoing a process of standardization, during which it is organized for description in grammars and dictionaries and encoded in such reference works...
forms of modern 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...
, the other being Eastern Armenian. The two standard forms form a pluricentric language
Pluricentric language
A pluricentric language is a language with several standard versions, both in spoken and in written forms. This situation usually arises when language and the national identity of its native speakers do not, or did not, coincide.-English:...
. For historical reasons explained below, generally speaking, Western Armenian is used outside the Republic of Armenia, while Eastern Armenian is used both inside and outside of it. While the Republic of Armenia does not legally distinguish between the two forms in declaring "Armenian" to be its official language, its de facto official language is Eastern Armenian, as all spheres of life in the country (including government, education, and the media) use that form almost exclusively.
Western Armenian was developed and cultivated by the Armenians indigenous to Anatolia (today in Turkey). Following the Armenian Genocide
Armenian Genocide
The Armenian Genocide—also known as the Armenian Holocaust, the Armenian Massacres and, by Armenians, as the Great Crime—refers to the deliberate and systematic destruction of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire during and just after World War I...
in the early 20th century, and the expulsion of almost all the Armenians from Anatolia, Western Armenian was deprived of the land on which it was indigenously spoken. For the last 100 years, Western Armenian has been relegated to a language spoken only in diaspora—namely, by the Armenians who managed to survive the Armenian Genocide and migrated to various countries in the Middle East, Europe, North America, South America, and Oceania. As a diasporic language, and as a language that is not an official language of any state, Western Armenian faces extinction as its native speakers lose fluency in Western Armenian amid pressures to assimilate into their host countries. Recent estimates place the number of fluent speakers of Western Armenian at less than one million. Many Armenians view this result—the possible extinction of the Western Armenian dialect—as the last stage of the Armenian Genocide.
Distinguishing the two forms of Armenian
Eastern Armenian and Western Armenian are easily mutually intelligible. They share the same ISO 639-1ISO 639-1
ISO 639-1:2002, Codes for the representation of names of languages — Part 1: Alpha-2 code, is the first part of the ISO 639 series of international standards for language codes. Part 1 covers the registration of two-letter codes. There are 136 two-letter codes registered...
code hy. The ISO 639-3
ISO 639-3
ISO 639-3:2007, Codes for the representation of names of languages — Part 3: Alpha-3 code for comprehensive coverage of languages, is an international standard for language codes in the ISO 639 series. The standard describes three‐letter codes for identifying languages. It extends the ISO 639-2...
code for both is hye. The Armenian wikipedia is coded hy and is largely Eastern Armenian. Some commercial translation agencies advise that translation from English should normally be into Eastern Armenian.
Speakers
Western Armenian is an Indo-European languageIndo-European languages
The Indo-European languages are a family of several hundred related languages and dialects, including most major current languages of Europe, the Iranian plateau, and South Asia and also historically predominant in Anatolia...
spoken by the Armenian 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...
, mainly in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
, Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and most of the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
except for Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. It is spoken by only a small percentage of Armenians in Turkey
Armenians in Turkey
Armenians in Turkey have an estimated population of 40,000 to 70,000 . Most are concentrated around Istanbul. The Armenians support their own newspapers and schools...
, with 18 percent among the community in general and 8 percent among younger people.
On February 21, 2009 International Mother Language Day
International Mother Language Day
International Mother Language Day is an observance held annually on 21 February worldwide to promote awareness of linguistic and cultural diversity and multilingualism. It was first announced by UNESCO on 17 November 1999...
has been marked with the publication of a new edition of the "Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger" by UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
where the Western Armenian language in Turkey is defined as a definitely endangered language
Endangered language
An endangered language is a language that is at risk of falling out of use. If it loses all its native speakers, it becomes a dead language. If eventually no one speaks the language at all it becomes an "extinct language"....
.
Monophthongs
Western Armenian has eight monophthong vowel sounds.| Front Front vowel A front vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a front vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far in front as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Front vowels are sometimes also... |
Central Central vowel A central vowel is a type of vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a central vowel is that the tongue is positioned halfway between a front vowel and a back vowel... |
Back Back vowel A back vowel is a type of vowel sound used in spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a back vowel is that the tongue is positioned as far back as possible in the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant. Back vowels are sometimes also called dark... |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unrounded | Rounded | Unrounded | Rounded | ||
| Close Close vowel A close vowel is a type of vowel sound used in many spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a close vowel is that the tongue is positioned as close as possible to the roof of the mouth without creating a constriction that would be classified as a consonant.This term is prescribed by the... |
i (ի) | ʏ (իւ) | u (ու) | ||
| Mid Mid vowel A mid vowel is a vowel sound used in some spoken languages. The defining characteristic of a mid vowel is that the tongue is positioned mid-way between an open vowel and a close vowel... |
ɛ (է, ե) | œ (էօ) | ə (ը) | o (ո, օ) | |
| Open Open vowel An open vowel is defined as a vowel sound in which the tongue is positioned as far as possible from the roof of the mouth. Open vowels are sometimes also called low vowels in reference to the low position of the tongue... |
ɑ (ա) |
Monophthongs examples
| IPA International Phonetic Alphabet The International Phonetic Alphabet "The acronym 'IPA' strictly refers [...] to the 'International Phonetic Association'. But it is now such a common practice to use the acronym also to refer to the alphabet itself that resistance seems pedantic... |
Example (IPA) | Example (Written) | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ɑ | [ɑɾɛv] | արեւ | "sun" | Similar to the English English language English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria... vowel in the word car. |
| ɛ | [ɛtʃ] | էջ | "page" | Similar to the English vowel in the word bed. |
| i | [im] | իմ | "my" | Similar to the English vowel in the word eat. |
| o | [tʃoɾ] | չոր | "dry" | Similar to the English vowel in bore. |
| u | [uɾ] | ուր | "where" | Similar to the English vowel in the word shoot. |
| ə | [əsɛl] | ըսել | "to say" | Similar to the English vowel in the word the. |
| ʏ | [hʏɾ] | հիւր | "guest" | Similar to the German German language German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union.... vowel in the word schützen. |
| œ | [œʒɛni] | Էօժենի | a female name | This vowel sound is rare in Armenian, and is used in foreign words. |
Diphthongs
The Western Armenian language has nine 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...
sounds.
| IPA International Phonetic Alphabet The International Phonetic Alphabet "The acronym 'IPA' strictly refers [...] to the 'International Phonetic Association'. But it is now such a common practice to use the acronym also to refer to the alphabet itself that resistance seems pedantic... |
Example (IPA) | Example (Written) | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| jɑ | sɛnjɑɡ | սենեակ | "room" | Similar to English yard. |
| jɛ | jɛɾɑz | երազ | "dream" | Similar to English yell. |
| ji | mɑjis | Մայիս | "May" | Similar to English year. |
| jo | jotə | եօթը | "seven" | Similar to English your. |
| ju | ɡɑjun | կայուն | "firm" | Similar to English you. |
| aj | majɾ | մայր | "mother" | Similar to English my. |
| ej | tej | թէյ | "tea" | Similar to English day. |
| iə | iənɑl | իյնալ | "to fall" | Similar to English near. |
| uj | kujr | քոյր | "sister" | Similar to French grenouille (frog) |
Consonants
This is the Western Armenian Consonantal System using symbols from the International Phonetic AlphabetInternational Phonetic Alphabet
The International Phonetic Alphabet "The acronym 'IPA' strictly refers [...] to the 'International Phonetic Association'. But it is now such a common practice to use the acronym also to refer to the alphabet itself that resistance seems pedantic...
(IPA), followed by the corresponding Armenian letter in parentheses.
| Bilabial Bilabial consonant In phonetics, a bilabial consonant is a consonant articulated with both lips. The bilabial consonants identified by the International Phonetic Alphabet are:... |
Labio- dental Labiodental consonant In phonetics, labiodentals are consonants articulated with the lower lip and the upper teeth.-Labiodental consonant in IPA:The labiodental consonants identified by the International Phonetic Alphabet are:... |
Alveolar Alveolar consonant Alveolar consonants are articulated with the tongue against or close to the superior alveolar ridge, which is called that because it contains the alveoli of the superior teeth... |
Post- alveolar Palato-alveolar consonant In phonetics, palato-alveolar consonants are postalveolar consonants, nearly always sibilants, that are weakly palatalized with a domed tongue... |
Palatal Palatal consonant Palatal consonants are consonants articulated with the body of the tongue raised against the hard palate... |
Velar Velar consonant Velars are consonants articulated with the back part of the tongue against the soft palate, the back part of the roof of the mouth, known also as the velum).... |
Uvular Uvular consonant Uvulars are consonants articulated with the back of the tongue against or near the uvula, that is, further back in the mouth than velar consonants. Uvulars may be plosives, fricatives, nasal stops, trills, or approximants, though the IPA does not provide a separate symbol for the approximant, and... |
Glottal Glottal consonant Glottal consonants, also called laryngeal consonants, are consonants articulated with the glottis. Many phoneticians consider them, or at least the so-called fricative, to be transitional states of the glottis without a point of articulation as other consonants have; in fact, some do not consider... |
||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nasal Nasal consonant A nasal consonant is a type of consonant produced with a lowered velum in the mouth, allowing air to escape freely through the nose. Examples of nasal consonants in English are and , in words such as nose and mouth.- Definition :... |
m (մ) | n (ն) | |||||||
| Plosive | voiceless | pʰ (բ, փ) | tʰ (դ, թ) | kʰ (գ, ք) | |||||
| voiced | b (պ) | d (տ) | ɡ (կ) | ||||||
| Affricate Affricate consonant Affricates are consonants that begin as stops but release as a fricative rather than directly into the following vowel.- Samples :... |
voiceless | tsʰ (ձ, ց) | tʃ (չ, ջ) | ||||||
| voiced | dz (ծ) | dʒ (ճ) | |||||||
| Fricative Fricative consonant Fricatives are consonants produced by forcing air through a narrow channel made by placing two articulators close together. These may be the lower lip against the upper teeth, in the case of ; the back of the tongue against the soft palate, in the case of German , the final consonant of Bach; or... |
voiceless | f (ֆ) | s (ս) | ʃ (շ) | χ (խ) | h (հ, յ) | |||
| voiced | v (վ , ւ , ու, ո) | z (զ) | ʒ (ժ) | ʁ (ղ) | |||||
| Approximant Approximant consonant Approximants are speech sounds that involve the articulators approaching each other but not narrowly enough or with enough articulatory precision to create turbulent airflow. Therefore, approximants fall between fricatives, which do produce a turbulent airstream, and vowels, which produce no... |
l (լ) | j (յ, ե, ի, է) | |||||||
| Flap Flap consonant In phonetics, a flap or tap is a type of consonantal sound, which is produced with a single contraction of the muscles so that one articulator is thrown against another.-Contrast with stops and trills:... |
ɾ (ռ, ր) | ||||||||
Differences in phonology from Classical Armenian
The differences in phonology between Western Armenian and Classical Armenian phonology include the distinction of stopsStop consonant
In phonetics, a plosive, also known as an occlusive or an oral stop, is a stop consonant in which the vocal tract is blocked so that all airflow ceases. The occlusion may be done with the tongue , lips , and &...
and affricates
Affricate consonant
Affricates are consonants that begin as stops but release as a fricative rather than directly into the following vowel.- Samples :...
.
First, while Classical Armenian
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...
has a three-way distinction of stops and affricates: one voiced and two voiceless — a plain version and an aspirated
Aspiration (phonetics)
In phonetics, aspiration is the strong burst of air that accompanies either the release or, in the case of preaspiration, the closure of some obstruents. To feel or see the difference between aspirated and unaspirated sounds, one can put a hand or a lit candle in front of one's mouth, and say pin ...
one — Western Armenian has kept only a two-way distinction — one voiced and one aspirated. For example, Classical has three bilabial stops: /b/ (<բ>), /p/ (<պ>), and /pʰ/ (<փ>); Western Armenian, has two bilabial stops: /b/ (<պ>) and /pʰ/ (<բ> or <փ>).
Second, Western Armenian has shifted the Classical Armenian voiced stops and voiced affricates into aspirated stops and aspirated affricates, and replaced the plain stops and plain affricates with voiced ones.
Specifically, the following are the changes from Classical Armenian to Western Armenian:
- Bilabial stops:
- merging of Classical Armenian /b/ (բ) and /pʰ/ (փ) as /pʰ/
- voicing of Classical /p/ (պ) to /b/
- Alveolar stops:
- merging of Classical Armenian /d/ (դ) and /tʰ/ (թ) as /tʰ/
- voicing of Classical /t/ (տ) to /d/
- Velar stops:
- merging of Classical Armenian /ɡ/ (գ) and /kʰ/ (ք) as /kʰ/
- voicing of Classical /k/ (կ) to /ɡ/
- Alveolar affricates:
- merging of Classical Armenian /dz/ (ձ) and /tsʰ/ (ց) as /tsʰ/
- voicing of Classical /ts/ (ծ) to /dz/
- Post-alveolar affricates:
- merging of Classical Armenian /dʒ/ (ջ) and /tʃʰ/ (չ) as /tʃʰ/
- voicing of Classical /tʃ/ (ճ) to /dʒ/
As a result, a word like [dʒuɹ] (spelled ջուր in Classical Armenian, 'water') is cognate with Western Armenian [tʃʰuɹ] (also spelled ջուր). However, [tʰoɹ] ('grandson') and [kʰaɹ] ('stone') are pronounced identically in Classical and Western Armenian.
Differences in phonology from Eastern Armenian
The difference in phonology between Western Armenian and Eastern Armenian phonology also lies in the distinction of stopsStop consonant
In phonetics, a plosive, also known as an occlusive or an oral stop, is a stop consonant in which the vocal tract is blocked so that all airflow ceases. The occlusion may be done with the tongue , lips , and &...
and affricates
Affricate consonant
Affricates are consonants that begin as stops but release as a fricative rather than directly into the following vowel.- Samples :...
(as in the difference with Classical Armenian).
First, Eastern Armenian is notable for retaining plain stops and plain affricates of Classical Armenian. Therefore, while Eastern Armenian has a three-way distinction of stops and affricates: one voiced and two voiceless — a plain version and an aspirated
Aspiration (phonetics)
In phonetics, aspiration is the strong burst of air that accompanies either the release or, in the case of preaspiration, the closure of some obstruents. To feel or see the difference between aspirated and unaspirated sounds, one can put a hand or a lit candle in front of one's mouth, and say pin ...
one — Western Armenian has only a two-way distinction — one voiced and one aspirated. For example, Eastern Armenian has three bilabial stops: [b] (<բ>), [p] (<պ>), and [pʰ] (<փ>); Western Armenian, has two bilabial stops: [b] (<պ>) and [pʰ] (<բ> or <փ>).
Second, Western Armenian has shifted the Classical Armenian voiced stops and voiced affricates into aspirated stops and aspirated affricates, and replaced the plain stops and plain affricates with voiced ones.
The following is a comparison of the stops and affricates in Eastern Armenian and Western Armenian:
- Bilabial stops:
- Eastern Armenian: [b] (բ), [pʰ] (փ), [p] (պ)
- Western Armenian: [b] (պ), [pʰ] (փ and բ)
- Alveolar stops:
- Eastern Armenian: [d] (դ), [tʰ] (թ), [t] (տ)
- Western Armenian: [d] (տ), [tʰ] (թ and դ)
- Velar stops:
- Eastern Armenian: [ɡ] (գ), [kʰ] (ք), [k] (կ)
- Western Armenian: [ɡ] (կ), [kʰ] (ք and գ)
- Alveolar affricates:
- Eastern Armenian: [dz] (ձ), [tsʰ] (ց), [ts] (ծ)
- Western Armenian: [dz] (ծ), [tsʰ] (ց or ձ)
- Post-alveolar affricates:
- Eastern Armenian: [dʒ] (ջ), [tʃʰ] (չ), [tʃ] (ճ)
- Western Armenian: [dʒ] (ճ), [tʃʰ] (չ or ջ)
Orthography
Western Armenian uses traditional Armenian orthographyTraditional Armenian orthography
Traditional Armenian orthography is the orthography developed during the early 19th century for the two modern dialects of the Armenian language - Eastern Armenian and Western Armenian...
, also known as classical orthography or Mashdotsian orthography. Reformed Armenian orthography (introduced in Soviet Armenia and still used by most Eastern Armenian speakers from the Republic of Armenia) has not been adopted in Western Armenian.
Nouns
Western Armenian nouns have six cases: NominativeNominative case
The nominative case is one of the grammatical cases of a noun or other part of speech, which generally marks the subject of a verb or the predicate noun or predicate adjective, as opposed to its object or other verb arguments...
(subject), Accusative
Accusative case
The accusative case of a noun is the grammatical case used to mark the direct object of a transitive verb. The same case is used in many languages for the objects of prepositions...
(direct object), Genitive
Genitive case
In grammar, genitive is the grammatical case that marks a noun as modifying another noun...
(possession), Dative
Dative case
The dative case is a grammatical case generally used to indicate the noun to whom something is given, as in "George gave Jamie a drink"....
(indirect object), Ablative
Ablative case
In linguistics, ablative case is a name given to cases in various languages whose common characteristic is that they mark motion away from something, though the details in each language may differ...
(origin) and Instrumental
Instrumental case
The instrumental case is a grammatical case used to indicate that a noun is the instrument or means by or with which the subject achieves or accomplishes an action...
(means). Of the six cases, the nominative and accusative are the same, except for personal pronouns, and the genitive and dative are the same, meaning that nouns have four distinct forms for case. Nouns in Armenian also decline for number (singular and plural), but do not decline for gender (i.e. masculine or feminine).
Declension in Armenian is based on how the genitive is formed. There are several declension
Declension
In linguistics, declension is the inflection of nouns, pronouns, adjectives, and articles to indicate number , case , and gender...
s, but one is dominant (genitive in i), while half a dozen other forms are in gradual decline, and are being replaced by the i, which has virtually attained the status of a regular form:
| | դաշտ / tashd (field) | կով / gov (cow) | ||
| | singular | plural | singular | plural |
| Nom-Acc (Ուղղական-Հայցական) | դաշտ / tashd | դաշտեր / tashder | կով / gov | կովեր / gover |
| Gen-Dat (Սեռական-Տրական) | դաշտի / tashdi | դաշտերու / tashderu | կովու / govu | կովերու / goveru |
| Abl (Բացառական) | դաշտէ / tashde | դաշտերէ / tashdere | կովէ / gove | կովերէ / govere |
| Instr (Գործիական) | դաշտով / tashdov | դաշտերով / tashderov | կովով / govov | կովերով / goverov |
| | գարուն / karun (Spring) | օր / or (day) | Քոյր / kuyr (sister) | |||
| | singular | plural | singular | plural | singular | plural |
| Nom-Acc (Ուղղական-Հայցական) | գարուն | գարուններ | օր | օրեր | քոյր | քոյրեր |
| Gen-Dat (Սեռական-Տրական) | գարնան | գարուններու | օրուայ | օրերու | քրոջ | քոյրերու |
| Abl (Բացառական) | գարունէ | գարուններէ | օրուընէ | օրերէ | քրոջմէ | քոյրերէ |
| Instr (Գործիական) | գարունով | գարուններով | օրով | օրերով | քրոջմով | քոյրերով |
| | հայր / hayr (father) | Աստուած / Asdvadz (God) | ||
| | singular | plural | singular | plural |
| Nom-Acc (Ուղղական-Հայցական) | հայր | հայրեր | Աստուած | n.a. |
| Gen-Dat (Սեռական-Տրական) | հօր | հայրերու | Աստուծոյ | n.a. |
| Abl (Բացառական) | հօրմէ | հայրերէ | Աստուծմէ | n.a. |
| Instr (Գործիական) | հօրմով | հայրերով | Աստուծմով | n.a. |
Articles
Like English and some other languages, Armenian has definite and indefinite articles. The indefinite article in Western Armenian is /mə/, which follows the noun:mart mə ('a man', Nom.sg), martu mə ('of a man', Gen.sg)
The definite article is a suffix attached to the noun, and is one of two forms, either -ə or -n, depending on whether the final sound is a vowel or a consonant, and whether a preceding word begins with a vowel or consonant:
martə ('the man', Nom.sg)
karin ('the barley' Nom.sg)
but:
Sa martn e ('This is the man')
Sa karin e ('This is the barley')
The indefinite article becomes mən under the same circumstance as -ə becomes -n:
mart mə ('a man', Nom.sg)
but:
Sa mart mən e ('This is a man')
Adjectives
Adjectives in Armenian do not decline for case or number, and precede the noun:agheg martə ('the good man', Nom.sg)
agheg martun ('to the good man', Gen.sg)
Verbs
Verbs in Armenian are based on two basic series of forms, a "present" form and a "imperfect" form. From this, all other tenses and moods are formed with various particles and constructions. There is a third form, the preterite, which in Armenian is tense in its own right, and takes no other particles or constructions. (See also Armenian verbsArmenian verbs
The verbal morphology of Armenian is fairly simple in theory, but is complicated by the existence of two main dialects, Eastern and Western. The following sketch will be a comparative look at both dialects.-Infinitive:...
for more detailed information.)
The "present" tense in Western Armenian is based on three conjugation
Grammatical conjugation
In linguistics, conjugation is the creation of derived forms of a verb from its principal parts by inflection . Conjugation may be affected by person, number, gender, tense, aspect, mood, voice, or other grammatical categories...
s (a, e, i):
| | sirel 'to love' | khôsil 'to speak' | gartal 'to read' |
| yes (I) | sirem | khôsim | gartam |
| tun (you.sg) | sires | khôsis | gartas |
| an (he/she/it) | sirê | khôsi | garta |
| menk (we) | sirenk' | khôsink' | gartank' |
| tuk (you.pl) | sirêk' | khôsik' | gartak' |
| anonk (they) | siren | khôsin | gartan |
The present tense (as we know it in English) is made by adding the particle gə before the "present" form, except yem (I am), unim (I have), kidem (I know) and gərnam (I can), while the future is made by adding bidi:
Yes kirk'ə gə gartam (I am reading the book or I read the book, Pres)
Yes kirk'ə bidi gartam (I will read the book, Fut).
For the exceptions: bidi əllam, unenam, kidnam, garenam (I shall be, have, know, be able).
In vernacular language, the particle "gor" is added after the verb to indicate present progressive tense, apparently borrowed from Turkish -yor-: cf. seviyorum: gə sirem gor (I love). The distinction is not made in literary Armenian.
" Yes kirk'ə gə gartam gor (I am reading the book)
The verb without any particles constitutes the subjunctive mood:
Udem
(if I eat, should I eat, that I eat, I wish I eat)
Udes
(if you eat, etc.)
Udê
(if it eats)
Udenk'
(if we eat)
Udêk'
(if you all eat)
Uden
(if they eat)
Pronouns
| personal | genitive | accusative | dative | ablative | instrumental |
| Ես | Իմ | Զիս | Ինծի | Ինձմէ/ինծմէ | Ինձմով/ինծմով |
| Դուն | Քու | Քեզ | Քեզի | Քեզմէ | Քեզմով |
| Ինք | Իր | Զինք | Իրեն | Իրմէ | Իրմով |
| Ան | Անոր | Զայն | Անոր | Անկէ | Անով |
| Մենք | Մեր | Մեզ | Մեզի | Մեզմէ | Մեզմով |
| Դուք | Ձեր | Ձեզ | Ձեզի | Ձեզմէ | Ձեզմով |
| Իրենք | Իրենց | Զիրենք | Իրենց | Իրենցմէ | Իրենցմով |
| Անոնք | Անոնց | Զանոնք | Անոնց | Անոնցմէ | Անոնցմով |
See also
- Armenian verbsArmenian verbsThe verbal morphology of Armenian is fairly simple in theory, but is complicated by the existence of two main dialects, Eastern and Western. The following sketch will be a comparative look at both dialects.-Infinitive:...
- Traditional Armenian orthographyTraditional Armenian orthographyTraditional Armenian orthography is the orthography developed during the early 19th century for the two modern dialects of the Armenian language - Eastern Armenian and Western Armenian...
- Eastern Armenian
- Language families and languages
- IETF language tag: hy-arevmda