Classical Armenian (, in
Eastern Armenian
Eastern Armenian ( ''arevelahayeren'') is one of the two standardized forms of Modern Armenian, the other being Western Armenian. The two standards form a pluricentric language.
Eastern Armenian is spoken in Armenia, Artsakh, Russia, as we ...
pronunciation: Grabar,
Western Armenian: Krapar; meaning "literary
anguage; also Old Armenian or Liturgical 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 Classical Armenian. Many ancient manuscripts originally written in
Ancient Greek,
Persian,
Hebrew,
Syriac and
Latin survive only in Armenian translation.
Classical Armenian continues to be the
liturgical language of the
Armenian Apostolic Church and the
Armenian Catholic Church and is often learned by
Biblical
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
,
Intertestamental, and
Patristic
Patristics or patrology is the study of the early Christian writers who are designated Church Fathers. The names derive from the combined forms of Latin ''pater'' and Greek ''patḗr'' (father). The period is generally considered to run from ...
scholars dedicated to textual studies. Classical Armenian is also important for the reconstruction of the
Proto-Indo-European language.
Phonology
Vowels
There are seven
monophthongs:
* (ա), (ի), or
schwa
In linguistics, specifically phonetics and phonology, schwa (, rarely or ; sometimes spelled shwa) is a vowel sound denoted by the IPA symbol , placed in the central position of the vowel chart. In English and some other languages, it rep ...
(ը), or open ''e'' (ե), or closed ''e'' (է), (ո), and (ու) (transcribed as ''a'', ''i'', ''ə'', ''e'', ''ē'', ''o'', and ''u'' respectively). The vowel transcribed ''u'' is spelled using the Armenian letters for ''ow'' (ու) but it is not actually a
diphthong
A diphthong ( ; , ), also known as a gliding vowel, is a combination of two adjacent vowel sounds within the same syllable. Technically, a diphthong is a vowel with two different targets: that is, the tongue (and/or other parts of the speech o ...
.
There are also traditionally six diphthongs:
* ''ay'' (այ), ''aw'' (աւ, later օ), ''ea'' (եա), ''ew'' (եւ), ''iw'' (իւ), ''oy'' (ոյ).
Consonants
In the following table is the Classical Armenian consonantal system. The
stops
Stop may refer to:
Places
*Stop, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the United States
* Stop (Rogatica), a village in Rogatica, Republika Srpska, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Facilities
* Bus stop
* Truck stop, a type of rest stop for truck dri ...
and
affricate consonant
An affricate is a consonant that begins as a stop and releases as a fricative, generally with the same place of articulation (most often coronal). It is often difficult to decide if a stop and fricative form a single phoneme or a consonant pair. ...
s have, in addition to the more common
voiced and unvoiced series, also a separate
aspirated series, transcribed with the notation used for Ancient Greek
rough breathing after the letter: ''p῾'', ''t῾'', ''c῾'', ''č῾'', ''k῾''. Each phoneme has two symbols in the table. The left indicates the pronunciation in
International Phonetic Alphabet
The International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) is an alphabetic system of phonetic transcription, phonetic notation based primarily on the Latin script. It was devised by the International Phonetic Association in the late 19th century as a standa ...
(IPA); the right one is the corresponding symbol in the
Armenian alphabet.
See also
*
List of Armenian writers
*
Proto-Armenian language
*
Armenian alphabet
Sources
*
Adjarian, Hrachia. (1971-9)
Etymological Root Dictionary of the Armenian Language'. Vol. I – IV. Yerevan: Yerevan State University.
*
Meillet, Antoine. (1903) ''Esquisse d’une grammaire comparée de l’arménien classique''.
* Thomson, Robert W. (1989) ''An Introduction to Classical Armenian''. Caravan Books. ()
*
Godel, Robert. (1975) ''An Introduction to the Study of Classical Armenian''. Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag ()
References
External links
Classical Armenian Onlineby Todd B. Krause and Jonathan Slocum, free online lessons at th
Linguistics Research Centerat the
University of Texas at AustinNew Dictionary of the Armenian Language(Nor Bargirk Haekazian Lezvi, Նոր Բառգիրք Հայկազեան Լեզուի), Venice 1836-1837. The seminal dictionary of Classical Armenian. Includes Armenian to Latin, and Armenian to Greek.
Pocket Dictionary of the Armenian Language(Arrdzern Barraran Haekazian Lezvi, Առձեռն Բառարան Հայկազնեան Լեզուի), Venice 1865 (second edition).
New Dictionary Armenian-English(Նոր Բառգիրք Հայ-Անգլիարէն), Venice, 1875-9.
Grabar Dictionary(Գրաբարի Բառարան), Ruben Ghazarian, Yerevan, 2000.
Grabar Thesaurus(Գրաբարի Հոմանիշների Բառարան), Ruben Ghazarian, Yerevan, 2006.
A grammar, Armenian and English by Paschal Aucher and Lord Byron. Venice 1873Brief introduction to Classical Armenian also known as Grabar
an online collection of introductory videos to Ancient Indo-European languages produced by the University of Göttingen
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Armenian languages
Armenian, Classical
Armenian
Armenian
Armenian Apostolic Church
Languages attested from the 5th century