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The Karabakh dialect ( hy, Ղարաբաղի բարբառ, ''Ğarabaği barbař''), also known as Artsakh dialect (Արցախի բարբառ, ''Artsakhi barbař'') is an ancient
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 ...
dialect with a unique phonetic and syntactic structure mainly spoken in the ''de facto'' independent
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Artsakh, officially the Republic of Artsakh () or the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (),, is a breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan. Artsakh controls a part of the former N ...
and partially in the southern and northeastern parts of the Republic of Armenia, i.e. in the provinces of Artsakh,
Utik Utik ( hy, Ուտիք, also known as Uti, Utiq, or Outi) was a historic province of the Kingdom of Armenia. It was ceded to Caucasian Albania following the partition of Armenia between Sassanid Persia and the Eastern Roman Empire in 387 AD. Most ...
, Syunik and
Gugark Gugark ( hy, Գուգարք, lat, Gogarene, Greek: ''Γογαρινή'') was the 13th province of the ancient kingdom of Armenia. It now comprises parts of northern Armenia, northeast Turkey, and southwest Georgia. Etymology Etymologically ...
of historical Armenia. The dialect was spoken by most Armenians living in
Soviet Azerbaijan Azerbaijan ( az, Азәрбајҹан, Azərbaycan, italics=no), officially the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (Azerbaijan SSR; az, Азәрбајҹан Совет Сосиалист Республикасы, Azərbaycan Sovet Sosialist R ...
, particularly in the cities of
Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world an ...
and
Kirovabad Ganja (; az, Gəncə ) is Azerbaijan's third largest city, with a population of around 335,600.Azərbaycan Respublikası. — 2. Azərbaycan Respublikasının iqtisadi və inzibati rayonları. — 2.4. Azərbaycan Respublikasının iqtisadi və ...
(Ganja, Gandzak). As the
first Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War, referred to in Armenia as the Artsakh Liberation War ( hy, Արցախյան ազատամարտ, Artsakhyan azatamart) was an ethnic conflict, ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 t ...
escalated, Armenians of Azerbaijan were forced to leave their homes. Today, most of Armenians immigrants and refugees from Azerbaijan live in Armenia and Russia, where along with standard Armenian and Russian, the Karabakh dialect is sometimes spoken. The dialect is considered to be one of the most widely spoken Armenian dialects. No accurate information on the number of speakers is available. The population of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic is around 141,400, according to the 2010 data. An estimated 150,000 diaspora Armenians are originally from Karabakh.


History

According to
Strabo Strabo''Strabo'' (meaning "squinty", as in strabismus) was a term employed by the Romans for anyone whose eyes were distorted or deformed. The father of Pompey was called " Pompeius Strabo". A native of Sicily so clear-sighted that he could s ...
(''
Geographica The ''Geographica'' (Ancient Greek: Γεωγραφικά ''Geōgraphiká''), or ''Geography'', is an encyclopedia of geographical knowledge, consisting of 17 'books', written in Greek and attributed to Strabo, an educated citizen of the Roman ...
'', Book XI, chapter 4), in the 1st century BC, the population of
Armenia Armenia (), , group=pron officially the Republic of Armenia,, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of Western Asia.The UNbr>classification of world regions places Armenia in Western Asia; the CIA World Factbook , , and ''O ...
, up to Kura River, spoke Armenian. The 8th century Armenian historian Stepanos Syunetsi was the first one to mention the local dialect of Artsakh. In his «Բառք եղերականք» (''Words of Tragedy''), he wrote about the dialect of զԱրցախային meaning "of Artsakh", the historical Armenian name of
Karabakh Karabakh ( az, Qarabağ ; hy, Ղարաբաղ, Ġarabaġ ) is a geographic region in present-day southwestern Azerbaijan and eastern Armenia, extending from the highlands of the Lesser Caucasus down to the lowlands between the rivers Kura and ...
. According to the prominent linguist Hrachia Adjarian, Armenian dialects, including the Karabakh dialect started to develop in the 12th century. Adjarian argues that the damping of b, ɡ, d, dz, dʒ (բ, գ, դ, ձ, ջ) and their transformation to p, k, t, ts, tʃ (պ, տ, կ, ծ, ճ) took place before the invasion of Turkic people to the Armenian Highlands. In 1711 Karabakh dialect is mentioned by Johann Joachim Schröder. In his 1909 book ''
Classification des dialectes arméniens The Armenian language has two standardized forms: Western Armenian and Eastern Armenian. Before the Armenian genocide and other significant demographic changes that affected the Armenians, several dozen Armenian dialects existed in the area histor ...
'', Adjarian claims that the Karabakh dialect occupied the largest area of the Armenian dialects. According to Adjarian, it was spoken in the cities of
Shusha / hy, Շուշի , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = ShushaCollection2021.jpg , image_caption = Landmarks of Shusha, from top left:Ghazanchetsots Cathedral • Yukhari Govha ...
, Elisabethpol (now Ganja),
Nukha Shaki ( az, Şəki) is a city in northwestern Azerbaijan, surrounded by the district of the same name. It is located on the southern part of the Greater Caucasus mountain range, from Baku. As of 2020, it has a population of 68,400. The center ...
(now Shaki),
Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world an ...
,
Derbent Derbent (russian: Дербе́нт; lez, Кьвевар, Цал; az, Дәрбәнд, italic=no, Dərbənd; av, Дербенд; fa, دربند), formerly romanized as Derbend, is a city in Dagestan, Russia, located on the Caspian Sea. It ...
,
Agstafa Agstafa ( az, Ağstafa) is a town, municipality (assigned in 1941) and the capital of the Aghstafa District of Azerbaijan. Agstafa district was established in 1939, abolished in 1959 and merged with Gazakh district, became an independent distri ...
,
Dilijan Dilijan ( hy, Դիլիջան) is a spa town and urban municipal community in the Tavush Province of Armenia. The town is one of the most important resorts in Armenia, situated within the Dilijan National Park. The forested town is home to nume ...
, Karaklis (now Vanadzor), Kazak, Lori, Karadagh,
Lilava The Lilava district, also known as the Leilabad district is one of the districts of the Iranian city of Tabriz which was predominantly, and at times exclusively, inhabited by Armenians. At the beginning of the 20th century, the Armenian community ...
quarter of
Tabriz Tabriz ( fa, تبریز ; ) is a city in northwestern Iran, serving as the capital of East Azerbaijan Province. It is the sixth-most-populous city in Iran. In the Quru River valley in Iran's historic Azerbaijan region between long ridges of vo ...
(Iran),
Burdur Burdur is a city in southwestern Turkey. The seat of Burdur Province, it is located on the shore of Lake Burdur. Its estimated 2010 population is 78,389. History Ancient history Whilst there is evidence of habitation in the province dating ...
and
Ödemiş Ödemiş is a district of İzmir Province of Turkey, as well as the name of its central town (urban population 75,577 as of 2012), located 113 km southeast of the city of İzmir. About 4 km north of Ödemiş town are the ruins of Hypa ...
(in Turkey).
Nagorno-Karabakh Nagorno-Karabakh ( ) is a landlocked region in the South Caucasus, within the mountainous range of Karabakh, lying between Lower Karabakh and Syunik, and covering the southeastern range of the Lesser Caucasus mountains. The region is m ...
(''nagorno'' means "mountainous" in Russian, comes from the Soviet-era name of the region, now used by the Western academia for political purposes of neutrality) has been historically populated by Armenians. Since the late Middle Ages, Turkic tribes migrated to the region and by the 19th century it was populated by both Armenians and partially by
Azerbaijanis Azerbaijanis (; az, Azərbaycanlılar, ), Azeris ( az, Azərilər, ), or Azerbaijani Turks ( az, Azərbaycan Türkləri, ) are a Turkic people living mainly in northwestern Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan. They are the second-most nume ...
(called "Caucasian Tatars" at the time). After the
Russian Revolution of 1917 The Russian Revolution was a period of political and social revolution that took place in the former Russian Empire which began during the First World War. This period saw Russia abolish its monarchy and adopt a socialist form of government ...
, Karabakh was disputed by independent Armenia and Azerbaijan with none of them completely controlling the claimed area. Karabakh was taken over by the Bolsheviks in 1920 and included in
Soviet Azerbaijan Azerbaijan ( az, Азәрбајҹан, Azərbaycan, italics=no), officially the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (Azerbaijan SSR; az, Азәрбајҹан Совет Сосиалист Республикасы, Azərbaycan Sovet Sosialist R ...
in 1923. Until the late 1980s, most Armenians living in
Soviet Azerbaijan Azerbaijan ( az, Азәрбајҹан, Azərbaycan, italics=no), officially the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic (Azerbaijan SSR; az, Азәрбајҹан Совет Сосиалист Республикасы, Azərbaycan Sovet Sosialist R ...
spoke the Karabakh dialect. The Karabakh (75% Armenian-populated before the conflict) was officially under jurisdiction of Azerbaijan and was known as
Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast The Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast (NKAO), DQMV, hy, Լեռնային Ղարաբաղի Ինքնավար Մարզ, ԼՂԻՄ was an autonomous oblast within the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic that was created on July 7, 1923. Its cap ...
(NKAO). Besides Karabakh, many Armenians resided in the cities such as
Baku Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world an ...
,
Kirovabad Ganja (; az, Gəncə ) is Azerbaijan's third largest city, with a population of around 335,600.Azərbaycan Respublikası. — 2. Azərbaycan Respublikasının iqtisadi və inzibati rayonları. — 2.4. Azərbaycan Respublikasının iqtisadi və ...
, Sumgait. In the late 1980s, Baku alone had an Armenian population of over 200,000. They were mainly from Karabakh and many of them spoke the dialect, although Russian as the main language of multicultural Baku, including Armenians of Baku. In 1988, with the relaxation of the Soviet Union under
Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet politician who served as the 8th and final leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to the country's dissolution in 1991. He served as General Secretary of the Com ...
and his policies of ''
perestroika ''Perestroika'' (; russian: links=no, перестройка, p=pʲɪrʲɪˈstrojkə, a=ru-perestroika.ogg) was a political movement for reform within the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) during the late 1980s widely associated wit ...
'' and ''
glasnost ''Glasnost'' (; russian: link=no, гласность, ) has several general and specific meanings – a policy of maximum openness in the activities of state institutions and freedom of information, the inadmissibility of hushing up problems, ...
'', the Armenians demanded the unification of NKAO with Soviet Armenia. The mass movement started in mid-February 1988 and on February 20, 1988, the regional council issued a request to transfer the region to Soviet Armenia. Few days later the Sumgait pogrom took place, leaving dozens of Armenian civilians dead and thousands being forced to leave. This event is credited with unofficially starting the
first Nagorno-Karabakh War The First Nagorno-Karabakh War, referred to in Armenia as the Artsakh Liberation War ( hy, Արցախյան ազատամարտ, Artsakhyan azatamart) was an ethnic conflict, ethnic and territorial conflict that took place from February 1988 t ...
. The clashes escalated to a full-scale war by 1992. Most Armenians of Azerbaijan and Azerbaijanis of Armenia were forced to leave. The war ended in May 1994 with the Armenian forces establishing ''de facto'' control of Nagorno-Karabakh and several Azerbaijani districts surrounding the former NKAO. Today, the area is ''de facto'' under control of the
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Artsakh, officially the Republic of Artsakh () or the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (),, is a breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan. Artsakh controls a part of the former N ...
, but is still recognized as ''de jure'' part of Azerbaijan by the international community.


Today

Today, almost no Armenians live in Azerbaijan except Nagorno-Karabakh, which is not controlled by the government in Baku, but rather by the local Armenian government of Stepanakert and assisted by the Republic of Armenia. The main area where the Karabakh dialect is spoken in the Armenian-controlled
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Artsakh, officially the Republic of Artsakh () or the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (),, is a breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan. Artsakh controls a part of the former N ...
. In the Republic of Armenia, the dialect is spoken in Syunik Region by the majority of the population, except the city of Sisian and the surrounding villages, where the
Yerevan dialect The Yerevan dialect ( hy, Երևանի բարբառ ''Yerevani barbař'') is an Eastern Armenian dialect spoken in and around Yerevan. Classical Armenian (''Grabar'') words compose significant part of the Yerevan dialect vocabulary. Throughout t ...
dominates. The Karabakh dialect is also spoken in northern and northeastern Armenia, but it has been influenced by the other local dialects of the Armenian. In Lori, it is spoken in the eastern part: the Pambak area. In Tavush, the Karabakh dialect is spoken along with the dominant
Yerevan dialect The Yerevan dialect ( hy, Երևանի բարբառ ''Yerevani barbař'') is an Eastern Armenian dialect spoken in and around Yerevan. Classical Armenian (''Grabar'') words compose significant part of the Yerevan dialect vocabulary. Throughout t ...
. The
Chambarak Chambarak ( hy, Ճամբարակ, ) is a town and urban municipal community in the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia. Per the 2011 census, the population of the town was 5,850. The municipal community of Chambarak has a population of 12,416 people. ...
area of the Gegharkunik province is home to Karabakh dialect speakers, too.


Dialectal features

The Karabakh dialect is very easy to differentiate from standard
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 ...
due to its unique phonetics. Unlike the
Yerevan dialect The Yerevan dialect ( hy, Երևանի բարբառ ''Yerevani barbař'') is an Eastern Armenian dialect spoken in and around Yerevan. Classical Armenian (''Grabar'') words compose significant part of the Yerevan dialect vocabulary. Throughout t ...
(spoken by the majority of Armenians in the Republic of Armenia), the stress falls earlier in the word. Its speakers are "clearly recognizable." Besides including a great amount of
Classical Armenian Classical Armenian (, in Eastern Armenian 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 ...
words, many word forms in the Karabakh dialect come directly from the
Proto-Indo-European language Proto-Indo-European (PIE) is the reconstructed common ancestor of the Indo-European language family. Its proposed features have been derived by linguistic reconstruction from documented Indo-European languages. No direct record of Proto-Indo-E ...
. The Armenian Highland had been under foreign domination (Arabic, Turkic, Persian, Russian) for centuries and the Karabakh dialect, similar to other Armenian dialects, includes a significant number of foreign words and phrases.
Azerbaijani Azerbaijani may refer to: * Something of, or related to Azerbaijan * Azerbaijanis * Azerbaijani language See also * Azerbaijan (disambiguation) * Azeri (disambiguation) * Azerbaijani cuisine * Culture of Azerbaijan The culture of Azerbaijan ...
, Persian and Russian had the biggest influence on this dialect.


Palatalization

The Karabakh dialect is the only Armenian dialect with acute palatalization. Also known as ''palatization'', palatalization refers to a way of pronouncing a consonant, in which part of the tongue is moved close to the
hard palate The hard palate is a thin horizontal bony plate made up of two bones of the facial skeleton, located in the roof of the mouth. The bones are the palatine process of the maxilla and the horizontal plate of palatine bone. The hard palate spans t ...
, which softens that consonant. A consonant pronounced this way is called a ''palatalized consonant''.


Unique sounds

The Karabakh dialect features unique vowels and consonants that make it phonetically distinct in comparison with literary Armenian language and the absolute majority of other dialects of Eastern and Western Armenian. These sounds do not have corresponding letters in the
Armenian alphabet The Armenian alphabet ( hy, Հայոց գրեր, ' or , ') is an alphabetic writing system used to write Armenian. It was developed around 405 AD by Mesrop Mashtots, an Armenian linguist and ecclesiastical leader. The system originally ha ...
. List of unique vowels, expressed with the help of analogous Latin, Latin-derived and Cyrillic characters: æ (ä): similar to a in English words ''maps'', ''cap'', or ''gap''. Example: կեալ (meaning ''to come''). œ (ö): similar to oe in the word ''Goethe'' in German. Example: քըթէօլ (meaning ''spoon''). y (ü): similar to u English words ''mute'' or ''mule''. Example: պիւլլիւր (meaning ''round''). List of unique consonants, expressed with the help of analogous Latin, Latin-derived and Cyrillic characters: ɕ similar to Russian щ. Example: եշʲի (meaning ''see''). ɡʲ similar to Russian sound г with the Russian
soft sign The soft sign (Ь, ь, italics ) also known as the front yer, front jer, or er malak (lit. "small er") is a letter of the Cyrillic script. In Old Church Slavonic, it represented a short (or "reduced") front vowel. As with its companion, the b ...
, or sound g in English word ''go'' but with the Russian
soft sign The soft sign (Ь, ь, italics ) also known as the front yer, front jer, or er malak (lit. "small er") is a letter of the Cyrillic script. In Old Church Slavonic, it represented a short (or "reduced") front vowel. As with its companion, the b ...
. Example: կնէգʲ (meaning ''woman''). kʲʰ similar to Armenian sound ք or English sound q with the Russian
soft sign The soft sign (Ь, ь, italics ) also known as the front yer, front jer, or er malak (lit. "small er") is a letter of the Cyrillic script. In Old Church Slavonic, it represented a short (or "reduced") front vowel. As with its companion, the b ...
. Example: խոխեքʲ (meaning ''children'').


Lexicon

source
Armenian Wikisource: Հայերեն բարբառներ/Արցախ


Famous speakers

*
Muratsan Grigor Ter-Hovhannisian ( hy, Գրիգոր Տեր-Հովհաննիսյան; December 1, 1854 – September 12, 1908), better known as Muratsan ( hy, Մուրացան), was a prolific Armenian writer, known best for writing '' Gevorg Marzpetuni'' ( ...
(1854–1908), writer * Leo (1860–1932), historian *
Aram Manukian Aram Manukian, reformed spelling: Արամ Մանուկյան, and he is also referred to as simply Aram. (19 March 187929 January 1919), was an Armenian revolutionary, statesman, and a leading member of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (D ...
(1879–1919), Dashnak statesman, founder of the
First Republic of Armenia The First Republic of Armenia, officially known at the time of its existence as the Republic of Armenia ( hy, Հայաստանի Հանրապետութիւն), was the first modern Armenian state since the loss of Armenian statehood in the Middle ...
* Hovannes Adamian (1879–1932), engineer, one of the founders of color television *
Sahak Ter-Gabrielyan Sahak Mirzayi Ter-Gabrielyan ( hy, Սահակ Միրզայի Տեր-Գաբրիելյան; 1886 – 19 August 1937) was a Bolshevik revolutionary and Soviet Armenian statesman. Born in Shushi to the family of a tailor, he became a member of the R ...
(1886–1937), Prime-Minister (chairman of ''Sovnarkom'') of Soviet Armenian from 1928-1935 * Levon Mirzoyan (1887–1939), Communist leader of Azerbaijan (1926-1929) * Ruben Rubenov (1894–1937), Communist leader of Azerbaijan (1933) * Artemi Ayvazyan (1902–1975), Soviet composer *
Nelson Stepanyan russian: Нельсон Георгиевич Степанян , native_name_lang = , image = Нельсон Георгиевич Степанян.jpg , image_size = , alt = , birth_date = , birth_place = Shushi, Elisa ...
(1913–1944), Soviet dive bomber pilot during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
* Bagrat Ulubabyan (1925–2001), writer * Alexey Ekimyan (1927–1982), composer, General of Soviet ''militsia'' (police) and was the head of Criminal Investigation Department of Moscow region * Zori Balayan (b. 1935), writer, public activist *
Vahe Stepanyan Vahe Stepanyan ( hy, Վահե Ստեփանյան; born on April 6, 1948) is a prominent Armenian lawyer, a Doctor of Judicial Science (PhD), who served as the first minister of justice of Armenia. Mr. Stepanyan graduated from the law department ...
(b. 1948), Minister of Justice of Armenia (1990-1996) * Leonard Petrosyan (1953–1999), Prime Minister (1994-1997) and acting President of Nagorno-Karabakh (1997), State Minister of Armenia (1997-1999) * Archbishop
Pargev Martirosyan Archbishop Pargev Martirosyan ( hy, Պարգև արքեպիսկոպոս Մարտիրոսյան; born 20 March 1954) is an Armenian clergyman who served as the Primate of the Diocese of Artsakh of the Armenian Apostolic Church from the re-establ ...
(b. 1954), the primate of the
Diocese of Artsakh The Diocese of Artsakh ( hy, Արցախի թեմ, Artsakhi t'em) is one of the largest dioceses of the Armenian Apostolic Church covering the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh. It is named after the historic province of Artsakh; the 10th provi ...
* Robert Kocharyan (b. 1954), President of
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Artsakh, officially the Republic of Artsakh () or the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (),, is a breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan. Artsakh controls a part of the former N ...
(1994-1997), Prime Minister of Armenia (1997-1998), President of Armenia (1998-2008) :Kocharyan spoke Russian as a native language, while the Karabakh dialect was the only variation of Armenian he knew before moving to Yerevan in 1997. *
Serzh Sargsyan Serzh Azati Sargsyan ( hy, Սերժ Ազատի Սարգսյան, ; born 30 June 1954)Of ...
(b. 1954), Defence Minister of Armenia (1993-5, 2000-7) and President of Armenia (since 2008) * Arkadi Ghukasyan (b. 1957), President of
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Artsakh, officially the Republic of Artsakh () or the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (),, is a breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan. Artsakh controls a part of the former N ...
(1997-2007) * Bekor Ashot (1959-1992), military commander,
Hero of Artsakh Hero of Artsakh ( hy, Արցախի հերոս, Artsakhi heros) is the highest title of the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh. According to the official website of the President of Artsakh, the title Hero of Artsakh "is awarded for exceptional se ...
*
Bako Sahakyan Bako Sahaki Sahakyan ( hy, Բակո Սահակի Սահակյան; born 30 August 1960) is an Artsakhi politician who served as the third president of the ''de facto''-independent Republic of Artsakh from 2007 to 2020. He is the longest-serving p ...
(b. 1960), President of
Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Artsakh, officially the Republic of Artsakh () or the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (),, is a breakaway state in the South Caucasus whose territory is internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan. Artsakh controls a part of the former N ...
(since 2007) * Seyran Ohanyan (b. 1962), Defense Minister of Armenia (since 2008) *
Samvel Babayan Samvel Andraniki Babayan ( hy, Սամվել Անդրանիկի Բաբայան; born 5 March 1965) is an Armenian military commander and politician from Nagorno-Karabakh. He was one of the founders and main commanders of the Artsakh Defence Army ...
(b. 1965),
Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army The Artsakh Defence Army ( hy, Արցախի Հանրապետության պաշտպանության բանակ, Artsakhi Hanrapetut’yan pashtpanut’yan banak) is the defence force of the breakaway Republic of Artsakh ( Nagorno-Karabakh). E ...
commander, politician * André (b. 1979), singer, the first artist to represent Armenia in the
Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...
in 2006


External media

;Video * ;Music * Armenoids - * Tim De Beatz (Artyom Hakobyan) - : a pop song in Karabakh dialect that became a hit in Armenia in 2011video
/ref>


References

;Notes ;Bibliography * * {{Armenian language, state=expanded Armenian dialects Karabakh