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}}{{History of the Armenian language}}Western Armenian ( {{IPA|hyw|ɑɾɛvmÉ™dÉ‘hÉ‘jɛˈɾɛn|}}){{efn|Pronounced {{transliteration|hy|Arevmtahayeren}} {{IPA|hy|ɑɾɛvmÉ™tÉ‘hÉ‘jɛˈɾɛn|}} in Eastern Armenian and spelled in reformed orthography.}} is one of the two standardizedJOURNAL, Chahinian, Talar, Bakalian, Anny, 2016-01-01, Language in Armenian American communities: Western Armenian and efforts for preservation,www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/ijsl-2015-0034/html, International Journal of the Sociology of Language, en, 237, 37–57, 10.1515/ijsl-2015-0034, 147596230, 1613-3668, forms of Modern Armenian, the other being Eastern Armenian. It is based mainly on the Istanbul Armenian dialect, as opposed to Eastern Armenian, which is mainly based on the Yerevan Armenian dialect.Until the early 20th century, various Western Armenian dialects were also spoken in the Ottoman Empire, especially in the eastern regions historically populated by Armenians known as Western Armenia. The spoken or dialectal varieties of Western Armenian currently in use include Homshetsi, spoken by the Hemshin peoples;BOOK, Victor A. Friedman, Ball, Martin J., The Routledge Handbook of Sociolinguistics Around the World: A Handbook, 2009, Routledge, 978-0415422789, 128,books.google.com/books?id=AtCNAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA128, Sociolinguistics in the Caucasus, the dialects of Armenians of Kessab, Latakia and Jisr al-Shughur of Syria, Anjar of Lebanon, and Istanbul and Vakıflı, of Turkey (part of the “Sueidia” dialect). Sasun and Mush dialect is also spoken in modern-day Armenia villages such as Bazmaberd and Sasnashen. The Cilician dialect is also spoken in Cyprus, where it is taught in Armenian schools (Nareg), and is the first language of about 3,000 people of Armenian descent.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 the Shirak province,JOURNAL, Baghdassarian-Thapaltsian, S. H., hy:Õ‡Õ«Ö€Õ¡Õ¯Õ« Õ¤Õ¡Õ·Õ¿Õ¡Õ¾Õ¡ÕµÖ€Õ« Õ¢Õ¡Ö€Õ¢Õ¡Õ¼Õ¡ÕµÕ«Õ¶ Õ¶Õ¯Õ¡Ö€Õ¡Õ£Õ«Ö€Õ¨, Bulletin of Social Sciences, 1970, 6, 51–60,lraber.asj-oa.am/1696/, 24 March 2013, hy, 15 September 2019,lraber.asj-oa.am/1696/," title="web.archive.org/web/20190915004421lraber.asj-oa.am/1696/,">web.archive.org/web/20190915004421lraber.asj-oa.am/1696/, dead, and by Armenians in Samtskhe–Javakheti province of Georgia (Akhalkalaki, Akhaltsikhe).BOOK, Hovannisian, Richard, Richard Hovannisian, Armenian Karin/Erzerum, 2003, Mazda Publ., Costa Mesa, California, 9781568591513, 48, Thus, even today the Erzerum dialect is widely spoken in the northernmost districts of the Armenian republic as well as in the Akhalkalak (Javakheti; Javakhk) and Akhaltskha (Akhaltsikh) districts of southern Georgia, A mostly diasporic language and one 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. According to Ethnologue, there are 1.58 million native speakers of Western Armenian, primarily in Turkey, Armenia, Georgia, Lebanon, and Iraq. The language is classified as 6b (i.e., threatened, with interruptions in intergenerational transmission).WEB, Armenian, Western {{!, Ethnologue Free |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/language/hyw/ |access-date=2023-12-25 |website=Ethnologue (Free All) |language=en}}

Classification

Western Armenian is an Indo-European language and belongs to the Armenic branch of the family, along with Eastern and Classical Armenian. According to Glottolog Antioch, Artial, Asia Minor, Bolu, Hamshenic, Kilikien, Mush-Tigranakert, Stanoz, Vanic and Yozgat are the main dialects of Western Armenian.WEB, Glottolog 4.3 – Western Armenian,glottolog.org/resource/languoid/id/homs1234, 2021-05-11, glottolog.org, Eastern Armenian and Western Armenian are, for the most part, mutually intelligible for educated or literate users of the other, while illiterate or semiliterate users of lower registers of each one may have difficulty understanding the other variant. One phonological difference is that voiced stops in Eastern Armenian are voiceless in Western Armenian.WEB,www.omniglot.com/writing/armenian.htm, Armenian alphabet, language and pronunciation, Omniglot.com, 30 December 2017,

Speakers

Western Armenian is spoken by Armenians of most of the Middle East except for Iran, and Rostov-on-Don in Russia. It is a moribund language spoken by only a small percentage of Armenians in Turkey (especially in Istanbul) as a first language, with 18 percent among the community in general and 8 percent among younger people.WEB,www.panorama.am/en/politics/2010/09/29/r-melqonyan-book/, Turkologist Ruben Melkonyan publishes book “Review of Istanbul’s Armenian community history”, Helix Consulting, LLC, Panorama.am, 30 December 2017, There are notable diaspora L2 Western Armenian speakers in Lebanon (Beirut), Syria (Aleppo, Damascus), California (Fresno, Los Angeles), and France (Marseilles).JOURNAL, Seyfarth, Scott, Dolatian, Hossep, Guekguezian, Peter, Kelly, Niamh, Toparlak, Tabita, 2023-10-09, Armenian (Yerevan Eastern Armenian and Beirut Western Armenian),www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of-the-international-phonetic-association/article/armenian-yerevan-eastern-armenian-and-beirut-western-armenian/69DD24FFE4FF3ABE79A5703FCBE345E7, Journal of the International Phonetic Association, en, 1–34, 10.1017/S0025100323000130, 0025-1003, free, Western Armenian used to be the dominant Armenian variety, but as a result of the Armenian genocide, the speakers of Western Armenian were mostly murdered or exiled. Those who fled to Eastern Armenia now speak either Eastern Armenian or have a diglossic situation between Western Armenian dialects in informal usage and an Eastern Armenian standard. The only Western Armenian dialect still spoken in Western Armenia is the Homshetsi dialect, since the Hemshin peoples, who were Muslim converts, did not fall victim to the Armenian genocide.{{citation needed|date=November 2022}}On 21 February 2009, International Mother Language Day, a new edition of the Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger was released by UNESCO in which the Western Armenian language in Turkey was defined as a definitely endangered language.UNESCO Culture Sector, UNESCO Interactive Atlas of the World’s Languages in Danger, 2009WEB,www.bianet.org/english/kategori/english/112728/unesco-15-languages-endangered-in-turkey, UNESCO: 15 Languages Endangered in Turkey, by T. Korkut, 2009, Bianet.org, 30 December 2017, 31 March 2009,www.bianet.org/english/kategori/english/112728/unesco-15-languages-endangered-in-turkey," title="web.archive.org/web/20090331051956www.bianet.org/english/kategori/english/112728/unesco-15-languages-endangered-in-turkey,">web.archive.org/web/20090331051956www.bianet.org/english/kategori/english/112728/unesco-15-languages-endangered-in-turkey, dead,

Endangerment and controversy

With Western Armenian being declared an endangered language, there has been recent pushback on reviving the language in Los Angeles,WEB,laist.com/people/liz-ohanesian, 2023-04-20, Western Armenian Is An Endangered Language. A New Generation in LA Is Learning It,laist.com/news/western-armenian-is-an-endangered-language-a-new-generation-in-la-is-learning-it, 2023-05-29, LAist, en, which is home to the largest concentration of Western Armenians.Shushan Karapetian, in her evaluation of both the Eastern and Western dialects of Armenian, concludes that heritage languages, in the face of an English dominant society, rapidly die out within no more than 2 generations, calling America a “linguistic graveyard.“WEB, Karapetian, Shushan, 2014, “How Do I Teach My Kids My Broken Armenian?”: A Study of Eastern Armenian Heritage Language Speakers in Los Angeles,escholarship.org/content/qt7jq085nr/qt7jq085nr.pdf?t=nk2emk, In US census data, the number of people who speak Western Armenian at home has rapidly declined, down from 25% in 1980 to 16% in 2000.

Phonology

Vowels

Monophthongs

Western Armenian has eight monophthongs.{| class=“wikitable“!! colspan=2| Front! rowspan=2| Central! colspan=2| Back!|| Unrounded || Rounded || Unrounded || Rounded! align=“left” | Close! align=“left” | Mid! align=“left” | Open|  |  |  

{{IPA link	Õ«Ö‚}}|  |
below for details.	{{IPA link	Õ¨}}|
IPA!Example (IPA)!Example (written)!Meaning!Notes

{{IPA|[ɑɾɛv]}}	“sun“|Similar to the English vowel in the word car.

{{IPA|[É›tʃ]}}	“page“|Similar to the English vowel in the word bed.

{{IPA|[im]}}	“my“|Similar to the English vowel in the word eat.

{{IPA|[tʃoɾ]}}	“dry“|Similar to the English vowel in bore.

{{IPA|[uɾ]}}	“where“|Similar to the English vowel in the word shoot.

{{IPA|[É™sÉ›l]}}	“to say“|Similar to the English vowel in the word about.

{{IPA|[hʏɾ]}}	“guest“|Similar to French “u” or the German vowel in the word schützen.

{{IPA|[œʒɛni]}}	a female name|This vowel sound is rare in Armenian, and is used in foreign words.

Diphthongs

Western Armenian has ten environments in which two vowels in the orthography appear next to each other, called diphthongs. By definition, they appear in the same syllable. For those unfamiliar with IPA symbols, {{IPA|/j/}} represents the English “y” sound. The Armenian letter “Õ¥” is often used in combinations such as {{IPA|/{{transliteration|hyw|italic=no|ja}}/}} (ya) and {{IPA|/{{transliteration|hyw|italic=no|jo}}/}} (yo). If used at the beginning of a word, “Õ¥” alone is sufficient to represent {{IPA|/{{transliteration|hyw|italic=no|jÉ›}}/}} (as in yes). The Armenian letter “Õµ” is used for the glide after vowels. The IPA {{IPA|/{{transliteration|hyw|italic=no|É‘j}}/}} (like English long i) and {{IPA|/{{transliteration|hyw|italic=no|uj}}/}} diphthongs are common, while {{IPA|/{{transliteration|hyw|italic=no|ej}}/}} (English long a), {{IPA|/{{transliteration|hyw|italic=no|ij, iÉ™}}/}} (a stretched-out long e), and {{IPA|/{{transliteration|hyw|italic=no|oj}}/}} (oy) are rare. The following examples are sometimes across syllable and morpheme boundaries, and gliding is then expected:{| class=“wikitable“!IPA!Example (IPA)!Example (written)!Meaning!Notes

{{IPA|sÉ›njÉ‘É¡}}	“room“|Similar to English yard.

{{IPA|jɛɾɑz}}	“dream“|Similar to English yell.

{{IPA|mÉ‘jis}}	“May“|Similar to English year.

{{IPA|jotÉ™}}	“seven“|Similar to English yogurt.

{{IPA|É¡É‘jun}}	“firm“| Similar to English you.

{{IPA|majɾ}}	“mother“|Similar to English my or mine.

{{IPA|tej}}	“tea“|Similar to English day.

{{IPA|iÉ™nÉ‘l}}	“to fall“|Similar to English near, in non-rhotic dialects.

{{IPA|χoj}}	“ram“|Similar to English toy.

{{IPA|kujr}}	“sister“|Similar to English buoy, in some American dialects.

Consonants

This is the Western Armenian Consonantal System using letters from the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), followed by the corresponding Armenian letter in brackets.{| class=“wikitable“! colspan=2 |  !Labial!Alveolar!Palato -(alveolar)!Velar!Uvular!Glottal! colspan=2 | Nasal! rowspan=2 | Stop! aspirated

{{IPA link	Õ´}}
{{IPA link	Õ¢, Öƒ}}These letters represent the same consonant due to a sound shift in Western Armenian from Classical Armenian. See the Differences in Phonology from Classical and Eastern Armenian section below for details.	{{IPA link	Õ£, Ö„}}|  |

!voiced

{{IPA link	Õº}}This letter has undergone a sound shift from Classical Armenian to Western Armenian. See #Differences from Classical Armenian for details.	{{IPA link	Õ¿}}|	{{IPA link	Õ¯}}|  |

! rowspan=2|Affricate!aspirated|  

{{IPA link	Õ±, ց}}	{{IPA link	Õ¹, Õ»}}|  |  |

!voiced|  

{{IPA link	Õ®}}	{{IPA link	Õ³}}|  |  |

! rowspan=2|Fricative!unvoiced

{{IPA link	Ö†}}	{{IPA link	Õ½}}	{{IPA link	Õ·}}|	{{IPA link	Õ­}}	{{IPA link	Õ°, Õµ}}

!voiced

{{IPA link	Õ¾, Ö‚, Õ¸Ö‚, Õ¸}}	{{IPA link	Õ¦}}	{{IPA link	Õª}}|	{{IPA link	Õ²}}|

! colspan=2|Approximant|  

{{IPA link	Õµ, Õ¥, Õ«}}|  |  |

! colspan=2|Flap|  

Classical Armenian include the distinction of stops and affricates.Firstly, while Classical Armenian has a three-way distinction of stops and affricates (one voiced and two voiceless: one plain and one aspirated), Western Armenian has kept only a two-way distinction (one voiced and one aspirated). For example, Classical Armenian has three bilabial stops ({{IPA|/b/}} {{angbr|Õ¢}}, {{IPA|/p/}} {{angbr|Õº}}, and {{IPA|/pÊ°/}} {{angbr|Öƒ}}), but Western Armenian has only two bilabial stops ({{IPA|/b/}} {{angbr|Õº}} and {{IPA|/pÊ°/}} {{angbr|Õ¢}}/{{angbr|Öƒ}}).Secondly, Western Armenian has both changed the Classical Armenian voiced stops and voiced affricates to aspirated stops and aspirated affricates and replaced the plain stops and affricates with voiced consonants.Specifically, here are the shifts from Classical Armenian to Western Armenian: Bilabial stops: merging of Classical Armenian {{IPA|/b/}} {{angbr|Õ¢}} and {{IPA|/pÊ°/}} {{angbr|Öƒ}} as {{IPA|/pÊ°/}} voicing of Classical {{IPA|/p/}} {{angbr|Õº}} to {{IPA|/b/}} Alveolar stops: merging of Classical Armenian {{IPA|/d/}} {{angbr|Õ¤}} and {{IPA|/tÊ°/}} {{angbr|Õ©}} as {{IPA|/tÊ°/}} voicing of Classical {{IPA|/t/}} {{angbr|Õ¿}} to {{IPA|/d/}} Velar stops: merging of Classical Armenian {{IPA|/É¡/}} {{angbr|Õ£}} and {{IPA|/kÊ°/}} {{angbr|Ö„}} as {{IPA|/kÊ°/}} voicing of Classical {{IPA|/k/}} {{angbr|Õ¯}} to {{IPA|/É¡/}} Alveolar affricates: merging of Classical Armenian {{IPA|/dz/}} {{angbr|Õ±}} and {{IPA|/tsÊ°/}} {{angbr|ց}} as {{IPA|/tsÊ°/}} voicing of Classical {{IPA|/ts/}} {{angbr|Õ®}} to {{IPA|/dz/}} Post-alveolar affricates: merging of Classical Armenian {{IPA|/dÊ’/}} {{angbr|Õ»}} and {{IPA|/tʃʰ/}} {{angbr|Õ¹}} as {{IPA|/tʃʰ/}} voicing of Classical {{IPA|/tʃ/}} {{angbr|Õ³}} to {{IPA|/dÊ’/}} As a result, a word like {{IPA|[dÊ’uɹ]}} ‘water’ (spelled {{angbr|Õ»Õ¸Ö‚Ö€}} in Classical Armenian) is cognate with Western Armenian {{IPA|[tʃʰuɹ]}} (also spelled {{angbr|Õ»Õ¸Ö‚Ö€}}). However, {{IPA|[tÊ°oɹ]}} ‘grandson’ and {{IPA|[kÊ°aɹ]}} ‘stone’ are pronounced similarly in both Classical and Western Armenian. Orthography Western Armenian uses Classical Armenian orthography, also known as traditional Mashtotsian orthography. The Armenian orthography reform, commonly known as the Abeghian orthography, was introduced in the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic and is still used by most Eastern Armenian speakers from modern Armenia. However, it has not been adopted by Eastern Armenian speakers of Iran and their diaspora or by speakers of Western Armenian, with the exception of periodical publications published in Romania and Bulgaria while under Communist regimes. Morphology Nouns Western Armenian nouns have four grammatical cases: nominative-accusative (subject / direct object), genitive-dative (possession / 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).Declension in Armenian is based on how the genitive is formed. There are several declensions, but one is dominant (the genitive in i) while a half-dozen other forms are in gradual decline and are being replaced by the i-form, which has virtually attained the status of a regular form:{| class=“wikitable”		Õ¤Õ¡Õ·Õ¿ / taÅ¡d (field)	Õ¯Õ¸Õ¾ / gov (cow)

| singular| plural| singular| plural| Nom-Acc (ÕˆÖ‚Õ²Õ²Õ¡Õ¯Õ¡Õ¶-Հայցական)| Õ¤Õ¡Õ·Õ¿ / taÅ¡d| Õ¤Õ¡Õ·Õ¿Õ¥Ö€ / taÅ¡der| Õ¯Õ¸Õ¾ / gov| Õ¯Õ¸Õ¾Õ¥Ö€ / gover| Gen-Dat (Սեռական-Տրական)| Õ¤Õ¡Õ·Õ¿Õ« / taÅ¡di| Õ¤Õ¡Õ·Õ¿Õ¥Ö€Õ¸Ö‚ / taÅ¡deru| Õ¯Õ¸Õ¾Õ¸Ö‚ / govu| Õ¯Õ¸Õ¾Õ¥Ö€Õ¸Ö‚ / goveru| Abl (Բացառական)| Õ¤Õ¡Õ·Õ¿Õ§ / taÅ¡de| Õ¤Õ¡Õ·Õ¿Õ¥Ö€Õ§ / taÅ¡dere| Õ¯Õ¸Õ¾Õ§ / gove| Õ¯Õ¸Õ¾Õ¥Ö€Õ§ / govere| Instr (Ô³Õ¸Ö€Õ®Õ«Õ¡Õ¯Õ¡Õ¶)| Õ¤Õ¡Õ·Õ¿Õ¸Õ¾ / taÅ¡dov| Õ¤Õ¡Õ·Õ¿Õ¥Ö€Õ¸Õ¾ / taÅ¡derov| Õ¯Õ¸Õ¾Õ¸Õ¾ / govov| Õ¯Õ¸Õ¾Õ¥Ö€Õ¸Õ¾ / goverov{| class=“wikitable”   Õ£Õ¡Ö€Õ¸Ö‚Õ¶ / karun (Spring) Ö…Ö€ / or (day) Õ”Õ¸ÕµÖ€ / kuyr (sister)| singular| plural| singular| plural| singular| plural| Nom-Acc (ÕˆÖ‚Õ²Õ²Õ¡Õ¯Õ¡Õ¶-Հայցական)| Õ£Õ¡Ö€Õ¸Ö‚Õ¶| Õ£Õ¡Ö€Õ¸Ö‚Õ¶Õ¶Õ¥Ö€| Ö…Ö€| Ö…Ö€Õ¥Ö€| Ö„Õ¸ÕµÖ€| Ö„Õ¸ÕµÖ€Õ¥Ö€| Gen-Dat (Սեռական-Տրական)| Õ£Õ¡Ö€Õ¶Õ¡Õ¶| Õ£Õ¡Ö€Õ¸Ö‚Õ¶Õ¶Õ¥Ö€Õ¸Ö‚| Ö…Ö€Õ¸Ö‚Õ¡Õµ| Ö…Ö€Õ¥Ö€Õ¸Ö‚| Ö„Ö€Õ¸Õ»| Ö„Õ¸ÕµÖ€Õ¥Ö€Õ¸Ö‚| Abl (Բացառական)| Õ£Õ¡Ö€Õ¸Ö‚Õ¶Õ§| Õ£Õ¡Ö€Õ¸Ö‚Õ¶Õ¶Õ¥Ö€Õ§| Ö…Ö€Õ¸Ö‚Õ¨Õ¶Õ§| Ö…Ö€Õ¥Ö€Õ§| Ö„Ö€Õ¸Õ»Õ´Õ§| Ö„Õ¸ÕµÖ€Õ¥Ö€Õ§| Instr (Ô³Õ¸Ö€Õ®Õ«Õ¡Õ¯Õ¡Õ¶)| Õ£Õ¡Ö€Õ¸Ö‚Õ¶Õ¸Õ¾| Õ£Õ¡Ö€Õ¸Ö‚Õ¶Õ¶Õ¥Ö€Õ¸Õ¾| Ö…Ö€Õ¸Õ¾| Ö…Ö€Õ¥Ö€Õ¸Õ¾| Ö„Ö€Õ¸Õ»Õ´Õ¸Õ¾| Ö„Õ¸ÕµÖ€Õ¥Ö€Õ¸Õ¾{| class=“wikitable”   Õ´Õ¡ÕµÖ€ / mayr (mother) Ô±Õ½Õ¿Õ¸Ö‚Õ¡Õ® / Asdvadz (God) Õ£Õ«Õ¿Õ¸Ö‚Õ©Õ«Ö‚Õ¶ / kidutiun (science)| singular| plural| singular| plural| Nom-Acc (ÕˆÖ‚Õ²Õ²Õ¡Õ¯Õ¡Õ¶-Հայցական)| Õ´Õ¡ÕµÖ€| Õ´Õ¡ÕµÖ€Õ¥Ö€| Ô±Õ½Õ¿Õ¸Ö‚Õ¡Õ®|Õ¡Õ½Õ¿Õ¸Ö‚Õ¡Õ®Õ¶Õ¥Ö€|Õ£Õ«Õ¿Õ¸Ö‚Õ©Õ«Ö‚Õ¶|Õ£Õ«Õ¿Õ¸Ö‚Õ©Õ«Ö‚Õ¶Õ¶Õ¥Ö€| Gen-Dat (Սեռական-Տրական)| Õ´Ö…Ö€| Õ´Õ¡ÕµÖ€Õ¥Ö€Õ¸Ö‚| Ô±Õ½Õ¿Õ¸Ö‚Õ®Õ¸Õµ|Õ¡Õ½Õ¿Õ¸Ö‚Õ¡Õ®Õ¶Õ¥Ö€Õ¸Ö‚| Õ£Õ«Õ¿Õ¸Ö‚Õ©Õ¥Õ¡Õ¶|Õ£Õ«Õ¿Õ¸Ö‚Õ©Õ«Ö‚Õ¶Õ¶Õ¥Ö€Õ¸Ö‚/գիտութեանց| Abl (Բացառական)| Õ´Ö…Ö€Õ´Õ§| Õ´Õ¡ÕµÖ€Õ¥Ö€Õ§| Ô±Õ½Õ¿Õ¸Ö‚Õ®Õ´Õ§|Õ¡Õ½Õ¿Õ¸Ö‚Õ¡Õ®Õ¶Õ¥Ö€Õ§| Õ£Õ«Õ¿Õ¸Ö‚Õ©Õ¥Õ¶Õ§|Õ£Õ«Õ¿Õ¸Ö‚Õ©Õ«Ö‚Õ¶Õ¶Õ¥Ö€Õ§| Instr (Ô³Õ¸Ö€Õ®Õ«Õ¡Õ¯Õ¡Õ¶)| Õ´Ö…Ö€Õ´Õ¸Õ¾| Õ´Õ¡ÕµÖ€Õ¥Ö€Õ¸Õ¾| Ô±Õ½Õ¿Õ¸Ö‚Õ®Õ´Õ¸Õ¾|Õ¡Õ½Õ¿Õ¸Ö‚Õ¡Õ®Õ¶Õ¥Ö€Õ¸Õ¾| Õ£Õ«Õ¿Õ¸Ö‚Õ©Õ¥Õ¡Õ´Õ¢/Õ£Õ«Õ¿Õ¸Ö‚Õ©Õ«Ö‚Õ¶Õ¸Õ¾|Õ£Õ«Õ¿Õ¸Ö‚Õ©Õ«Ö‚Õ¶Õ¶Õ¥Ö€Õ¸Õ¾

Articles

Like English and some other languages, Armenian has definite and indefinite articles. The indefinite article in Western Armenian is {{IPA|/mÉ™/}}, which follows the noun:ator mÉ™ (’a chair’, Nom.sg), atori mÉ™ (’of a chair’, Gen.sg)The definite article is a suffix attached to the noun, and is one of two forms, either -n (when the final sound is a vowel) or -É™ (when the final sound is a consonant). When the word is followed by al (Õ¡Õ¬ = also, too), the conjunction u (Õ¸Ö‚), or the present or imperfect conjugated forms of the verb em (to be); however, it will always take -n: but: The indefinite article becomes mÉ™n when it is followed by al (Õ¡Õ¬ = also, too) or the Present or imperfect conjugated forms of the verb em (to be): but:

Adjectives

Adjectives in Armenian do not decline for case or number, and precede the noun:

Verbs

{{Further|Armenian verbs}}Verbs in Armenian are based on two basic series of forms, a “present” form and an “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 a tense in its own right, and takes no other particles or constructions.The “present” tense in Western Armenian is based on three conjugations (a, e, i):{| class=“wikitable“|  | sirel(to love)| xōsil(to speak)| gartal(to read)| yes (I)| sirem| xōsim| gartam| tun (you.sg)| sires| xōsis| gartas valign=top| an (she/she/it)| sirÄ“| xōsi| garta| menk (we)| sirenk| xōsink| gartank| tuk (you.pl)| sirÄ“k| xōsik| gartak| anonk (they)| siren| xōsin| gartanThe present tense (as we know it in English) is made by adding the particle gÉ™ before the “present” form, except the defective verbs em (I am), gam (I exist, I’m there), unim (I have), kidem (I know) and gÉ™rnam (I can), while the future is made by adding bidi: For the exceptions: {{transliteration|hyw|italic=no|bidi É™llam, 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. The distinction is not made in literary Armenian. The verb without any particles constitutes the subjunctive mood, such as “if I eat, should I eat, that I eat, I wish I eat”:{| class=“wikitable“!! Sing.! Pl.! 1st| Udem(if I eat etc)| Udenk′(if we eat)! 2nd| Udes(if you eat)| UdÄ“k′(if you all eat)! 3rd| UdÄ“(if it eats)| Uden(if they eat)

Personal pronouns{| class“wikitable”

! Nominative! Accusative! Genitive! Dative! Ablative! Instrumental

				| Õ«Õ¶Õ±Õ´Õ¸Õ¾ / Õ«Õ¶Õ®Õ´Õ¸Õ¾

				| Ö„Õ¥Õ¦Õ´Õ¸Õ¾

				| Õ«Ö€Õ´Õ¸Õ¾

				| Õ¡Õ¶Õ¸Õ¾

				| Õ´Õ¥Õ¦Õ´Õ¸Õ¾

				| Õ±Õ¥Õ¦Õ´Õ¸Õ¾

				| իրենցմով

				| անոնցմով

Demonstrative pronouns{| class“wikitable”

!! colspan=“2” |Proximal! colspan=“2” |Medial! colspan=“2” |Distal!!Singular!Plural!Singular!Plural!Singular!Plural|Nominative

				| Õ¡Õ¶Õ¸Õ¶Ö„

|Accusative

				|Õ¡Õ¶Õ¸Õ¶Ö„

|Genitive

				|անոնց

|Dative

				|անոնց

|Ablative

				|անոնցմէ

|Instrumental

				|անոնցմով

Relative pronouns{| class“wikitable”

!!Singular!Plural|Nominative

|Õ¸Ö€Õ¸Õ¶Ö„

|Accusative

|Õ¦Õ¸Ö€Õ¸Õ¶Ö„ / Õ¦Õ¸Ö€Õ½

|Genitive

|որոնց

|Dative

|որոնց

|Ablative

|որոնցմէ

|Instrumental

|որոնցմով

See also

• Armenian verbs
• Hidden Armenians

Notes

{{notelist}}

References

{{Reflist}}

Bibliography

• BOOK, Melkonian, Zareh, hy:Ô³Õ¸Ö€Õ®Õ¶Õ¡Õ¯Õ¡Õ¶ Õ”Õ¥Ö€Õ¡Õ¯Õ¡Õ¶Õ¸Ö‚Õ©Õ«Ö‚Õ¶ – Ô±Ö€Õ¤Õ« Õ€Õ¡ÕµÕ¥Ö€Õ§Õ¶ Ô¼Õ¥Õ¦Õ¸Ö‚Õ« (Õ„Õ«Õ»Õ«Õ¶ Õ¥Ö‚ Ô²Õ¡Ö€Õ±Ö€Õ¡Õ£Õ¸ÕµÕ¶ Դասընթացք), Practical Grammar – For Modern Armenian (Intermediate and Advanced Course), Fourth, 1990, Los Angeles, hy,
• BOOK, Sakayan, Dora Sakayan, Dora, Modern Western Armenian For the English-speaking World: A Contrastive Approach, Arod Books, 2000, Montreal, 0-9699879-2-7, registration,archive.org/details/modernwesternarm00saka_0,
• BOOK, Samuelian, Thomas J., A Course in Modern Western Armenian: Dictionary and Linguistic Notes, Armenian National Education Committee, 1989, New York City, New York (state), New York, 0-9617933-2-5,
• JOURNAL, Chahinian, Talar, Anny Balakian,www.degruyter.com/dg/viewarticle/j$002fijsl.2016.2016.issue-237$002fijsl-2015-0034$002fijsl-2015-0034.xml, Language in Armenian American communities: Western Armenian and efforts for preservation, International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 2015-12-16, 237, 10.1515/ijsl-2015-0034, 147596230, 9 June 2019, 8 February 2020,web.archive.org/web/20200208205628/https://www.degruyter.com/dg/viewarticle/j$002fijsl.2016.2016.issue-237$002fijsl-2015-0034$002fijsl-2015-0034.xml, dead,
• BOOK, Vaux, Bert Vaux, Bert, The Phonology of Armenian, Oxford University Press, 1998, Oxford, 978-0-19-823661-0, registration,global.oup.com/academic/product/the-phonology-of-armenian-9780198236610?cc=gr&lang=en&,

External links

• Arak29 Eastern Armenian {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191226082853www.birthrightarmenia.org/depihayk/login.php |date=26 December 2019 }}
• Arak29 Western Armenian
• Arak29 A Course in Modern Western Armenia {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190917195022www.envisionarmenia.com/moodle2/ |date=17 September 2019 }}
• Arak29 On-Line Dictionaries {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170510205819www.arak29.am/templates/diction.php |date=10 May 2017 }}
• Arak29 Etymology {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170926014945www.envisionarmenia.com/etymology/ |date=26 September 2017 }}
• Videos of people speaking Armenian {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222134159www.wigiwigi.com/index.php?title=People_speaking_Armenian |date=22 February 2012 }}

{{InterWiki|code=hyw}}Western Armenian Online Dictionaries

• Nayiri.com (Library of Armenian dictionaries):
  • Ô²Õ¡Õ¼Õ£Õ«Ö€Ö„ Õ°Õ¡ÕµÕ¥Ö€Õ§Õ¶ Õ¬Õ¥Õ¦Õ¸Ö‚Õ« by Rev. Antranig Granian (about 18,000 terms; published in 1998 in Beirut). Great dictionary for students.
  • Õ€Ô±Õ…ÕˆÕ‘ Ô¼ÔµÔ¶ÕˆÕ’Ô» ՆՈՐ ԲԱՌԱՐԱՆ published in two volumes in Beirut in 1992 (about 56,000 headwords). Arguably the best Western Armenian dictionary currently available.
  • ՀԱՅԵՐԷՆ ԲԱՑԱՏՐԱԿԱՆ ԲԱՌԱՐԱՆ by Stepan Malkhasiants (about 130,000 entries). One of the definitive Armenian dictionaries. (Definitions are in Eastern Armenian, but include Western Armenian meanings of headwords.)
  • ՀԱՅԵՐԷՆ ԱՐՄԱՏԱԿԱՆ ԲԱՌԱՐԱՆ by Hrachia Acharian (5,062 word roots). The definitive study of the history and origins of word roots in Armenian. Also includes explanations of each word root as it is used today. (Explanations are in Eastern Armenian, but root words span the entire Armenian language, including Western Armenian.)
  • Armenian-English dictionary (about 70,000 entries).
  • English-Armenian dictionary (about 96,000 entries).
  • Armenian-French dictionary (about 18,000 entries).
  • French-Armenian dictionary (about 20,000 entries).

{{Armenian language}}{{Authority control}}