Armenianlanguage

The Armenian language, known as Hayeren in Armenian, is an independent branch of the Indo-European language family spoken by Armenians in Armenia and the global diaspora. It has a long literary tradition dating from early Christian writings and is written with the Armenian alphabet, created in the 5th century.

Armenian has two standard modern forms: Eastern Armenian, used in Armenia, Iran, and parts of the Caucasus and Russia; and Western Armenian, historically spoken in the Armenian communities of the Ottoman Empire and in many diasporic communities. The two share a common core but differ in phonology, vocabulary, and spelling conventions.

The Armenian alphabet, devised by Mesrop Mashtots around 405 CE, is a unique writing system with its own letters and orthographic rules. It enabled a flourishing of Armenian literature in classical and medieval periods, with Grabar as the old formal literary language and later middle and modern varieties.

Grammatically, Armenian is an inflected language with rich verb conjugation and noun declension. It uses a relatively free word order due to its case markings, and typical sentences proceed with a subject–object–verb pattern though variations are common.

In modern times, Armenian serves as the official language of Armenia and is preserved through education, media, and government. Western Armenian remains important in the Armenian diaspora worldwide, with active use in communities in the Middle East, Europe, and North America.