Armenian alphabet

Armenian
Script type	Alphabet
Creator	Unicode range	U+0530–U+058F Armenian U+FB00–U+FB17 Alphabetic Pres. Forms
This article contains phonetic transcriptions in the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA). For an introductory guide on IPA symbols, see Help:IPA. For the distinction between [ ], / / and ⟨ ⟩, see IPA § Brackets and transcription delimiters.

Armenian letter art and its cultural expressions
UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage
Country	Armenia
Reference	01513
Region	Europe and North America
Inscription history
Inscription	2019 (14 session)
List	Representative

khachkars in the form of individual Armenian letters in Oshakan

, Armenia

The Armenian alphabet (Armenian: Հայոց գրեր, Hayocʼ grer or Հայոց այբուբեն, Hayocʼ aybuben) or, more broadly, the Armenian script, is an alphabetic writing system developed for Armenian and occasionally used to write other languages. It was developed around AD 405 by Mesrop Mashtots, an Armenian linguist and ecclesiastical leader. The script originally had 36 letters. Eventually, two more were adopted in the 13th century. In reformed Armenian orthography (1920s), the ligature և ev is also treated as a letter, bringing the total number of letters to 39.

The Armenian word for 'alphabet' is

History and development

History of the Armenian language
Armenian hypothesis Proto-Armenian Classical Armenian (from 405) Middle Armenian (c. 1100 – 1700) Modern Armenian (c. 1700 – present) Eastern, Western, Homshetsi (mixed)
Armenian alphabet Romanization of Armenian
v t e

History of the alphabet Egyptian hieroglyphs 32nd c. BCE Hieratic 32nd c. BCE Demotic 7th c. BCE Meroitic 3rd c. BCE Proto-Sinaitic 19th c. BCE Ugaritic 15th c. BCE Ancient South Arabian 9th c. BCE Geʽez c. 5th c. BCE Phoenician 12th c. BCE (see below) Hangul 1443 Thaana c. 1601 Adlam 1989 Phoenician 12th c. BCE Paleo-Hebrew 10th c. BCE Samaritan 6th c. BCE Aramaic 8th c. BCE Kharosthi 3rd c. BCE Brahmi 3rd c. BCE ( Brahmic ) Pallava 4th century Cham 4th century Dhives Akuru 6th century Khmer 611 Tibetan 7th century ʼPhags-pa 1269 Devanagari 10th century Canadian Aboriginal 1840 Hebrew 3rd c. BCE Square Aramaic 2007 Pahlavi 3rd c. BCE Avestan 4th century Palmyrene 2nd c. BCE Nabataean 2nd c. BCE Arabic 4th century N'Ko 1949 Syriac 2nd c. BCE Sogdian 2nd c. BCE Old Turkic 6th century Old Hungarian c. 650 Old Uyghur Mongolian 1204 Mandaic 2nd century Greek 8th c. BCE Etruscan 8th c. BCE Latin 7th c. BCE Deseret 1854 Great Lakes Algonquian 19th century Blackfoot 1888 Fraser 1915 Saanich 1978 Osage 2006 Runic 2nd century Ogham 4th century Lycian 5th c. BCE Coptic 3rd century Gothic 3rd century Armenian 405 Caucasian Albanian c. 420 Georgian c. 430 Glagolitic 862 Cyrillic c. 940 Old Permic 1372 Libyco-Berber 10th c. BCE Tifinagh 4th century Neo-Tifinagh 1970 Paleohispanic 7th c. BCE

Possible antecedents

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One of the classical accounts of the existence of an Armenian alphabet before Mesrop Mashtots comes from

Philostratus the Athenian, a sophist of the second and third centuries AD, wrote:

And they say that a leopardess was once caught in Pamphylia which was wearing a chain round its neck, and the chain was of gold, and on it was inscribed in Armenian lettering: "The king Arsaces to the Nysian god".^[7]

According to the fifth-century Armenian historian

, who was the patron god of writing and science.

A 13th-century Armenian historian, Vardan Areveltsi, in his History, notes "that an Armenian script existed of old is attested" during the reign of King Leo the Magnificent (r. 1187–1219), after coins naming idolatrous kings were found stamped with the script.^[8]

The evidence that the Armenian scholars of the Middle Ages knew about the existence of a pre-Mashtotsian alphabet can also be found in other medieval works, including the first book composed in the Mashtotsian alphabet by the pupil of Mashtots, Koriwn, in the first half of the fifth century. Koriwn notes that Mashtots was told of the existence of ancient Armenian letters which he was initially trying to integrate into his own alphabet.^[9]

Creation by Mashtots

The Armenian alphabet was introduced by

is said to be the first sentence to be written down in Armenian by Mashtots:

Ճանաչել զիմաստութիւն եւ զխրատ, իմանալ զբանս հանճարոյ:
Čanačʿel zimastutʿiun yev zxrat, imanal zbans hančaroy.
To know wisdom and instruction; to perceive the words of understanding.

— Book of Proverbs, 1:2.

Various scripts have been credited with being the prototype for the Armenian alphabet.

but this has not been supported by any experts in Armenian studies.

There are four principal calligraphic

of the script. Erkatagir, or 'ironclad letters', seen as Mesrop's original, was used in manuscripts from the 5th to 13th century and is still preferred for epigraphic inscriptions. Bolorgir, or 'cursive', was invented in the 10th century and became popular in the 13th. It has been the standard printed form since the 16th century. Notrgir, or 'minuscule', invented initially for speed, was extensively used in the Armenian diaspora in the 16th to 18th centuries, and later became popular in printing. Sheghagir, or 'slanted writing', is now the most common form.

The earliest known example of the script's usage was a dedicatory inscription over the west door of the

Later development

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Certain shifts in the language were at first not reflected in the orthography. The digraph աւ (au) followed by a consonant used to be pronounced [au] (as in luau) in

(ałavni) 'pigeon', and there are a few proper names still having aw before a consonant: Տաւրոս Tauros, Փաւստոս Faustos, etc.) For this reason, today there are native Armenian words beginning with the letter օ (ō) although this letter was taken from the Greek alphabet to write foreign words beginning with o [o].

The number and order of the letters have changed over time. In the Middle Ages, two new letters (օ [o], ֆ [f]) were introduced in order to better represent foreign sounds; this increased the number of letters from 36 to 38. From 1922 to 1924,

]

Alphabet

Forms	Name					Letter					Numerical value
	Classical	Reformed	Pronunciation			Pronunciation			Transliteration
			Classical	Eastern	Western	Classical	Eastern	Western	Classical	ISO 9985
Ա • ա	այբ ayb		/ɑjb/		/ɑjpʰ/	/ɑ/			a		1
Բ • բ	բեն ben		/bɛn/		/pʰɛn/	/b/		/pʰ/	b		2
Գ • գ	գիմ gim		/ɡim/		/kʰim/	/ɡ/		/kʰ/	g		3
Դ • դ	դա da		/dɑ/		/tʰɑ/	/d/		/tʰ/	d		4
Ե • ե	եչ yečʼ		/ɛtʃʰ/	/jɛtʃʰ/		/ɛ/	/ɛ/, word-initially /jɛ/6		e		5
Զ • զ	զա za		/zɑ/			/z/			z		6
Է • է	է ē1		/e/	/ɛ/		/e/	/ɛ/		ê	ē	7
Ը • ը7	ըթ ëtʼ		/ətʰ/			/ə/			ə	ë	8
Թ • թ	թօ tʼò[18]	թո t'o	/tʰɔ/			/tʰ/			t̔, tʿ	tʼ	9
Ժ • ժ	ժէ žē	ժե že	/ʒe/	/ʒɛ/		/ʒ/			ž		10
Ի • ի	ինի ini		/ini/			/i/			i		20
Լ • լ	լիւն liwn	լյուն lyun	/liwn/	/ljun/	/lʏn/	/l/			l		30
Խ • խ	խէ xē	խե xe	/χe/	/χɛ/		/χ/			x		40
Ծ • ծ	ծա ca		/tsɑ/		/dzɑ/	/ts/		/dz/	c	ç	50
Կ • կ	կեն ken		/kɛn/		/ɡɛn/	/k/		/ɡ/	k		60
Հ • հ	հօ hò[18]	հո ho	/ho/			/h/			h		70
Ձ • ձ	ձա ja		/dzɑ/		/tsʰɑ/	/dz/		/tsʰ/	j		80
Ղ • ղ	ղադ ġat		/ɫɑt/	/ʁɑt/	/ʁɑd/	/ɫ/	/ʁ/		ł	ġ	90
Ճ • ճ	ճէ čē	ճե če	/tʃe/	/tʃɛ/	/dʒɛ/	/tʃ/		/dʒ/	č	č̣	100
Մ • մ	մեն men		/mɛn/			/m/			m		200
Յ • յ	յի yi	հի hi	/ji/	/hi/		/j/	/h/1, /j/		y		300
Ն • ն	նու nu		/nu/			/n/, /ŋ/			n		400
Շ • շ	շա ša		/ʃɑ/			/ʃ/			š		500
Ո • ո	ո vo		/ɔ/	/ʋɔ/		/ɔ/	/ɔ/, word-initially /ʋɔ/2		o		600
Չ • չ	չա čʼa		/tʃʰɑ/			/tʃʰ/			č̔, čʿ	č	700
Պ • պ	պէ pē	պե pe	/pe/	/pɛ/	/bɛ/	/p/		/b/	p		800
Ջ • ջ	ջէ ǰē	ջե ǰe	/dʒe/	/dʒɛ/	/tʃʰɛ/	/dʒ/		/tʃʰ/	ǰ		900
Ռ • ռ	ռա ṙa		/rɑ/		/ɾɑ/	/r/		/ɾ/	ṙ		1000
Ս • ս	սէ sē	սե se	/se/	/sɛ/		/s/			s		2000
Վ • վ	վեւ vew	վեվ vev	/wɛw/	/vɛv/		/w/	/v/		v		3000
Տ • տ	տիւն tiwn	տյուն tyun	/tiwn/	/tjun/	/dʏn/	/t/		/d/	t		4000
Ր • ր	րէ rē	րե re	/ɹe/	/ɾɛ/3		/ɹ/	/ɾ/3		r		5000
Ց • ց	ցօ cʼò[18]	ցո cʼo	/tsʰɔ/			/tsʰ/			c̔, cʿ	cʼ	6000
Ւ • ւ	հիւն hiwn	հյուն hyun, վյուն vyun5	/hiwn/	/hjun/, /vjun/	/hʏn/	/w/	—	/v/5	w		7000
Ու • ու	—	ու4 u	—	/u/	—	—	/u/	—	u	ow	-9
Փ • փ	փիւր pʼiwr	փյուր p'yur	/pʰiwɹ/	/pʰjuɹ/	/pʰʏɾ/	/pʰ/			p̔, pʿ	pʼ	8000
Ք • ք	քէ kʼē	քե kʼe	/kʰe/	/kʰɛ/		/kʰ/			k̔, kʿ	kʼ	9000
Օ • օ	օ ò1		—	/o/		—	/o/		ô	ò	-9
Ֆ • ֆ	ֆէ fē	ֆե fe	—	/fɛ/		—	/f/		f		-9
և	—	և4,8 yew	—	/jɛv/		—	/ɛv/, word-initially /jɛv/		ew		-9

• Listen to the pronunciation of the letters in Eastern Armenian^ⓘ or in Western Armenian^ⓘ.

Notes:

1. ^ Primarily used in classical orthography; after the reform used word-initially and in some compound words.
2. ^ Except in ով /ɔv/ 'who' and ովքեր /ɔvkʰer/ 'those (people)' in Eastern Armenian.
3. ^ Iranian Armenians (who speak a subbranch of Eastern Armenian) pronounce the sound represented by this letter with a retracted tongue body [ɹ̠]: post-alveolar rather than alveolar. ^{[citation needed]}
4. ^ In classical orthography, ու and և are considered a digraph (ո + ւ) and a ligature (ե + ւ), respectively. In reformed orthography, they are separate letters of the alphabet: և is the 37th letter of the alphabet, and ու is the 34th letter, taking the place of ւ.
5. ^ In reformed orthography, the letter ւ appears only as a component of ու. In classical orthography, the letter usually represents /v/, except in the digraph իւ /ju/. The spelling reform in Soviet Armenia replaced իւ with the trigraph յու.
6. ^ Except in the present tense of 'to be': եմ /ɛm/ 'I am', ես /ɛs/ 'you are (sing.)', ենք /ɛnkʰ/ 'we are', եք /ɛkʰ/ 'you are (pl.)', են /ɛn/ 'they are'.
7. ^ The letter ը is generally used only at the start or end of a word, and so the sound /ə/ is typically unwritten between consonants. One exception is մըն /mən/ (Western Armenian indefinite article, when followed by a word beginning with a vowel), e.g., մէյ մըն ալ /mɛj mən ɑl/ 'one more time'.
8. ^ The ligature և has no majuscule form; when capitalized it is written as two letters Եւ (classical) or Եվ (reformed).
9. ^ By the time this lowercase was included (Armenian alphabet reform of 1922-24 in the Soviet Union) in the alphabet, counting was conducted with Arabic numbers.^[19][20] Numbers over 9999 were achieved by putting a line over smaller letters-numerals

Handwritten forms

In handwriting, the upper- and lower-case letters look more similar than they do in print, and the stroke order is more apparent.

Ligatures

Ancient Armenian manuscripts used many

. Some of the commonly used ligatures are: ﬓ (մ+ն), ﬔ (մ+ե), ﬕ (մ+ի), ﬖ (վ+ն), ﬗ (մ+խ), և (ե+ւ), etc. Armenian print typefaces also include many ligatures. In the new orthography, the character և is no longer a typographical ligature, but a distinct letter, placed in the new alphabetic sequence, before "o".

Punctuation

Armenian punctuation marks outside a word

• « » – The čakertner are used as ordinary quotation marks. They are placed like French guillemets, just above the baseline (preferably vertically centered in the middle of the x-height of Armenian lowercase letters). They can be angled or rounded. The computer-induced use of English-style single or double quotes (vertical, diagonal or curly forms, placed above the baseline near the M-height of uppercase or tall lowercase letters and at the same level as accents) is strongly discouraged in Armenian as they look too much like other – unrelated – Armenian punctuation marks.
• , – The storaket is used as a comma, and placed as in English.
• ՝ – The boot' (which looks like a comma-shaped reversed apostrophe) is used as a short stop, and placed in the same manner as the
  semicolon
  to indicate a pause that is longer than that of a comma, but shorter than that of a colon; in many texts it is replaced by the single opening single quote (a 6-shaped, or mirrored 9-shaped, or descending-wedge-shaped elevated comma), or by a spacing grave accent.
• ․ – The mijaket (whose single dot on the baseline looks like a Latin full stop) is used like an ordinary colon, mainly to separate two closely related (but still independent) clauses, or when a long list of items follows.
• ։ – The verjaket (whose vertically-stacked two dots look like a Latin colon) is used as the ordinary full stop, and placed at the end of the sentence (many texts in Armenian replace the verjaket by the Latin colon as the difference is almost invisible at low resolution for normal texts, but the difference may be visible in headings and titles as the dots are often thicker to match the same optical weight as vertical strokes of letters, the dots filling the common x-height of Armenian letters).

The following Armenian punctuation marks are placed above and slightly to the right of the vowel whose tone is modified in order to reflect intonation:

• ՜ – The yerkaratsman nshan (which looks like a diagonally rising tilde) is used as an exclamation mark.
• ՛ – The shesht (which looks like a non-spacing acute accent) is used as an emphasis mark.
• ՞ – The hartsakan nshan is used as a question mark.

Armenian punctuation marks used inside a word

• ֊   – The yent'amna is used as the ordinary Armenian hyphen.
• ՟  – The pativ used to be used as an Armenian abbreviation mark, and was placed on top of an abbreviated word to indicate that it was abbreviated. It is now obsolete.
• ՚ – The apat'arts is used as a spacing apostrophe (which looks either like a vertical stick or wedge pointing down, or like an elevated 9-shaped comma, or like a small, superscript left-to-right closing parenthesis or half ring) in Western Armenian only, to indicate elision of a vowel, usually /ə/.

Transliteration

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