Did you know that there are two standard forms of Armenian? Eastern and Western Armenian. So, what are the difference between Eastern and Western Armenian?
Western Armenian – arevmdahayerēn
Eastern Armenian – arevelahayeren
Eastern and Western Armenian developed during the 19th century as a result of the division between the Russian and Ottoman Empires. Despite this division and the diaspora, there are more than 8 million speakers of Armenian across the world.
Where is Eastern Armenian Spoken?
These days, generally speaking, Eastern Armenian is spoken in Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh, Georgia and Iran while Western Armenian is spoken in the other countries of the Armenian diaspora. Eastern Armenian has been influenced by two sets of Russian-led reforms. As a result, it differs orthographically from Western Armenian.
Both are the offspring of Classical Armenian, but the phonology of EA lies more closely to that of Classical Armenian.
Where is Western Armenian Spoken?
Modern Western Armenian was spoken by Armenians in Anatolia, Turkey, prior to the Armenian Genocide. Today, Armenian communities in the diaspora, also known as spurkahye use it. Spurkahyeren (Western/Diaspora Armenian) is spoken in places like Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Ethiopia, Turkey, Australia, Europe, North America and South America. In short, Armenian communities in the United States, Europe, Middle East, Australia, and South America.
The Armenian Alphabet
With its 38 letters, the Armenian alphabet is one of the richest in the world. With 7 vowels and 31 consonants. Two additional digraphs bring the total sounds of the language to 40.
Speakers of Eastern Armenian properly pronounce each individual consonant of the alphabet. Speakers of Western Armenian do not use 7 of the 31 consonants used in Classical Armenian.
Distinguishing Forms of Armenian
An example of the phonology, the Armenian Alphabet in English in Eastern Armenian is Aybuben, while in Western Armenian it is Aypoupen.
An example of phonology differences is, the
“b” in EA is “p” in WA
“g” in EA is “k” in WA
“d” in EA is “t” in WA
“dj” in EA is “tch” in WA
The overall vocabulary is the same, but there is a difference in word choice by each group. For example, “I’m hungry” in Western Armenian would be “Anoti em”, in Eastern Armenian it would be “Sovatz em”. Even though both phrases exist in Eastern and Western Armenian.
No matter what dialect of Armenian you speak, the language and culture are beautiful. I hope this helped to clarify some of the questions you might have on the difference between the two dialects of Armenian.
my grandparents were survivors of the Armenian genocide, I am second generation, and i was very curious as to what form of Armenian i grew up with. turns out as soon as I read anotiem is western Armenian, i got my answer!!! also I wan t to learn how to speak and understand the language also.
Obviously, I had no clou there were two types of Armenian. And since I find languages totally fascinating, I loved reading your post. Especially since I’d like to visit Armenia in the near future – as soon as this mess is over.
Very interesting. I was drawn to find out more about the Armenian Genocide … I find understanding about a culture, the language and history makes our travel experiences more enriching.
Wow that is cool to learn my nephew is a linguistic major he knows a bunch about all the dialects which is very interesting to learn about.
So informational!! Great post!
I did not realize there were two different types of the Armenian language. Glad to know now!