| Also Known As: Ermenice,Ena,Armanski,Armjanski,Ermeni Dili,Somkhuri,Somekhuri,Haieren,Armjanski Yazyk,Armani,Erâmani,Armenian
Description:
The Armenian language (հայերեն լեզու, Armenian pronunciation: [hɑjɛˈɾɛn lɛˈzu] — hayeren lezow, conventional short form hayeren) is an Indo-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora. It has its own script, the Armenian alphabet.
Linguists typically classify Armenian as an independent branch of the Indo-European language family, though many Indo-Europeanists believe it forms a subgroup with the Greek and Indo-Iranian families. (Renfrew, Clackson and Fortson 1994).
The earliest testimony of the Armenian language dates to the 5th century AD (the Bible translation of Mesrob Mashtots). The earlier history of the language is unclear and the subject of much speculation.
Armenian is regarded by some linguists as a close relative of Phrygian. Many scholars such as Clackson (1994) hold that Greek is the most closely related surviving language to Armenian. The characteristically Greek representation of word-initial laryngeals by prothetic vowels is shared by Armenian, which also shares other phonological..... full article at Wikipedia |
