Armenian

Also known as: Armenian, Hayeren

Armenian (հայերեն hayeren) is an Indo-European language forming its own primary branch (no closely related languages — fellow IE outliers Greek, Albanian), with ~6.7M speakers — ~3M L1 in Armenia + Artsakh, plus ~3-4M in the global diaspora (Russia, USA-California "Little Armenia," France, Lebanon, Iran, Argentina, Australia, formed largely by survivors of the 1915 Armenian Genocide). Two modern standardized forms coexist with a diaspora/homeland split: Eastern Armenian (Armenia, Iran — official; conservative case system, regular phonology) and Western Armenian (diaspora, classical liturgical — preserves voiceless aspirated stops, distinct vocabulary). The Armenian alphabet was created in 405 CE by St Mesrop Mashtots specifically for translating Christian scripture (Armenia, the first nation to adopt Christianity as state religion in 301 CE), and is one of the world's oldest continuously-used alphabets — 39 letters in modern use. Classical Armenian (Grabar) remains the liturgical language of the Armenian Apostolic Church.