Արեւմտահայերէն

Western Armenian

Indo-European

FamilyIndo-European Speakers~1M+ in diaspora ScriptArmenian CountriesLebanon Official inNo (no national language status; recognized minority language in Cyprus and Hungary) Vitalitysafe ISO 639-3hyw

Western Armenian (Արեւմտահայերէն Arevmdahayerēn) is the variety of the Armenian language descending from the literary tradition of the Western Armenian (Anatolian) regions of the Ottoman Empire. The Armenian Genocide of 1915 displaced ~1.5 million Western Armenian speakers from their Anatolian homeland into the Levant (Lebanon/Syria), the Americas, and Europe; today Western Armenian survives almost entirely in diaspora. Distinguished from Eastern Armenian (hy, the standard language of modern Armenia) by phonological features (devoiced stops: classical Armenian b/d/g, Eastern p/t/k, Western b/d/g/voiced; preserved classical orthography vs. Soviet-reformed spelling) and lexical/grammatical differences. UNESCO classifies as definitely endangered due to declining intergenerational transmission in diaspora.

Where it is spoken

31 core words in Western Armenian

Water

ջուր

/tʃuɾ/

Fire

կրակ

/ɡɾɑɡ/

Sun

արեւ

/ɑˈɾev/

Moon

լուսին

/lusin/

Star

աստղ

/asdʁ/

Mother

մայր

/majɾ/

Father

հայր

/hajɾ/

I

ես

/jɛs/

You

դուն

/tʰun/

Name

անուն

/aˈnun/

Eye

աչք

/ɑtʃkʰ/

Hand

ձեռք

/tsɛɾkʰ/

Heart

սիրտ

/siɾd/

Love

սէր

/sɛɾ/

Tree

ծառ

/dzaɾ/

House

տուն

/dun/

Dog

շուն

/ʃun/

Cat

կատու

/ɡɑdu/

Eat

ուտել

/uˈdel/

Drink

խմել

/χəˈmel/

One

մէկ

/mɛɡ/

Two

երկու

/jɛrˈɡu/

Hello

բարեւ

/bɑɾev/

Thank you

շնորհակալութիւն

/ʃnoɾhɑɡɑluˈtʰjun/

Good

աղուոր

/ɑʁvoɾ/

Cuckoo

կկու

/gəˈgu/

Computer

համակարգիչ

/hɑmɑɡɑɾˈkitʃ/

Sushi

սուշի

/suˈʃi/

Sources

Words compared

Compared with related Indo-European languages

Meaning Western ArmenianArmenianClassical Armenian (Grabar)ZazaKurdishUzbekPortuguese
Water ջուր /tʃuɾ/ ջուր /dʒuɾ/ ջուր /dʒuɾ/ aw /aw/ av /ɑːv/ suv /suv/ água /ˈaɡwɐ/
Fire կրակ /ɡɾɑɡ/ կրակ /kɾɑk/ հուր /huɾ/ adır /aˈdɯɾ/ agir /ɑɡɪɾ/ olov /ɒlɒv/ fogo /ˈfoɡu/
Sun արեւ /ɑˈɾev/ արև /ɑˈɾev/ արեւ /ɑɾɛw/ tîj /tiːʒ/ roj /ɾoːʒ/ quyosh /qujɒʃ/ sol /sɔɫ/
Moon լուսին /lusin/ լուսին /luˈsin/ լուսին /lusin/ aşmî /aʃˈmiː/ heyv /hejv/ oy /ɒj/ lua /luɐ/
Star աստղ /asdʁ/ աստղ /astʁ/ աստղ /astɫ/ astare /asˈtaːre/ stêrk /stɛːɾk/ yulduz /julˈduz/ estrela /ɨʃˈtɾelɐ/
Mother մայր /majɾ/ մայր /majɾ/ մայր /majɾ/ maye /ˈmajɛ/ /dɛː/ ona /ɒnɑ/ mãe /mɐ̃j/
Father հայր /hajɾ/ հայր /hajɾ/ հայր /hajɾ/ /piː/ bav /bɑːv/ ota /ɒtɑ/ pai /paj/
I ես /jɛs/ ես /jɛs/ ես /es/ ez /ɛz/ ez /ɛz/ men /men/ eu /ew/
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