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Western Armenian is one of the two modern Dialect s of Armenian , an Indo-European Language spoken by the Armenian Diaspora , mainly in North America , Europe and most of the Middle East except for Iran . It is also spoken in a few communities in Turkey . It was developed in the early part of the 19th century, and is based on the Armenian dialect of Constantinople . PHONOLOGY Vowels Monophthongs Western Armenian has eight monophthong vowel sounds. Notes =Examples of Western Armenian monophthongs Diphthongs The Western Armenian language has nine Diphthong sounds. Consonants This is the Western Armenian Consonantal System using symbols from the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA), followed by the corresponding Armenian letter in parentheses. Notes Differences in Phonology from Classical Armenian The differences in phonology between Western Armenian and Classical Armenian phonology include the distinction of Stops and Affricates . First, while one — Western Armenian has kept only a two-way distinction — one voiced and one aspirated. For example, Classical has three bilabial stops: (<բ>), (<պ>), and (<փ>); Western Armenian, has two bilabial stops: (<պ>) and (<բ> or <փ>). Second, Western Armenian has shifted the Classical Armenian ''voiced'' stops and ''voiced'' affricates into ''aspirated'' stops and ''aspirated'' affricates, and replaced the ''plain'' stops and ''plain'' affricates with ''voiced'' ones. Specifically, the following are the changes from Classical Armenian to Western Armenian: # Bilabial stops: ## merging of Classical Armenian (բ) and (փ) as ## voicing of Classical (պ) to # Alveolar stops: ## merging of Classical Armenian (դ) and (թ) as ## voicing of Classical (տ) to # Velar stops: ## merging of Classical Armenian (գ) and (ք) as ## voicing of Classical (կ) to # Alveolar affricates: ## merging of Classical Armenian (ձ) and (ց) as ## voicing of Classical (ծ) to # Post-alveolar affricates: ## merging of Classical Armenian (ջ) and (չ) as ## voicing of Classical (ճ) to As a result, a word like (spelled ջուր in Classical Armenian , 'water') is cognate with Western Armenian (also spelled ջուր). However, {Link without Title} }} ('grandson') and ('stone') are pronounced identically in Classical and Western Armenian. Differences in Phonology from Eastern Armenian The difference in phonology between Western Armenian and Eastern Armenian phonology also lies in the distinction of Stops and Affricates (as in the difference with Classical Armenian). First, Eastern Armenian is notable for shifting the plain stops and plain affricates from Classical Armenian to one — Western Armenian has only a two-way distinction — one voiced and one aspirated. For example, Eastern Armenian has three bilabial stops: (<բ>), (ejective, <պ>), and (<փ>); Western Armenian, has two bilabial stops: (<պ>) and (<բ> or <փ>). Second, Western Armenian has shifted the Classical Armenian ''voiced'' stops and ''voiced'' affricates into ''aspirated'' stops and ''aspirated'' affricates, and replaced the ''plain'' stops and ''plain'' affricates with ''voiced'' ones. The following is a comparison of the stops and affricates in Eastern Armenian and Western Armenian: # Bilabial stops: ## Eastern Armenian: (բ), (փ), (պ) ## Western Armenian: (պ), (փ and բ) # Alveolar stops: ## Eastern Armenian: (դ), (թ), (տ) ## Western Armenian: (տ), (թ and դ) # Velar stops: ## Eastern Armenian: (գ), (ք), (կ) ## Western Armenian: (կ), (ք and գ) # Alveolar affricates: ## Eastern Armenian: (ձ), (ց), (ծ) ## Western Armenian: (ծ), (ց or ձ) # Post-alveolar affricates: ## Eastern Armenian: (ջ), (չ), (ճ) ## Western Armenian: (ճ), (չ or ջ) Examples of Consonants in Western Armenian ORTHOGRAPHY See Also: Traditional Armenian orthography Western Armenian uses ''traditional'' Armenian Orthography , also known as ''classical'' orthography or ''Mashdotsian'' orthography. Reformed Armenian Orthography (introduced in Soviet Armenia and still used by most Eastern Armenian speakers from the Republic Of Armenia ) has not been adopted in Western Armenian. MORPHOLOGY Nouns Western Armenian nouns have six (subject), Accusative (direct object), Genitive (possession), Dative (indirect object), Ablative (origin) and Instrumental (means). Of the six cases, the nominative and accusative are the same, and the genitive and dative are the same, meaning that nouns have four distinct forms for case. Nouns in Armenian also decline for number (singular and plural), but do not decline for gender (i.e. masculine or feminine). Declension in Armenian is based on how the genitive is formed. There are several Declension s, but two are the most used (genitive in ''i'', and genitive in ''u''):
Articles Like English and some other languages, Armenian has definite and indefinite articles. The indefinite article in Western Armenian is , which follows the noun: ''mart mə'' ('a man', Nom.sg), ''martu mə'' ('of a man', Gen.sg) The definite article is a suffix attached to the noun, and is one of two forms, either -ə or '''-n''', depending on whether the final sound is a vowel or a consonant, and whether a preceding word begins with a vowel or consonant: ''martə'' ('the man', Nom.sg) ''karin'' ('the barley' Nom.sg) but: ''Sa martn e'' ('This is the man') ''Sa karin e'' ('This is the barley') The indefinite article becomes mən under the same circumstance as '''-ə''' becomes '''-n''': ''mart mə'' ('a man', Nom.sg) but: ''Sa mart mən e'' ('This is a man') Adjectives Adjectives in Armenian do not decline for case or number, and precede the noun: ''lav martə'' ('the good man', Nom.sg) ''lav martun'' ('to the good man', Gen.sg) Verbs Verbs in Armenian are based on two basic series of forms, a "present" form and a "imperfect" form. From this, all other tenses and moods are formed with various particles and constructions. There is a third form, the preterite, which in Armenian is tense in its own right, and takes no other particles or constructions. (See also Armenian Verbs for more detailed information.) The "present" tense in Western Armenian is based on three Conjugation s (a, e, i):
The present tense (as we know it in English) is made by adding the particle gə before the "present" form, while the future is made by adding '''bidi''': ''Yes kirk' g? gartam '' (I am reading the book or I read the book, Pres) ''Yes kirk' bidi gartam '' (I will read the book, Fut) In vernacular language, the particle "gor" is added after the verb to indicate present progressive tense. The distinction is not made in literary Armenian. " Yes kirk' g? gartam gor (I am reading the book) The verb without any particles constitutes the subjunctive mood: Udem (if I eat, should I eat, that I eat, I wish I eat) Udes (if you eat, etc.) Ude (if it eats) Udenk' (if we eat) Udek' (if you all eat) Uden (if they eat) REFERENCES SEE ALSO
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