Classical Armenian
| Classical Armenian | |
|---|---|
| Old Armenian | |
| գրաբար | |
| Region | Armenian Highlands |
| Era | developed intoMiddle Armenian |
Indo-European
| |
Early form | |
| Armenian alphabet(Classical Armenian orthography) | |
| Language codes | |
| ISO 639-3 | xcl |
xcl | |
| Glottolog | clas1249 |
| Linguasphere | 57-AAA-aa |
 |
| Historyof theArmenian language |
|---|
|
|
Armenian alphabet Romanization of Armenian |
Classical Armenian(Armenian:գրաբար,romanized:grabar,Eastern Armenianpronunciation[ɡəɾɑˈpʰɑɾ],Western Armenianpronunciation[kʰəɾɑˈpʰɑɾ];meaning "literary [language]"; alsoOld ArmenianorLiturgical Armenian) is the oldest attested form of theArmenian language.It was first written down at the beginning of the 5th century, and all Armenian literature from then through the 18th century is in Classical Armenian. Many ancient manuscripts originally written inAncient Greek,Hebrew,SyriacandLatinsurvive only in Armenian translation.[1]
Classical Armenian continues to be theliturgical languageof theArmenian Apostolic Churchand theArmenian Catholic Churchand is often learned byBiblical,Intertestamental,andPatristicscholars dedicated to textual studies. Classical Armenian is also important for the reconstruction of theProto-Indo-European language.
Phonology
[edit]
Vowels
[edit]There are sevenmonophthongs:
- /a/(ա),/i/(ի),/ə/(ը),/ɛ/or opene(ե),/e/or closede(է),/o/(ո), and/u/(ու) (transcribed asa,i,ə,e,ē,o,andurespectively). The vowel transcribeduis spelled using the Armenian letters forow(ու) but it is not actually adiphthong.
There are also traditionally six diphthongs:
- ay(այ),aw(աւ, later օ),ea(եա),ew(եւ),iw(իւ),oy(ոյ).
Consonants
[edit]In the following table is the Classical Armenian consonantal system. Thestopsandaffricate consonantshave, in addition to the more commonvoiced and unvoicedseries, also a separateaspirated series,transcribed with the notation used for Ancient Greekrough breathingafter the letter:p῾,t῾,c῾,č῾,k῾.Each phoneme has two symbols in the table. The left indicates the pronunciation inInternational Phonetic Alphabet(IPA); the right one is the corresponding symbol in theArmenian alphabet.
| Labial | Alveolar | Palatal | Velar/ Uvular |
Glottal | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| plain | velar. | ||||||
| Nasals | /m/մ | /n/ն | |||||
| Stops | voiced | /b/բ | /d/դ | /ɡ/գ | |||
| unvoiced | /p/պ | /t/տ | /k/կ | ||||
| aspirated | /pʰ/փ | /tʰ/թ | /kʰ/ք | ||||
| Affricates | voiced | /dz/ձ | /dʒ/ջ | ||||
| unvoiced | /ts/ծ | /tʃ/ճ | |||||
| aspirated | /tsʰ/ց | /tʃʰ/չ | |||||
| Fricatives | voiced | /v/վ | /z/զ | /ʒ/ժ | |||
| unvoiced | /f/ֆ[a] | /s/ս | /ʃ/շ | /χ/խ | /h/հ | ||
| Approximants | lateral | /l/լ | /ɫ/ղ | ||||
| central | /ɹ/ր | /j/յ | |||||
| Trill | /r/ռ | ||||||
- ^The letterf(or ֆ) was introduced in the Medieval Period to represent the foreign sound/f/,thevoiceless labiodental fricative;it was not originally a letter in the alphabet.[2]
Numbers in Old Armenian
[edit]| Number | Old Armenian | PIE |
|---|---|---|
| One | մի (mi) | *sémih₂ < feminine of *sḗm ( "one" ) |
| Two | երկու (erku) | *dwoy- < *dwóh₁ (then fully re-elaborated) |
| Three | երեք (erekʻ) | *tréyes |
| Four | չորք (čʻorkʻ)
քառ (kʻaṙ) |
*kʷtwr̥(s?) < zero-grade of *kʷetwóres |
| Five | հինգ (hing) | *pénkʷe |
| Six | վեց (vecʻ) | *suwéḱs < *swéḱs |
| Seven | եօթն (eōtʻn) | *septḿ̥ |
| Eight | ութ (utʻ) <proto-Armenian*owtu | *(h₁)oḱtṓw |
| Nine | ինն (inn) < proto-Armenian *enun- | *h₁nuno- < zero-grade of *h₁néwn̥ |
| Ten | տասն (tasn) | *déḱm̥ |
Personal pronouns in Old Armenian
[edit]| Pronoun | Old Armenian | PIE |
|---|---|---|
| I | ես (es) | *éǵh₂ |
| You | դու (du) | *túh₂ |
| He, she, it | նա (na) < *no-
նոյն (noyn) < *no-ēn (adverbial suffix) |
*h₁nós ( "over there" )
*h₁nó-eyni- ( "over there" + "that" ) |
| We | մեք (mekʻ) < *mes | *wéy |
| You (all) | դուք (dukʻ) | *túh₂ with pluralization suffix -k' |
| They | նոքա (nokʻa) | *h₁nós +pluralization suffix |
The pluralization suffix -k', which since Old Armenian was used form the nominative plural, could be linked to the final -s in PIE *tréyes > Old Armenian երեք (erekʻ) and չորք (čʻorkʻ), which then can point to a pre-Armenian *kʷtwr̥s (< *kʷetwóres). Otherwise, it derives from the number "two", երկու (erku) and was originally used as a mark for the dual number.
There are no dual prefixes or dual plurals in Old Armenian.
Two examples of verb in Old Armenian
[edit]| Pronoun | Old Armenian | PIE |
|---|---|---|
| I | բերեմ(berem) | *bʰéroh₂ |
| You | բերես(beres) | *bʰéresi |
| He, she, it | բերէ(berē) | *bʰéreti |
| We | բերեմք(beremkʻ) | *bʰéromos |
| You (all) | բերէք(berēkʻ) | *bʰérete |
| They | բերեն(beren) | *bʰéronti |
| Pronoun | Old Armenian | PIE |
|---|---|---|
| I | կարդամ(kardam) | *gʷr̥Hdʰh₁oh₂ |
| You | կարդաս(kardas) | *gʷr̥Hdʰh₁ési |
| He, she, it | կարդայ(karday) | *gʷr̥Hdʰh₁éti |
| We | կարդամք(kardamkʻ) | *gʷr̥Hdʰh₁omos |
| You (all) | կարդայք(kardaykʻ) | *gʷr̥Hdʰh₁éte |
| They | կարդան(kardan) | *gʷr̥Hdʰh₁onti |
In the second and third person singular of the present, the pluralization suffix -k' can be noticed again instead of the final part of the original PIE ending. The first person suffix -em comes from the PIE suffix in athematic verbs*-mi.
An example of noun in Old Armenian
[edit]Nouns in Old Armenian can belong to three models of declinations: o-type, i-type and i-a-type. Nouns can show more than one model of conjugation and retain all cases from PIE except for the vocative, which merged with the nominative and the accusative. All the strong cases lost their suffix in the singular; by contrast, almost every weak case in the singular keep a suffix. The cases are: nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, ablative, locative and instrumental. The o-type model shows an extremely simplified paradigm with many instances of syncretism and the constant use of the pluralization suffix -k' in the plural; not only do strong cases tend to converge in the singular, but most of the weak cases converge into -oy, perhaps from the PIE dative *-oey. There is no suffix for the dual number.
| Case | Old Armenian (singular) | Old Armenian (plural) |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | արտ (art) <PIE*h₂éǵros | արտք (artkʻ) <PIE*h₂éǵroes |
| Genitive | արտոյ (artoy) < *h₂éǵroey? | արտոց (artocʻ) < *h₂éǵroHom |
| Dative | արտոյ (artoy) < *h₂éǵroey | արտոց (artocʻ) < *h₂éǵromos |
| Accusative | արտ (art) < *h₂éǵrom | արտս (arts) < *h₂éǵroms |
| Ablative | արտոյ (artoy) < *h₂éǵroey? | արտոց (artocʻ) < *h₂éǵromos |
| Locative | արտ (art) < *h₂éǵrey/oy | արտս (arts) < *h₂éǵroysu |
| Instrumental | արտով (artov) < *h₂éǵroh₁ | արտովք (artovkʻ) < *h₂éǵrōys |
An example of adjective in Old Armenian
[edit]Adjectives in Old Armenian have at least two models of declension: i-a-type and i-type. An adjective, provided that it is not indeclinable, can show both models. Most of the declension show a great deal of syncretism and the plural shows again the pluralization suffix -k'. The instrumental plural has two possible forms.
| Case | Old Armenian (singular) | Old Armenian (plural) |
|---|---|---|
| Nom. | երկար (erkar) <PIE*dweh₂rós | երկարք (erkarkʻ) <PIE*dweh₂róes |
| Gen. | երկարի (erkari) < *dweh₂rósyo? | երկարաց (erkaracʻ) < *dweh₂róHom |
| Dat. | երկարի (erkari) < *dweh₂róey | երկարաց (erkaracʻ) < *dweh₂rómos |
| Acc. | երկար (erkar) < *dweh₂róm | երկարս (erkars) < *dweh₂róms |
| Abl. | երկարէ (erkarē) < *dweh₂réad | երկարաց (erkaracʻ) < *dweh₂rómos |
| Loc. | երկարի (erkari) < *dweh₂réy/óy | երկարաւք (erkarawkʻ) < *dweh₂róysu
երկարօք (erkarōkʻ) < *dweh₂róysu |
| Instr. | երկարաւ (erkaraw) < *dweh₂róh₁ | երկարս (erkars) < *dweh₂rṓys |
The adjective "long" shows the same sound changes of the numeral "two": PIE*dweh₂rós / *dwoy->erkar / erku.
See also
[edit]Sources
[edit]- Adjarian, Hrachia.(1971–9)Etymological Root Dictionary of the Armenian Language.Vol. I – IV. Yerevan: Yerevan State University.
- Meillet, Antoine.(1903)Esquisse d'une grammaire comparée de l'arménien classique.
- Thomson, Robert W. (1989)An Introduction to Classical Armenian.Caravan Books. (ISBN0-88206-072-4)
- Godel, Robert.(1975)An Introduction to the Study of Classical Armenian.Wiesbaden: Dr. Ludwig Reichert Verlag (ISBN9783920153377)
References
[edit]- ^"Armenian Language Program | Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations".nelc.uchicago.edu.Retrieved2023-03-26.
- ^Dum-Tragut, Jasmine (2009).Armenian: Modern Eastern Armenian.John Benjamins Publishing Company. p. 18.ISBN9789027238146.Retrieved19 May2021.
External links
[edit]
- Classical Armenian Onlineby Todd B. Krause and Jonathan Slocum, free online lessons at theLinguistics Research Centerat theUniversity of Texas at Austin
- New Dictionary of the Armenian Language(Nor Bargirk Haekazian Lezvi, Նոր Բառգիրք Հայկազեան Լեզուի), Venice 1836–1837. The seminal dictionary of Classical Armenian. Includes Armenian to Latin, and Armenian to Greek.
- Pocket Dictionary of the Armenian Language(Arrdzern Barraran Haekazian Lezvi, Առձեռն Բառարան Հայկազնեան Լեզուի), Venice 1865 (second edition).
- New Dictionary Armenian-English(Նոր Բառգիրք Հայ-Անգլիարէն), Venice, 1875-9.
- Grabar Dictionary(Գրաբարի Բառարան), Ruben Ghazarian, Yerevan, 2000.
- Grabar Thesaurus(Գրաբարի Հոմանիշների Բառարան), Ruben Ghazarian, Yerevan, 2006.
- A grammar, Armenian and English by Paschal Aucher and Lord Byron. Venice 1873
- Brief introduction to Classical Armenian also known as Grabar
- glottothèque – Ancient Indo-European Grammars online,an online collection of introductory videos to Ancient Indo-European languages produced by the University of Göttingen
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| History |
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| Alphabet |
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| Grammar | ||
| Dialects | ||
| Literature | ||
| Promotion and study | ||
| Related topics | ||
