Alphabet

Armenian is written with the alphabet created by St. Mesrob Mashdots with St. Sahag some 1600 years ago in 404-6. There are three forms of Armenian currently in use. Classical or Church Armenian, Western Armenian and Eastern Armenian. Church Armenian is the oldest form of Armenian. Western Armenian and Eastern Armenian emerged as literary languages in the 19th century, with Western Armenian largely used in the part of Armenia west of Mt. Ararat and Eastern Armenian used in the part of Armenia east of Mt. Ararat. While there are some difference in pronunciation, grammar and spelling, the three forms of Armenian share a substantial amount of vocabulary and use the same alphabet.

These materials aim to teach basic Armenian alphabet reading skills for both Western and Eastern pronunciations of Armenian. Church Armenian is pronounced in both Western and Eastern forms. It is a good idea to become familiar with both, so if you know one, consider learning and practicing the other. If you don’t know either, then start with the pronunciation people around you speak.

NOTE: The Western materials include an interactive, on-line tutorial based on the Lord’s Prayer and some phrases from the Badarak (divine liturgy or Holy Communion service). By the end of this short tutorial you should be able to recognize all the letters and main letter combinations and be able to sound out basic texts in Armenian script.

Our Language

– Print out Home Resource Guide 4 for review

Study materials

– Western – Eastern