Language/Armenian/Grammar/Armenian-Alphabet
As a native Armenian speaker and an Armenian language teacher for over 20 years, I’m thrilled to help you learn the beautiful Armenian alphabet. In this lesson, you will learn about the 39 letters of the Armenian alphabet, their names, and pronunciation, as well as some basic rules for reading Armenian texts.
The Armenian Alphabet
The Armenian alphabet consists of 39 letters, all of which are unique to the Armenian language. The Armenian alphabet was created in 405 AD by Saint Mesrob Mashtots and is one of the oldest alphabets in the world.
Each Armenian letter has a name, a lowercase form, and an uppercase form. Many Armenian letters have similar shapes and sounds to letters in other alphabets, such as Greek, Cyrillic, and Latin, but some are unique to Armenian.
Here is a table of the Armenian alphabet, their names, and their pronunciation:
| Armenian | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| Ա ա | a | a |
| Բ բ | b | b |
| Գ գ | g | g |
| Դ դ | d | d |
| Ե ե | e | e |
| Զ զ | z | z |
| Է է | e | e |
| Ը ը | y | y |
| Թ թ | t' | t |
| Ժ ժ | zh | j |
| Ի ի | i | i |
| Լ լ | l | l |
| Խ խ | kh | kh |
| Ծ ծ | ts | ts |
| Կ կ | k | k |
| Հ հ | h | h |
| Ձ ձ | dz | dz |
| Ղ ղ | gh | gh |
| Ճ ճ | ch | ch |
| Մ մ | m | m |
| Յ յ | y | y |
| Ն ն | n | n |
| Շ շ | sh | sh |
| Ո ո | vo | vo |
| Չ չ | ch' | ch |
| Պ պ | p | p |
| Ջ ջ | j | j |
| Ռ ռ | r | r |
| Ս ս | s | s |
| Վ վ | v | v |
| Տ տ | t | t |
| Ր ր | r | r |
| Ց ց | ts' | ts |
| Ւ ւ | v | v |
| Փ փ | p' | p |
| Ք ք | k' | k |
| և | yev | and |
Notice that the Armenian alphabet contains different sounds than the English alphabet. To help you learn these sounds, here are some examples of how to pronounce some of the unique Armenian letters:
- Ի (i) is pronounced like the “ee” in “feet”. - Է (e) is pronounced like the “e” in “red”. - Ո (vo) is pronounced like the “o” in “hot”. - Ու (vu) is pronounced like the “oo” in “moon”. - Չ (ch') is pronounced like the “ch” in “church”. - Ց (ts') is pronounced like the “ts” in “bitsy”.
Make sure you practice pronouncing the Armenian letters and say them out loud until you can pronounce them accurately.
Rules for Reading Armenian Texts
Knowing the Armenian alphabet is not enough to read Armenian texts properly. You also need to learn about some basic rules of Armenian orthography.
- Armenian is written left to right, like English. - Armenian has two different forms for each letter, a lowercase version and an uppercase version. - Armenian has no cursive or italicized script. - The letters of each word are written together as one continuous line, with no spaces between words. - Punctuation is used in Armenian texts similarly to English texts, with commas, periods, question marks, and exclamation points being used in appropriate places. - Armenian has its own set of numerals, which are used in addition to Arabic numerals.
These are the basic rules of reading Armenian texts that you need to keep in mind.
Conclusion
Great job! You have learned the 39 letters of the Armenian alphabet, their names, and their pronunciation, as well as some basic rules for reading Armenian texts. Make sure you practice reading and pronouncing Armenian words and phrases regularly to improve both your reading and speaking skills.
In the next lesson, we will learn about some basic rules of Armenian pronunciation, including vowel and consonant sounds, stress patterns, and common pronunciation mistakes to avoid. Stay tuned!