The Armenian alphabet is a writing system adapted from the Greek alphabet in 405 BC by Mesrop Mashtots. Following his decision to make the new script, he instituted a set of rules, including one that stated only one letter could be used in each consonant position. These are the basic letters of the Armenian alphabet: Ա, Բ, Գ, Դ…etc. For example: in English, the letter “B” can only be followed by “D” or “F”. However, it is seen as just another consonant with no special meaning in Armenian.
The Armenian alphabet was created to make a language more accessible for people to learn. It is based on letters from the Mediterranean area related to Phoenician, Aramaic, and Greek languages. These languages were later called Hamitic languages because of their similarities, which can be found in phonetics, vocabulary, and grammar. To this day, it is said that Armenian is one of the most phonetic languages globally. It uses different sounds to express words instead of spelling them out. For example, the term “Frasx” can be interpreted as “very good” or “it runs very well”.
Feature of Armenian alphabet:
- It has an alphabet of 30 letters.
- It is a vertical script.
- It has always been a written language.
- It is the first Mesopotamian writing system to be used by a nation now called “Armenia”. (Before the invention of the Armenian alphabet, they used Assyrian and Syriac alphabets.)
- Edict of Artaxerxes II, A.D. 405, ordered the creation of an alphabet based on the Greek system but used as a supplement to Greek letters in the Phoenician script and Aramaic (an eastern Semitic language).
- The first use of the alphabet is recorded in A.D. 405 in Armenia or, more likely, its neighbour at the time, Sophene (modern-day Sivas).
- The Armenian alphabet was designed to be a phonetic alphabet without any special meaning for particular letters. This is why it has only 30 letters, and this means that all Armenian words can be written with only these 30 letters.
How to Learn the Armenian Alphabet?
- The system is taught anywhere from kindergarten to high school.
- Students learn it in Armenian language schools.
- Universities teach the script as part of their exemplary arts programs.
- It can also be used to write Cyrillic and many other languages.
- If you don’t know how to spell something, press Ctrl+D, and it will show you the Armenian letter so you can type it in instead.
- It is used for most official documents in Armenia.
- It can be used by Latin, Cyrillic, or other alphabet encoders (font).· It is written in both capital and small letters. [citation (pdf) – copyright 1994] [Link] · It helps us to write things faster than having to look up words on a dictionary.
Conclusion:-
The Armenian alphabet is a writing system created by Mesrop Mashtots in 405 BC, and it was adapted for writing the Armenian language in the early centuries of its existence. The Armenian alphabet is one of the oldest and used to write classical Armenian, Ashtarian and Syriac.
