Incubator escapee wiki

Classical Armenian

Article Discussion

Template:Short description Template:Redirect {{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template otherTemplate:Main other Template:History of the Armenian language Classical Armenian (Template:Langx, {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, {{#invoke:IPA|main}}; meaning "literary [language]"; also Old Armenian or Liturgical Armenian) is the oldest attested form of the Armenian language. It was first written down at the beginning of the 5th century, and most Armenian literature from then through the 18th century is in Classical Armenian. Many ancient manuscripts originally written in Ancient Greek, Hebrew, Syriac and Latin survive only in Armenian translation.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Classical Armenian itself, in turn, was heavily influenced by the Iranian languages, in particular by Parthian.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

Classical Armenian continues to be the liturgical language of the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Armenian Catholic Church and is often learned by Biblical, Intertestamental, and Patristic scholars dedicated to textual studies. Classical Armenian is also important for the reconstruction of the Proto-Indo-European language.

PhonologyEdit

File:Epitafium Minasowiczów kościół św. Jacka w Warszawie.JPG
Epitaph in Classical Armenian for Jakub and Marianna Minasowicz at St. Hyacinth's Church in Warsaw

VowelsEdit

There are seven monophthongs:

  • {{#invoke:IPA|main}} (Ա), {{#invoke:IPA|main}} (Ի), {{#invoke:IPA|main}} (Ը), {{#invoke:IPA|main}} or open e (Ե), {{#invoke:IPA|main}} or closed e (Է), {{#invoke:IPA|main}} (Ո), and {{#invoke:IPA|main}} (ՈՒ) (transcribed as a, i, ə, e, ē, o, and u respectively). The vowel transcribed u is spelled using the Armenian letters for ow (ՈՒ) but it is not actually a diphthong.

There are also traditionally six diphthongs:

  • ay (ԱՅ), aw (ԱՒ, later Օ), ea (ԵԱ), ew (ԵՒ), iw (ԻՒ), oy (ՈՅ).

ConsonantsEdit

In the following table is the Classical Armenian consonantal system. The stops and affricate consonants have, in addition to the more common voiced and unvoiced series, also a separate aspirated series, transcribed with the notation used for Ancient Greek rough breathing after the letter: p῾, t῾, c῾, č῾, k῾. Each phoneme has two symbols in the table. The left indicates the pronunciation in International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA); the right one is the corresponding symbol in the Armenian alphabet.

Labial Alveolar Palatal Velar /
Uvular 		Glottal
Template:Small Template:Small
Nasals main}}   Մ   main}}   Ն          
Stops voiced main}}   Բ   main}}   Դ       main}}   Գ    
unvoiced main}}   Պ   main}}   Տ       main}}   Կ    
aspirated main}}   Փ   main}}   Թ       main}}   Ք    
Affricates voiced   main}}   Ձ     main}}   Ջ      
unvoiced / ejective   main}}   Ծ     main}}   Ճ      
aspirated   main}}   Ց     main}}   Չ      
Fricatives voiced main}}   Վ   main}}   Զ     main}}   Ժ      
unvoiced main}}   Ֆ  Template:Efn main}}   Ս     main}}   Շ   main}}   Խ   main}}   Հ  
Approximants lateral   main}}   Լ   main}}   Ղ        
central   main}}   Ր     main}}   Յ      
Trill   main}}   Ռ        

Template:Notelist

Numbers in Old ArmenianEdit

Number Old Armenian PIE
One մի (mi) *sémih₂ < feminine of *sḗm ("one")
Two երկու (erku) *dwoy- < *dwóh₁ (then Template:Clarify)
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 ArmenianEdit

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 ArmenianEdit

բերել (berel, "to bear")
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
կարդալ (kardal, "to write")
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

The pluralization suffix -k' can again be seen in the forms of the first and second person plural. The first person suffix -em comes from the PIE suffix in athematic verbs *-mi.

An example of noun in Old ArmenianEdit

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.

արտ (art, "field"), o-type
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 ArmenianEdit

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.

երկար (erkar, "long")
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 alsoEdit

BibliographyEdit

ReferencesEdit

Template:Reflist

External linksEdit

Template:Sister projectTemplate:Sister project

Template:Armenian language Template:Authority control

Retrieved from "https://zalansite.site/mediawiki/index.php?title=Classical_Armenian&oldid=873399"