English Language Learners / Dual Language Learners / Multicultural Education Support – Language Lizard Blog

ARMENIAN LANGUAGE: INTERESTING FACTS & BOOKS

Let’s learn about the Armenian language! We’ve gathered background information and interesting facts about the language. In addition, check out our newest children’s books available in Armenian.

Where is Armenian spoken?

Armenian is an Indo-European language spoken by almost 6 million people worldwide. It is the primary language spoken in the Republic of Armenia and is also spoken by people in Georgia, Iran, and Russia. 

Armenian in the United States

There are about a quarter of a million Armenian speakers in the United States, with the largest groups living in California, Massachusetts, and New York.

                         Image from We Can All Be Friends

Interesting Facts About Armenian

The Armenian alphabet was invented around 400 AD by Mesrop Mashtots, who based it on the Greek alphabet. Mesrop Mashtots was a linguist and a priest; after his death, the Church venerated him as a Saint.

Modern Armenian consists of 38 letters and is written left to right. In addition, Armenian has six or seven noun cases but no gender!

Armenian has completely different punctuation marks. The full stop, or period, looks like an English colon. The question mark is a curvy line placed not at the end of the sentence but above the word in question.

The Armenian language has at least 36 distinct dialects, which can be divided into two major groups, Eastern and Western. These dialects have different sounds and pronunciations.

                           Image from Who Are We?

Armenian Books – Bilingual Children’s Books

If you interact with children who speak Armenian or are learning the language, you may want suggestions on some of the best bilingual children’s books. The Living in Harmony series is a valuable resource for discussing universal themes of kindness and respect while learning about a new culture.  See all of our bilingual Armenian books here.

Are you interested in learning about other languages as well? View our Language Spotlight series on world languages, including Kinyarwanda, Tigrinya, Hmong, Cherokee, Hindi, Dari, and Pashto!

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