WESTERN ARMENIAN Meaning and
Definition
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Western Armenian refers to one of the two main branches of the Armenian language, alongside Eastern Armenian. It is a dialect of Armenian spoken by the Armenian diaspora community primarily living in the Western hemisphere and countries of the Middle East. Western Armenian is derived from Classical Armenian, the historical form of the language, and has evolved through various influences over the centuries.
With around three million speakers worldwide, Western Armenian has been shaped by the specific cultural, historical, and geographical contexts in which it has been spoken. Unlike Eastern Armenian, which is the official language in the Republic of Armenia, Western Armenian is considered a minority language and does not hold any official status in any country.
The phonetic, grammatical, and vocabulary differences distinguish Western Armenian from its Eastern Armenian counterpart. It has retained classical phonetic features such as more complex vowel sounds, whereas Eastern Armenian has experienced a simplification in terms of pronunciation. Western Armenian also exhibits lexical variations, having borrowed words from Turkish, Arabic, Russian, and other languages, due to historical interactions with these cultures.
Although Western Armenian faces challenges due to the decreasing number of fluent speakers and assimilation into the predominant languages of their host countries, there have been efforts to preserve and revitalize the language through educational institutions, cultural associations, and a variety of media sources, including literature, music, and digital content.
Etymology of WESTERN ARMENIAN
The term "Western Armenian" refers to the dialect of the Armenian language spoken by Armenians living in the Western Armenian region. The etymology of the word "Armenian" can be traced back to the Old Persian word "Armina", which referred to an ancient kingdom located in the Armenian Highlands. The word further developed through various languages and forms, eventually becoming "Armenia" in English. The distinction between Western Armenian and Eastern Armenian arose due to the geographical division resulting from the Armenian Genocide and subsequent historical events. The term "Western Armenian" is used to differentiate the dialect spoken by Armenians living in diaspora communities or countries such as Turkey, Syria, Lebanon, and many other regions around the world.
