Armenian

Armenian is an important language in the US, and as the number of Armenian communities and immigrants increases, so does the number of projects for Armenian translators. It is important to understand where Armenian is spoken in order to have a better understanding of how it needs to be assigned. So here are some quick facts to know before you assign your next Armenian project.

Armenian Quick Facts:

It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Artsakh.
Armenian is spoken in: Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, Russia, Georgia, Lebanon, Iran, Syria, Turkey, Egypt and the USA.
There are two standardized modern (literary) forms, Eastern Armenian and Western Armenian, with which most contemporary dialects are mutually intelligible.
Modern Western Armenian was spoken by Armenians in Anatolia, Turkey, prior to the Armenian Genocide of 1915-1916. Today, it is used by Armenian communities in the United States, Europe, Middle East, Australia, and South America. Eastern Armenian communities are being established alongside the older Western ones.
Distinct Western Armenian varieties currently in use include Homshetsi, spoken by the Hemshin people; the dialects of Armenians of Kessab (Քեսապի բարբառ), Latakia and Jisr al-Shughur (Syria), Anjar, Lebanon, and Vakıflı, Samandağ (Turkey), part of the “Sueidia” dialect (Սուէտիայի բարբառ).
Forms of the Karin dialect of Western Armenian are spoken by several hundred thousand people in Northern Armenia, mostly in Gyumri, Artik, Akhuryan, and around 130 villages in Shirak Province,and by Armenians in Samtskhe-Javakheti province of Georgia (Akhalkalaki, Akhaltsikhe).
Western Armenian dialects are currently spoken also in Gavar (formerly Nor Bayazet and Kamo, on the west of Lake Sevan), Aparan, and Talin in Armenia (Mush dialect), and by the large Armenian population residing in Abkhazia, where they are considered to be the first or second ethnic minority, or even equal in number to the local Abkhaz population.
The earliest extant form of written Armenian is from the 5th century and is known as Classical Armenian (5th to 11th century); translations of the Bible and other religious texts during this period led to extensive word borrowings from Hebrew and Syriac.
Classical Armenian (Grabar) is a 5th-century classical form of the language, which served as the literary language until the 19th century, and is still used by the Armenian Apostolic Church.
Middle Armenian (12th to 15th century) began with the establishment of the Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia in the 12th century and is marked by an increased influence of European languages on Armenian, particularly Old French (which had become the secondary language of the Cilician nobility) and Italian (which had become the secondary language of Cilician commerce).
Early Modern Armenian (16th to 18th centuries) is a mix of Middle Armenian and an evolving, non-standardized literary Modern Armenian (in Constantinople, Venice, the Ararat plain, and the Persian Armenian communities, particularly New Julfa).
As Armenian communities were spread across a large geographic area during(16th to 18th centuries), early Modern Armenian was influenced by the languages of host societies, with loan words being borrowed from Arabic, Turkish, Persian, Georgian, Latin, Greek, Italian, French, German, Polish, Hungarian, and Russian.
Some linguists tentatively conclude that Armenian, Greek (Phrygian), Albanian and Indo-Iranian were dialectically close to each other; within this hypothetical dialect group, Proto-Armenian was situated between Proto-Greek(centum subgroup) and Proto-Indo-Iranian (satem subgroup)
Armenians established their own Alphabet in the 5th century AD, with 38 total letters (36 originally with two added in the Middle Ages) by Mesrop Mashtots.
Armenian has developed since the separation from Indo-European mother tongue in the third millennium BCE to at least the time of the first Armenian dynasty (the Yervanduni dynasty, founded in the 6th century BCE).
Hellenistic influences during the Artashesian Dynasty (2nd century BCE to 1st century CE) led to word borrowings from Greek and Latin
Modern Eastern Armenian is spoken in present-day Armenia and in Armenian communities in Azerbaijan and Iran.

According to Ethnologue, Armenian is spoken worldwide by about 5,924,320 people, of whom 3,140,000 live in the Republic of Armenia (2001 census).