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Classical Armenian Online

Lesson 1

Todd B. Krause, John A.C. Greppin, and Jonathan Slocum

The Urartuan Period

The kingdom of Urartu (ca. 870 - 590 B.C.) was the first kingdom we know to have been centered in the region of what is now greater Armenia. The earliest mention of this kingdom comes from the campaign records of the Assyrian king Ashur-nasirpal (ca. 884 - 859 B.C.). The history of Urartu is one of constant struggle with the neighboring Assyrian state. For a brief period the Assyrian kingdom fell into decline, and this allowed Urartu to gain a strong foothold in the region, spreading from the western Euphrates to the eastern Caspian lowlands, and extending from Lake Urmia in the south to the Caucasus in the north. This region became a center for vineyards and grain production; its stores of copper and iron ensured it became a hub of trade in bronze and iron weaponry. Remnants of metal tools, weapons, and pottery have been found and preserved in museums in Armenia. Urartuan cauldrons and decorative shields have been found in both Greek-speaking and Transcaucasian regions.

Arame is the first Urartuan king to be mentioned, his name recorded by the Assyrian king Shalmaneser III (ca. 860 - 825 B.C.). This Arame may have been the historical figure on whom is based Ara the Handsome, the legendary founder of the Armenian people described by Moses of Khoren more than a thousand years later. The Assyrian king Shammur-amat (ca. 810 - 805) is supposed by some to have lent his name to Queen Semiramis, the alluring rival in Moses of Khoren's story, who eventually led to Ara to his downfall.

The historical kingdom of Urartu itself eventually came to a period of decline. The kings Tiglath-pileser III (ca. 745 - 727 B.C.) and Sargon II (ca. 722 - 705 B.C.) reversed the decline of their Assyrian kingdom and began a long campaign against the Urartuans. The Assyrian records indicate that Urartu was at this time under attack by the Cimmerians from the north, and it seems that the two-front war was more than Urartu could sustain. Urartu was overrun and the Cimmerians poured through to attack Assyria itself. Soon thereafter, Urartu joined forces with Assyria, which was not only embroiled in conflict with the Cimmerians and the newly arrived Scythians in the north, but also with the Babylonian state to the south.

The subsequent history of Urartu falls into greater and greater obscurity. Urartu and Assyria both fell into great decline, opening up a power vacuum in the region which was filled by the Medes, Babylonians, and Egyptians. The Babylonians and Medes divided the Assyrian empire between them, but Urartu seems to have fallen solely under Median control by ca. 605-585 B.C.

Reading and Textual Analysis

The oldest Armenian text is the Bible, translated from Greek in the early fifth century. (The beginning and completion dates cannot be determined with precision, but late texts which refer to the Bible provide us with a date ante quem.) Though some have argued that the Armenians referred to the Hebrew Old Testament, there is little evidence to support this. It is likely that the New Testament was translated before the Old Testament, and here it is possible that there was Syriac influence, though the matter has not been carefully studied. This reading comes from Matthew 5:1-16.

1 - Եւ տեսեալ զժողովուրդսն ել ի լեառն։ եւ իբրեւ նստաւ անդ՝ մատեան առ նա աշակերտք նորա

2 - Եւ բացեալ զբերան իւր ուսուցանէր զնոսա եւ ասէր։

3 - երանի աղքատաց հոգւով, զի նոցա է արքայութիւն երկնից :

4 - Երանի սգաւորաց, զի նոքա մխիթարեսցին :

5 - Երանի հեզոց, զի նոքա ժառանգեսցեն զերկիր :

6 - Երանի որ քաղցեալ ծարաւի իցեն արդարութեան, զի նոքա յագեսցին

7 - Երանի ողորմածաց, զի նոքա ողորմութիւն գտցեն

8 - Երանի այնոցիկ՝ որ սուրբ են սրտիւք, զի նոքա զԱստուած տեսցեն :

9 - Երանի խաղաղարարաց, զի նոքա որդիք Աստուծոյ կոչեսցին :

10 - Երանի որ հալածեալ իցեն վասն արդարութեան, զի նոցա է արքայութիւն երկնից :

11 - Երանի է ձեզ՝ յորժամ նախատիցեն զձեզ եւ հալածեսցեն, եւ ասիցեն զամենայն բան չար զձէնջ սուտ վասն իմ :

12 - Ցնծացէք եւ ուրախ լերուք, զի վարձք ձեր բազում են յերկինս։ զի այսպէս հալածեցին զմարգարէսն որ յառաջ քան զձեզ էին :

13 - Դուք էք աղ երկրի։ ապա թէ աղն անհամի ի՞ւ յաղիցի։ ոչ իմիք ազդիցէ այնուհետեւ, բայց եթէ ընկենուլ արտաքս, եւ կոխան լինել ի մարդկանէ :

14 - Դուք էք լոյս աշկարհի, ոչ կարէ քաղաք թաքչել՝ որ ի վերայ լերին կայցէ

15 - Եւ ոչ լուցանեն ճրագ եւ դնեն ընդ գրուանաւ, այլ ի վերայ աշտանակի, եւ լոյս տայ ամենեցուն որ ի տանն իցեն

16 - Այնպէս լուսաւորեսցէ լոյս ձեր առաջի մարդկան, որպէս զի տեսցեն զգործս ձեր բարիս, եւ փառաւորեսցեն զհայր ձեր որ յերկինս է :

Lesson Text

1 Եւ տեսեալ զժողովուրդսն ել ի լեառն։ եւ իբրեւ նստաւ անդ՝ մատեան առ նա աշակերտք նորա 2 Եւ բացեալ զբերան իւր ուսուցանէր զնոսա եւ ասէր։ 3 երանի աղքատաց հոգւով, զի նոցա է արքայութիւն երկնից : 4 Երանի սգաւորաց, զի նոքա մխիթարեսցին : 5 Երանի հեզոց, զի նոքա ժառանգեսցեն զերկիր : 6 Երանի որ քաղցեալ ծարաւի իցեն արդարութեան, զի նոքա յագեսցին 7 Երանի ողորմածաց, զի նոքա ողորմութիւն գտցեն 8 Երանի այնոցիկ՝ որ սուրբ են սրտիւք, զի նոքա զԱստուած տեսցեն : 9 Երանի խաղաղարարաց, զի նոքա որդիք Աստուծոյ կոչեսցին : 10 Երանի որ հալածեալ իցեն վասն արդարութեան, զի նոցա է արքայութիւն երկնից : 11 Երանի է ձեզ՝ յորժամ նախատիցեն զձեզ եւ հալածեսցեն, եւ ասիցեն զամենայն բան չար զձէնջ սուտ վասն իմ : 12 Ցնծացէք եւ ուրախ լերուք, զի վարձք ձեր բազում են յերկինս։ զի այսպէս հալածեցին զմարգարէսն որ յառաջ քան զձեզ էին : 13 Դուք էք աղ երկրի։ ապա թէ աղն անհամի ի՞ւ յաղիցի։ ոչ իմիք ազդիցէ այնուհետեւ, բայց եթէ ընկենուլ արտաքս, եւ կոխան լինել ի մարդկանէ : 14 Դուք էք լոյս աշկարհի, ոչ կարէ քաղաք թաքչել՝ որ ի վերայ լերին կայցէ 15 Եւ ոչ լուցանեն ճրագ եւ դնեն ընդ գրուանաւ, այլ ի վերայ աշտանակի, եւ լոյս տայ ամենեցուն որ ի տանն իցեն 16 Այնպէս լուսաւորեսցէ լոյս ձեր առաջի մարդկան, որպէս զի տեսցեն զգործս ձեր բարիս, եւ փառաւորեսցեն զհայր ձեր որ յերկինս է :

Translation

1 And seeing the multitudes, he went up onto a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him: 2 And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying, 3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. 6 Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled. 7 Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. 8 Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God. 9 Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. 10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteouness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. 12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. 13 Ye are the salt of the earth: but if the salt has lost its savour, wherewith shall it be salted? it is thenceforth good for nothing, but to be cast out, and to be trodden under foot of men. 14 Ye are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. 15 Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a bushel, but on a candlestick; and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

Grammar

1. The Alphabet and Sound System
1.1. The Alphabet

The Armenian alphabet was created in roughly 406 AD by a cleric named Mesrop Mastoc, initially as a vehicle for translation of the Bible. The most likely source of the alphabet is the Greek alphabet: like Greek, Armenian is read left to right; vowels are represented by separate characters, unlike nearby Semitic scripts; certain letters of the Armenian alphabet are reminiscent of the Greek, in particular the use of a digraph ու to represent the sound u as in the Greek; and the use of letters to represent numerals follows the Greek method. Below is a list of the letters of the Armenian alphabet, together with their transliterations, names, numerical values, and a guide to their pronunciation.

    Letter   Trans.   Name   Number   Pronunciation
    Ա ա   A a   ayb   1   a as in 'father'
    Բ բ   B b   ben   2   b as in 'boy'
    Գ գ   G g   gim   3   g as in 'good'
    Դ դ   D d   da   4   d as in 'dog'
    Ե ե   E e   ečʿ   5   e as in 'bet', initially ye as in 'yes'
    Զ զ   Z z   za   6   z as in 'zebra'
    Է է   Ē ē   ē   7   ei as in 'eight'
    Ը ը   Ə ə   etʿ   8   u as in 'but'
    Թ թ   Tʿ tʿ   tʿo   9   t, aspirated, as in 'top'
    Ժ ժ   Ž ž   žē   10   g as in 'rouge'
    Ի ի   I i   ini   20   ee as in 'queen'
    Լ լ   L l   liwn   30   l as in 'lamb'
    Խ խ   X x   xē   40   ch as in (German pronunciation of) 'Bach'
    Ծ ծ   C c   ca   50   t's as in 'what's up?'
    Կ կ   K k   ken   60   k, unaspirated, as in 'skip'
    Հ հ   H h   ho   70   h as in 'hope'
    Ձ ձ   J j   ja   80   ds as in 'heads'
    Ղ ղ   Ł ł   łat   90   ll as in 'ball', or ch as in Scots English 'loch', but voiced
    Ճ ճ   Č č   čē   100   tch, unaspirated, as in 'matchbox'
    Մ մ   M m   men   200   m as in 'map'
    Յ յ   Y y   yi   300   y as in 'yes', also as in 'boy'
    Ն ն   N n   nu   400   n as in 'now'
    Շ շ   Š š   ša   500   sh as in 'ship'
    Ո ո   O o   o   600   oa as in 'boat', initially vo as in 'vote'
    Չ չ   Čʿ čʿ   čʿa   700   tch, aspirated, as in 'match'
    Պ պ   P p   pē   800   p, unaspirated, as in 'spot'
    Ջ ջ   J̌ ǰ   ǰē   900   j as in 'jump'
    Ռ ռ   Ṙ ṙ   ṙa   1000   r as in 'run', but trilled
    Ս ս   S s   sē   2000   s as in 'sip'
    Վ վ   V v   vew   3000   v as in 'vat'
    Տ տ   T t   tiwn   4000   t, unaspirated, as in 'stop'
    Ր ր   R r   rē   5000   r as in 'run'
    Ց ց   Cʿ cʿ   cʿo   6000   ts, aspirated, as in 'hats'
    Ւ ւ   W w   hiwn   7000   w as in 'wet'
    Փ փ   Pʿ pʿ   pʿiwr   8000   p, aspirated, as in 'pot'
    Ք ք   Kʿ kʿ   kʿē   9000   k, aspirated, as in 'kit'

As mentioned above, the digraph ու represents the single vowel sound u. The schwa ը is written only in initial position for monosyllabic words and for words derived from these by nominal composition. In modern printed texts it is written in polysyllabic words when hyphenated.

Beginning in the twelfth century, the letter Ո/ո is used where one would usually find the diphthong աւ. The letter Ֆ/ֆ (F/f) was introduced to represent the corresponding foreign sound, as in the f of English 'father'. Greek omega was usually represented by ով.

1.2. The Sound System

The phonological system of Classical Armenian consists of 29 consonants and 7 simple vowels. The consonants may be organized according to articulation as in the following chart.

    Voiceless       Voiced
Plosives   Unaspirated   Aspirated    
Labial   պ (p)   փ (pʿ)   բ (b)
Dental   տ (t)   թ (tʿ)   դ (d)
Velar   կ (k)   ք (kʿ)   գ (g)
             
Affricates   Unaspirated   Aspirated    
Dental   ծ (c)   ց (cʿ)   ձ (j)
Palatal   ճ (č)   չ (čʿ)   ջ (ǰ)
             
Fricatives   Voiceless       Voiced
Labial           վ (v)
Dental   ս (s)       զ (z)
Palatal   շ (š)       ժ (ž)
Velar   խ (x)        
Glottal   հ (h)        
             
Nasals           Voiced
Labial           մ (m)
Dental           ն (n)
             
Liquids            
Central   ր (r)   ռ (ṙ)    
Lateral   լ (l)   ղ (ł)    
             
Semivowels            
Palatal   յ (y)        
Velar   ւ (w)        

Conventional pronunciation renders ղ (ł) as the voiced counterpart of խ (x), thereby lending it a fricative quality. The evidence from the classical period, however, seems to point to a heavy lateral articulation, as in Modern English 'ball'. The spelling gaył for the usual gayl shows that the distinction was not absolute within the language itself. It was also used to render the Greek lambda, as in titłos < Gk. titlos and Pawłos < Gk. Paulos.

վ (v) and ւ (w) are conventionally pronounced differently, as their English counterparts. In the classical period, however, they do not seem to have been distinct phonemes, but rather allographs: վ (v) was used initially, initially in the second element of compounds, and after ո (o) with ւ w used elsewhere.

The vowels may be similarly organized, as in the following chart:

Vowels   Front   Central   Back
High   ի (i)       ու (u)
High-Mid   է (ē)   ը (ə)    
Mid   ե (e)       ո (o)
Low       ա (a)    

There is no evidence for a distinction of vowel quantities in Classical Armenian.

Modern convention pronounces initial ե (e) as ye; the evidence for such pronunciation extending back to the classical period is unclear, since archaic texts often transcribe with initial ե Greek names beginning with epsilon or the alpha-iota diphthong. The word for Jerusalem, which however would have had an initial glide, is written simply as Erosałēm, indicating that ե was preceded by the glide y at least in some instances. Similarly, the pronunciation of initial ո (o) as vo seems to be post-classical.

Below is a list of the diphthongs of Classical Armenian. In some instances the conventional pronunciation diverges from the classical rendering.

1.3. Vocalic and Consonantal Alternation

In many instances the stress of a word shifts due to addition of a morpheme. This shift may cause the originally stressed vowel to change or drop altogether. The general rules for such alternation are listed below with a few illustrative examples.

Stressed V /   Full Form   Reduced Form
Unstressed V        
         
ի / zero   սիրտ 'heart'   G սրտի [sərti]
    ամիս 'month'   G ամսոյ [amso]
    թիւ 'number'   G թուոյ [tʿəwo]
    ելիք 'he reads'   1 sg. լքի [ləkʿi]
         
ու / zero   քուն 'sleep'   G քնոյ [kʿəno]
    հուր 'fire'   G հրոյ [həro]
    ումպ 'he entered'   1 sg. մտի [məti]
         
է / ի   վէմ 'stone'   G վիմի [vimi]
    էջ 'side'   G իջի [iǰi]
    էջ 'he descended'   1 sg. իջի [iǰi]
         
ոյ / ու   լոյս 'light'   G լուսոյ [luso]
    կոյս 'virgin'   G կուսի [kusi]
    եցոյց 'he showed'   1 sg. ցուցի [cʿucʿi]
         
եա / ե   մատեան 'house'   G մատենի [mateni]
    սենեակ 'room'   G սենեկի [seneki]
    սիրեաց 'he loved'   1 sg. սիրեցի [sirecʿi]
         
եւ / իւ   եւղ 'oil'   G իւղոյ [iwło]

There are some exceptions to these rules. Other vowels undergo no change under change of stress.

There are also some general tendencies of alternation between consonants in certain environments.

2. Nominal Declension

Classical Armenian nouns and adjectives display two numbers, singular and plural, and seven cases: Nominative, Accusative, Genitive, Dative, Locative, Ablative, and Instrumental. There is no purely grammatical gender of the sort found in languages such as Latin. There are several declension paradigms, which broadly fall into two categories: those with variable stems and those with invariable stems. One should note that stem variation is a phenomenon distinct from vocalic alternation. Vowel alternation occurs automatically whenever there is a change of stress due to the addition of a morpheme, and it therefore bears no relation to patterns of declension.

2.1. Nouns with Invariable Stems Ending in a Consonant

Nouns with invariable stems may be divided into two groups: those ending in a vowel, and those ending in a consonant. Of those ending in a consonant, there are four declensions, categorized according to the vowel found in the genitive plural: ա, ի, ու, ո. The nouns ամ 'year', բան 'word', ծով 'sea', and բերան 'mouth' illustrate the declension.

Singular

    ա   ի   ու   ո
Nom.   ամ   բան   ծով   բերան
Acc.   ամ   բան   ծով   բերան
Gen.   ամի   բանի   ծովու   բերանոյ
Dat.   ամի   բանի   ծովու   բերանոյ
Loc.   ամի   բանի   ծովու   բերան
Abl.   ամէ   բանէ   ծովէ   բերանոյ
Inst.   ամաւ   բանիւ   ծովու   բերանով

Plural

    ա   ի   ու   ո
Nom.   ամք   բանք   ծովք   բերանք
Acc.   ամս   բանս   ծովս   բերանս
Gen.   ամաց   բանից   ծովուց   բերանոց
Dat.   ամաց   բանից   ծովուց   բերանոց
Loc.   ամս   բանս   ծովս   բերանս
Abl.   ամաց   բանից   ծովուց   բերանոց
Inst.   ամաւք   բանիւք   ծովուք   բերանովք

Nouns ending in -եայ follow the ի-declension, e.g. հրեայ 'Jew', G sg. հրեի; N pl. հրեայք, G pl. հրեից, etc.

Some nouns of the ու-declension have an ablative singular ending in -ուէ, e.g. սպաս 'service', G sg. սպասու, Ab sg. սպասուէ.

Some nouns of the ո-declension optionally have the ending -ի in the Locative case, for example մէջ 'middle':

Proper nouns of the ա-declension are characterized by the ending -այ in the genitive, dative, locative, and ablative singular. Տիգրան provides an example:

    ա-decl.
Nom.   Տիգրան
Acc.   Տիգրան
Gen.   Տիգրանայ
Dat.   Տիգրանայ
Loc.   Տիգրանայ
Abl.   Տիգրանայ
Inst.   Տիգրանաւ
2.2. Substantives with Invariable Stems Ending in a Vowel

A large number of nouns and adjectives have invariable stems ending in the vowel -ի. These fall into two declensions, the ո-declension and the ա-declension. The ա-declension has a special Locative ending -ոջ and Ablative ending -ոջէ. The nouns հոգի 'spirit, soul' and տեղի 'place' illustrate the ո- and ա-declensions, respectively.

Singular

    ո   ա
Nom.   հոգի   տեղի
Acc.   հոգի   տեղի
Gen.   հոգւոյ   տեղւոյ
Dat.   հոգւոյ   տեղւոյ
Loc.   հոգի   տեղւոջ
Abl.   հոգւոյ   տեղւոյ, տեղւոջէ
Inst.   հոգւով   տեղեաւ

Plural

    ո   ա
Nom.   հոգիք   տեղիք
Acc.   հոգիս   տեղիս
Gen.   հոգւոց   տեղեաց
Dat.   հոգւոց   տեղեաց
Loc.   հոգիս   տեղիս
Abl.   հոգւոց   տեղեաց
Inst.   հոգւովք   տեղեաւք

Adjectives derived from place names by means of the suffix -ացի follow the declension of հոգի, with G plural in -ւոց, e.g. Աթենացի 'Athenian, one from Athens', G pl. Աթենացւոց. On the other hand, nouns with the suffix -ացի which are not derived from place names follow the declension of տեղի, e.g. դրացի, G pl. դրացեաց 'neighbor' derived from դուրք 'door'.

3. The Present System of Verbs

Verbal forms in Classical Armenian are built from two stems, the present and the aorist. One or both of these stems may contain a suffix inserted between the root and the inflectional vowel (in the present), or between root and ending (in the aorist). The present stem is the base for an indicative mood, subjunctive and (negative) imperative. The indicative mood separates into two tenses: present and imperfect. Nominal forms may arise from the present stem, namely an infinitive and participle. Inasmuch as verbal aspect is distinguished in Classical Armenian, the present system forms denote a developing or continuous action, while the aorist forms refer to an action's completion.

3.1. Present Indicative of 'to be'

The present indicative of the verb 'to be' illustrates the endings of the present indicative of all verbs. The forms are as follows.

    Singular   Plural
1st   եմ   եմք
2nd   ես   էք
3rd   է   են

Note that ե + յ > է, so that the endings are -մ, -ս, -յ, -մք, -յք, -ն.

3.2. The Present Indicative of All Verbs

The forms of the present indicative are comprised of a stem, characteristic vowel, and the present indicative endings. There are five possible characteristic vowels: ե, ի, ա, ու, ո. The endings are the same as those listed above for the verb 'to be'. սիրեմ 'I love', սիրիմ 'I am loved', լամ 'I weep', հեղում 'I pour', and գոմ 'I exist' illustrate the paradigms.

    ե   ի   ա   ու   ո
1 sg.   սիրեմ   սիրիմ   լամ   հեղում   *գոմ
2 sg.   սիրես   սիրիս   լաս   հեղուս   *գոս
3 sg.   սիրէ   սիրի   լայ   հեղու   գոյ
1 pl.   սիրեմք   սիրիմք   լամք   հեղումք   *գոմք