Yerevan dialect

For the Yerevan dialect in Azerbaijan, see Yerevan dialect (Azerbaijani).
The spread of the Yerevan dialect according to Hrachia Adjarian's Classification des dialectes arméniens, 1909

The Yerevan dialect (Armenian: Երևանի բարբառ, romanized: Yerevani barbar’) is an Eastern Armenian dialect spoken in and around Yerevan. It served as the basis for modern Eastern Armenian, one of the two standardized forms of Modern Armenian. Classical Armenian (Grabar) words, as well as native Armenian words which are not attested in Classical Armenian, compose a significant part of the Yerevan dialect's vocabulary.[1] Throughout history, the dialect has been influenced by several languages, especially Russian and Persian, and loan words have significant presence in it today. It is the most widespread Armenian dialect today.[2]

Historically, it was known as the Araratian dialect (Արարատյան բարբառ, Araratyan barbar’), referring to the Ararat plain where it is mainly spoken. In the 19th century, efforts were made to create a modern literary Armenian language. In 1841, the prominent Armenian writer Khachatur Abovian completed his novel Wounds of Armenia, which was written in the Yerevan dialect. The importance of the dialect grew in 1918, when Yerevan became the capital of the First Republic of Armenia. The Eastern Armenian language and the Yerevan dialect have been heavily influenced by the Russian language.[3]

Today, the Yerevan dialect, which is the basis of colloquial Eastern Armenian,[4][5] is spoken by nearly all native residents of Yerevan. In addition, virtually all dialects in Armenia, Republic of Artsakh and Georgia's Samtskhe-Javakheti region are influenced by the standardized form of the Yerevan dialect through the educational system.[3] Most of the recent Armenian immigrants who have migrated to foreign countries since the late 1980s speak the Yerevan dialect.[6]

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference Markossian was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Baghdassarian-Tapaltsian, S. H. (1971). "OA Portal in Armenia" Արարատյան և Բայազետի բարբառների փոխհարաբերությունները [Relationship between Araratian and Bayazet dialects]. Patma-Banasirakan Handes (in Armenian) (4). Yerevan: Armenian National Academy of Sciences: 217–234. Retrieved 16 March 2013.
  3. ^ a b Ammon, Ulrich; Dittmar, Norbert; Mattheier, Klaus J. (2006). Sociolinguistics: an international handbook of the science of language and society. Berlin: Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co. KG. pp. 1900–1901. ISBN 978-3-11-018418-1.
  4. ^ Aldosari, Ali (2007). Middle East, western Asia, and northern Africa. Tarrytown, NY: Marshall Cavendish. p. 769. ISBN 9780761475712.
  5. ^ Dana, Léo Paul (2011). World Encyclopedia of Entrepreneurship. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing. p. 199. ISBN 9781849808453.
  6. ^ Samkian, Artineh (2007). Constructing Identities, Perceiving Lives: Armenian High School Students' Perceptions of Identity and Education. Los Angeles: University of California. p. 126. ISBN 9780549482574.