RATURE. The Armenian language forms one of the eight main divisions of the Indo Germanic group. Owing to the presence of many loan-words from the Iranian languages, Armenian was for a long time supposed to he an Iranian dialect, and this theory was defended especially by Paul de Lagarde and Friedrich Muller. A more scientific investigation of the language, however, has overthrown this view, and the inde pendence of the Armenian has been conclusively shown. For this great contribution to philology we are indebted most of all to Heinrich Hiibsch mann. Valuable studies on the Armenian lan guage and literature have also been made by Bartholonue, Bugge, and others. The Armenian language is divided into two parts: The Old, or Classical (grabar) Armenian and the Modern Armenian. The Classical Armenian language shows no dialectic variations, but the modern Armenian has many dialects, whose study is most important for a correct scien tific philological knowledge of this Indo-Ger manic tongue. The Classical Armenian is a fully inflected language, possessing seven declen sions with six cases (nom., gen., dat., ace., abl., and instr.) and two supplementary cases (narrative and circumlocutory). There is also, as in all Indo-Germanic languages, a special mode of declension for the pronouns. There is DO gender in Armenian, and but two numbers, singular and plural. Comparison of adjectives, which are often uninflected, is chiefly by aux iliary adverbs or by repetition of the adjec tives to be compared. There are four conjuga tions, of which the fourth is generally passive in force, with present, imperfect, first and sec ond aorist, and first and second future, present and future participle, and infinitive tenses. As in Greek, but one of the futures and aorists is com monly found in the same verb. The moods are the indicative, subjunctive, imperative (or more properly, prohibitive). The Modern Armenian differs from the grabar chiefly in the decay of its inflectional system, in the influx of loan words from the Turkish, and in the inter change of pronounciation of the old tenucs and mcdice with the new (Classical Armenian b, g, (1, k, p, etc., pronounced p, k, t, g, b, etc., in Modern Armenian). The Armenian is fond of harsh combinations of consonants and it is particularly rich in affricative sounds. The accent is usually on the last syllable. The Armenian alphabet consists of thirty-six let ters, to which two others, 6' and f, were added in the Twelfth Century. This alphabet was introduced by Mesrob, a bishop of the Arme nian Church, early in the Fifth Century, and was probably based upon the Greek letters, with additions from other sources to provide characters for sounds not represented in the Greek alphabet. In addition to the sounds familiar to our ears, Armenian possesses char acters for the indefinite e in the man, for zh (French j), h (as in German, Greek x), sh, ts, ds, tch, dsh, thsh, tsh, rolled r, for the aspirates th, ph, kk, and for a deep glottal catch corre sponding somewhat in pronunciation to the Arabic ghain.
Armenian literature, properly speaking, begins only with the Fifth Century,when Mesrob devised the alphabet, and the entire Bible was rendered into Armenian by 410. Before the time of Mcsrob there had been no Armenian literature (although a few Armenian songs are preserved by Moses of Chorenc) despite the claims made for Agathangelos (ed. Venice, 1862, Tiflis, 1883)
and Faustus of Byzantium (ed. Venice, 1889), who probably wrote in Greek, and was trans lated into Armenian later. Armenian literature is especially strong in history and in theology; but in poetry and belles-lettres it is very weak, and the drama does not exist. The principal Armenian writers (exclusive of translators) are as follows: Fifth Century, Eznik of Go1p, Refu tation of Heresies, especially valuable for its account of the Zoroastrian and Manichwan re ligions (ed. Venice, 1850) ; Noses of Chorene, History of Armenia, a most important source of material (ed. Amsterdam 1695, London 1736, Venice 1752, 1827, 1865, 1881, translated by Le Vaillant do Florival, Venice, 1S41. and by Regensburg, 1869), and a geography (ed. and tr. Venice, 1881) ; David thcPhilosopher (ed. Venice, 1823) ; Elisa•s, History of Vanierr and of the Battles of the Armenians (ed. Constantinople, 1764, 1823, Venice, l828, 1852, 1859, l893, tr. Neumann, London, 1830) ; Eighth Century, John of Ozim, a theological writer (ed. Venice, 1834) ; Ninth Century, Thomas of Ardsruni, an impor tant historian; Tenth Century, Gregor Narek, religious writer (ed. Venice, 1827-40) ; Eleventh Century, Gregor Magistros, theologian, granuna rian, and poet; Twelfth Century. Nerses Klay ensis, poet, theologian, historian (ed. of his poetry, Venice, 1830), and his nephew, Nerses of Lampron, theologian. poet, and translator; Mechitar Gosh, fable-writer (ed. Venice, 1854) and lawyer (ed. Etchmiadzin, 1880) ; Thir teenth Century. Vardan, who composed an im portant history of Armenia (ed. Venice, 1862), a book of beast-fables (ed. in selection, Paris, 1825), and theological works; Vahramn of Edessa, historian (ed. Madras, 1810) ; Johannes Erzin oensis historian. grammarian, theologian. and astronomer; Fourteenth Century, Gregor Dath eriensis. theologian. The last great author who wrote in Classical Armenian was Tschamtschean (died 1823), whose most important work was a history of Armenia from the earliest times to 1784 (ed. Venice, 1784-86). The golden ages of Armenian literature are the Fifth Century and the Twelfth Century, and the Fourteenth Century marks time beginning of a steady decline. The first book printed in Arme nian was the Psalms (Venice. 1565), and during the Seventeenth and Eighteenth centuries print ing-houses were established in many cities in Europe, as well as in Asia—at Julfa, Smyrna,and Madras. A special impetus toward the preserva tion of Armenian literature was given by the establishment of a college and convent by Mechitar on the island of San Lazaro near Ven ice, in 1717.
BIBLIOGRAPHY. Petermann, Grammatica LinBibliography. Petermann, Grammatica Lin- puce Armenia= ( Berlin, 1837) ; Uremia Lin•um Armenia= (Leipzig, 1872) ; Lauren et Carriere, Grammaire armneniennc ( Pa ris, 1833 ) ; Hfibsch mann, Arnicniselic St udicn (Leipzig, 1883) ; .1r menisehe Grammatik I. (all out, Leipzig, 1897) ; MsCuiantz, Studies on Armenian Dialectology (Styudi po Annyanskol Dialecktologie), 1. (Mos cow, 1807) ; Bedrossian, Armenian-English Dictionary (Venice, 1875-79) ; Neumann, (le schichte (ler armenischen Litterutur (Leipzig, 1836) ; Ne•e, L'...irmenie chretienne et sa littera lwre (Louvain, 1886).