Armenian
Armenian forms an independent branch of the Indo-European language family.
It is most closely related to Greek, but has many borrowed words
from such Indo-Iranian languages as Pushto and Persian. Two standard
dialects exist. Eastern Armenian is used in Armenia and in enclaves
in Azerbaijan and Iran. Western Armenian is used by Armenians in
Istanbul, Lebanon, Egypt, other parts of the diaspora. The scattered
population of Armenian speakers--the diaspora--is the result of several
historically significant events. During World War I, Armenians in Turkey
suffered persecution and then genocide in 1915. From 1918 to 1920,
those who resisted the Turks attempted to create an independent Armenian
Republic but ultimately were unsuccessful. Historic Armenia was
then divided up among the USSR, Turkey, and Iran while numerous Armenians
fled to other parts of the world. These Armenians are the primary
speakers of the West Armenian dialect. The Armenians who settled in Armenia
and Iran were influenced by the USSR. By 1923, all the political
power in Armenia was in the hands of the Soviet government and the East
Armenian dialect was subsequently influenced by two sets of Soviet orthographic
reforms. Today, as a result of the Armenian revolution, a Republic
of Armenia has been established. There are approximately five to six
million people who speak Armenian, including 3.5 million in the Republic
of Armenia (ninety three percent of whom are ethnic Armenian), and a
number of groups of speakers living in various countries in the Middle
East and elsewhere.
Sources:
UCLA Language Materials Project
Information on Writing System:
Independent Study Courses Available at UCSD:
Other Courses Available at UCSD
Other Local Resources:
UCSD International Center
Mingei museum of folk art
SD cultural
events
International
web radio
Armenia and Gabriel~(619) 428-8949; 2383 Via Segundo