Armenian alphabet
| Armenian | |
|---|---|
| Script type | |
| Creator | Mesrop Mashtots |
Period | AD 405 to present |
| Direction | Left-to-right |
| Official script | Armenia |
| Languages | Armenian, Zok, Kurmanji (Partial use) and Lomavren |
| Related scripts | |
Parent systems | |
Child systems | |
Sister systems | |
| ISO 15924 | |
| ISO 15924 | Armn (230), Armenian |
| Unicode | |
Unicode alias | Armenian |
| |
| Armenian letter art and its cultural expressions | |
|---|---|
Tatev Monastery, 8th century | |
| Country | Armenia |
| Reference | 01513 |
| Region | Europe and North America |
| Inscription history | |
| Inscription | 2019 (14 session) |
| List | Representative |
| History of the Armenian language |
|---|
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Armenian alphabet Romanization of Armenian |
The Armenian alphabet (Armenian: Հայոց գրեր, Hayocʼ grer or Հայոց այբուբեն, Hayocʼ aybuben) or, more broadly, the Armenian script, is an alphabetic writing system developed for Armenian and occasionally used to write other languages. It is one of the three historical alphabets of the South Caucasus. It was developed around 405 AD by Mesrop Mashtots, an Armenian linguist and ecclesiastical leader. The script originally had 36 letters. Eventually, two more were adopted in the 13th century. In reformed Armenian orthography (1920s), the ligature և ev is also treated as a letter, bringing the total number of letters to 39.
The Armenian word for 'alphabet' is այբուբեն (aybuben), named after the first two letters of the Armenian alphabet: ⟨Ա⟩ Armenian: այբ ayb and ⟨Բ⟩ Armenian: բեն ben. Armenian is written horizontally, left to right.