A little Armenian script history

Mesrop Mashtots devised the alphabet in the early fifth century, around 405–406 CE. It made it possible to translate Christian texts into Armenian rather than rely on Greek and Syriac versions. The original alphabet had 36 letters: 30 consonants and six vowels.

Two more letters, for o and f, were added in the medieval period. Reforms in the twentieth century changed some spellings and the way the u team is counted. The alphabet has its own letter shapes; it is not Latin written in a different font.

Armenian script is used in Armenia and by Armenian communities around the world. Eastern and Western Armenian use the same script but differ in pronunciation, including important consonant values. Traditional and reformed spelling also differ. Our sound examples follow Eastern Armenian; a diaspora text may use traditional spelling.

You do not need to memorise dates or master historical spelling. The useful takeaway is to check which pronunciation variety and spelling system a resource follows. The traditional first letter names are այբ, բեն and գիմ. Այբ and բեն form այբուբեն, the Armenian word for alphabet; letter names are useful when spelling aloud, but we read words by joining sounds.