Modern Armenian (, ''ashkharhabar'' or ''ašxarhabar'', literally the "secular/lay language") is the modern vernacular (vulgar) form of the
Armenian language
Armenian (endonym: , , ) is an Indo-European languages, Indo-European language and the sole member of the independent branch of the Armenian language family. It is the native language of the Armenians, Armenian people and the official language of ...
. Although it first appeared in the 14th century, it was not until the 18-19th centuries that it became the dominant form of written Armenian, as opposed to
Classical Armenian
Classical Armenian (, , ; meaning "literary anguage; also Old Armenian or Liturgical Armenian) is the oldest attested form of the Armenian language. It was first written down at the beginning of the 5th century, and most Armenian literature fro ...
(''grabar'' or the "language of the book"). It has two standardized forms:
Western Armenian
Western Armenian ( ) is one of the two standardized forms of Modern Armenian, the other being Eastern Armenian. It is based mainly on the Istanbul Armenian dialect, as opposed to Eastern Armenian, which is mainly based on the Yerevan Arme ...
and
Eastern Armenian
Eastern Armenian () is one of the two standardized forms of Modern Armenian, the other being Western Armenian. The two standards form a pluricentric language.
Eastern Armenian is spoken in Armenia, Russia, as well as Georgia, and by the Armeni ...
, mostly spoken—in the 19th century—in the Ottoman and Russian empires, respectively.
The first novel written in Modern Armenian is
Khachatur Abovian's ''
Wounds of Armenia'', first published posthumously in 1858. Besides Abovian, other prominent advocates of the use of Modern Armenian were
Mikayel Nalbandian and
Raphael Patkanian. Pataknian's father, Gabriel, published ''Ararat'', the first Modern Armenian periodical in the Russian-controlled Caucasus.
References
{{Armenian language
Armenian language