Languages of Armenia
| Languages of Armenia | |
|---|---|
| Official languages | Armenian |
| Minority languages | Assyrian, Greek, Russian, Yazidi Kurdish (officially recognized by the ECRML) |
| Main foreign languages |
English Russian |
| Sign languages | Armenian Sign Language |
| Armenian-Russian bilingualism in Soviet Armenia | ||||
| Year | Armenian SSR | Rural | Urban | Yerevan |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 23.3% | 9.5% | 31.6% | 36.5% |
| 1979 | 34.2% | 17.7% | 41.7% | 47.5% |
Armenia is an ethnically homogeneous country, where Armenian is the official language and is spoken as a first language by the majority of its population.
As of today, Russian is still, by far, the best known foreign language among the Armenian population. English is gaining popularity in recent years. French and several other languages have also begun to be studied and used. Yazidi is the largest minority language of Armenia spoken by the Yazidi minority. Other minority languages recognized by the Armenian government are Assyrian, Greek, and Russian.
The Article 12 of the Constitution of Armenia states that "The state language of the Republic of Armenia is Armenian".
Armenian is a major language used in education, administration and public life. Armenian belongs to an independent branch of the Indo-European language family and uses a unique 39-letter alphabet invented in the 5th century.
Armenia has been the most successful of the three South Caucasian states (others being Azerbaijan and Georgia) in linguistic de-Russification after the collapse of the Soviet Union.
Because of political and historical reasons, Russian is the most common foreign language spoken by the majority of Armenians. English is the second and the fastest growing foreign language in Armenia.
Universities in Russian, English and French exist in the capital city of Armenia, Yerevan. Study courses are available in numerous languages in Armenian universities, most notably the Yerevan State Linguistic University.
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Wikipedia