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Eternal Alphabet: Vo [Vo] - Ո (վո)
In Grabar, Ո denoted sound [o]. In modern Armenian, at the beginning and in the middle of words, after a vowel, it is pronounced as [vo] (exceptions: ով ([ov] – who), ովքեր ([ovqher] – who) in the plural, Ովսաննա – Ovsanna, where Ո preserves the ancient pronunciation), in all other words, in this position – [o].
Eternal Alphabet: Sh (ša) - Շ (շա)
Talking about letter Շ, we cannot but recall the famous poem by the Armenian poet Vahan Terian “Շշուկ ու շրշյուն” ([shshuk u shrshyun] – "Whisper and Rustle"). Even without knowing the Armenian language, the repeated utterance of the sound [sh] makes you hear the rustle of leaves and steps that create the image of the autumn.
Eternal Alphabet: N (nu) - Ն (նու)
The prototype of the graphic form of the Armenian letter Ն is the Greek “nu” – not the classical N, but one of its varieties. But it is not possible to determine, which variant exactly was used by Mashtots, because there were numerous variations of Ն in the IV–V centuries.
Eternal Alphabet: Y (yi) - Յ (յի)
Letter Յ denotes the sound [y]. At first, its phonetic meaning was confined to this, but with the lapse of time it changed. Apparently, no later than the XIII century, letter Յ got to be pronounced as [h] at the beginning of words.
Eternal Alphabet: M (men) - Մ (մեն)
In medieval Armenian manuscripts, letter Մ, with different signs of abbreviation, used to denote such words as մայր ([mayr] – mother), մ իտք ([mitq] –thought), մարմ ին ([marmin] – body), the name Մարկոս ([Markos] – Marcos), etc.
Eternal Alphabet: Č̣ (čē) - Ճ (ճէ)
The first word of the first sentence written in Armenian characters, began with letter Ճ. The numerical value of Ճ is 100. It indicatesthe beginning of a new row – the values of the next 9 letters successively increase by 100. In medieval manuscripts, letter Ճ is pictured as men – actors, dancers, etc.
Eternal Alphabet: Ġ (łat) -Ղ (ղատ)
The name of letter Ղ gave rise to the word ղատասություն ([ghatasutyun] – lallation),i.e. uttering of sound [gh] instead of [r]. Almost like the French pronouncetheir famous prance r.
Eternal Alphabet: Dz (ja) -Ձ (ձա)
For multiplying 20 times 4, we get 80 [dz], which is the first letter of word oil [dzyut] in Armenian. And substituting the letter 400 [n] for 80 [dz], we change the word oil [dzyut] in to the word for matter [nyut], which symbolizes the new leaven that miraculously raises up the lump of dough.
Eternal Alphabet: H (hɔ) -Հ (հո)
Հ is the first letter of the words Հայ – Armenian, Հայաստան – Armenia, Հայրենիք – homeland. Besides, ՀՀ is the abbreviation of the name of the Armenian state, the Republic of Armenia – Հայաստանի Հանրապետություն [(Hayastani Hanrapetutyun]).
Eternal Alphabet: K (ken) -Կ (կեն)
In Grabar, the Old Armenian language, կ stood for a sound that conformed to the Russian [к]. Of the two New Armenian literary languages, only the Eastern Armenian inherited this sound, while in the Western Armenian կ has retained its traditional way of writing.
