Language
The Armenian language belongs to the Indo-European language family. The Armenian language was influenced by contact with neighbouring languages and cultures, such as Greek, Persian and Arabic. These influences can be seen in the grammar, vocabulary and phonetics of the language. There are similarities with Greek words, but also loan words from Persian. The Armenian people appear in documents as early as the 6th century BC.
Because the Armenian language contains many different sounds, Armenians often find it easy to pronounce other European languages – there is the “German” CH, the English R, and a rolled R as in Russian or Italian.
Armenia is about the size of Brandenburg and has a population of approximately 3 million speakers. There are countless dialects in this small mountainous country. A distinction is also made between Western and Eastern Armenian.
Armenian is also spoken in the Armenian diaspora – in Russia, Lebanon, Syria, Europe and the USA. Depending on the estimate, the total number of speakers is up to 9 million. Around 100 Armenians live in Dresden.
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Script
The Armenian alphabet was developed around 405 AD by the monk and saint Mesrop Mashtots using Latin and, above all, Greek letters. It comprises a large number of letters, namely 39 (the English alphabet, without the umlauts ä, ü, ö, has 26).
The artistic design of letters is a deeply rooted folk tradition in Armenia. In the capital Yerevan, there is a monument made of large stone letters.
Armenian schoolchildren grow up with three alphabets: at school, they learn the Latin and Cyrillic alphabets.
ANSPRECHBAR
We are ANSPRECHBAR – for a better understanding! We get people talking – regardless of language, culture, age, budget or social status – at creative workshops, exhibitions and in an interview magazine with empathetic portraits. Join us and let’s build bridges together!
Period
01-12.2025
Project coordination
Yvonn Spauschus (project management)
Yulia Vishnichenko · Moussa Mbarek · Nadine Wölk · Rosa Brockelt · Bela Álvarez (workshop leader)
Rosa Hauch · Birthe Mühlhoff (moderation, documentation)
Cooperation partners
JugendKunstschule Dresden – Standort Passage, Omse e.V., Malteser Hilfsdienste e.V., Montagscafé am Staatsschauspiel Dresden, Umweltzentrum Dresden – ABC Tische, Internationale Gärten Dresden e.V, Uniwerk e.V. (Pirna), Buntes Meißen Bündnis Zivilcourage e.V. and many more
Supported by
The project is funded by Heidehof Stiftung GmbH the State Ministry for Social Affairs and Social Cohesion. This measure is co-financed with tax funds on the basis of the budget passed by the Saxon state parliament within the framework of the state programme Integrative Maßnahmen.
