THE ARMENIAN ALPHABET As an Armenian youth, Alain Hamarian of Cambridge, Ontario, continously tries to learn more abut her background, and says "I am proud to be given this opportunity to share my heritage with others .. hopefully people will find our history as interesting as we do".

It has been said that a nation's alphabet is the base of their excellence. With the 36 letters it contains, the Armenian alphabet is among the oldest and most original alphabets in the world. Architectural by origin, it is said to have amazingly appeared to its author as he meditated. Although quite a few scholars around the world believe that certain letters from the Armenian alphabet have been borrowed from the Greek alphabet, it can be proven today, after much research that this alphabet is entirely original, and has endured without change for over 1500 years and resists the modern urge to be phoneticized. Indeed the Armenian alphabet has been phonetical from its very origin and today still has only one letter for every sound and likewise one sound for every letter.

The story of Mesrop-Mashtots (353-440? A.D.), the inventor of the Armenian alphabet is quite fascinating. It is said that he was a well educated man and had mastered the Greek, Syriac and Persian languages. In his youth he joined the army, and later became an architect in the court of King Khosrov of Armenia.

Finding no spiritual satisfaction in lay life, he became a monk. In this capacity he formed his own band of followers and soon was known as a famous evangelist and teacher. In this last function he found his task extremely difficult due to the lack of Armenian literature. Realizing its indispensability for both religious and political reasons, he invented the Armenian alphabet in the year 404 A.D.

Soon afterwards, Mesrop-Mashtots set to translate the Bible. In this work he had the assistance of his many disciples. The Armenian translation of the Bible is internationally recognized as the "Queen of all translations of the Bible". In Oshaken, Armenia, his grave is a place of veneration for all Armenians.

This article was originally published in Cross Cultures Magazine in Volume 1 - Issue 5 - 1992. Unauthorized copying, distribution or other usage without express written permission of the publisher is prohibited.