Armenian IPA Transcription - Help

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About This Tool

This Armenian transcription app uses the Wiktionary Armenian Pronunciation Module to generate phonetic and phonemic IPA transcriptions for Armenian text.

The system is entirely rule-based — it does not use a lexicon. All transcriptions are generated algorithmically from the Armenian spelling, applying the phonological rules of the selected dialect. This means it works on any Armenian text, including neologisms and rare words, but it cannot handle words whose pronunciation deviates from the standard spelling rules (e.g., some loanwords).

The implementation covers the two major modern Armenian dialects: Eastern Armenian (based on the Yerevan standard) and Western Armenian (based on the Istanbul/Beirut standard). Each dialect produces both phonemic and phonetic transcriptions.

Dialects & Limitations

Supported Dialects

Limitations

Phonemic vs Phonetic

Quick Reference (Glossary)

Phoneme
A sound that can change the meaning of a word when substituted for another. Represented with slashes: /b/, /p/.
Allophone
A predictable variant of a phoneme that occurs in a specific context. Represented with square brackets: [pʰ] is an allophone of /p/ in Western Armenian.
Voicing
Vibration of the vocal cords. Compare voiced /b/ (vocal cords vibrate) with voiceless /p/ (no vibration).
Aspiration
A burst of air after a stop consonant. Transcribed with a superscript ʰ: /pʰ/ vs /p/. Eastern Armenian փ is aspirated /pʰ/, while պ is unaspirated /p/.
Voicing Swap
The systematic exchange of voicing values between the Armenian stop series. In Western Armenian, historically voiced letters (բ, գ, դ, ձ, ջ) became voiceless, and historically voiceless letters (պ, կ, տ, ծ, ճ) became voiced.
Regressive Assimilation
A sound changes to match a following sound. In Armenian, voiced obstruents devoice before voiceless ones: e.g., բ + թ → pʰtʰ.
Schwa
A mid-central vowel /ə/, represented by Armenian ը. Also inserted prothetically in Western Armenian before certain consonant clusters.
Prothetic Schwa
A schwa inserted before a word-initial consonant cluster. In Western Armenian, words beginning with sp-, st-, sk-, etc. may receive a prothetic ə.
Gemination
Lengthening of a consonant, shown with ː. Armenian orthographic doubling (e.g., բբ) is phonetically realized as a long consonant [bː].
Affricate
A consonant that begins as a stop and releases as a fricative. Armenian has six affricates: /t͡s/, /d͡z/, /t͡ʃ/, /d͡ʒ/ and their aspirated counterparts.
Fricative
A consonant produced by forcing air through a narrow channel. Armenian fricatives include: /s/, /z/, /ʃ/, /ʒ/, /f/, /v/, /χ/, /ʁ/, /h/.
Hiatus
Two adjacent vowels in separate syllables. In phonetic transcription, an optional glide [j] may be inserted between them.
Glide
A sound that functions as a transition between a vowel and a consonant or between two vowels. The palatal glide [j] is optionally inserted in hiatus contexts.
Trill
A consonant produced by rapid vibration of the tongue tip. Armenian ռ is an alveolar trill /r/, while ր is a tap /ɾ/.
Tap (Flap)
A single quick contact of the tongue against the alveolar ridge. Armenian ր is a tap /ɾ/. In phonetic transcription, geminate rr is realized as [ɹː] since a long trill is phonetically impractical.
Uvular
A sound produced at the back of the throat (uvula). Armenian ղ is a voiced uvular fricative /ʁ/, and խ is a voiceless uvular fricative /χ/.
Velar Nasal
The ng sound /ŋ/. In Armenian phonetic transcription, ն before /ɡ/ or /k/ is realized as [ŋ].
Digraph
Two letters representing a single sound. The main Armenian digraph is ու = /u/. Western Armenian also has էօ = /œ/.
Ligature
A combination of two or more letters joined into a single glyph. Armenian և is a ligature pronounced /ev/.
Extrasyllabic
A sound that does not belong to any syllable. The final -ք in ancient Armenian plurals is treated as extrasyllabic, marked internally with a middle dot (·) to prevent voicing assimilation rules from applying to it.

How to Read IPA Symbols

Below are the IPA symbols used in Armenian transcription. Each symbol is shown with an Armenian example and an English approximation where possible.

Vowel Symbols

IPA Armenian Letter English Approximation Notes
/ɑ/ ա father Open back unrounded vowel
/e/ ե, է bed (but longer) Close-mid front unrounded
/ə/ ը about Mid-central vowel (schwa)
/i/ ի machine Close front unrounded
/o/ ո, օ go (but without the glide) Close-mid back rounded
/u/ ու rule Close back rounded; digraph
/œ/ էօ French peu Western Armenian only; digraph
/ʏ/ յու German Hütte Western Armenian; in specific contexts

Consonant Symbols

IPA Armenian Letter(s) English Approximation Notes
/pʰ/ փ (E), փ / բ (W phonetic) pin (with aspiration) Aspirated voiceless bilabial stop
/tʰ/ թ (E), թ / դ (W phonetic) tin (with aspiration) Aspirated voiceless alveolar stop
/kʰ/ ք (E), ք / գ (W phonetic) kin (with aspiration) Aspirated voiceless velar stop
/t͡s/ ծ (E), ձ (W) cats Voiceless alveolar affricate
/t͡sʰ/ ց bits (with aspiration) Aspirated voiceless alveolar affricate
/d͡z/ ձ (E), ծ (W) adze Voiced alveolar affricate
/t͡ʃ/ ճ (E), ջ (W) church (without aspiration) Voiceless postalveolar affricate
/t͡ʃʰ/ չ church (with aspiration) Aspirated voiceless postalveolar affricate
/d͡ʒ/ ջ (E), ճ (W) judge Voiced postalveolar affricate
/ʃ/ շ she Voiceless postalveolar fricative
/ʒ/ ժ vision Voiced postalveolar fricative
/χ/ խ Scottish loch Voiceless uvular fricative
/ʁ/ ղ French rouge Voiced uvular fricative
/ɾ/ ր American English better (tap) Alveolar tap
/r/ ռ Spanish rr (trill) Alveolar trill
/ŋ/ ն before ɡ/k sing Velar nasal (allophone of /n/)
/j/ յ yes Palatal approximant

Diacritical Marks

Symbol Name Meaning Example
ˈ Primary stress Stress placed on the following syllable baˈɾi
ː Length mark Consonant is long (geminate) [bː] from orthographic բբ
̚ Unreleased stop Stop consonant without audible release [t̚t͡s] in geminate affricates
ʰ Superscript h Aspiration (burst of air) /pʰ/, /tʰ/, /kʰ/
͡ Tie bar Links two symbols into a single affricate /t͡s/, /d͡ʒ/
́ Combining acute Stress mark in phonetic transcription (placed on the vowel) [baɾ́i]

Interactive Features

Multiple Pronunciation Variants

Some words may have more than one valid pronunciation. The tool shows all known variants:

Armenian Pronunciation Guide

This section explains the key pronunciation rules for Armenian, focusing on the differences between Eastern and Western dialects.

The Voicing Swap (Western vs Eastern)

The most important dialect difference in Armenian is the voicing swap of the stop and affricate consonants. The same letters have opposite voicing values in the two dialects:

Letter Eastern IPA Western IPA Direction
բ /b/ (voiced) /p/ (voiceless) voiced → voiceless
պ /p/ (voiceless) /b/ (voiced) voiceless → voiced
դ /d/ (voiced) /t/ (voiceless) voiced → voiceless
տ /t/ (voiceless) /d/ (voiced) voiceless → voiced
գ /ɡ/ (voiced) /k/ (voiceless) voiced → voiceless
կ /k/ (voiceless) /ɡ/ (voiced) voiceless → voiced
ձ /d͡z/ (voiced) /t͡s/ (voiceless) voiced → voiceless
ծ /t͡s/ (voiceless) /d͡z/ (voiced) voiceless → voiced
ջ /d͡ʒ/ (voiced) /t͡ʃ/ (voiceless) voiced → voiceless
ճ /t͡ʃ/ (voiceless) /d͡ʒ/ (voiced) voiceless → voiced

In practice, this means that an Eastern Armenian speaker reading բ produces [b], while a Western Armenian speaker produces [p] — a completely different sound from the same letter.

Post-Sibilant Exception

In Western Armenian phonetic transcription, the letters պ, տ, and կ do not voice when they follow the sibilants ս or շ. They remain voiceless even though they would normally be voiced in Western:

Sequence Western Phonetic Expected (without rule)
սպ [sp] *[sb]
ստ [st] *[sd]
սկ [sk] *[sɡ]
շպ [ʃp] *[ʃb]
շտ [ʃt] *[ʃd]
շկ [ʃk] *[ʃɡ]

This rule only applies in phonetic mode. In phonemic mode, the standard voicing values apply regardless of preceding sibilants.

Aspiration

Armenian has a three-way distinction among stops and affricates: voiced, voiceless unaspirated, and voiceless aspirated.

Eastern Armenian Aspiration

Type Labial Alveolar Velar Affricate (alv.) Affricate (post-alv.)
Voiced /b/ բ /d/ դ /ɡ/ գ /d͡z/ ձ /d͡ʒ/ ջ
Voiceless unaspirated /p/ պ /t/ տ /k/ կ /t͡s/ ծ /t͡ʃ/ ճ
Voiceless aspirated /pʰ/ փ /tʰ/ թ /kʰ/ ք /t͡sʰ/ ց /t͡ʃʰ/ չ

Western Armenian Aspiration

In Western Armenian, the aspiration contrast is neutralized in phonemic transcription — the formerly aspirated letters (փ, թ, ք, ց, չ) are phonemically /p/, /t/, /k/, /t͡s/, /t͡ʃ/ (unlike Eastern where they are /pʰ/ etc.).

However, in phonetic transcription, Western Armenian aspirates are still shown as aspirated: [pʰ], [tʰ], [kʰ], etc. The formerly voiced letters (բ, դ, գ, ձ, ջ) are phonetically aspirated in Western: [pʰ], [tʰ], [kʰ], [t͡sʰ], [t͡ʃʰ].

Letter Eastern Phonemic Eastern Phonetic Western Phonemic Western Phonetic
բ /b/ [b] /p/ [pʰ]
պ /p/ [p] /b/ [b]
փ /pʰ/ [pʰ] /p/ [pʰ]
դ /d/ [d] /t/ [tʰ]
տ /t/ [t] /d/ [d]
թ /tʰ/ [tʰ] /t/ [tʰ]
գ /ɡ/ [ɡ] /k/ [kʰ]
կ /k/ [k] /ɡ/ [ɡ]
ք /kʰ/ [kʰ] /k/ [kʰ]

Vowels

The Armenian Vowel Inventory

Both dialects share the same basic vowel system. The main digraph is ու = /u/.

Letter IPA Example Notes
ա /ɑ/ արև /ɑɾev/ "sun"
ե /e/ մեկ /mek/ "one" Word-initially → /je/
է /e/ էջ /et͡ʃ/ (E) "page" Same sound as ե in modern pronunciation
ը /ə/ ընկեր /ənkeɾ/ "friend" Schwa; rare in word-initial position in modern text
ի /i/ իմ /im/ "my"
ո /o/ որդի /voɾdi/ "son" Word-initially → /vo/
ու /u/ ուր /uɾ/ "where" Digraph
օ /o/ օր /oɾ/ "day" Same sound as ո; used word-initially and in emphasis
էօ /œ/ Western Armenian only; front rounded vowel

Vowel Digraphs and the Ligature և

Sequence IPA Notes
ու /u/ Standard digraph in both dialects
էօ /œ/ Western Armenian only
և /ev/ Ligature; a single glyph representing two sounds
յու /ʏ/ Western Armenian; in specific non-initial, non-post-vowel contexts

Word-Initial ե and ո

Two Armenian vowels have special behavior at the beginning of a word:

Letter Word-Initial Elsewhere Example
ե /je/ /e/ ես /jes/ "I", but բեր /beɾ/ (W)
ո /vo/ /o/ որդի /voɾdi/ (E) "son"

Exception: When word-initial ո is followed by վ, the result is /ov/, not /vov/. For example, ով = /ov/ "who".

Consonant Classes

Stops (Plosives)

Armenian has a rich stop system with three series at three places of articulation:

Place Voiced Voiceless Unaspirated Voiceless Aspirated
Labial /b/ բ (E) /p/ պ (E) /pʰ/ փ
Alveolar /d/ դ (E) /t/ տ (E) /tʰ/ թ
Velar /ɡ/ գ (E) /k/ կ (E) /kʰ/ ք

Affricates

Place Voiced Voiceless Unaspirated Voiceless Aspirated
Alveolar /d͡z/ ձ (E) /t͡s/ ծ (E) /t͡sʰ/ ց
Postalveolar /d͡ʒ/ ջ (E) /t͡ʃ/ ճ (E) /t͡ʃʰ/ չ

Fricatives

Voiced Voiceless
/z/ զ /s/ ս
/ʒ/ ժ /ʃ/ շ
/v/ վ, ւ /f/ ֆ
/ʁ/ ղ /χ/ խ
/h/ հ

Nasals, Liquids, and Approximants

Type Letter IPA
Nasal մ /m/
Nasal ն /n/ (→ [ŋ] before velars in phonetic)
Lateral լ /l/
Tap ր /ɾ/
Trill ռ /r/
Approximant յ /j/

Voicing & Devoicing Assimilation

Armenian has extensive voicing assimilation rules, where the voicing of one consonant changes to match a neighboring consonant.

Regressive Voicing Assimilation (Both Dialects)

A voiced fricative becomes voiceless before a voiceless consonant:

Spelling Phonemic Phonetic
ղ /ʁ/ → /χ/ before /p t k s ʃ/ → [χ] before [p t k s ʃ t͡s t͡ʃ]
վ /v/ → /f/ before /p t k s ʃ/ → [f] before [p t k s ʃ t͡s t͡ʃ]

Western Armenian Voicing Assimilation

In Western Armenian (phonemic), voiced obstruents become voiceless before voiceless stops:

Voiced Before Voiceless Example (phonemic)
/b/ → /p/ Before /p t k/
/d/ → /t/ Before /p t k/
/ɡ/ → /k/ Before /p t k/
/d͡z/ → /t͡s/ Before /p t k/
/d͡ʒ/ → /t͡ʃ/ Before /p t k/
/z/ → /s/ Before /p t k/
/ʒ/ → /ʃ/ Before /p t k/

Voiced Consonant Devoicing Before Aspirated Consonants (Both Dialects)

In phonetic transcription, voiced obstruents are devoiced before aspirated consonants. This is a comprehensive set of rules that applies to all voiced stops and affricates:

Before b → d → ɡ → d͡z → d͡ʒ → v → ʒ → z →
pʰ pʰː tʰpʰ kʰpʰ t͡sʰpʰ t͡ʃʰpʰ fpʰ ʃpʰ spʰ
tʰ pʰtʰ tʰː kʰtʰ t͡sʰtʰ t͡ʃʰtʰ ftʰ ʃtʰ stʰ
kʰ pʰkʰ tkʰ kʰː t͡sʰkʰ t͡ʃʰkʰ fkʰ ʃkʰ skʰ
t͡sʰ pʰt͡sʰ tʰt͡sʰ kʰt͡sʰ t͡sʰː t͡ʃʰt͡sʰ ft͡sʰ ʃt͡sʰ —
t͡ʃʰ pʰt͡ʃʰ tʰt͡ʃʰ kʰt͡ʃʰ t͡sʰt͡ʃʰ t͡ʃʰː ft͡ʃʰ ʃt͡ʃʰ —

For example, բփ (E: /bpʰ/) is realized phonetically as [pʰː], and դթ (E: /dtʰ/) as [tʰː].

Aspirated Stop Assimilation (Both Dialects)

When a voiceless unaspirated stop precedes its aspirated counterpart, the result is a long aspirated stop:

Western Phonetic: Additional Assimilation Rules

In Western phonetic mode, additional rules apply:

Schwa Insertion

Western Prothetic Schwa

In Western Armenian, words beginning with a consonant cluster of s/ʃ/z + stop may receive a prothetic /ə/ at the beginning. For example, a word spelled with initial sp-, st-, sk-, etc. may be pronounced [əsp...], [əst...], [əsk...].

Western Causative Schwa

The causative suffix -ցնել always receives an inserted schwa: /t͡sənel/ (phonemic) or [t͡sʰənel] (phonetic).

Gemination

Armenian orthographic consonant doubling is realized phonetically as a long consonant. Additionally, sequences of a voiceless unaspirated stop followed by its aspirated counterpart merge into a single long aspirated consonant in phonetic transcription:

Orthographic Doubling

Spelling Phonemic Phonetic Notes
բբ /bb/ [bː] Long stop
rr (րր) /ɾɾ/ [ɹː] Geminate tap → approximant (trill cannot be long)
tt͡s (affricate geminate) — [t̚t͡s] Unreleased stop closure before affricate

Aspirated Stop Assimilation (Phonetic)

When a voiceless unaspirated stop is followed by its aspirated counterpart, the sequence merges into a single long aspirated consonant:

Sequence Phonetic Result Example Context
ppʰ pʰː պ + փ in close proximity
ttʰ tʰː տ + թ in close proximity
kkʰ kʰː կ + ք in close proximity

Stress Patterns

Phonemic Stress

Phonetic Stress

In phonetic transcription, stress is marked with a combining acute accent (́) placed directly on the stressed vowel, rather than with the IPA stress mark ˈ.

Hiatus & Glide Insertion

In phonetic transcription, when two vowels appear in hiatus (adjacent vowels in separate syllables), an optional palatal glide [j] may be inserted between them:

Sequence Phonetic Realization
i + vowel i(j)V
vowel + i V(j)i

This applies to all vowel combinations where i is adjacent to another vowel: iɑ, ie, io, iu, ɑi, ei, oi, ui.

Eastern Palatalization of -ությ-

In Eastern Armenian, the sequence -ությ- (especially common in the suffix -ություն) undergoes palatalization in phonetic transcription:

This palatalization is considered non-standard by some strict prescriptivists but is widely used in practice. It does not apply in Western Armenian.

Spelling-to-IPA Mapping

Reference tables mapping Armenian letters to their IPA values. For letters that differ between dialects, both values are shown.

1. Vowels

Letter IPA Context / Rule Example
ա /ɑ/ Always արև /ɑɾev/ "sun"
ե /je/ Word-initially ես /jes/ "I"
ե /e/ Elsewhere բեր /beɾ/ (W) "bring"
է /e/ Always էջ /et͡ʃ/ (E) "page"
ը /ə/ Always ընկեր /ənkeɾ/ "friend"
ի /i/ Always իմ /im/ "my"
ո /vo/ Word-initially որդի /voɾdi/ (E) "son"
ո /o/ Elsewhere մոր /moɾ/ (E) "mother's"
ու /u/ Digraph ուր /uɾ/ "where"
օ /o/ Always օր /oɾ/ "day"
էօ /œ/ Western Armenian only —
և /ev/ Ligature և /ev/ "and"

2. Eastern Armenian Consonants

Letter IPA Type Example
բ /b/ Voiced stop բարի /bɑɾi/ "good"
պ /p/ Voiceless unaspirated stop պապ /pɑp/ "grandfather"
փ /pʰ/ Voiceless aspirated stop փող /pʰoʁ/ "money"
դ /d/ Voiced stop դու /du/ "you"
տ /t/ Voiceless unaspirated stop տուն /tun/ "house"
թ /tʰ/ Voiceless aspirated stop թե /tʰe/ "that"
գ /ɡ/ Voiced stop գալ /ɡɑl/ "to come"
կ /k/ Voiceless unaspirated stop կատու /kɑtu/ "cat"
ք /kʰ/ Voiceless aspirated stop քաղ /kʰɑʁ/ "city"
ձ /d͡z/ Voiced affricate ձու /d͡zu/ "egg"
ծ /t͡s/ Voiceless unaspirated affricate ծառ /t͡sɑr/ "tree"
ց /t͡sʰ/ Voiceless aspirated affricate ցոր /t͡sʰoɾ/ "wheat"
ջ /d͡ʒ/ Voiced affricate ջուր /d͡ʒuɾ/ "water"
ճ /t͡ʃ/ Voiceless unaspirated affricate ճան /t͡ʃɑn/ "road"
չ /t͡ʃʰ/ Voiceless aspirated affricate չէ /t͡ʃʰe/ "no"
զ /z/ Voiced fricative զարդ /zɑɾd/ "ornament"
ս /s/ Voiceless fricative սիր /siɾ/ "love"
ժ /ʒ/ Voiced fricative ժամ /ʒɑm/ "hour"
շ /ʃ/ Voiceless fricative շուն /ʃun/ "dog"
վ /v/ Voiced fricative վեր /veɾ/ "above"
ւ /v/ Voiced fricative ւեր /veɾ/
ֆ /f/ Voiceless fricative ֆուտ /fut/
խ /χ/ Voiceless uvular fricative խաչ /χɑt͡ʃʰ/ "cross"
ղ /ʁ/ Voiced uvular fricative ղեկ /ʁek/ "steering wheel"
հ /h/ Voiceless glottal fricative հայ /hɑj/ "Armenian"
մ /m/ Nasal մայր /mɑjɾ/ "mother"
ն /n/ Nasal նա /nɑ/ "he/she"
լ /l/ Lateral լույ /luj/ "light"
ր /ɾ/ Tap րոպ /ɾop/ "minute"
ռ /r/ Trill ռադ /rɑd/
յ /j/ Approximant յար /jɑɾ/

3. Western Armenian Consonants (Differences from Eastern)

The following table shows only the consonants whose IPA value differs from Eastern Armenian. All other consonants (զ, ժ, ս, շ, վ, ւ, ֆ, խ, ղ, հ, մ, ն, լ, ր, ռ, յ) have the same IPA values in both dialects.

Letter Eastern IPA Western Phonemic Western Phonetic Direction of Swap
բ /b/ /p/ [pʰ] voiced → voiceless
պ /p/ /b/ [b] voiceless → voiced
դ /d/ /t/ [tʰ] voiced → voiceless
տ /t/ /d/ [d] voiceless → voiced
գ /ɡ/ /k/ [kʰ] voiced → voiceless
կ /k/ /ɡ/ [ɡ] voiceless → voiced
ձ /d͡z/ /t͡s/ [t͡sʰ] voiced → voiceless
ծ /t͡s/ /d͡z/ [d͡z] voiceless → voiced
ջ /d͡ʒ/ /t͡ʃ/ [t͡ʃʰ] voiced → voiceless
ճ /t͡ʃ/ /d͡ʒ/ [d͡ʒ] voiceless → voiced
թ /tʰ/ /t/ [tʰ] aspirated → plain (phonemic)
փ /pʰ/ /p/ [pʰ] aspirated → plain (phonemic)
ք /kʰ/ /k/ [kʰ] aspirated → plain (phonemic)
ց /t͡sʰ/ /t͡s/ [t͡sʰ] aspirated → plain (phonemic)
չ /t͡ʃʰ/ /t͡ʃ/ [t͡ʃʰ] aspirated → plain (phonemic)

4. Full Dialect Comparison (Quick Reference)

Side-by-side comparison of all Armenian consonants in Eastern and Western dialects.

Letter Eastern Armenian Western Armenian
Phonemic Phonetic Phonemic Phonetic
բ /b/ [b] /p/ [pʰ]
պ /p/ [p] /b/ [b]
փ /pʰ/ [pʰ] /p/ [pʰ]
դ /d/ [d] /t/ [tʰ]
տ /t/ [t] /d/ [d]
թ /tʰ/ [tʰ] /t/ [tʰ]
գ /ɡ/ [ɡ] /k/ [kʰ]
կ /k/ [k] /ɡ/ [ɡ]
ք /kʰ/ [kʰ] /k/ [kʰ]
ձ /d͡z/ [d͡z] /t͡s/ [t͡sʰ]
ծ /t͡s/ [t͡s] /d͡z/ [d͡z]
ց /t͡sʰ/ [t͡sʰ] /t͡s/ [t͡sʰ]
ջ /d͡ʒ/ [d͡ʒ] /t͡ʃ/ [t͡ʃʰ]
ճ /t͡ʃ/ [t͡ʃ] /d͡ʒ/ [d͡ʒ]
չ /t͡ʃʰ/ [t͡ʃʰ] /t͡ʃ/ [t͡ʃʰ]
զ /z/ [z] /z/ [z]
ս /s/ [s] /s/ [s]
ժ /ʒ/ [ʒ] /ʒ/ [ʒ]
շ /ʃ/ [ʃ] /ʃ/ [ʃ]
վ, ւ /v/ [v] /v/ [v]
ֆ /f/ [f] /f/ [f]
խ /χ/ [χ] /χ/ [χ]
ղ /ʁ/ [ʁ] /ʁ/ [ʁ]
հ /h/ [h] /h/ [h]
մ /m/ [m] /m/ [m]
ն /n/ [n] → [ŋ] before velars /n/ [n] → [ŋ] before velars
լ /l/ [l] /l/ [l]
ր /ɾ/ [ɾ] /ɾ/ [ɾ]
ռ /r/ [r] /r/ [r]
յ /j/ [j] /j/ [j]

Implementation Details (for Developers)

The Armenian transcription is implemented as a purely rule-based system with no lexicon lookup. The pipeline is:

  1. Lowercase & Unicode processing — Input is lowercased and the Armenian stress diacritic ՛ is detected.
  2. Digraph substitution — Multi-character sequences (ու, էօ, յու) are replaced with single IPA symbols before the character-by-character mapping. Note: և (U+0587) is a single Unicode ligature and is processed as a regular character, not as a digraph.
  3. Word-initial rules — ե → je, ո → vo (with exception for ով).
  4. Character-by-character substitution — Each Armenian character is replaced with its IPA equivalent based on the selected dialect.
  5. Context-dependent rules — Voicing assimilation, devoicing, nasal assimilation, schwa insertion, etc.
  6. Stress assignment — Stress is placed on the last non-schwa vowel (or on the explicitly marked syllable).
  7. Phonetic post-processing — Additional rules for phonetic mode: glide insertion, geminate realization, aspirated+voiced assimilation, prothetic schwa.

Key Differences from Lexicon-Based Languages

Wiktionary Template Parameters

Parameter Type Description
E boolean (default true) Show Eastern Armenian
W boolean (default true) Show Western Armenian
1 string Primary pronunciation (both dialects)
2 string Second pronunciation (both dialects)
e string Eastern-specific pronunciation
e2 string Second Eastern-specific pronunciation
w string Western-specific pronunciation
w2 string Second Western-specific pronunciation
coll string Eastern colloquial pronunciation
collw string Western colloquial pronunciation

Common Issues & Limitations

Known Transcription Issues

Issue Description What to Do
Loanwords Words borrowed from Russian, French, Turkish, etc. may not follow standard Armenian phonological rules and could be transcribed incorrectly. Check Wiktionary for the correct pronunciation.
No lexicon fallback Unlike German or French, there is no lexicon to catch exceptions. All output is purely rule-based. Verify unusual words manually.
Western phonemic aspiration In Western phonemic, formerly aspirated letters (փ, թ, ք, ց, չ) are transcribed as plain voiceless /p t k t͡s t͡ʃ/, which may look unusual to speakers. This is correct per the phonemic system. Use phonetic mode for the surface pronunciation.
Stress default When no explicit stress mark is present, stress defaults to the last non-schwa vowel. Some words may have irregular stress not captured by this rule. Verify stress against a dictionary for important words.
Geminate affricate rendering Geminate affricates are rendered with an unreleased stop closure ([t̚t͡s]), which may appear unusual. This is the standard phonetic realization in Armenian.
kkʰ assimilation bug The module rule for kkʰ → kʰː has a trailing space in the source code, so it only matches when followed by whitespace, not word-medially or word-finally. This is a known bug in the Wiktionary module. Only affects words with the sequence կ followed immediately by ք.

Commented-Out Rules (Not Active)

The module source contains several commented-out colloquial rules that are not active in the current implementation:

For technical issues or suggestions, please visit our GitHub repository.