PHONEMIC DESCRIPTIONS (A SYNCHRONIC EXAMINATION) OF OLD ARMENIAN AFFRICATES

Abstract

Old Armenian possessed three phonemic categories – voiced ((ձ /j/, ջ /ǰ/), non-aspirated
voiceless (ծ /c/, and aspirated voiceless (ց /cʻ/, չ /čʻ/) /č/). According to several Armenologists,
namely H. Pederson, A. Meillet, H. Acharian, E. Benveniste, H. Vogt, W. S. Allen, H.
Muradyan and others, Old Armenian (OA) affricates were typically aspirated, which was a
phonemic feature. This theory is supported by two main hypotheses. 1. Being the reflection of
Indo-European aspirated voiced occlusive (*b h, *g h, *d h), OA voiced occlusives had preserved
their aspiration. Hence, no transfer of occlusive consonants took place in Armenian in the
traditional sense. 2) The voiced aspiration typical of voiced occlusive and affricates of several
dialects of Historical Armenia (those of Akna, Hamshen, Hajn, Sebastia, Ararat, Mush, Nor
Jugha, Nor Nakhichevan, etc.) bears a phonemic value. Moreover, they differentiate a four-
category system of voiced occlusive and occlusive-fricatives in some dialects, (those of Ararat,
Mush, nor Jugha) – with such phonemic contrasts as բ հ/b h/~ բ/b/~ պհ/p h/~ պ/p/, ջ հ/ǰh/
~ ջ/ǰ/~ճ/č/~ չ/čʻ/. The second theory, which is supported and further grounded by us, postulates that
OA affricates had only a phonemic value, i.e. there was no distinctive factor (G. Jahukyan, E.
Aghayan). This theory rests on another interpretation of the above-mentioned two hypotheses.
1) The aspiration of IE occlusives was not a phonemic feature. 2) The aspiration of the voiced
occlusive-fricatives (also occlusive consonants) of corresponding Modern Armenian (MA)
dialects carries a phonetic and not a phonemic value, because these dialects lack voiced–
aspirated contrasts. Therefore, dialects with the so-called four-category system of occlusive
and occlusive-fricatives distinguish between only three phonemic categories of the given
consonants – voiced, non-aspirated voiceless and aspirated voiceless ones