Armenian is Armenia's official language. Its native speakers are over six million people, with most residing throughout western Asia and the Armenian Highlands. It is also a widely spoken language around the Armenian diaspora. It belongs to the Indo-European language family and in a sub-branch where it's the only member. It's also a pluricentric language with two modern standardized forms, Western and Eastern Armenian.
Artsakh, an independent state supported by Armenia, also uses Armenian as its official language. Linguists are interested in the language because of its distinctive characteristics and phonological developments. The most remarkable quality is its phonetic mergers, which may be because of Armenia's close proximity to Arabic-speaking communities.
