Russian (1917-1918) and Armenian (1922) Orthographic Reforms. Assessing the Russian Influence on Modern Armenian Language

Abstract

The Russian Orthographic Reform (1917-1918), which initiated the Armenian one (1922-1924, modified in 1940) has undoubtedly played a central role in the development of Modern Armenian. To support this thesis, the essay retraces the fundamental phases of the reform, focusing on the two decades from the early 1920s to 1940, i.e., the year when the second orthography reform was promulgated. The Armenian case is undoubtedly a very peculiar one amongst the constellation of the linguistic reforms decreed in the Soviet countries outside Russia. In fact, Armenian avoided both Cyrillisation and Latinisation. Nonetheless, the effects of the 1922 orthography reform are still perceived as a heavy burden today. Ultimately, this essay aims at demonstrating that this issue should also be a concern for Russian Studies.