Compiling the Armenian dialect atlas: Regional atlases

The article examines the prerequisites for the development of the Dialectological Atlas of the Armenian Language, the stages of its preparation, the principles underlying the structure and description of the first volume, and the methodological approaches employed. In the Armenian scholarly tradition, the first dialect map appeared at the beginning of the 20th century; interest in linguistic geography intensified only in the 1960s–1970s. From the mid-1970s onward, field research was conducted according to a specially designed program for the written documentation of dialectal isoglosses, and this work continued until the first decade of the 21st century. Despite these efforts, systematic creation of dialectological maps and a comprehensive atlas remained unrealized. Only a limited number of dialect maps accompanied individual scholarly studies. In addition, a pilot version of an atlas was issued based on tabulated data from J̌aukyan’s multifactorial statistical research. Since 2013, dialect fieldwork has been carried out in all settlements of individual provinces of the Republic of Armenia according to a specially developed research program. At present, investigations are underway in the fifth province. It was considered methodologically appropriate to compile regional dialectological atlases based on materials collected within individual provinces and subsequently integrate them into a comprehensive pan-Armenian atlas. Using materials collected in the Gegharkunik Province and published in a separate monograph, the first volume of the Armenian atlas was prepared under the title “Dialectological Atlas of the Armenian Language. Part A. Gegharkunik Province” (2025). The atlas comprises two general maps and 65 isogloss maps illustrating the distribution of phonetic and grammatical features across approximately 90 settlements in the province. Most isogloss maps present a single feature, while some combine several interrelated features. Each map is accompanied by scholarly commentary. The publication is bilingual, with parallel texts in Armenian and English.