This study presents the first contemporary linguistic treatment of Armenian, an Indo-European language whose distinct dialects range geographically from Poland to India. The book documents a rich linguistic (and literary) history dating from the fourth-century translation of the Bible into Classical Armenian. Data are drawn from Classical, Middle, and Standard Eastern and Western Armenian, and from the author's fieldwork on non-standard dialects.

This volume of new work by prominent phonologists goes to the heart of current debates in phonological and linguistic theory: should the explanation of phonological variety be constraint or rule-based and, in the light of the resolution of this question, how in the mind does phonology interface with other components of the grammar. The book includes contributions from leading proponents of both sides of the argument and an extensive introduction setting out the history, nature, and more general linguistic implications of current phonological theory.