How did the Istanbul dialect shape Western Armenian?

Western Armenian, historically referred to as the "Armenian of Turkey," was developed as a modern standard language during the 19th century by elaborating on the dialect of the Armenian community in Istanbul.1

As the discrepancy between the classical literary language (Grabar) and the diverse spoken dialects grew, a movement emerged to create a standard form suitable for education and modern communication. This effort resulted in the formalization of Western Armenian based on the Istanbul dialect, which became known as dachgahayeren.12

The Istanbul dialect provided the foundational structure for this literary variety, which was subsequently refined by writers who looked to European models for their ideals and literary forms. While Western Armenian shares much of its vocabulary with Eastern Armenian, the influence of the Istanbul dialect and subsequent linguistic evolution led to significant differences in pronunciation and grammar. For example, Western Armenian exhibits distinct consonant shifts compared to Eastern Armenian, such as the pronunciation of names like Petros and Grigor as Bedros and Krikor. Additionally, Western Armenian maintains specific grammatical features, such as the retention of the Old Armenian ablative ending -ē and unique usage of the definite article.234