What are the main historical stages of the Armenian language?

The historical development of the Armenian language is generally categorized into three primary stages:

• Old Armenian (Grabar): Following the creation of the Armenian alphabet by St. Mesrop Mashtots in 405 CE, Grabar emerged as the standard literary language. It was used for religious, historical, and scientific texts and served as the language of the "golden age" of Armenian literature. While it remained the formal high-style language for centuries, it eventually diverged significantly from the evolving spoken dialects.1

• Middle Armenian: Beginning in the 11th century, a variation of the spoken language began to be used in writing. This stage is notably associated with the kingdom of Cilicia, where a territorial variety of Middle Armenian served as the official language from the 11th to the 14th century.1

• Modern Armenian (Ashkharhabar): By the 19th century, the gap between the archaic Grabar and the diverse spoken dialects necessitated a new standard. This movement resulted in two modern literary varieties: Eastern Armenian and Western Armenian. These two forms, while sharing much vocabulary, possess significant grammatical and phonetic differences.1