Armenian has eight monophthongs (ɑ, ɛ, i, o, u, ə, ʏ, œ) and ten symbols to represent them (⟨ա, ե, է, ը, ի, ո, օ, ու, իւ, էօ⟩).
/œ/ is a rare sound to write foreign words and is always written ⟨էօ⟩.
For example: the female name [œʒɛˈni] ("Eugenie") is written Էօժենի, a transcription of letters.
A polysyllabic word ending in ⟨այ⟩ is pronounced /ɑ/, the ⟨յ⟩ becoming silent (see above for an example).
The International Phonetic Alphabet shows the consonants, by the corresponding Armenian letter in parentheses.
Both Classical And Eastern Armenian maintain a three-way distinction between voiced, voiceless, and aspirated stops and affricates.
In Western Armenian, voiced and aspirated stops and affricates have undergone a merger, and voiceless stops and affricates have become voiced.