Armenian is the only surviving branch of the Indo-European language family represented in Armenia.
Armenian forms its own independent branch within Indo-European, rather than belonging to the Slavic, Germanic, Romance, or Indo-Iranian branches. Its vocabulary and structure reflect long contact with Iranian, Greek, Arabic, Turkish, and other neighboring languages, but those influences do not change its separate classification.
The Armenian alphabet was created by Mesrop Mashtots around AD 405. The script helped support Christian education and the translation of religious texts, and it remains a major symbol of Armenian cultural identity. Armenian has two principal modern standards: Eastern Armenian and Western Armenian.
The wording “only surviving branch” refers to Armenia’s national language within the Indo-European family, not to the only Indo-European language spoken there. Russian and other languages are also used in Armenia, while Armenian communities worldwide maintain both major standards.