The Armenian language (հայերեն լեզու, IPA: [hajɛɹɛn lɛzu] — hayeren lezu, conventional short form hayeren) is an Ino-European language spoken by the Armenian people. It is the official language of the Republic of Armenia as well as Nagorno-Karabakh (a de facto republic but de-jure part of Azerbaijan). The language is also widely spoken by Armenian communities in the Armenian diaspora. It has its own script, the Armenian alphabet.