ԱՐՑԱԽԻ ՄԱՆԿԱԿԱՆ ԲԱՆԱՀՅՈՒՍՈՒԹՅԱՆ ԺԱՆՐԱՅԻՆ ԴԱՍԱԿԱՐԳՄԱՆ ՇՈՒՐՋ/GENRE CLASSIFICATION OF THE 1CHILDREN'S FOLKLORE TRADITION OF ARTSAKH

The purpose of this article is to examine and clearly classify the genre structure of the children's folklore of Artsakh, which is part of Armenian folk literature — a subject that has always sparked certain disagreements in folkloristics. This is because children's folklore has been less studied as compared to other genres of folklore. The lack of sufficient research on children's folklore is particularly evident in Armenia. Following the research conducted by Russian and Armenian folklorists, and based on the model of age-related sequence, this article attempts, for the first time, to classify and examine the genre structure of the children's folklore of Artsakh, which is part of the broader Armenian folkloristic tradition. Therefore, in studying this material, we find it appropriate to base our methodological approach on the achievements of Russian folkloristics, where the classification of children's folklore has been carried out using two completely different methods: one based on content and the other on age-related criteria. Adapting the experience of Russian researchers, the age-related classification approach was first applied to the Armenian context by the folklorist Roza Grigoryan. The study is based on archival and printed materials, as well as field-collected folklore samples. As a result of the analysis, the following classification is proposed: a) lullabies, b) nursery rhymes, including "evil-sounding" songs, c) children's speech and secret languages, d) play songs, e) intellectual and verbal games.