Which language? (Ukraine)

English as a Second Language What do you want to talk about?
1

Which is the official language in the Ukriane?

  • Ukrainian
  • Russian
  • Both

0 voters

Just curious…[YSaerTTEW443543]

TOEIC listening, photographs: A tractor at the beach[YSaerTTEW443543]

2

Is there such a language like Ukrainian? I think Russian is the official language in the Ukraine, isn’t it?

3

Yes Savvythought, there indeed is such a language as Ukrainian and although it is very close to Russian it’s still different. The Ukrainian government is now re-enforcing the use of Ukrainian as the only official language in the Ukraine. At present still a lot of people there speak Russian rather than Ukrainian as the mother tongue though. At any rate, they understand each other because the languages are very similar…

4

I am Ukrainian. For me my native language is beautiful. Everyone can named native language the best over the world. Did you ever listen to Ukrainian music? Would you find at a Net songs of american singer Kvitka Cisyk. But she was Ukrainian at hers spirit. Listen to her mucik, look at pictures of Ukraine and enjoy it, please.

youtube.com/watch?v=BKCscM4OHiQ

5

The answer you can find in Ukrainian constitution. zakon.rada.gov.ua/cgi-bin/laws/a … F96-%E2%F0

There exists a myth that Russians can understand Ukrainian language as it’s close. My experience shows that it’s not true at all. The reason for the myth was as I think Soviet cinema and variety where actors who played Ukrainian characters (quite often depicted as a dull-witted guy) were speaking not Ukrainian but some sort of lingo. In Ukrainian language there are words which sound like Russian and can be easily understood by Russian audience. This words remained unchanged to create effect that an actor speaks Ukrainian. All the rest was substituted with Russian words, slightly changed “to sound Ukrainian”. That’s why even now some Russian people think that Ukrainian language is just a parody of Russian.

Here are my thougts on the topic How many languages do you speak?

Ukrainian language was opressed by Russian empire who didn’t want Ukrainians to form a nation (they even called us not Ukrainians but Small Russians). In Soviet times Ukrainian language was also opressed. I still remember that in Kiev - the capital of Soviet Ukraine I had to go for a mile to get to Ukrainian school while there were two Russian schools in close proximity. Also I clearly remember the sign which appeared on the Ukrainian school with derogatory expressions against Ukrainian language.