Ukrainian language

Ukrainian is an East Slavic language primarily spoken in Ukraine. It serves as the first language for a large majority of the Ukrainian people.

The language uses the Ukrainian alphabet, which is a specific variant of the Cyrillic script. To ensure the language remains consistent, the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine and the Potebnia Institute of Linguistics study the standard form. While people often compare Ukrainian to Russian, it actually shares more mutual intelligibility with Belarusian. Some linguists note that the differences between these East Slavic tongues are significant. For example, the Swedish linguist Alfred Jensen compared the distance between Russian and Ukrainian to the difference between Swedish and Danish.

The development of Ukrainian involved complex changes in how words sound, known as phonological developments. Around the 12th or 13th century, the Old East Slavic vowel system began to change. Mid vowels like "e" and "o" became longer and higher when they were followed by a consonant and a weak "yer" vowel. For instance, the Old East Slavic word for cat, *kotъ*, eventually became the modern Ukrainian *кіт*.

Another major change was the merger of the Old East Slavic vowels *и* and *ы* into the specific Ukrainian phoneme /ɪ ~ e/. Additionally, the Old East Slavic consonant *г* (/g/) underwent fricativisation. In modern Ukrainian, this resulted in a voiced glottal fricative /ɦ/. These specific shifts distinguish Ukrainian from Russian, which did not undergo these same transformations.

There are different theories regarding how the language first formed. Some scholars, such as Ahatanhel Krymsky, believed a common spoken language for all Eastern Slavs existed in prehistoric times. They suggest that the diversification into separate languages happened around the 8th or 9th century. However, other linguists like Stepan Smal-Stotsky disagree. They argue there was never a single common Old East Slavic language. Instead, they propose that Ukrainian formed through the convergence of various tribal dialects. This convergence was likely driven by intensive population migrations within the territory of present-day Ukraine during later historical periods.

The history of the language is closely tied to the medieval state of Kievan Rus. Ukrainian is a descendant of the Old East Slavic spoken during that era. Later, in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, the language developed into Ruthenian. During this time, Ruthenian served as an official language. However, the language later faced a process of Polonization within the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth. By the 18th century, Ruthenian had diverged into several regional variants. These variants eventually became the modern Belarusian, Rusyn, and Ukrainian languages we recognize today.

Ukrainian vocabulary has been shaped by contact with many different cultures. In the 13th century, German settlers were invited to the Kingdom of Ruthenia. This brought German and Yiddish words related to trade and handicrafts into the language. Examples include words for "roof" (*dakh*), "market" (*rynok*), and "master" (*majster*).

Later, contact with Poland and the influence of the Latin language added many new terms. The word *zavzhdy* (always) comes from old Polish, while *meta* (goal) was taken from Latin. Even contact with Turkic groups contributed words like *torba* (bag) and *tyutyun* (tobacco). These layers of influence gave early modern Ukrainian a high lexical similarity to West Slavic languages.

Throughout history, the language has faced significant political pressure. During the Russian Empire, a process called Russification occurred. This involved banning Ukrainian as a school subject and as a language of instruction.

These restrictions continued in various forms during the Soviet Union. Despite these challenges, the language remained strong, particularly in Western Ukraine.

Today, the language is a central part of national identity. Ukraine celebrates the Day of Ukrainian Writing and Language on November 9. This date coincides with the Eastern Orthodox feast day of Nestor the Chronicler.

Understanding Ukrainian requires looking at its distinct stages of development. Linguists divide its chronology into Old, Middle, and Modern Ukrainian. The Middle Ukrainian period, historically called Ruthenian, is further split into three phases. These include Early Middle Ukrainian (1387–1575), Middle Ukrainian (1575–1720), and Late Middle Ukrainian (1720–1818).

The Modern Ukrainian period began at the very end of the 18th century. This is the version of the language used in literature and all modern written genres. By studying these stages, we see how a language evolves through social, political, and cultural shifts.