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Russian is a Slavic language in the Indo-European family. From the point of view of the spoken language, its closest relatives are Ukrainian and Belarusian, the other two national languages in the East Slavic group. In many places in eastern and southern Ukraine and throughout Belarus, these languages are spoken interchangeably, and in certain areas traditional bilingualism resulted in language mixture, e.g. Surzhyk in eastern Ukraine and Trasianka in Belarus. An East Slavic Old Novgorod dialect, although vanished during the fifteenth or sixteenth century, is sometimes considered to have played a significant role in the formation of the modern Russian language. The next closest relatives are the West Slavic languages, especially Polish and Slovak; next are the South Slavic languages, but Bulgarian especially has somewhat different grammar.[citation needed]
The vocabulary (mainly abstract and literary words), principles of word formations, and, to some extent, inflections and literary style of Russian have been also influenced by Church Slavonic, a developed and partly adopted form of the South Slavic Old Church Slavonic language used by the Russian Orthodox Church. However, the East Slavic forms have tended to be used exclusively in the various dialects that are experiencing a rapid decline. In some cases, both the East Slavic and the Church Slavonic forms are in use, with many different meanings. For details, see Russian phonology and History of the Russian language.
Russian phonology and syntax (especially in northern dialects) have also been influenced to some extent by the numerous Finnic languages of the Finno-Ugric subfamily: Merya, Moksha, Muromian, the language of the Meshchera, Veps, et cetera. These languages, some of them now extinct, used to be spoken in the center and in the north of what is now the European part of Russia. They came in contact with Eastern Slavic as far back as the early Middle Ages and eventually served as substratum for the modern Russian language. The Russian dialects spoken north, north-east and north-west of Moscow have a considerable number of words of Finno-Ugric origin.[6][7] Over the course of centuries, the vocabulary and literary style of Russian have also been influenced by Western and Central European languages such as Polish, Latin, Dutch, German, French, and English.[8]
According to the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California, Russian is classified as a level III language in terms of learning difficulty for native English speakers,[9] requiring approximately 780 hours of immersion instruction to achieve intermediate fluency. It is also regarded by the United States Intelligence Community as a "hard target" language, due to both its difficulty to master for English speakers and its critical role in American world policy.
[ Tags:Russia,United States,Indo-european,Slavic,East Slavic,Slavic Languages,Europe,Slavic Language,Indo-european Family,Spoken Language,Ukrainian,Belarusian,Ukraine,Belarus,Surzhyk,Trasianka,Old Novgorod Dialect,West Slavic Languages,Polish,Slovak,South Slavic Languages,Bulgarian,Citation Needed,Vocabulary,Church Slavonic,South Slavic,Old Church Slavonic,Russian Orthodox Church,Russian Phonology,Finno-ugric Subfamily,Merya,Moksha,Muromian,Meshchera,Veps,Moscow,Latin,Dutch,German,French,English,Defense Language Institute,Monterey, California,United States Intelligence Community,Bulgaria, | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Geographic distribution |
The Russian language is primarily spoken in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Latvia and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics of the USSR.[10] During the Soviet period, the policy toward the languages of the various other ethnic groups fluctuated in practice. Though each of the constituent republics had its own official language, the unifying role and superior status was reserved for Russian, although it was declared the official language only in 1990.[11] Following the break-up of the USSR in 1991, several of the newly independent states have encouraged their native languages, which has partly reversed the privileged status of Russian, though its role as the language of post-Soviet national discourse throughout the region has continued.
Ethnographic map of the Slavic peoples prepared by Czech ethnographer Lubor Niederle showing territorial boundaries of Slavic languages in Eastern Europe in the mid 1920s
In Latvia its official recognition and legality in the classroom have been a topic of considerable debate in a country where more than one-third of the population is Russian-speaking (see Russians in Latvia). Similarly, in Estonia, Russophones constitute 25.6% of the country's current population and 58.6% of the native Estonian population is also able to speak Russian.[12] In all, 67.8% of Estonia's population can speak Russian.[12] Command of Russian language, however, is rapidly decreasing among younger Estonians (primarily being replaced by the command of English). For example, if 53% of ethnic Estonians between 15–19 claim to speak some Russian, then among the 10–14 year old group, command of Russian has fallen to 19% (which is about one-third the percentage of those who claim to have command of English).[12]
In Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, Russian remains a co-official language with Kazakh and Kyrgyz, respectively. Large Russian-speaking communities still exist in northern Kazakhstan, and ethnic Russians comprise 25.6% of Kazakhstan's population.[13]
Those who speak Russian as a mother or secondary language in Lithuania represent approximately 60% of the population of Lithuania. Also, more than half of the population of the Baltic states speak Russian either as foreign language or as mother tongue.[12][14][15] As the Grand Duchy of Finland was part of the Russian Empire from 1809 to 1918, and a number of Russian speakers have remained in Finland. There are 33,400 Russian-speaking Finns, amounting to 0.6% of the population. Five thousand (0.1%) of them are late 19th century and 20th century immigrants or their descendants, and the rest are recent immigrants, who have arrived in the 1990s and later.[citation needed]
In the twentieth century, Russian was widely taught in the schools of the members of the old Warsaw Pact and in other countries that used to be allies of the USSR. In particular, these countries include Poland, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Albania and Cuba. However, younger generations are usually not fluent in it, because Russian is no longer mandatory in the school system. According to the Eurobarometer 2005 survey,[16] though, fluency in Russian remains fairly high (20–40%) in some countries, in particular those where the people speak a Slavic language and thereby have an edge in learning Russian (namely, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Bulgaria). It is currently the most widely taught foreign language in Mongolia, and has been compulsory in Year 7 onward as a second foreign language since 2006.[17][18]
Russian is also spoken in Israel by at least 750,000 ethnic Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union (1999 census). The Israeli press and websites regularly publish material in Russian.[citation needed] Russian is also spoken as a second language by a small number of people in Afghanistan (Awde and Sarwan, 2003). According to a BBC report from October, 2009, Afghan refugee children are learning Russian in school. If they return to Afghanistan, this may create a small population of second-language Russian speakers there, as well.
Sizable Russian-speaking communities also exist in North America, especially in large urban centers of the U.S. and Canada, such as New York City, Philadelphia, Boston, Los Angeles, Nashville, San Francisco, Seattle, Spokane, Toronto, Baltimore, Miami, Chicago, Denver and the Cleveland suburb of Richmond Heights. In a number of locations they issue their own newspapers, and live in ethnic enclaves (especially the generation of immigrants who started arriving in the early sixties). Only about a quarter of them are ethnic Russians, however. Before the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the overwhelming majority of Russophones in North America were Russian-speaking Jews. Afterwards, the influx from the countries of the former Soviet Union changed the statistics somewhat, with ethnic Russians and Ukrainians immigrating along with some more Russian Jews.[vague] According to the United States 2000 Census, Russian is the primary language spoken in the homes of over 700,000 individuals living in the United States.[citation needed]
Significant Russian-speaking groups also exist in Western Europe. These have been fed by several waves of immigrants since the beginning of the twentieth century, each with its own flavor of language. Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Belgium, Greece, Brazil, Norway, and Austria have significant Russian-speaking communities totaling 3 million people.[citation needed] Australian cities Melbourne and Sydney also have Russian speaking populations, with the most Russians living in southeast Melbourne, particularly the suburbs of Carnegie and Caulfield. Two thirds of them are actually Russian-speaking descendants of Germans, Greeks, Jews, Azerbaijanis, Armenians or Ukrainians, who either repatriated after the USSR collapsed, or are just looking for temporary employment.[citation needed]
Russians in China form one of the 56 ethnic groups officially recognized by mainland China.
Recent estimates of the total number of speakers of Russian
Source
Native speakers
Native rank
Total speakers
Total rank
G. Weber, "Top Languages",
Language Monthly,
3: 12–18, 1997, ISSN 1369-9733
160,000,000
8
285,000,000
5
World Almanac (1999)
145,000,000
8 (2005)
275,000,000
5
SIL (2000 WCD)
145,000,000
8
255,000,000
5–6 (tied with Arabic)
CIA World Factbook (2005)
160,000,000
8
[ | Tags:Soviet Union,Germany,Israel,Canada,Australia,Co-official,Native Language,Kazakhstan,Kyrgyzstan,Latvia,Estonia,Ussr,Official Language,Break-up Of The Ussr,Lubor Niederle,Russians In Latvia,Kazakh,Kyrgyz,Lithuania,Baltic States,Grand Duchy Of Finland,Russian Empire,Russian-speaking Finns,Warsaw Pact,Countries,Poland,Czech Republic,Slovakia,Hungary,Albania,Cuba,Mongolia,Jewish Immigrants From The Former Soviet Union,Press,Websites,North America,U.s.,New York City,Philadelphia,Boston,Los Angeles,Nashville, Official status |
Russian is the official language of Russia, although it shares the official status at regional level with other languages in the numerous ethnic autonomies within Russia, such as Bashkortostan, Tatarstan, and Yakutia. It is also an official language of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and the de facto official[clarification needed] language of the unrecognized country of Transnistria and partially recognized countries of South Ossetia and Abkhazia. Russian is one of the six official languages of the United Nations. Education in Russian is still a popular choice for both Russian as a second language (RSL) and native speakers in Russia as well as many of the former Soviet republics. Russian is still seen as an important language for children to learn in most of the former Soviet republics.[19][20]
Ninety-four percent[21] of the school students of Russia, 75% in Belarus, 41% in Kazakhstan, 20% in Ukraine,[22] 23% in Kyrgyzstan, 21% in Moldova, 7% in Azerbaijan, 5% in Georgia and 2% in Armenia and Tajikistan receive their education only or mostly in Russian. The percentage of ethnic Russians is 80% in Russia, 10% in Belarus, 36% in Kazakhstan, 27% in Ukraine, 9% in Kyrgyzstan, 6% in Moldova, 2% in Azerbaijan, 1.5% in Georgia and less than 1% in both Armenia and Tajikistan.[citation needed]
Russian-language schooling is also available in Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania. However, due to recent high school reforms in Latvia (whereby the government pays a substantial sum to a school to teach in the national language), the number of subjects taught in Russian has been reduced in the country.[23][24] The language has a co-official status alongside Romanian in the autonomies of Gagauzia and Transnistria in Moldova. In the Autonomous Republic of Crimea in Ukraine, Russian is recognized as a regional language alongside with Crimean Tatar. According to a poll by FOM-Ukraine, Russian is the most widely spoken language in Ukraine by a small margin.[25][26][Need quotation to verify] However, despite its widespread usage, pro-Russian Crimean activists complain about the (mandatory) use of Ukrainian in schools, movie theaters, courts, on drug prescriptions and its use in the media and for government paperwork.[27][28]
[ | Tags:Moldova,Gagauzia,Crimea,Autonomous Republic,Abkhazia,South Ossetia,United Nations, Dialects |
See also: :Category:Russian dialects
Northern dialects 1. Arkhangelsk dialect 2. Olonets dialect 3. Novgorod dialect 4. Viatka dialect 5. Vladimir dialect
Central dialects 6. Moscow dialect 7. Twer dialect Southern dialects 8. Orel (Don) dialect 9. Ryazan dialect 10. Tula dialect 11. Smolensk dialect
Other 12. Northern Russian dialect with Belorussian influences 13. Sloboda and Steppe dialects of Ukrainian language 14. Steppe dialect of Ukrainian with Russian influences
Despite leveling after 1900, especially in matters of vocabulary, a number of dialects exist in Russia. Some linguists[who?] divide the dialects of the Russian language into two primary regional groupings, "Northern" and "Southern", with Moscow lying on the zone of transition between the two. Others[who?] divide the language into three groupings, Northern, Central and Southern, with Moscow lying in the Central region. Dialectology within Russia recognizes dozens of smaller-scale variants. The dialects often show distinct and non-standard features of pronunciation and intonation, vocabulary and grammar. Some of these are relics of ancient usage now completely discarded by the standard language.
The northern Russian dialects and those spoken along the Volga River typically pronounce unstressed /o/ clearly (the phenomenon called okanye/оканье). East of Moscow, particularly in Ryazan Region, unstressed /e/ and /a/ following palatalized consonants and preceding a stressed syllable are not reduced to [ɪ] (like in the Moscow dialect), being instead pronounced /a/ in such positions (e.g. несли is pronounced [nʲasˈlʲi], not [nʲɪsˈlʲi]) – this is called yakanye/ яканье;[29] many southern dialects have a palatalized final /tʲ/ in 3rd person forms of verbs (this is unpalatalized in the standard dialect) and a fricative [ɣ] where the standard dialect has [ɡ].[30]
However, in certain areas south of Moscow, e.g. in and around Tula, /ɡ/ is pronounced as in the Moscow and northern dialects unless it precedes a voiceless plosive or a pause. In this position /ɡ/ is lenited and devoiced to the fricative [x], e.g. друг [drux] (in Moscow's dialect, only Бог [box], лёгкий [lʲɵxʲkʲɪj], мягкий [ˈmʲæxʲkʲɪj] and some derivatives follow this rule). Some of these features (e.g. a debuccalized or lenited /ɡ/ and palatalized final /tʲ/ in 3rd person forms of verbs) are also present in modern Ukrainian, indicating either a linguistic continuum and/or strong influence one way or the other.
The city of Veliky Novgorod has historically displayed a feature called chokanye/tsokanye (чоканье/цоканье), where /tɕ/ and /ts/ were confused. So, цапля ("heron") has been recorded as 'чапля'. Also, the second palatalization of velars did not occur there, so the so-called ě² (from the Proto-Slavonic diphthong *ai) did not cause /k, ɡ, x/ to shift to /ts, dz, s/; therefore where Standard Russian has цепь ("chain"), the form кепь [kʲepʲ] is attested in earlier texts.
Among the first to study Russian dialects was Lomonosov in the eighteenth century. In the nineteenth, Vladimir Dal compiled the first dictionary that included dialectal vocabulary. Detailed mapping of Russian dialects began at the turn of the twentieth century. In modern times, the monumental Dialectological Atlas of the Russian Language (Диалектологический атлас русского языка [dʲɪɐˌlʲɛktəlɐˈɡʲitɕɪskʲɪj ˈatləs ˈruskəvə jɪzɨˈka]), was published in three folio volumes 1986–1989, after four decades of preparatory work.
[ | Tags:Consonant,Palatal,Unstressed, Derived languages |
Balachka a dialect, spoken primarily by Cossacks, in the regions of Don, Kuban and Terek.
Fenya, a criminal argot of ancient origin, with Russian grammar, but with distinct vocabulary.
Surzhyk is a heavily russified variety of Ukrainian. It is used by a large portion of the population of Ukraine, especially in the eastern and central areas of the country.
Trasianka is a language with Russian and Belarusian features used by a large portion of the rural population in Belarus.
Quelia, a pseudo pidgin of German and Russian.
Runglish, Russian-English pidgin. This word is also used by English speakers to describe the way in which Russians attempt to speak English using Russian morphology and/or syntax.
Russenorsk is an extinct pidgin language with mostly Russian vocabulary and mostly Norwegian grammar, used for communication between Russians and Norwegian traders in the Pomor trade in Finnmark and the Kola Peninsula.
[ | Tags: Alphabet |
A page from Azbuka (Alphabet book), the first Russian printed textbook. Printed by Ivan Fyodorov in 1574. This page features the Cyrillic alphabet.
Main article: Russian alphabet
Russian is written using a modified version of the Cyrillic (кириллица) alphabet. The Russian alphabet consists of 33 letters. The following table gives their upper case forms, along with | Tags:Cyrillic, |