Thread: Russian in Ukraine

Hi, I know this is the Ukrainian board, but I wasn't sure where else to post this. I want to go on foreign exchange in either Russia or Ukraine. Since I'm learning Russian in school, I would prefer to live in a city/attend a school that is primarily Russian-speaking so I can gain fluency. The program I want to attend usually sends kids to Siberia if they go to Russia, which I have no problem with. However, the program also does not always give kids their first choice in countries, so it would be a toss-up as to whether or not I was placed in Russia. I have thus decided to put Ukraine as my second choice, since it is nearby and has had ties with Russia for a while. (plus, I find Ukrainian culture fascinating and I have met some truly awesome Ukrainians).

My question is this: what is the language situation in Ukraine? Do most people speak Ukrainian, Russian, or both? What do they teach in schools? Is the language of choice more of aregional pattern, or country wide? Is Russian taught using the Ukrainian alphabet? These are mostly questions of curiosity, as I know very little about the Ukrainian language. I seem to remember a Ukrainian I met saying that Russian was her first language and Ukrainian her second, so I was just curious how often this happens. Nevertheless, I am still putting Ukraine down as #2 because it is such a cool place and I think that even if I learned Ukrainian, it would help me with my Russian.

thanks for any help you can give me!

It depends where you are going in Ukraine. In the East and South of Ukraine everyone speaks Russian.

The Russian spoken in Ukrainian is the same as Russian spoken in Russia, although you might encounter slight accents variations.

South and East, the Crimea consider Russian their mother language. Ukrainian language is considered alien although almost everyone is able to speak it fluently. Those regions were Russian till 1954 (or 1956, I don't remember), when Khruschev gifted them to Ukraine. The population remained Russian of course. Hence the language.

Most people in the East and South Ukraine consider Russian their first language, and chances that you'll hear the ukrainian speach in the street are not so big.

Nowadays Russian is taught in Ukrainian schools as a second language and education is mostly ukrainianised regardless of the region. Both Ukrainian and Russian use cyrillic alphabet, so the difference is very small.
Ukrainian alphabet:
а б в г д е є ж з и і ї й к л м н о п р с т у ф х ц ч ш щ ь ю я.
It also uses apostrophe.

Originally Posted by gRomoZeka

Most people in the East and South Ukraine consider Russian their first language, and chances that you'll hear the ukrainian speach in the street are not so big.

Nowadays Russian is taught in Ukrainian schools as a second language and education is mostly ukrainianised regardless of the region. Both Ukrainian and Russian use cyrillic alphabet, so the difference is very small.
Ukrainian alphabet:
а б в г Ґ д е є ж з и і ї й к л м н о п р с т у ф х ц ч ш щ ь ю я.
It also uses apostrophe.

But to answer the poster's question, Russian is not taught using the Ukrainian alphbet because that would just be stupid.

dvxcx

Originally Posted by TATY

а б в г Ґ д е є ж з и і ї й к л м н о п р с т у ф х ц ч ш щ ь ю я.

I ommited that letter because I've never seen it anywhere exept the alphabet.
Anyway how did you type it?

Originally Posted by gRomoZeka

Originally Posted by TATY

а б в г Ґ д е є ж з и і ї й к л м н о п р с т у ф х ц ч ш щ ь ю я.

I ommited that letter because I've never seen it anywhere exept the alphabet.
Anyway how did you type it?

Well that's a bit of a problem. On my laptop I have a key directly to the left of my space bar. On Ukrainian layout it types Ґ. However on this computer there is no key there, so I can't type Ґ!

Stupid Microsoft left off the apostrophe and Ґ from the Ukrainian keyboard layout, but left Russian Ё!

Originally Posted by TATY

Originally Posted by gRomoZeka

Originally Posted by TATY

а б в г Ґ д е є ж з и і ї й к л м н о п р с т у ф х ц ч ш щ ь ю я.

I ommited that letter because I've never seen it anywhere exept the alphabet.
Anyway how did you type it?

Well that's a bit of a problem. On my laptop I have a key directly to the left of my space bar. On Ukrainian layout it types Ґ. However on this computer there is no key there, so I can't type Ґ!

Stupid Microsoft left off the apostrophe and Ґ from the Ukrainian keyboard layout, but left Russian Ё!

It's there, use RightAlt+Г: ґґґҐҐҐҐҐ
I usually just use г though

Originally Posted by Vincent Tailors

South and East, the Crimea consider Russian their mother language. Ukrainian language is considered alien although almost everyone is able to speak it fluently. Those regions were Russian till 1954 (or 1956, I don't remember), when Khruschev gifted them to Ukraine. The population remained Russian of course. Hence the language.

That's not exactly correct, only Crimea was transferred to Ukraine, and in fact a large part of Voronezh and Belgorod oblasts was transferred from Ukraine to Russia. The majority of the population in the South and East of the country is ethnically Ukrainian (except Crimea), but urban population there, and in Central Ukraine too, still mostly speaks Russian. Our Russian does differ from standard, but these differences should not concern a beginner learner imo.

If you go outside the cities in the East or South, you'll porbably hear alot of Ukranian. I did.

Originally Posted by kalinka_vinnie

If you go outside the cities in the East or South, you'll porbably hear alot of Ukranian. I did.

True, that's why I said "urban population".

Originally Posted by laxxy

Originally Posted by TATY

Originally Posted by gRomoZeka

Originally Posted by TATY

а б в г Ґ д е є ж з и і ї й к л м н о п р с т у ф х ц ч ш щ ь ю я.

I ommited that letter because I've never seen it anywhere exept the alphabet.
Anyway how did you type it?

Well that's a bit of a problem. On my laptop I have a key directly to the left of my space bar. On Ukrainian layout it types Ґ. However on this computer there is no key there, so I can't type Ґ!

Stupid Microsoft left off the apostrophe and Ґ from the Ukrainian keyboard layout, but left Russian Ё!

It's there, use RightAlt+Г: ґґґҐҐҐҐҐ
I usually just use г though

Дякую!

So it would it be much difficult to find russian spekars in Odessa?

Originally Posted by mekko

So it would it be much difficult to find russian spekars in Odessa?

Easier than to find people who would address you in Ukrainian.

Originally Posted by mekko

So it would it be much difficult to find russian spekars in Odessa?

Odessa is VERY Russian. You'll have no problem speaking Russian there. You'd have more problem speaking Ukrainian.