People are always surprised to know that I speak a bit of Russian and that I am now learning Ukrainian language... It is quite unusual when you are French! :) And when they understand that there is no other reason to this than the fact that I fell in love with the traditional folk songs of these countries when I was 8, they think I am crazy! :)) Maybe they are right... But love doesn't need any explanation - and knows no borders!
Once they get over the initial surprise, they usually ask this question: "Are Russian and Ukrainian languages very different?"
Yes, they are! Even if a few words are the same... In fact, the vocabulary of these two languages is the same at 70,5% only - while it is 75% between French and Spanish or 89% between French and Italian... (1)
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| Ukrainian Alphabet |
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| Russian Alphabet |
What would I say to a friend that I have not met for years, in English, French, Russian or Ukrainian? Something like this:
E: Good morning!
F: Bonjour ! (matin)
R: Доброе утро! (Dobroye utro!)
U: Доброго ранку! (Dobroho ranku!)
E: How are you doing?
F: Comment vas-tu ?
R: Как дела? (Kak dela?)
U: Як справи? (Yak spravy?)
E: I haven't seen you for a long time.
F: Je ne t'ai pas vu depuis longtemps.
R: Я долго тебя не видела. (Ya dolgo tebya ne videla.)
U: Я довго тебе не бачила. (Ya dovho tebe ne bachyla.)
E: You know that I speak Russian…
F: Tu sais que je parle le russe…
R: Ты знаеш что, я говорю по-русски… (Ty znayesh chto, ya govoryu po-russki …)
U: Ти знаєш, я розмовляю російською мовою… (Ty znayesh, ya rozmovlyayu rosiysʹkoyu movu…)
E: Now, I learn Ukrainian!
F: Maintenant, j'apprends l'ukrainien!
R: Теперь я изучаю украинский язык! (Teper' ya izuchayu ukrainskiy yazyk!)
U: Тепер я вивчаю українську мову! (Teper ya vyvchayu ukrayinsʹku movu!)
E: It is difficult, but this is happiness!
F: C'est difficile, mais c'est le bonheur !
R: Это трудно, но это счастье! (Eto trudno, no eto schast'ye!)
U: Це важко, але це щастя! (Tse vazhko, ale tse shchastya!)
E: Goodbye!
F: Au revoir !
R: До свидания! (Do svidaniya!)
U: До побачення! (Do pobachennya !)
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| Ukrainian girl Photogr. Unkn. |
I hope you enjoyed this lesson! :)
(1) Source: "Ethnologue. Languages of the world, 11th ed., B.F. GRimes, Editor. Dallas, Texas, 1988, p 369-378.
