| Languages of Ukraine | |
|---|---|
 Native languages in Ukraine, 2001 census | |
| Official | |
| Indigenous | |
| Minority | 12 recognised |
| Foreign | |
| Signed | Ukrainian Sign Language |
| Keyboard layout | |
| Source | Census-2001 |
The official language of Ukraine is Ukrainian, a Slavic language, which is spoken regularly by 88% of Ukraine's population at home in their personal life, [1] and as high as 87% at work or study. It is followed by Russian which is spoken by 34% in their personal life. [2]
As of 2022, 81% of the population of Ukraine speak the Ukrainian language in their personal life, at the same time 34% speak Russian, meaning that significant portion of Ukrainian residents constituting 19% of people speak both languages regularly. [2]
According to the first (and so far only) population census of 2001, ethnic Ukrainians make up 77.8% of the population. Other ethnic groups are Russians (17.3%), Belarusians (0.6%), Romanians (including Moldovans) (0.8%), Crimean Tatars (0.5%), Bulgarians (0.4%), Hungarians (0.3%), Poles (0.3%), Jews (0.2%), Armenians (0.2%), Greeks (0.2%), Karaites (>0.1%), Krymchaks (>0.1%) and Gagauzes (0.1%). [3]
The following table gives the native languages (but not necessarily the languages spoken at home) with their number of speakers according to the 2001 Ukrainian Census: [4]
| Language | Speakers | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Ukrainian | 32,577,468 | 67.53% |
| Russian | 14,273,670 | 29.59% |
| Romanian (including defunct Moldovan) | 327,703 | 0.67% |
| Crimean Tatar | 231,382 | 0.48% |
| Hungarian | 161,618 | 0.34% |
| Bulgarian | 134,396 | 0.28% |
| Belarusian | 56,249 | 0.12% |
| Armenian | 51,847 | 0.11% |
| Gagauz | 23,765 | 0.05% |
| Romani | 22,603 | 0.05% |
| Polish | 19,195 | 0.04% |
| German | 4,206 | 0.01% |
| Greek | 6,029 | 0.01% |
| Hebrew | 3,307 | 0.01% |
| Slovak | 2,768 | 0.01% |
| Karaim | 96 | 0.00% |
| Other | 143,163 | 0.30% |
| Not indicated | 201,437 | 0.42% |
| Total | 48,240,902 | 100% |
Not included in the table above are Rusyn with 6,725 speakers as of 2001, [5] Ukrainian Sign Language (54,000 in 2008), Eastern Yiddish (11,500 in 2007), Urum (95,000 in 2000, often included under Tatar), and Krymchak (200 as of 2007). The varieties of Romani represented are Vlax, Carpathian and Balkan. [6] There are also speakers of the Gammalsvenska dialect of Swedish (at least 10 fluent and perhaps 150 with some knowledge as of 2014).[ citation needed ]
Ethnologue lists 40 minority languages and dialects in Ukraine; nearly all are native to the former Soviet Union.
As a result of legislation entitled the "Bill on the principles of the state language policy", which was adopted by the Verkhovna Rada in August 2012, languages spoken by at least 10% of an oblast's population were made possible to be elevated to the status of 'regional language'. Whilst Ukrainian remained the country's only 'official' language nationwide, other languages, dependent on their adoption by oblast authorities, became accepted mediums of communication in education, local government offices, courts and official correspondence. [7]
In February 2014, the Verkhovna Rada abolished the law on regional languages. In spite of this, then Acting President Oleksandr Turchynov refused to sign this decision. In October 2014 the Constitutional Court of Ukraine started reviewing the constitutionality of the law, [8] and on 28 February 2018 it ruled the law unconstitutional. [8] According to the Council of Europe, this act fails to achieve fair protection of the linguistic rights of minorities. [9]
A survey conducted in July 2023 found that almost 44% of respondents, the vast majority, said they did not know English at all. At the same time, 26.9% of respondents said they could understand some words and simple phrases, but could not read, write or speak English at all. 19.2% of Ukrainians said they could read, write or speak some English, but not well. Among those surveyed, 7.5% can read, write and speak English, but not fluently. In contrast, only 1.1% of respondents are fluent in English. [10]
According to research data from the Kyiv National Linguistic University, currently not displayed on its website but preserved, in particular, on ‘accessed.on.Academia.edu’, [11] as of 2009, a somewhat different picture was observed in the use of Ukrainian and Russian languages in everyday communication by Ukrainian citizens.
Also, earlier in 2008, according to Gallup Institute research, it was found that 83% of Ukrainian citizens chose to fill out (and did fill out) a questionnaire in Russian. [12] The methodology was that the survey was not related to the topic of language, but the questionnaires themselves were in three versions: in Russian, Ukrainian, and English. Thus, a result was achieved that was not related to the national or ideological identification of the respondents, with the results presented in the table above.
According to the Russian Imperial Census of 1897 on the territory of the nine Russian Governorates in modern Ukraine yielded the following results:[ citation needed ]
In an October 2009 poll by a Russian political sociology company FOM-Ukraine of 1,000 respondents, 52% stated they use Russian as their "Language of communication"; while 41% of the respondents state they use Ukrainian and 8% stated they use a mixture of both. [13]
A March 2010 poll [14] by Research & Branding Group showed that 65% considered Ukrainian as their native language and 33% Russian. This poll also showed the standard of knowledge of the Russian language (free conversational language, writing and reading) in current Ukraine is higher (76%) than the standard of knowledge of the Ukrainian language (69%). More respondents preferred to speak Ukrainian (46%) than Russian (38%) with 16% preferring to speak both in equal manner.
A poll held November 2009 revealed that 54.7% of the population of Ukraine believed the language issue in Ukraine was irrelevant, that each person could speak the language they preferred and that a lot more important problems existed in the country; 14.7% of those polled stated that the language issue was an urgent problem that could not be postponed and that calls for immediate resolution; another 28.3% believed that, while the language issue needed to be resolved, this could be postponed. [15]
An August 2011 poll by Razumkov Centre showed that 53.3% of the respondents use the Ukrainian language in everyday life, while 44.5% use Russian. [16]
In a May 2012 poll by RATING, 50% of respondents considered Ukrainian their native language, 29% Russian, 20% consider both Ukrainian and Russian their mother tongue and 1% considered a different language their native language. [17]
In an 11–23 December 2015 study by the Razumkov Centre taken in all regions of Ukraine other than Russian-annexed Crimea, and separatist controlled Donetsk, and Luhansk, a majority considered Ukrainian their native language (60%), followed by Russian (15%), while 22% used both languages equally. Two percent had another native language. For the preferred language of work, an equal amount chose either Ukrainian or Russian (37%) and 21% communicated bilingually. The study polled 10,071 individuals and held a 1% margin of error. [18] [19]
According to the survey carried out by RATING on 16-20 August 2023, almost 60% of the polled usually speak Ukrainian at home, about 30% – Ukrainian and Russian, only 9% – Russian. Since March 2022, the use of Russian in everyday life has been noticeably decreasing. For 82 per cent of respondents, Ukrainian is their mother tongue, and for 16 per cent, Russian is their mother tongue. IDPs and refugees living abroad are more likely to use both languages for communication or speak Russian. Nevertheless, more than 70 per cent of IDPs and refugees consider Ukrainian to be their native language. [20]
In November 2016, a new rule came into force requiring Ukraine's radio stations to play a quota of Ukrainian-language songs each day. The law also requires TV and radio broadcasters to ensure 60% of programs such as news and analysis are in Ukrainian. [21]
In September 2017, Ukraine instituted a similar policy on languages in public education. The law required that schools use Ukrainian, the national language, in all classes that did not require a second language.[ citation needed ] The exception from this being language classes that would be taught using "English or other official languages of the European Union." [22] The new spelling version was adopted by the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine in May 2019. [23]
There are over 250 languages indigenous to Europe, and most belong to the Indo-European language family. Out of a total European population of 744 million as of 2018, some 94% are native speakers of an Indo-European language. The three largest phyla of the Indo-European language family in Europe are Romance, Germanic, and Slavic; they have more than 200 million speakers each, and together account for close to 90% of Europeans.
Russian is an East Slavic language, spoken primarily in Russia. It is the native language of the Russians and belongs to the Indo-European language family. It is one of four living East Slavic languages, and is also a part of the larger Balto-Slavic languages. It was the de facto and de jure official language of the former Soviet Union. Russian has remained an official language in independent Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan, and is still commonly used as a lingua franca in Ukraine, Moldova, the Caucasus, Central Asia, and to a lesser extent in the Baltic states and Israel. It is also one of the six official languages of United Nations.
Ukrainian is an East Slavic language of the Indo-European language family spoken primarily in Ukraine. It is the native language of a majority of Ukrainians.
A Ukrainophone is a person who speaks the Ukrainian language either natively or by preference. At the same time the term is used in a more specialized meaning to describe the category of people whose cultural background is associated with the Ukrainian language regardless of territorial distinctions.
Urum is a Turkic language spoken by several thousand ethnic Greeks who inhabit a few villages in southeastern Ukraine. Over the past few generations, there has been a deviation from teaching children Urum to the more common languages of the region, leaving a fairly limited number of new speakers. The Urum language is often considered a variant of Crimean Tatar.
Krymchak is a moribund Turkic language spoken in Crimea by the Krymchak people. The Krymchak community was composed of Jewish immigrants who arrived from all over Europe and Asia and who continuously added to the Krymchak population. The Krymchak language, as well as culture and daily life, was similar to Crimean Tatar, the peninsula's majority population, with the addition of a significant Hebrew influence.
Of all the languages of Russia, Russian, the most widely spoken language, is the only official language at the national level. There are other 35 official languages, which are used in different regions of Russia. These languages include; Ossetic, Ukrainian, Buryat, Kalmyk, Chechen, Ingush, Abaza, Adyghe, Cherkess, Kabardian, Altai, Bashkir, Chuvash, Crimean Tatar, Karachay-Balkar, Khakas, Nogai, Tatar, Tuvan, Yakut, Erzya, Komi, Hill Mari, Meadow Mari, Moksha, and Udmurt. There are over 100 minority languages spoken in Russia today.
Beyond the official Romanian language, multiple other languages are spoken in Romania. Laws regarding the rights of minority languages are in place, and some of them have co-official status at a local level. Although having no native speakers, French language is also a historically important language in Romania, and the country is a member of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie.
Novohrodivka is a city in Pokrovsk Raion of Donetsk Oblast (province) of Ukraine. Population: 14,037 ; 17,473 (2001).
Armenia is located in the Caucasus region of south-eastern Europe. Armenian is the official language in Armenia and is spoken as a first language by the majority of its population. Armenian is a pluricentric language with two modern standardized forms: Eastern Armenian and Western Armenian. Armenia's constitution does not specify the linguistic standard. In practice, the Eastern Armenian language dominates government, business, and everyday life in Armenia.
As of January 2021, the estimated total population of the Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol was at 2,416,856. This is up from the 2001 Ukrainian Census figure, which was 2,376,000, and the local census conducted by Russia in December 2014, which found 2,248,400 people.
Christianity is the predominant religion in Ukraine, with 85% of the population identifying as Christian according to a 2022 survey conducted by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS). Seventy-two percent of the population avowed fidelity to an Eastern Orthodox Church: 54% of Ukrainians proclaimed adherence to the autocephalous Orthodox Church of Ukraine; 14% identified as Orthodox Christian without specifying a church affiliation; 4% associated with the Moscow Patriarchate. Another 9% of Ukrainians professed devotion to the Catholic Church in Ukraine: 8% Ukrainian Greek Catholics and 1% Latin Catholics. Two percent of the population declared affiliation to a mainstream Protestant Church, and a further 2% identified with some alternative sect of Christianity.
Russian is the most common first language in the Donbas and Crimea regions of Ukraine and the city of Kharkiv, and the predominant language in large cities in the eastern and southern portions of the country. The usage and status of the language is the subject of political disputes. Ukrainian is the country's only state language since the adoption of the 1996 Constitution, which prohibits an official bilingual system at state level but also guarantees the free development, use and protection of Russian and other languages of national minorities. In 2017 a new Law on Education was passed which restricted the use of Russian as a language of instruction. Nevertheless, Russian remains a widely used language in Ukraine in pop culture and in informal and business communication.
Eastern Ukraine or east Ukraine is primarily the territory of Ukraine east of the Dnipro river, particularly Kharkiv, Luhansk and Donetsk oblasts (provinces). Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts are often also regarded as "eastern Ukraine". In regard to traditional territories, the area encompasses portions of the southern Sloboda Ukraine, Donbas, the eastern Azov Littoral (Pryazovia).
In the Ukrainian language there are three major dialectal groups according to territory: the southwestern group, the southeastern group and the northern group of dialects.
Southern Ukraine refers, generally, to the territories in the South of Ukraine.
The official language of Bulgaria is Bulgarian, which is spoken natively by 85% of the country's population. Other major languages are Russian, Turkish (9.1%), and Romani (4.2%). There are smaller numbers of speakers of Armenian, Aromanian, Romanian, Crimean Tatar, Gagauz and Balkan Gagauz, Macedonian and English. Bulgarian Sign Language has an estimated 37,000 signers.
A variety of social, economical, cultural, ethnic, and linguistic factors contributed to the sparking of unrest in eastern and southern Ukraine in 2014, and the subsequent eruption of the Russo-Ukrainian War, in the aftermath of the early 2014 Revolution of Dignity.
The Kurds in Ukraine form a part of the historically significant Kurdish population in the post-Soviet space, and are located mainly in the southern and eastern parts of the country. They descend from migrants and refugees from the Caucasus and have had a presence in Ukraine since the early 20th century.
Odesa Oblast, also referred to as Odeshchyna (Одещина), is an oblast (province) of southwestern Ukraine, located along the northern coast of the Black Sea. Its administrative centre is the city of Odesa. Population: 2,351,382.
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