Belarusian language

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Belarusian language (беларуская мова, BGN/PCGN: byelaruskaya mova) — language of the Belarusian people. It is one of the three East Slavonic languages and is spoken in Belarus and abroad. It shares some vocabulary with the languages of the neighboring Slavic nations, notably with Ukrainian, Polish, and Russian.

Names

Official, romanised

• Belarusian — derivative from the form of the name of the country «Belarus», officially approved for the use abroad by the Belarusian authorities (c.1992) and promoted since then.
• * Belarusan — variation of «Belarusian».
• Byelorussian — derivative from the form of the name of the country «Byelorussia» (Russian: ), used officially (in the Russian language) in the times of the USSR, and, later, in the Russia.
• * Belorussian — variation of «Byelorussian».

Alternative

• Great Lithuanian (Belarusian: ) — proposed and used by Yan Stankyevich since c.1960s, intended to part with the «diminishing tradition of having the name related to the Muscovite tradition of calling the Belarusian lands» and to pertain to the «great tradition of Belarusian statehood».

• Kryvian (Belarusian: or Belarusian: or Belarusian: ) — derivative from the name of the Slavonic tribe Kryvichy (Belarusian: ), one of the main tribes in the foundations of the forming of the Belarusian nation. Created and used by 19th cent. Polish writers Jaroszewicz, Narbut, Rogalski, Czeczot. Strongly promoted by Lastowski.

Vernacular

• «Simple» (Belarusian: ) or «local» (Belarusian: ) — used mainly in times, preceding the scientific, political and, following that, the common recognition of the existence of the Belarusian language, and nation in general. Supposedly, the definition still possible to meet up to the end of 1930s, e.g., in Western Belarus.

Old Belarusian

Historically, the Old Belarusian language (c.14th–17th centuries) had also been called:

• Ruthenian (Old Belarusian: «руски езыкъ») — by the contemporaries, but, generally, not in contemporary Muscovy.
• * (variant) Simple Ruthenian or simple talk (Old Belarusian: «простая молва» or «простый руский (язык)») — publisher Grigoriy Khodkevich (16th cent.)

• Lithuanian (Russian: ) — possibly, exclusive reference to it in the contemporary Muscovy. Also by Zizaniy (end 16th cent.), Pamva Byerynda (1653).

• Lithuanian-Russian (Russian: ) — by 19 cent. Russian researchers Keppen, archbishop Filaret, Sakharov, Karatayev.

• Russian-Polish or even Polish dialect — Shtritter, Polish researcher Samuel Bogumil Linde, Polish writer Wisniewski. Notably, the definition had been used even when referencing to Skaryna’s translation of Bible.

• Belarusian (language) — rarely in contemporary Muscovy. Also Kryzhanich. The denotation Belarusian (language) (Russian: ) when referring both to the 19th cent. language and to the Medieval language had been used in works of the 19th cent. Russian researchers Buslayev, Ogonovskiy, Zhitetskiy, Sobolevskiy, Nedeshev, Vladimirov and had served as a basis for the Karskiy's denotation.

• (Old) West Russian, language or dialect (Russian: , Russian: ) — chiefly by the supporters of the concept of the Proto-Russian phase, esp. since the end of the 19th century (notably: Karskiy, Shakhmatov). [Karskiy 1893, 1903]

• (Old) Ruthenian — by the 20th cent. Lithuanian, Polish and English researches.

Dialects

The North-Eastern and the South-Western dialects are separated by the highly conventional imaginary line Ashmyany – Minsk – Babruysk – Homyel, with the areal of the Middle Belarusian dialect group to be placed on and along this line.

The North-Eastern dialect is chiefly characterised by the «soft sounding R» (Belarusian: ) and «strong sounding AH» (Belarusian: ), and the South-Western dialect is chiefly characterised by the «hard sounding R» (Belarusian: ) and «moderate sounding AH» (Belarusian: ).

The West Palyesian dialect group is more distinct linguistically, close to Ukrainian language in many aspects, and is separated by the conventional line Pruzhany – Ivatsevichy – Tsyelyakhany – Luninyets – Stolin.

History

Balto-Slavonic

Proto-Slavonic

Transition to Old Belarusian

• That the Ancient East Slavonic (Proto-Russian) language had formed next (c. 7th–8th centuries), with subsequent forming of the (Old) Belarusian language. Some of the notable supporters of this concept: Karskiy, Shakhmatov, Vowk-Lyevanovich. The prevailing concept in Russia and USSR.
• That the (Old) Belarusian language was the direct evolvement from the Proto-Slavonic phase, with the earlier material evidences of this dated early 13th century. Some of the notable supporters of this concept: Buzuk, Nimchynaw, Yan Stankyevich. Yan Stankyevich claimed the separation of the (Old) Belarusian language had begun not later than 5th cent., claimed prof. O. Hujer supported these deductions. [Stank 1939]

Old Belarusian

Foundations

The foundations of the Old Belarusian language were:

• The Proto-Slavonic (alternatively, Proto-Russian) language.
• The particularities of the local Slavonic dialects (acc. to Karskiy: «the Western branch of the Middle Russian dialects»).
• The Old Church Slavonic literary tradition.
• The Western and Polish influences, conducted mainly to the literary tradition.

Forming

The Old Belarusian was the official language of the chancellery and courts of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania until 1696. Up to the half of the 17th cent., most of the official documents, originating in the State Chancellery of the Grand Duchy, had been written in Old Belarusian (see also: Myetrika of Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Ruthenia and Samogitia). The Statutes of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania were written in this language. Old Belarusian was actually the language of the first Bible to be printed in one of the Eastern Slavic languages – the achievement of Franciszak Skaryna. During the 16th century, the language culturally developed with many active schools teaching it. Moreover religious quarrels between Orthodox, Catholics, Protestants and Jews were fought using printing presses rather than violence. Many Belarusians were people of the Renaissance, educated at the universities of Western Europe or the Lithuanian university in Vilnius that was founded in 1579.

See also: Mutual influences of the Old Belarusian and Ukrainian languages.

1600s-1650s

The last safeguards for the Old Belarusian language, although being largely formal by that time, had been removed completely by the decree of 1697, stating that the official language of the courts and chancellery would be Polish.

1650s-1850s

Following the partitions of Poland (1772–1796), the Belarusian territory was incorporated into the Russian Empire. Unlike Ukraine, Belarus has historically lacked a strong nationalistic drive. During the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth times, educated people of Belarus tended to identify themselves with Poland, and today some prominent persons are claimed both by Poland and Belarus for their nationality. For the peasents, however, most continued to refer to themselves as Ruski, as well as to their language.

This latter fact can be interpreted differently. From one side, it caused many nobles of Imperial Russian authorities to assume that the language spoken by Belarusian peasents was nothing but Polonised Russian. From the other side, by the 16th century, the term "Ruski" (Ruthenian in Latin or Russian in Russian language) was referred to the language spoken in modern-day Ukraine and Belarus, but not the language of Muscovy (the modern Russian). Though the Polish influence over the territory slackened, the Russification of Belarusian peasants proved counter-productive. In the 1897 Imperial census most referred to their native language not as Ruthenian as they did during the Polish rule, but as White Ruthenian or Belarusian.

All Empire	125640021	5885547	55667469	7931307
Guberniya	Total Population	Belarusian (Beloruskij)	Russian (Velikoruskij)	Polish (Poslkij)
Vilna	1591207	891903	78623	130054
Vitebsk	1489246	987020	198001	50377
Grodno	1603409	1141714	74143	161662
Minsk	2147621	1633091	83999	64617
Mogilev	1686764	1389782	58155	17526
Smolensk	1525279	100757	1397875	7314
Chernigov	2297854	151465	495963	3302
Forevisla guberniyas	9402253	29347	335337	6755503

[MAP1] [MAP2]

The end of the 19th century however still showed that the urban language of Belarusian towns remained either Polish or Russian and in the same census towns exceeding 50000 had Belarusian speakers of less than a tenth. This state of affairs greatly contributed to a perception that Belarusian is a "rural" and "uneducated" language.

However the census was a major breakthrough for the first steps of the Belarusian national self-consiounce and identity, as it clearly showed to the Imperial authorities, and the still strong Polish minority that the population and the language was neither Polish nor Russian. In 1904 the Russian Imperial authorities legalised the language and Belarusian schools along with communities switched their language of communication. Initially only in Rural areas, but in cities all schools too were mandatory to include Belarusian language.

On March 25, 1918, under German occupation the Belarusian People's Republic was proclaimed and for a brief period the official language of all communication in the BNR was Belarusian. In 1918–1919, the Belarusian lands were divided between Poland and the RSFSR where the Belarusian SSR was created. In the 1920s, a campaign of Belarusization started, as a part of the all-Union campaign of korenizatsiya (revival of national cultures). Some administration and legal affairs began to be carried out in Belarusian. A significant amount of books were printed in the Belarusian language by prominent Belarusian authors and publicists including Yakub Kolas, Yanka Kupala, Zmitrok Biadulia, Maksim Bahdanovich, and many others. Active discussions were carried out about the standardisation of the language.

The Belarusization was stalled and even reversed beginning in the 1930s. The orthographic reform of 1933 changed the Belarusian spelling rules and brought it closer to Russian. In 1938 Russian language become an obligatory subject in all Soviet schools. After the school reform of 1958, when parents were given the right to select the language of instruction for their children, people increasingly began selecting Russian language.

During the Soviet era, there was also the elimination of the Belarusian middle class between 1917 and 1941 by the Communist Party; in Kurapaty (a suburb of Minsk), the NKVD killed perhaps 100,000 people. Many thousands of people were sent to concentration camps (Gulag) or resettled to Siberia. Around 400 Belarusian authors were repressed during anti-nationalism campaigns that started around 1929 and culminated during the Great Purge. During the Second World War Belarus lost a large percentage of its population.

Interest in the Belarusian language was revived at the end of 1980s during perestroika. In 1990, Belarusian became the only official language of Belarusian SSR, and a second campaign of Belarusization followed. The "Law on languages" (Закон аб мовах), ratified on 26 January 1990, envisioned a complete switch of all administrative and official documentation of the country into Belarusian by 2000. However, the Belarusization was halted following the election of Alexander Lukashenka as the President of Belarus in 1994. Also in 1995 there was a referendum which, among other things, gave Russian language an equal status with Belarusian. Currently, russification is taking place in Belarus on an ever-growing scale, and the government does not provide any support for the Belarusian language. The population of Belarus itself tends to identify as a close associate of Russia (if not considering themselves Russian outright). In this respect, a fact of note is that the [official website of the Belarusian President] is in two languages: Russian and English (as of 2006)

During Soviet times, the Belarusian language was viewed by many native speakers as a rural and peasant language as opposed to Russian's image as a modern and urban language. That image in the eyes of the public has changed somewhat in the years of Belarus independence: some perceive it as a language of the young emerging urban elite. Yakub Kolas National State Humanities Lyceum, closed down by the authorities, continues to work underground, visiting Lithuania and Poland. Nevertheless, current Russification policies are seen by some as a serious threat that may lead to the eventual extinction of the Belarusian language in Belarus.

The largest centre of Belarusian cultural activity, in the Belarusian language, outside Belarus is in the Polish province of Białystok (Belastok in Belarusian), which is home to a long-established Belarusian minority. Primary and secondary schools with additionial teaching of the Belorussian language are available in Hajnówka. Belarusian Association of Students organizes rock festival Basovišča. Radio Racja broadcasts in Belarusian.

Orthography

Belarusian alphabet

The Belarusian alphabet is based on the Cyrillic script, from the alphabet of the Old Church Slavonic language. Its modern form was determined in 1918, and consists of thirty-two letters. Historically, the Glagolitic script had been used, sporadically, until 11th – 12th centuries. Historically, there also existed practices of rendering of the Belarusian text in Latin script and in Arabic script.

Romanisation

Some of the standard systems for romanizing (transliterating) of the Belarusian text:

• BGN/PCGN romanization of Belarusian, 1979 (United States Board on Geographic Names and Permanent Committee on Geographical Names for British Official Use)
• Scientific transliteration, or the International Scholarly System for linguistics
• ALA-LC romanization, 1997 (American Library Association and Library of Congress)
• ISO 9:1995
• Instruction on transliteration of Belarusian geographical names with letters of Latin script, 2000

Grammar

The normative Belarusian grammar had been adopted in 1959. It represents the prevailingly synthetic (flexive) and partly analytic nature of the Belarusian language. The B.g. is centered around the principle of the phonetical writing («you write down what you hear») and is mainly based on the Belarusian folk dialects of the Myensk-Vil'nya region of the beginning of the 20th century. The B.g. had been prepared, in its initial form, by notable Belarusian linguist Branislaw Tarashkyevich and first printed in Vilnya (1918). Historically, there had existed several other alternative Belarusian grammars. See also Belarusian phonetics and Belarusian grammar#History.

Vocabulary

Some very basic examples:

• вітаю (vitaju) – hello
• як (jak) – how
• як маесься? (jak majessia?) – how are you doing?
• добрай раніцы (dobraj ranicy) – good morning
• дабранач (dabranach) – good night
• дзякуй (dziakuj) – thank you
• калі ласка (kali laska) – please, you are welcome
• спадар / спадарыня (spadar / spadarynia) – mister / missis
• добра (dobra) – good
• кепска / дрэнна (kiepska / drenna) – bad
• выдатна (vydatna) – excellent
• цудоўна (cudouna) – wonderful
• дзе (dzie) – where?
• адкуль (adkul) – where from?
• чаму (chamu) – why?
• разумею (razumieju) – I understand
• нічога не разумею (nichoha nie razumieju) – I don't understand anything

Comparison

Nouns (nazounik)

• Nominative (nazouny)
• Genitive (rodny)
• Dative (davalny)
• Accusative (vinavalny)
• Instrumental (tvorny)
• Locative (mesny)

For nouns there are several types of declension:

• i-stem – feminine (feminine nouns ending in a hard consonant, soft consonant or ў: печ "stove", косьць "bone", кроў "blood")
• a-stem – mostly feminine (subdivided into four subgroups: hard stems, guttural stems, soft stems, hardened stems)
• o-stem – masculine (subdivided into hard stem and soft stem) and neuter (вясло "oar", мора "sea")
• consonantal stem – mostly neuter (ягня "lamb", бярэмя "burden", семя "seed")
• irregular nouns (for example, вока "eye" and вуха "ear")

Pronouns (zajmiennik)

• Possessive (прыналежныя): мой (my, mine); твой (your(s)familiar); яго, ягоны (his); яе, ейны (her); наш, наскі (our(s)); ваш (your(s)); іх, іхны (their(s)), свой ((one's) own).
• Personal (асабовыя): я (I), ты (you (familiar)), ён (he), яна (she), яно (it), мы (we), вы (you), яны (they);
• Negative (адмоўныя): ніхто (nobody), нішто (nothing), нічый (nobody's), ніякі (not of any kind), ніводзін, ніводны (no one);
• Definitive (азначальныя): сам (-self); самы ("the very", - self); увесь (all, whole); усё (all, everything); усе (all, every, everybody); усякі, усялякі (every, any); кожны (each); іншы (other).
• Indefinite (няпэўныя): нехта (someone); нешта (something); нейкі (some, а); нечы (somebody's, a); некаторы (some of); некалькі (a few, some, several); хтось, хтосьці (somebody); штось, штосьці (something); чыйсьці (somebody's); якісьці, які-кольвек (some, a kind of, something like); хто-небудзь, хто-кольвек (anybody); што-небудзь, што-кольвек (anything); чый-небудзь (some one's); абы-што (smth.dickey); абы-чый (a, somebody's (negative)); абы-які (dickey).
• Interrogative-comparative (пытальныя): хто (who), што (what), які (which), каторы (which), чый (whose), колькі (how much);
• Demonstrative (указальныя): той (that); гэты (this); гэны (this/that); такі (such); гэткі, гэтакі (such, of this kind); столькі, гэтулькі (that much);
• Reflexive (зваротны): сябе (-self).

References

• [Karsk 1893] Карский Е. Ф. Что такое древнее западнорусское наречие? // «Труды Девятого археологического съезда в Вильне, 1893», под ред. графини Уваровой и С. С. Слуцкого, т. II – М., 1897. – с. 62 – 70. In edition: Карский Е. Ф. Белорусы: 3 т. Т. 1 / Е. Ф. Карский / Уступны артыкул М. Г. Булахава, прадмова да першага тома і каментарыі В. М. Курцовай, А. У. Унучака, І. У. Чаквіна . – Мн. : БелЭн, 2006. – с. 495 – 504. ISBN 985-11-0360-8 (T.1), ISBN 985-11-0359-4

• [Karsk 1903] Карский, Е. Ф. Белорусы: 3 т. Т. 1 / Уступны артыкул М. Г. Булахава, прадмова да першага тома і каментарыі В. М. Курцовай, А. У. Унучака, І. У. Чаквіна. ; [Карскій. Бѣлоруссы. Т. I – Вильна, 1903] – Мн. : БелЭн, 2006. ISBN 985-11-0360-8 (Т.1), ISBN 985-11-0359-4

• [Lyosik 1917] [Язэп Лёсік] Граматыка і родная мова : [Вольная Беларусь №17, 30.08.1917] // Язэп Лёсік. Творы: Апавяданні. Казкі. Артыкулы / (Уклад., прадм. і камент. А. Жынкіна. – Мн. : Маст. літ., 1994. – (Спадчына). ISBN 5-340-01250-6

• [Stank 1939] Ян Станкевіч. Гісторыя беларускага языка [1939] // Ян Станкевіч. Збор твораў у двух тамах. Т. 1. - Мн.: Энцыклапедыкс, 2002. ISBN 985-6599-46-6

• [Zhur 1993] Жураўскі А. І. Беларуская мова // Энцыклапедыя гісторыі Беларусі. У 6 т. Т. 1. - Мн.: БелЭн, 1993.

See also

• Old Ruthenian language
• East Slavic languages
• Kievan Rus'
• Ruthenia
• Tarashkevitsa, Belarusian grammar of 1918 by Branislau Tarashkevich
• Narkamauka
• Trasianka, a blend of Russian and Belarusian languages spoken by many in Belarus
• Swadesh list of Belarusian words

External links