How To Learn Ukrainian: War Sparks Interest In Language

Celebrities in Kyiv, a businessman in Kharkiv, an interior designer from Crimea... they're all studying Ukrainian amid a growth in interest in learning the language among the country's native Russian speakers.
Originally published at - www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-russi...
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#russia #ukraine

[@Gambol_25]

I just want to give a hug to everyone who's learning Ukrainian! It's difficult, I know. I did it too and it was 1000% worth it. Now I've started forgetting words in ruzzian since I'm literally not using it at all xD. Godspeed to everyone on this journey!

[@OstblockLatina]

It's a most commendable effort, to switch from one language to another in the adult age, and not an easy one I believe. I admire that greatly.

[@fredericgadoury6610]

Russian and Ukrainian languages are very close. I started learning Russian 4 years ago and when I hear Ukrainian, it's not obvious to me to tell the difference.

[@adoatero5129]

@@fredericgadoury6610 They are close languages, but there are a lot of differences. For example a Russian, who's one parent is Russian speaking and the other Ukrainian speaking (I don't remember which was which), said that when he started translating comments and videos from this war, he only understood Russian and had to learn Ukrainian, putting quite a lot of effort to it, to be able to translate that too. Another one put it this way: an average Russian from Russia probably can't even tell the subject of what two average Ukrainians are talking about, when it's an everyday matter. The closer the common border the people live, the better chance they have understanding something about what the other says. It's important to remember that until now all Ukrainians have studied Russian at school (to my knowing) at least for eight years, so that obviously helps common understanding a lot.

[@danieln9226]

I met a guy from Kyiv in 2021 and spoke to him in Ukrainian(I've been learning it for approx. 8 years at that point) and he sounded like speaking Ukrainian with a russian accent. Ofc it's probably because he spoke Surzhyk for the most part and I always find it kinda funny when they use it. Anyway, it's great that the people are learning their actual language and not the language of those who have been trying to overpower them for centuries. I hope Kazakhstan, Belarus and all former USSR nations would follow suit.

[@magdagama8779]

IT IS NEVER too late TO LEARN anything. ...MORE KNOWLEDGE. ...MORE POWER anyone HAVE! !

[@1midnightfish]

Thank you for this video, obviously it's good news that this is happening but I also find it fascinating from the viewpoint of someone learning Ukrainian from scratch with no Slavic background (English-Italian bilingual). I feel I'm part of a huge community of people learning Ukrainian, and some of them are Ukrainians! A good thing happening for a terrible reason is still a good thing. Слава українському народові 💙💛

[@markiyanhapyak349]

Puoi farcela…! 😇

[@1midnightfish]

@@markiyanhapyak349 Grazie 🤗💙💛

[@NikkiOwen]

I have almost completed Ukrainian on Duolingo. They seriously need to add more content to the app. As an English speaker, it's not the easiest language to learn but it is beautiful and I find the app fun. Slava Ukraini ✊️ Heroyam Slava ✊️ 🇺🇦 ♥️ 🇬🇧

[@als1023]

Thanks for posting ! English speakers struggle greatly with slavic, latin based is so easy compared to.

[@markiyanhapyak349]

Дякую…!

[@1midnightfish]

Search on YT, lots of great content, all levels. I've been learning ukrainian for a year now, no Duolingo

[@NikkiOwen]

@@1midnightfish Thank you for your suggestion, I will do that 😊

[@markiyanhapyak349]

WHY do people delete their OWN comments…?…‽

[@stephanieyee9784]

This is great news for Ukraine and the Ukrainian people. I feel sorry for those who have grown up speaking Russian but now feel betrayed by her. As the man from Kharvik said, "Who are the Russians supposedly protecting him from?". It's nice to hear that some older people are speaking Ukrainian with their families. Sad though that others have felt the need to cut ties. Hang in there Ukraine 🇺🇦.

[@UtilityCurve]

Ironically, Ukrainians need most to be protected from Russians.

[@c.a.saunders2819]

Awesome news, and work by this lady, and those doing similar work. It's a very important and noble pursuit. I applaud them all as patriots, and supporters of Ukraine. Russia shall never govern Ukraine. 🇺🇲🇺🇦 Glory to God, Victory for Ukraine, Rise Free Nations!

[@MrKim-kv2vv]

Sweet, need to see more participants. 🙋🏼

[@Fre3domAction]

I was 20 when I fled to USA as a political refugee, I almost didn't know any English except for "Hello, How are you". Took about a year to just learn basic day to day words and still compared to native ppl I speak slowly and less fluent after 15 years!! what this young women are doing is truly hard and challenging yet they've so much love and determination for their cause they've tried to switch their language !! They wanna be free from anything related to occupiers, real patriots👍👍✌✌✌

[@ernestoreyes8732]

Yo te amo...Ukraena !!! " Land of the Braves " !!!😊

[@inesdamonteines3985]

Have you heard "Fortress Bakmut".? It's a great song.

[@jayjones7891]

I have been learning Ukrainian for almost a year. Beautiful language.

[@stockholm3976]

I live in Stockholm and speak little Russian after 30 years of learning, bit by bit every year. I feel everything is spoiled now. I start to learn Ukrainian instead. It wont take 30 years but maybe 5 - 10. I know cyrillic, only 4 characters differ from the 2 languages. And, of course, many words are about the same, about 50 %.

[@aktraining3747]

there is only ONE Slavic language , same as ONE Arabic , yet many dialects even in one country . So "Russian" language is fake label

[@umegghju]

@@aktraining3747 I learned polish and i cannot understand Russian, Ucrainian, Croatian... of course I catch some words. But it is not ONE language. It was, ONE language, but not anymore. Most of the grammar is similar, but if you cannot understand, sorry, no intelligibility means different languages.

[@1midnightfish]

@@aktraining3747 What utter rubbish

[@aktraining3747]

@@1midnightfish you full of shit . welcome

[@aktraining3747]

@@umegghju I even not sorry for your poor mental ability , you may be lust moron who disable to respect identity "PIVO" & "PYVO"

[@umjackd]

I'm one of the Duolingo users who started learning Ukrainian last year. Didn't keep up with it though! All my new Ukrainian friends here speak better English haha

[@tatianalyulkin410]

BS. Don't give up. Ukrainian is one of the most beautiful languages in the world.

[@KougaJ7]

*Good!*

[@Inkling777]

Good for them! There may be practical reasons to know Russian, but there are important reasons to treat it as a foreign language. Also, I would not be surprised if in the years that follow Ukraine takes additional steps. They could change their Russian-gauge rail lines to the European standard. That would make travel westward easier. They might begin to replace their Cyrilic script with a Roman one like Poland. And since I plan to travel Eastern Europe next spring on a Eurail pass, I'd love to see their beautiful country become the 34th in which that pass can be used.

[@magdagama8779]

YOU FORGET TO SAID THAT UKRAINE NEED NEED TO CHANGE HORRIBLE architecture TOO! ! THAT russian architecture IT IS HORRIBLE, MONSTRUOUS WITHOUT NO sense at all! ! MORE GREENSPACES IN CITIES AND LESS gigant and LESS blocks of ciment. ...MORE WOOD AND ANCIENT STONE FROM UKRAINE! ! URBAN REHABILITATION YES BUT WITH LOCAL MATERIAL AND MORE architecture design WITH SENSE LIKE NORDIC COUNTRIES! !!

[@tatianalyulkin410]

My God people- my brother is right. You need a psychiatrist.

[@heathercraig526]

Very interesting..thankyou 👍👍❤❤🇦🇺

[@marinettebrosnan8453]

Beloved Ukranians we love love you Would love to learn the language of the most incredible amazing wonderfull proud country in the world From Southafrica xxx

[@thedustyhead]

A Ukrainian girl that speaks both Russian and Ukrainian, but since the invasion she refuses to speak Russian again . She also speaks English a little Polish a little French and little Japanese . .... She said she really hurt her head learning English .

[@user-ez1dq4vp1b]

❤❤❤

[@umegghju]

3:10 that is impressive, I can't imagine a person like that man.

[@peterbiesbroek]

Very well, strong initiative.. Succes!

[@mpakakas3518]

american money can get you many things.

[@LoeZack]

​@@mpakakas3518 ok Ivan

[@mpakakas3518]

@@LoeZack is it not true M@r@n? (the word "m@r@n" here used as a first name, and/or as nationality indicative, not as an insult)

[@mrfixit8776]

Being born in Odesa, Russian was the language all my family had spoken... In America we continue to speak Russian, but speak mostly English to my neice and nephew. Also being Jewish, we try to use Yiddish mixed with Russian. I do kind of want to learn Ukrainian, as I know it will be a journey to learn that language as the dialect sounds different.

[@mrfixit8776]

@Thomas Singer I can definitely understand some sounds and at times know which path the conversation could be going.

[@tatianalyulkin410]

By all means- but don't tie it to politics. Learn Ukrainian because it's one of the most beautiful languages in the world.

[@brandonc5965]

I 👍

[@imaginemetoo]

Melodic Ukrainian language.... SLAVA UKRAINI 🇺🇦✌️💙💛

[@72stones43]

Good people support good things, let all evil people learn.

[@magdagama8779]

ME TOO WANT TO LEARN UKRAINIAN IN portugal TOO! ! SINCE I HEARD OF THIS HORRIBLE NIGHTMARE THAT russians are doing in UKRAINE since 2022! !! AND even more behind! !!

[@endres5628]

We had to learn russian language in school. I also learned french...both was totally waste of time for me lol. I have nothing to do with both countries. What I would like to learn is to know the difference between russian and ukranian language. I hear ukranian (I suppose) speaking people on the streets of Budapest. Anyway, putler achieved one thing in his whole life, everybody hates russian people now. I should hate them too, since they killed my grandmother in 1956... a tragedy my mother never speak about since then. But I know some russian people through the internet whom are very good people. I hope they can go back to their home country one day...

[@Maaruks]

I would love to learn Ukrainian.

[@jamesbohlman4297]

In the coming years, there will be a lot more familiarization of both the Ukrainian and Polish languages in some historically unlikely circles.

[@linass3565]

As a Ukrainian I want to say that a few years ago it became popular for parents moving from rusian speaking cities to the west of Ukraine to create fully Ukrainian speaking environment for their small children, I hope in the future there will be no need for such actions

[@brandonc5965]

English is very easy to learn for ukranians i see

[@UtilityCurve]

Your children might be vexatious, your history with them fraught and frayed, but to not adore your grandchildren, brand-new pages in the story of your family, is inhuman. I do not project that inhumanity onto all Russians (who, incidentally, conceive of themselves as the mist "family-oriented" culture in earth), but it seems clear that it takes precisely that trait to wage war on a peaceful neighbor.

[@tatianalyulkin410]

" A peaceful neighbor " ? Whatever.

[@jonathangomes8600]

I’m from Brazil and i’m studying ukrainian language. I’m using the duolingo, but is very hard. Anyway, after the war I’ll visit ukraine, specially lviv, Kyiv and Kharkiv

[@mnblkjh6757]

🇺🇦👍

[@davidmiles-hanschell]

Slava Ukraini

[@DipankarCare-en4lt]

Great! What about learning NATO language next!

[@diogorodrigues747]

There is no NATO language.

[@DipankarCare-en4lt]

@@diogorodrigues747 u r so wise 😇

[@als1023]

@@diogorodrigues747 NATO conducts in English, for the most part.

[@DipankarCare-en4lt]

@@sieuwkedevries5211 😊👌

[@coffeelink943]

The joke doesn’t even make sense, use your brain if you want to have a better comeback because that was pathetic what you just said. You can just say non English speaking countries of NATO should switch to English.

[@ririgala1741]

Awesome! There are many forms of rebellion! Great job!!

[@llywrch7116]

I'll be happy if I can learn the Cyrillic alphabet.

[@just_a_turtle_chad]

What did they speak before learning Ukrainian?

[@Grek1574]

ru

[@yvonnetomenga5726]

@Just a turtle • Did you watch the video before you posted your question? The answer appears multiple times throughout the clip.

[@bps7209]

are you kidding?

[@OstblockLatina]

A huge part of Ukrainian lands and its population had been subjected to an all-encompassing process of cultural cleansing by the Soviet Union for decades. One of the results being a large number of Ukrainians, especially in the center and east of Ukraine, speak Russian as their mother tongue, instead of in Ukrainian. You could see a numbr of videos about that on a YT channel of Anna from Ukraine, and also in a video about Ukrainian language on Langfocus YT channel.

[@fordwrc2006]

Welsh 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿😂

[@fordwrc2006]

It’s like Welsh though it’s only spoken in one country - Russian is spoke in about 15 countries.

[@susanwestern6434]

Apparently Ukrainian is more lilting and musical than Russian. A bit like Welsh.

[@Inkling777]

Here is Audry Hepburn speaking five languages with near fluency, including her native Dutch. Why isn't German among them? Because as a young girl she endured five years of German occupation. Many Ukrainians are coming to feel much the same about speaking Russian. kzbin.info/www/bejne/gKmVhXWFgpmKotk

[@DacianRider]

rip the chains !! hope Moldova will do the same.

[@Maaruks]

They should do the same in Latvia. They should learn Latvian.

[@bgpobeda]

Ukrainian language is part of Bulgarian languages. Have definition ,,Sloveni/ Slovenes": there is a nickname for people who are not Bulgarians but speak and/or write in Bulgarian. From ,,speech”, in Bulgarian mean ,,slovo”. Slovak is supposed for any other foreigner who speech Bulgarian. Slovar = dictionary. But Russian propaganda in last 300 years enforces false political terminology for ,,Slavic” nation, and ,,Kirilic” alphabet ! (,,Slava” is also Bulgarian word for ,,Glory”).

[@svilenkondakov4997]

When language and culture becomes tied to politics, it's sad. Please consider it'll one day happen with English too.

[@Gambol_25]

So the entire world has been sad from the begining? I agree then

[@muzaiacmu4757]

French was once the main language of international communication. And no one believed that it would ever change, because no one could imagine why it should be changed. But now we see that the main language is English. And it seems to us again that it is forever. And I'm sure we're wrong again. There is nothing eternal.

[@brandonc5965]

Speak ur native tongue no MATTER

[@hehehhaw]

Propaganda!

[@grimyGobIin]

Most important word is Pideras they say it alot🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈

[@valevisa8429]

Let's not go that far,i am not interested in any language which resembles Russian.

[@Pro-jc7sn]

Russia 💪🇷🇺

[@sdk4422]

обезьяний разговор

[@imaginemetoo]

💤🕳️🌻

[@borisb1831]

Learn Russian instead of some made up nonsense

[@alanhyt79]

All russians should learn Ukrainian and should forget the russian language. They can start by repeating the phrase: Slava Ukraini!

[@bps7209]

Don't flatter yourself, Ukraine is just as corrupt as Russia.

[@brentjamescollins9731]

@@bps7209 Not according to the latest evidence! Brent Collins.

[@mrseinfeld]

😂 good one!

[@bps7209]

@@brentjamescollins9731 your word? 👌

[@onlyfanscorki2003]

This nigga with audacity 😅

[@sharong8511]

The man @2:21 has epic hair!

[@mpakakas3518]

I just wonder.... What would we say if Russians were trying to teach their language to ukrainian speaking people.... How would we call that.... hmmmm....

[@1midnightfish]

russians have been forcibly doing that to Ukrainians for centuries

[@muzaiacmu4757]

What do you mean by "trying"? In all occupied territories, this is the first thing they do. Immediately implement Russian in schools, Russian educational programs. This is what they did in Crimea eight years ago. And those people. who were evacuated to Russia, and try to speak Ukrainian, and at least somehow preserve their national identity, are declared as potential terrorists.

[@mpakakas3518]

@@muzaiacmu4757 Are you really so ret@rded? Are you seriously so f***ed up in the head? You are not joking with me right?? I am sorry, but it is very hard to me to fathom the st00peedity of the people talking to me sometimes.... The abyss of severe ret@rdation... Jesus man... you are on the spectrum.... We leave in 21st century man. People have internet. Russians can not be "evacuated" somewhere without their will. This is not the 15th century to drag people like cattle to other territories.... The internet would be full of people crying and complaining. The only ones we have are the western media.... Man, did you actually go to school? It's ok if you didn't. There are a lot of illiterate guys out there. You have rights in life too.... The eastern part of Ukraine is full solid ethnic russian population. That is why they were always VOTING for pro_russian parties before the 2014 coup. ahahahahaaaa what did you think? Putin blackmailed them to vote for his friends, or he would invade? 🤣🤣🤣That is why there was a coup in Kiev. That's why the Ukrainians forbid pro_russian parties (even those voted in parliament). That is why Ukrainians forbid russian language in schools. Russians are there some 1000 years now yoooooo !!!!!!! Are you really so illiterate? tell me you are joking man... I can't fucking believe it... st00peedity is endless....

[@asanitationstompout8473]

Apr5 There's over 704.9k Russian casualties/ Russian military death toll in Ukraine rises to 176,240 KIAs, w/ over 528.7k wounded. There were at least 550 KIAs last night. .. ... and also over 1.2k total casualties last night... Keep up that bodycount, don't stop, UA. Your people are counting on you. 👉🏿ukrinform|minusrus

[@bps7209]

The propaganda channel paid for by Americans? Everything else is.

[@CaptainGrimes1]

Did you pull those figures out from your ass?😂😂😂Or did the ghost of Kiev kill them all 😜

[@mpakakas3518]

how can you be so ret@rded man?? honestly. are you trying hard? is it difficult? I tried to speak or think ret@rd but I can't do it. you must be some kind of talent.

[@BlackOpsSucksBallz]

👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻 So much for pootler needing to defend ruSSian speakers in Ukraine, even they don’t want anything to do with ruSSian language now BECAUSE of pootler