The language of Rus, Ukraine and Russia

Ukrainian language

   The Ukrainian language bears the features of the ancient Slavs. This is not surprising if you realize that it is a preserved dialect of ancient Rus' in western Rus' (Ukraine). There is a common cliche of Soviet cinema in showing an illiterate Ukrainian from a distant village. This is the language of his dialogue. So a phrase like “what’s your last name?” is the most reliable way to express it. It's sounds funny like “hvamilia“ instead of “familia“ (like Spanish). The sound “HV“ instead of “F“ could be attributed to a pronunciation defect, if not for the fact that the Scythians did not have the letter “F“. How were these traits able to be preserved? With the Romanov dynasty coming to power, the Ukrainian language became the language of peasants from Przemysl to Voronezh. Cities begin to speak the language of the empire, and the Ukrainian language is not used in politics, government agencies and science.
   The establishment of Soviet power brings some improvement, but the Ukrainian language is not allowed in college or university. So, the majority of the Ukrainian elite speaks Ukrainian only “on camera“, and in everyday life in the language of the empire.

The language of Rus', Ukraine and Russia in comparison

   Let's start the review of the language with a reliable historical document in order to understand in comparison what the language of Rus', Ukraine and Russia is.
This is the original “parting word” of John the 4th (the Warlike).
   The comparison below is a sample of the most common language compatible expression taken from this document. What is closer to the original (Rus), Russian or Ukrainian?
... верхъ рєчій пожаданыхъ є концемъ Original (Rus)
... верх рєчій пожаданых є концем Original without “ъ“ *
... верх речей пожаданих є кінцем Ukrainian
... верх вещей вожделенных есть концом Russian
... the top of things desired is the end English
   This comparison did not bring any sensation. According to the latest statistical analyzes of Slavic languages carried out in the Russian Federation using a computer, Ukrainian, Belarusian and Russian languages are dialects of the same language. The root groups of Ukrainian and Belarusian coincide by 98%. The Russian language has lost about 30% of Slavic words due to the replacement of native words with non-Slavic ones. Next we will look at how this happened and why the modern Russian language is not the major heir to the language of Rus'. There are two main reasons that we will show here.

Difference between Ukrainian and Russian alphabet

   The Russian alphabet reflects the merger with the peoples of the Finno-Ugric ethnic group, mainly Mordovian. This brought significant consequences in the fusion of languages and traditions. First, let’s look at where the difference between the Ukrainian and Russian alphabet came from, the Mordovian alphabet.

You may see here the letters “ё“ and “э“ that have enriched the Russian alphabet. It also does not contain the letters “і“, “ї“ and “є“, which the Russian alphabet got rid of, although they are present in ancient inscriptions. This is confirmed by the above manuscript of Ivan the Terrible. But why are there letters of the “Ukrainian“ alphabet in this manuscript?
   In addition to the alphabet, phonetics has changed significantly. The Mordovian alphabet has two letters O (with and without a tilde), therefore, in the pronunciation of the name Moscow, as “maskva” Slavics hear, since the Slavs do not have such a sound (the average between a and o), like London, which Slavics hear as “landon“ in English pronunciation.
   In addition to borrowed words and expressions, Russian culture borrowed the folk traditions of Mordvinia. Nikon's reform banned buffoons and gusli, a traditional musical instrument of Rus', as pagan entertainment. The field of this balalaika has become more popular among Russians than among Mordovians. The gusli survived only in the lands of modern Ukraine in the form of a bandura (a gusli with a body for greater volume).

Ukrainian dictionary - an archive of lost Russian words

   The mention of a women's shirt with embroidered ornament (vishivanka) is most often associated with Ukraine, especially in Russia, where even this word (vishivanka) is considered borrowed from the Ukrainian language. This is a sad misconception, since vishivanka in the West of Russia was not simply forgotten - it was banned.
   The German origin of the Romanov dynasty and their hatred of the Rurik dynasty resulted in the merciless destruction of Russian folk culture. Peter the 1st began to dress the elite in German clothes, and Peter the 3rd took on the common people. Embroidered shirts and sheepskin hats were prohibited. Instead of embroidered shirts, women were forced to wear dresses in the German style and not wear anything in their braids. Men were ordered to wear German-style caps instead of sheepskin hats and jackets.
   Today, the ornament of Russian embroidered shirts in Russia has been reproduced from paintings and museum samples. The following photo shows an example of the modern production of Russian embroidered fabrics in Russia, which differ no more than the embroidered fabrics of the regions of Ukraine.
Here the difference between the words Russia and Rоssya is most obvious.
   During the years of Romanov rule, the Russian language was subjected to the greatest contamination with foreign words. Love for Western culture and contempt for the culture of Rus' forced them, and over time, the entire imperial elite to use more and more foreign words. This painful topic of contempt for one’s people deserves a separate story, but our goal is not pathos but evidence. The most convincing example is the word “флаг“ (borrowed from flag). In Rus' the words “horugvy“, “znamia“, “prapor“ and “stiag“ were used. It's not all the same thing. A “stiag“ is triangular flad and was used only to control troops. A “Prapor“ is a simplification of a “znamia“ (flag that has symbols). A “horugvy“ may carry other symbols, including religious ones. In Russia, the words “horugvy“ and “prapor“ disappeared, but the rank of those who should bear them remained. The following table shows the presence and connection of these words in the Ukrainian and Russian languages.
main
(flag type)		derivative
(rank)		main
(flag type)		 derivative
(rank)
знамено (“znameno“)знаменосецьзнамя (“znamia“)знаменосец
хоругва (“horugvy“)хорунжий (NONE) хорунжий
прапор (“prapor“)прапорщик (NONE) прапорщик

And so, there are two military ranks in the Russian language that have lost touch with their purpose.
   Therefore, when Russians do not understand Ukrainian words, it is most often because they have replaced these words with foreign ones. Another example is words that are obsolete in the Russian language, especially in fairy tales, which may be present in the Ukrainian language:
Девица краса, губы червлены за пяльцами сидитOriginal (old Rus')
Дівчина краса, губи червоні за п'яльцами сидитьmodern Ukrainian
Девушка краса, губы красные за прялкой сидитmodern Russian
Beautiful girl with red lips sitting at a spinning wheelEnglish
Surprisingly, the verb of the disappeared noun “пяльцы” (spinning wheel) is still used in Russian as “staring” (“пялится”).
   The borrowing of the foreign word “угол“ (corner) to replace own word “кут“ cuts the popular idiom “go to the left” from the root. The origin of this idiom referes to the old expression “woman’s corner“ in old books with old (replaced) words. It's unreadable in modern russian language but still used in ukrainian language as “babiy kut” (woman’s corner). What does it mean? Once upon a time in Rus' this meant a corner hung with fabric on the left side of the room where women changed clothes. In rich houses these are the women's rooms in the left wing. This is where the expression “go to the left” comes from, which meant visiting a “woman’s side“. That's not all, the verb from the replaced noun in Russian still “alive“ and used as “to wrap up“.
The given examples are only a drop in the bucket of what can confirm: Ukrainian dictionary - an archive of lost Russian words

Ukrainian language ban

    There are about 100 documents banning or restricting the use of the Ukrainian language (the primary dialect of Rus'). The most famous of them is Valuev’s circular:

Valuev's circular - an order from the Minister of Internal Affairs of the Russian Empire P.A. Valuev in 1863. It prohibited the printing of religious, educational, and literature intended for elementary reading (fairy tales, for example) in Ukrainian. Only works of fine literature were allowed to pass by the censor.
( click on photo to enlarge)
Imitation of Valuev's circular on a poster during a protest against “Russification” (replacement of the dialect of native Rus' with the Mordovian-Russian dialect) in 2015.
(click on photo to enlarge)
The history of the ban on the Ukrainian language goes back about 400 years. Tyrants explain what place the language of Rus', Ukraine and Russia should occupy.

Exceptions

    It often becomes necessary to give a historical name a modern interpretation when words, especially adjectives, change their meaning. First of all, this is the name of the Russian king John the Terrible. If we reproduce this name of John the 4th according to the character for which he was glorified at that time, then we get John the Warlike. The ancient Rus verb “terrify“ was used to express military threaten to the enemy. It wasn't like verb “horrify“. The historical name must tell the truth.
    Not all borrowings of foreign words are the machinations of the elite. The human brain chooses a shorter path to complete a task. When a foreign word is shorter or easier to pronounce, the brain automatically gives it preference. The names Masha and Dasha are not Slavic, but Finno-Ugric (Mordovian) pronunciation of names, which is much simpler. In Ukrainian they are Maria and Daryna, and in Russian they are Marya and Daria. A more modern borrowing is the word “фейк“ (sounds and means as fake), which is easier to pronounce from the“ word “подделка“ (means as fake, sounds as poddelka).

*NOTE:    The original without “ъ” (hard sign) brings the text to modern pronunciation, which, after the reform of the pronunciation of vowels, became hard by default, and soft ones began to require a soft sign (there are significantly fewer words with this pronunciation).

conclusions
Territorial encroachments on Ukraine were based on the assertion that many oppressed Russians lived in eastern Ukraine. This raised doubts as to whether Ukraine was in fact a republic with a sufficient ethnic majority.
   The appearance of these genetic studies has refuted these doubts. The aggressor was forced to change the name of the population suppressed in Ukraine from “Russians“ to “Russian-speaking“. This is a more correct but not entirely accurate name, since most of these people understand the Ukrainian language and can speak it, but prefer Russian. This applies mainly to the population of large cities. It should be noted that villages and small towns in Ukraine mostly speak Ukrainian or mixture.
   (This is nothing new. This is how the Polishization of western Ukraine, the Germanization of the Czech Republic, etc. took place.)
   Even before genetic research, there were other refutations of the fable about Russians in Ukraine. The largest migrations of people to the territory of Ukraine were caused by industrialization. Consequently, residents of other regions of the USSR had to settle around industrial centers. The following map shows the ratio of languages.

   The above map does not show the centers of industrialization, but only repeats the wave of Russification caused by numerous bans on the Ukrainian language. It goes from east to west, just as the seizure of Ukrainian lands and the transfer of capitals took place. So the “Russian-speaking“ residents of Ukraine are Russified Ukrainians, similar to those who remained in the territories separated from Ukraine.