Editing Belarusian language (section)

== Names ==
The Belarusian language has been known under a number of names, both contemporary and historical. Some of the most dissimilar are from the Old Belarusian period.

=== Official English-language name ===
* ''Belarusian'' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|b|ɛ|l|ə|ˈ|r|uː|s|i|ə|n|}})<ref>{{cite web |url= http://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/definition/english/belarusian|title= Belarusian|publisher= Oxford Learner's Dictionaries}}</ref> – derived from the name of the country "Belarus". It may also be spelled ''Belarusan'' ({{IPAc-en|ˌ|b|ɛ|l|ə|ˈ|r|uː|s|ə|n|}}), a form used officially from 1992 to 1995 including in the [[United Nations]] and by diaspora.<ref name="Як нас заве сьвет — «Беларашэн» ці Belarus(i)an?">{{cite news|url=https://www.svaboda.org/a/27189235.html |title="Як нас заве сьвет — "Беларашэн" ці Belarus(i)an?" |newspaper=Радыё Свабода|date=30 August 2022 |last1=Вячорка |first1=Вінцук}}</ref>

=== Historical ===
* ''Byelorussian'' (also spelled ''Belorussian'', ''Bielorussian'') – derived from the Russian-language name of the country "Byelorussia" ({{langx|ru|Белоруссия|Belorussiya|[[White]] [[Russia]]}}), used officially (in the [[Russian language]]) in the times of the [[USSR]] (1922–1991) and, later, in the [[Russia|Russian Federation]]{{citation needed|date=March 2017}}.
* ''White Russian''<ref>{{cite book |last1=Marples |first1=David R. |title=Motherland : Russia in the 20th century |date=2014 |publisher=Routledge |location=London |isbn=9781317873860 |pages=57–58}}</ref> or ''White Ruthenian'' (and its equivalents in other languages) – literally, a word-by-word translation of the parts of the composite word ''Belarusian''. The term "White Ruthenian" with reference to language has appeared in English-language texts since at least 1921. The oldest one, [[Latin]] term "Albae Russiae, Poloczk dicto" is recorded in 1381.<ref>
{{cite book
 |author1              = National Polish Committee of America
 |title                = Polish Encyclopaedia
 |year = 1921
 |url                  = https://books.google.com/books?id=PmxpAAAAMAAJ
 |volume               = 2
 |location             = Geneva
 |publisher            = Atar
 |publication-date     = 1921
 |page                 = 788
 |access-date          = 19 February 2022
 |quote                = At the last scholastic census of 1911, the children of the people declared their language to be Polish, and when their Russian masters refused to fill the census-forms in this manner, and wrote 'Language: White Ruthenian' instead of 'Polish language', the children's parents protested and demanded the correction of the census-forms [...].
}} 
</ref>

=== Alternative suggestions ===
* ''Grand Lithuanian'' ({{lang|be|вялікалітоўская (мова)}}) – proposed and used by [[Jan Stankievič]] since the 1960s, referencing chancery language of Grand Duchy of Lithuania, 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".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Ян Станкевіч. Беларуска-расійскі (Вялікалітоўска-расійскі) слоўнік |url=https://knihi.com/Jan_Stankievic/Bielaruska-rasijski_Vialikalitouska-rasijski_slounik.html |access-date=2023-05-06 |website=knihi.com |language=be}}</ref> 
* ''Kryvian'' or ''Krivian'' ({{lang|be|крывіцкая/крывічанская/крыўская (мова)}}, {{langx|pl|język krewicki}}) – derived from the name of the Slavonic tribe [[Krivichs|Krivichi]], one of the main tribes in the foundations of the forming of the Belarusian nation. Created and used in the 19th century by Belarusian Polish-speaking writers Jaroszewicz, Narbut, Rogalski, [[Jan Czeczot]]. Promoted by [[Vatslaw Lastowski]].{{citation needed|date=May 2023}}

=== Vernacular ===
* ''Simple'' ({{lang|be|простая (мова)}}) or ''[[Tutejszy|local]]'' ({{lang|be|тутэйшая (мова)}}) – used mainly in times preceding the common recognition of the existence of the Belarusian language, and nation in general. Supposedly, the term can still be encountered up to the end of the 1930s, e.g., in [[Western Belorussia|Western Belarus]]. It is widely used to this day in [[Pomerania]] in reference to the mixed Polish-Belarusian dialects spoken there.{{citation needed|date=May 2023}}
* ''Simple Black Ruthenian'' ({{langx|ru|простой чернорусский}}) – used in the beginning of the 19th century by the Russian researcher Baranovski and attributed to contemporary vernacular Belarusian.<ref>Acc. to: Улащик Н. Введение в белорусско-литовское летописание. – Moscow, 1980.</ref>