Editing Ukrainian language (section)

==Linguistic development==

===Theories===
Specific developments that led to a gradual change of the Old East Slavic vowel system into the system found in modern Ukrainian began around the 12th/13th century (that is, still at the time of the Kievan Rus') with a lengthening and raising of the Old East Slavic mid vowels ''e'' and ''o'' when followed by a consonant and a [[Havlík's law|weak yer]] vowel that would eventually disappear completely, for example Old East Slavic котъ /kɔtə/ > Ukrainian кіт /kit/ 'cat' (via transitional stages such as /koˑtə̆/, /kuˑt(ə̆)/, /kyˑt/ or similar) or Old East Slavic печь /pʲɛtʃʲə/ > Ukrainian піч /pitʃ/ 'oven' (via transitional stages such as /pʲeˑtʃʲə̆/, /pʲiˑtʃʲ/ or similar).<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Schweier |first=Ulrich |title=Ukrainisch |encyclopedia=Lexikon der Sprachen des europäischen Ostens (Wieser-Enzyklopädie des europäischen Ostens, vol. 10) |year=2002 |publisher=Wieser Verlag |location=Klagenfurt/Celovec |editor-last1=Okuka |editor-first1=Miloš |editor-last2=Krenn |editor-first2=Gerald |pages=535–549 |url=https://eeo.uni-klu.ac.at/wwwg.uni-klu.ac.at/eeo/Ukrainisch.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221023175332/https://eeo.uni-klu.ac.at/wwwg.uni-klu.ac.at/eeo/Ukrainisch.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-23 |url-status=live |isbn=3-85129-510-2}}</ref> This raising and other [[Phonology|phonological]] developments of the time, such as the merger of the Old East Slavic vowel [[Phoneme|phonemes]] и /i/ and ы /ɨ/ into the specifically Ukrainian phoneme /ɪ ~ e/, spelled with и (in the 13th/14th centuries), and the [[Fricative|fricativisation]] of the Old East Slavic consonant г /g/, probably first to /ɣ/ (in the 13th century), with /ɦ/ as a reflex in Modern Ukrainian, did not happen in Russian. Only the fricativisation of Old East Slavic г /g/ occurred in Belarusian, where the present-day reflex is /ɣ/.{{cn|date=June 2024}}

[[Ahatanhel Krymsky]] and [[Aleksey Shakhmatov]] assumed the existence of the common spoken language of Eastern Slavs only in prehistoric times.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://litopys.org.ua/pivtorak/pivt.htm |title=Григорій Півторак. Походження українців, росіян, білорусів та їхніх мов |publisher=Litopys.org.ua |access-date=2012-05-22 |archive-date=1 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120201064220/http://litopys.org.ua/pivtorak/pivt.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> According to them the diversification of the Old East Slavic language took place in the 8th or early 9th century.{{cn|date=June 2024}}

Russian linguist [[Andrey Zaliznyak]] stated that the [[Old Novgorod dialect]] differed significantly from that of other dialects of Kievan Rus' during the 11th–12th century, but started becoming more similar to them around the 13th–15th centuries. The modern Russian language hence developed from the fusion of this Novgorod dialect and the common dialect spoken by the other Kievan Rus', whereas the modern Ukrainian and Belarusian languages developed from dialects which did not differ from each other in a significant way.<ref name="About Russian Language History">{{cite web |last1=Zaliznyak |first1=Andrey Anatolyevich |title=About Russian Language History |url=https://elementy.ru/nauchno-populyarnaya_biblioteka/431649/Ob_istorii_russkogo_yazyka |website=elementy.ru |publisher=Mumi-Trol School |access-date=21 May 2020 |archive-date=18 April 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200418153113/https://elementy.ru/nauchno-populyarnaya_biblioteka/431649/Ob_istorii_russkogo_yazyka |url-status=live }}</ref>

Ukrainian linguist [[Stepan Smal-Stotsky]] denies the existence of a common Old East Slavic language at any time in the past.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://litopys.org.ua/istkult/ikult01.htm |title=Мова (В.В.Німчук). 1. Історія української культури |publisher=Litopys.org.ua |access-date=2012-05-22 |archive-date=10 June 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190610194227/http://litopys.org.ua/istkult/ikult01.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> Similar points of view were shared by [[Yevhen Tymchenko]], [[Vsevolod Hantsov]], [[Olena Kurylo]], [[Ivan Ohienko]] and others. According to this theory, the dialects of East Slavic tribes evolved gradually from the common Proto-Slavic language without any intermediate stages during the 6th through 9th centuries. The Ukrainian language was formed by convergence of tribal dialects, mostly due to an intensive migration of the population within the territory of today's Ukraine in later historical periods. This point of view was also supported by [[George Shevelov]]'s phonological studies,<ref name="autogenerated2">{{cite web|date=1979|title=Юрій Шевельов. Історична фонологія української мови|url=http://www.litopys.org.ua/shevelov/shev.htm|access-date=8 May 2016|publisher=Litopys.org.ua|archive-date=20 November 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221120105749/http://litopys.org.ua/shevelov/shev.htm|url-status=live}}</ref> which argue that specific features{{Which|date=September 2016}} were already recognizable in the southern dialects of Old East Slavic (seen as ancestors to Ukrainian) as far back as these varieties can be documented.<ref name="shevelov" />

===Origins and developments during medieval times===
{{external media
 |float     = right
 |video1    = [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CR1fdjz9VHU The Ukrainian language in the graffiti of St. Sophia of Kiev]<br/>[[National Sanctuary "Sophia of Kiev"]]. [[YouTube]]}}
As a result of close Slavic contacts with the remnants of the [[Scythians|Scythian]] and [[Sarmatians|Sarmatian]] population north of the [[Black Sea]], lasting into the early [[Middle Ages]], the appearance of the voiced fricative γ/г (romanized "h"), in modern Ukrainian and some southern Russian dialects is explained by the assumption that it initially emerged in [[Scythian language|Scythian]] and related eastern Iranian dialects, from earlier common [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]] ''*g'' and ''*gʰ''.<ref>Абаев В. И. О происхождении фонемы ''g (h)'' в славянском языке // Проблемы индоевропейского языкознания. М., 1964. С. 115—121.</ref><ref>Майоров А.В. Великая Хорватия: Этногенез и ранняя история славян Прикарпатского региона. СПб.: Изд-во С.-Петерб. ун-та, 2006. {{ISBN|5-288-03948-8}}. С. 102.</ref><ref>Эдельман Д. И. К происхождению ирано-славянских диахронических паралелей // Славянская языковая и этноязыковая системы в контакте с неславянским окружением. М., 2002. С. 76—77.</ref>

During the 13th century, when German settlers were invited to Ukraine by the princes of the [[Kingdom of Ruthenia]], German words began to appear in the language spoken in Ukraine. Their influence would continue under{{Clarify|date=March 2025|reason=“under Poland” does not make sense - maybe “under Polish rule”? Or “when the land was part of Poland”?}} [[Poland]] not only through German colonists but also through the [[Yiddish|Yiddish-speaking]] Jews. Often such words involve trade or handicrafts. Examples of words of German or Yiddish origin spoken in Ukraine include {{lang|uk|dakh}} ("roof"), {{lang|uk|rura}} ("pipe"), {{lang|uk|rynok}} ("market"), {{lang|uk|kushnir}} ("furrier"), and {{lang|uk|majster}} ("master" or "craftsman").<ref name = "Concise Middle">History of the Ukrainian Language. R. Smal-Stocky. In ''Ukraine: A Concise Encyclopedia.''(1963). Toronto: University of Toronto Press. pp. 490–500</ref>

===Developments under Poland and Lithuania===
In the 13th century, eastern parts of Rus (including Moscow) came under [[Mongol invasion of Kievan Rus'|Tatar rule]] until their unification under the Tsardom of [[Tsardom of Russia|Muscovy]], whereas the south-western areas (including [[Kyiv]]) were incorporated into the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]]. For the following four centuries, the languages of the two regions evolved in relative isolation from each other. Direct written evidence of the existence of the Ukrainian language dates to the late 16th century.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://litopys.org.ua/zyzlex/zyz.htm |title=Лаврентій Зизаній. "Лексис". Синоніма славеноросская |publisher=Litopys.org.ua |access-date=2012-05-22 |archive-date=30 August 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090830170514/http://litopys.org.ua/zyzlex/zyz.htm |url-status=live }}</ref> By the 16th century, a peculiar official language formed: a mixture of  the [[Liturgy|liturgical]] standardised language of [[Old Church Slavonic]], [[Ruthenian language|Ruthenian]] and [[Polish language|Polish]]. The influence of the latter gradually increased relative to the former two, as the nobility and rural large-landowning class, known as the [[szlachta]], was largely Polish-speaking. Documents soon took on many Polish characteristics superimposed on Ruthenian phonetics.<ref name=KostOstr>{{in lang|ru}} [[Mykola Kostomarov]], ''Russian History in Biographies of its main figures'', Chapter ''[http://www.kulichki.com/inkwell/text/special/history/kostom/kostom22.htm Knyaz Kostantin Konstantinovich Ostrozhsky] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803145944/http://www.kulichki.com/inkwell/text/special/history/kostom/kostom22.htm |date=3 August 2020 }}'' ([[Konstanty Wasyl Ostrogski]])</ref>

[[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth|Polish–Lithuanian]] rule and education also involved significant exposure to [[Latin]]. Much of the influence of Poland on the development of the Ukrainian language has been attributed to this period, and is reflected in multiple words and constructions used in everyday Ukrainian speech that were taken from Polish or Latin. Examples of Polish words adopted from this period include ''zavzhdy'' (always; taken from old Polish word ''zawżdy'') and ''obitsiaty'' (to promise; taken from Polish ''obiecać'') and from Latin (via Polish) ''raptom'' (suddenly) and ''meta'' (aim or goal).<ref name="Concise Middle"/>

Significant contact with [[Tatars]] and [[Turkic peoples|Turks]] resulted in many [[Turkic languages|Turkic]] words, particularly those involving military matters and steppe industry, being adopted into the Ukrainian language.  Examples include ''torba'' (bag) and ''tyutyun'' (tobacco).<ref name="Concise Middle" />

Because of the substantial number of loanwords from Polish, German, Czech and Latin, early modern vernacular Ukrainian (''prosta mova'', "[[simple speech]]") had more lexical similarity with [[West Slavic languages]] than with Russian or Church Slavonic.<ref>Yaroslav Hrytsak. "On Sails and Gales, and Ships Driving in Various Directions: Post-Soviet Ukraine as a Test Case for the Meso-Area Concept".  In: Kimitaka Matsuzato ed. ''Emerging meso-areas in the former socialist countries: histories revived or improvised?''. Slavic Research Center, [[Hokkaido University]]. 2005. p. 57.</ref> By the mid-17th century, the linguistic divergence between the Ukrainian and Russian languages had become so significant that there was a need for translators during negotiations for the [[Treaty of Pereyaslav]], between [[Bohdan Khmelnytsky]], head of the [[Zaporozhian Host]], and the Russian state.<ref>Nicholas Chirovsky. (1973). ''On the Historical Beginnings of Eastern Slavic Europe: Readings'' New York: Shevchenko Scientific Society, pg. 184</ref>

By the 18th century, Ruthenian had diverged into regional variants, developing into the modern [[Belarusian language|Belarusian]], [[Rusyn language|Rusyn]], and Ukrainian languages.<ref name="pugh">{{Cite journal|last=Pugh|first=Stefan M.|title=The Ruthenian Language of Meletij Smotryc'kyj: Phonology|journal=Harvard Ukrainian Studies|year=1985|volume=9|number=1/2|pages=53–60|jstor=41036132|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41036132|access-date=10 February 2023|archive-date=11 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230211154812/https://www.jstor.org/stable/41036132|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="shevelov">{{Cite book|last=Shevelov|first=George Y.|author-link=George Shevelov|title=A Historical Phonology of the Ukrainian Language|year=1979|location=Heidelberg|publisher=Carl Winter|isbn=9783533027867|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AIVgAAAAMAAJ|access-date=10 February 2023|archive-date=22 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230922165717/https://books.google.com/books?id=AIVgAAAAMAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="bunčić">{{Cite book|last=Bunčić|first=Daniel|title=Die ruthenische Schriftsprache bei Ivan Uževyč unter besonderer Berücksichtigung seines Gesprächsbuchs Rozmova/Besěda: Mit Wörterverzeichnis und Indizes zu seinem ruthenischen und kirchenslavischen Gesamtwerk|year=2006|location=München|publisher=Verlag Otto Sagner|url=https://www.academia.edu/4678996|access-date=10 February 2023|archive-date=26 March 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230326031533/https://www.academia.edu/4678996|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Chronology===
The accepted chronology of Ukrainian divides the language into Old Ukrainian, Middle Ukrainian, and Modern Ukrainian.<ref>{{Cite Q|Q106315708|page=277}}</ref> Shevelov explains that much of this is based on the character of contemporary written sources, ultimately reflecting socio-historical developments, and he further subdivides the Middle period into three phases:<ref>{{Cite Q|Q105081119|isbn=3-533-02786-4|pages=40–41}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Q|Q105081178|page=54–55}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Q|Q87193076|chapter=Ukrainian language|url=http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CU%5CK%5CUkrainianlanguage.htm|first=George|last=Shevelov|author-link=George Shevelov}}</ref>

* Proto-Ukrainian (abbreviated PU, Ukrainian: {{Lang|uk-Latn|protoukrajinsʼkyj period}}, until the mid-11th century), with no extant written sources by speakers in Ukraine. Corresponding to aspects of [[Old East Slavic]].
* Old Ukrainian (OU, {{Lang|uk-Latn|davnʼoukrajinsʼkyj period}} or {{Lang|uk-Latn|davnʼoukrajinsʼka mova}}, mid-11th to 14th c., conventional end date 1387), elements of phonology are deduced from written texts mainly in Church Slavic. Part of broader Old East Slavic.
* Middle Ukrainian ({{Lang|uk-Latn|serednʼoukrajinsʼkyj period}} or {{Lang|uk-Latn|staroukrajinsʼka mova}}, 15th to 18th c.), historically called [[Ruthenian language|Ruthenian]].
** Early Middle Ukrainian (EMU, {{Lang|uk-Latn|rannʼoserednʼoukrajinsʼkyj period}}, 15th to mid-16th c., 1387–1575), analysis focuses on distinguishing Ukrainian and Belarusian texts.
** Middle Ukrainian (MU, {{Lang|uk-Latn|serednʼoukrajinsʼkyj period}}, mid-16th to early 18th c., 1575–1720), represented by several vernacular language varieties as well as a version of Church Slavonic.
** Late Middle Ukrainian (LMU, {{Lang|uk-Latn|piznoserednʼoukrajinsʼkyj period}}, rest of the 18th c., 1720–1818), found in many mixed Ukrainian–Russian and Russian–Ukrainian texts.
* Modern Ukrainian (MoU, from the very end of the 18th c., {{Lang|uk-Latn|sučasnyj period}} or {{Lang|uk-Latn|sučasna ukrajinsʼka mova}}, from 1818), the vernacular recognized first in literature, and subsequently all other written genres.

Ukraine marks the Day of Ukrainian Writing and Language on 9 November, the [[Eastern Orthodox]] [[feast day]] of [[Nestor the Chronicler]].{{cn|date=June 2024}}