Editing Ukraine (section)

=== Language ===
{{main|Languages of Ukraine}}
{{further|Ukrainian language|Russian language in Ukraine}}

According to Ukraine's constitution, the [[official language|state language]] is [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]].<ref name="SerhyYUBoaMN"/> [[Russian language|Russian]] is widely spoken in the country, especially in eastern and southern Ukraine.<ref name="SerhyYUBoaMN"/><ref>{{Cite web |last=Armitage |first=Susie |date=2022-04-08 |title='Ukrainian has become a symbol': interest in language spikes amid Russia invasion |url=https://www.theguardian.com/education/2022/apr/08/ukrainian-langauge-interest-spikes-support-country-war |access-date=2022-04-18 |website=The Guardian |language=en |quote=Like most Ukrainians, Sophia Reshetniak, 20, is fluent in both Ukrainian and Russian.}}</ref> Most native Ukrainian speakers know Russian as a second language.<ref name="SerhyYUBoaMN"/> Russian was the ''de facto'' dominant language of the Soviet Union but Ukrainian also held official status in the republic,<ref>{{cite book |author=L.A. Grenoble |title=Language Policy in the Soviet Union |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Nn3xDTiL0PQC&pg=PA1 |year=2003 |publisher=Springer Science & Business Media |isbn=978-1-4020-1298-3 |page=1}}</ref> and in the schools of the [[Ukrainian SSR]], learning Ukrainian was mandatory.<ref name="SerhyYUBoaMN">[[Serhy Yekelchyk]] ''Ukraine: Birth of a Modern Nation'', [[Oxford University Press]] (2007), {{ISBN|978-0-19-530546-3}}</ref>

[[File:UkraineNativeLanguagesCensus2001detailed-en.png|thumb|upright=1.3|Linguistic map of Ukraine showing most common native language by city, town, or village council, according to the [[Ukrainian Census (2001)|2001 census]]]]

Effective in August 2012, [[Legislation on languages in Ukraine|a new law on regional languages]] entitled any local language spoken by at least a 10&nbsp;percent minority be declared official within that area.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/yanukovych-signs-language-bill-into-law-311230.html |title=Yanukovych signs language bill into law |publisher=Kyivpost.com |date=8 August 2012 |access-date=26 January 2014}}</ref> Within weeks, Russian was declared a regional language of several southern and eastern [[Oblasts of Ukraine|oblasts]] (provinces) and cities.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/russian-spreads-like-wildfires-in-dry-ukrainian-forest-311949.html |title=Russian spreads like wildfires in dry Ukrainian forest |publisher=Kyivpost.com |date=23 August 2012 |access-date=26 January 2014}}</ref> Russian could then be used in the administrative office work and documents of those places.<ref name=NewUklang2892012>{{cite news |url=http://www.kyivpost.com/content/ukraine/romanian-becomes-regional-language-in-bila-tserkva-in-zakarpattia-region-313373.html |title=Romanian becomes regional language in Bila Tserkva in Zakarpattia region |newspaper=[[Kyiv Post]] |agency=Interfax-Ukraine |date=24 September 2012 |access-date=20 October 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Michael Schwirtz |url=http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/ukraine/index.html |title=Ukraine |date=5 July 2012 |work=The New York Times}}</ref>

In 2014, following the [[Revolution of Dignity]], the [[Ukrainian Parliament]] voted to repeal the law on regional languages, making Ukrainian the sole state language at all levels; however, the repeal was not signed by acting [[Oleksandr Turchynov|President Turchynov]] or by President Poroshenko.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://w1.c1.rada.gov.ua/pls/zweb2/webproc4_1?pf3511=45291 |script-title=uk:Проект Закону про визнання таким, що втратив чинність, Закону України "Про засади державної мовної політики" |trans-title=Draft Law on the recognition of the void Law of Ukraine "On the basic principles of State Language Policy" |language=uk |publisher=Ukrainian Parliament |access-date=12 March 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Ian Traynor |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/feb/23/ukraine-crisis-western-nations-eu-russia |title=Western nations scramble to contain fallout from Ukraine crisis |date=24 February 2014 |work=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |author=Andrew Kramer |title=Ukraine Turns to Its Oligarchs for Political Help |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/03/world/europe/ukraine-turns-to-its-oligarchs-for-political-help.html |access-date=2 March 2014 |newspaper=New York Times |date=2 March 2014}}</ref> In 2019, the law allowing for official use of regional languages was found unconstitutional.<ref>{{cite web |date=28 February 2018 |title=Constitutional Court Declares Law On Language Policy Unconstitutional |url=https://ukranews.com/en/news/550164-constitutional-court-declares-law-on-language-policy-unconstitutional |website=ukranews.com}}</ref> According to the Council of Europe, this act fails to achieve fair protection of the [[linguistic rights]] of [[Minority language|minorities]].<ref>{{cite web |title=New Language Requirement Raises Concerns in Ukraine |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/01/19/new-language-requirement-raises-concerns-ukraine |website=[[Human Rights Watch]] |date=19 January 2022}}</ref>

Ukrainian is the primary language used in the vast majority of Ukraine. 67% of Ukrainians speak Ukrainian as their primary language, while 30% speak Russian as their primary language.<ref>{{Cite web |date=March 2022 |title=Language data for Ukraine |url=https://translatorswithoutborders.org/language-data-for-ukraine/ |access-date=11 March 2023 |website=Translators without Borders |language=en-US}}</ref> In eastern and southern Ukraine, Russian is the primary language in some cities, while Ukrainian is used in rural areas. [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]] is spoken in [[Zakarpattia Oblast]].<ref name="unian.info">{{cite news |title=Hungary plays ethnic card in all neighboring countries: experts explain "language row" with Ukraine |url=https://www.unian.info/politics/2285671-hungary-plays-ethnic-card-in-all-neighboring-countries-experts-explain-language-row-with-ukraine.html |work=[[Ukrainian Independent Information Agency|Unian]] |date=7 December 2017}}</ref> There is no consensus among scholars whether [[Rusyn language|Rusyn]], also spoken in Zakarpattia, is a distinct language or a dialect of Ukrainian.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Moser |first=Michael A. |chapter=Rusyn: A New-Old Language In-between Nations and States |title=The Palgrave Handbook of Slavic Languages, Identities and Borders |year=2016 |location=London |publisher=Palgrave Macmillan |pages=124–139 |doi=10.1007/978-1-137-34839-5_7 |isbn=978-1-349-57703-3 |chapter-url=https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-137-34839-5_7 |access-date=16 October 2019 |archive-date=14 January 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200114121225/https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-137-34839-5_7 |url-status=live}}</ref> The Ukrainian government does not recognise Rusyn and [[Rusyns]] as a distinct language and people.<ref>{{cite book |title=Encyclopedia of Rusyn history and culture |date=2002 |publisher=University of Toronto Press |location=Toronto, Ont. |isbn=0802035663}}</ref>

For a large part of the Soviet era, the number of Ukrainian speakers declined from generation to generation, and by the mid-1980s, the usage of the Ukrainian language in public life had decreased significantly.<ref name=Shamshur>Shamshur, pp. 159–168</ref> Following independence, the government of Ukraine began restoring the use of the Ukrainian language in schools and government through a policy of [[Ukrainisation]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.archives.gov.ua/Sections/Revolution_2004/UKL/photos.php?UKL302 |title=Світова преса про вибори в Україні-2004 (Ukrainian Elections-2004 as mirrored in the World Press) |access-date=7 January 2008 |website=Архіви України (National Archives of Ukraine) |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090108154958/http://www.archives.gov.ua/Sections/Revolution_2004/UKL/photos.php?UKL302 |archive-date=8 January 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-ukraine-language/criticism-of-ukraines-language-law-justified-rights-body-idUSKBN1E227K |title=Criticism of Ukraine's language law justified: rights body |work=[[Reuters]] |date=7 December 2017}}</ref> Today, most foreign films and TV programmes, including Russian ones, are subtitled or dubbed in Ukrainian.<ref>{{cite news |title=New language law could kill independent media ahead of 2019 elections |url=https://www.kyivpost.com/ukraine-politics/new-language-law-could-kill-independent-media-ahead-of-2019-elections.html |work=[[Kyiv Post]] |date=19 October 2018}}</ref> Ukraine's 2017 [[Education in Ukraine|education law]] bars primary education in public schools in grade five and up in any language but Ukrainian.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ukrainian Language Bill Facing Barrage Of Criticism From Minorities, Foreign Capitals |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-language-legislation-minority-languages-russia-hungary-romania/28753925.html |work=[[Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty]] |date=24 September 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Ukraine defends education reform as Hungary promises 'pain' |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/ukraine-defends-education-reform-as-hungary-promises-pain-1.3235916 |newspaper=The Irish Times |date=27 September 2017}}</ref>