Rusyn language
Rusyn is an East Slavic language spoken by Rusyns in parts of Central and Eastern Europe, and written in the Cyrillic script. The majority of speakers live in Carpathian Ruthenia, which includes Transcarpathia and parts of eastern Slovakia and south-eastern Poland. There is also a sizeable Pannonian Rusyn linguistic island in Vojvodina, Serbia, and a Rusyn diaspora worldwide. Under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages, it is recognized as a protected minority language by Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Czechia, Hungary, Romania, Poland, Serbia, and Slovakia.
The categorization of Rusyn as a language or dialect is a source of controversy. Czech, Slovak, and Hungarian, as well as American and some Polish and Serbian linguists treat it as a distinct language, whereas other scholars treat it as a dialect of Ukrainian.
Name
In the English language, the term Rusyn is recognized officially by the ISO. Other names are sometimes also used to refer to the language, mainly deriving from exonyms such as Ruthenian or Ruthene, that have more general meanings, and thus some specific designations are formed, such as: Carpathian Ruthenian/Ruthene or Carpatho-Ruthenian/Ruthene.Within the Rusyn community, the language is also referred to as, or simply referred to as speaking our way.
Classification
The classification of the Rusyn language has historically been both linguistically and politically controversial. During the 19th century, several questions were raised among linguists regarding the classification of East Slavic dialects that were spoken in the northeastern regions of the Kingdom of Hungary and also in neighbouring regions of the Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria. From those questions, three main theories emerged:- Some linguists claimed that East Slavic dialects of the Carpathian region should be classified as specific varieties of the Russian language.
- Other linguists argued that those dialects should be classified as western varieties of a distinctive Ukrainian language.
- A third group claimed that those dialects are specific enough to be recognized as a distinctive East Slavic language.
Geographic distribution
In terms of geographic distribution, Rusyn language is represented by two specific clusters: the first is encompassing Carpathian Rusyn or Carpatho-Rusyn varieties, and the second is represented by Pannonian Rusyn.Carpathian Rusyn is spoken in:
- the Zakarpattia Oblast of Ukraine.
- northeastern regions of Slovakia.
- southeastern regions of Poland. The variety of Rusyn spoken in Poland is generally known as Lemko language.
- northeastern regions of Hungary.
- northern regions of Romania.
In addition to communities in Central and Eastern Europe, Rusyn speakers are found in diaspora settlements across North America, Western Europe, and more recently in Australia. In the United States, Carpatho-Rusyn has historically been maintained in religious and cultural institutions, although intergenerational transmission has declined. Estimates of diaspora speakers are difficult because most national censuses do not count Rusyn separately, often subsuming them under Ukrainian, Russian or Slovak categories.
In Slovakia, where Rusyn is recognized as a minority language, the 2021 census recorded nearly 39,000 speakers, although local activists argue that the actual number is higher due to underreporting. In Serbia’s province of Vojvodina, Pannonian Rusyn has co-official status, with around 15,600 speakers according to the 2002 census. Poland records approximately 10,000 Lemko Rusyn speakers, while in Ukraine the 2001 census listed only 6,725 speakers, reflecting the state’s policy of treating Rusyn as a dialect of Ukrainian rather than a distinct language.
Varieties
Carpathian Rusyn varieties
The main continuum of Rusyn varieties stretches from Transcarpathia and follows the Carpathian Mountains westward into South-Eastern Poland and Eastern Slovakia, forming an area referred to as Carpathian Ruthenia. As with any language, all three major varieties of Rusyn vary with respect to phonology, morphology, and syntax, and have various features unique to themselves, while of course also containing their own, more local sub-varieties. The continuum of Rusyn is agreed to include the varieties known historically as Lemko and Bojko, and is also generally accepted to end at or with the Hutsul variety, which is "not included in the Rusyn continuum per se, but represent a linguistic variant... better seen as a dialect of Ukrainian". As the westernmost member of the family of East Slavic languages, it has also acquired a number of West Slavic features—unique to East Slavic languages—due to prolonged contact with the coterritorial languages of Polish and Slovak.Literary languages
Today, there are three formally codified Rusyn literary varieties and one de facto. These varieties reflect the culmination of nearly two centuries of activist and academic labor, during which a literary Rusyn language was desired, discussed, and addressed by a dedicated intelligentsia. Linguist Stefan M. Pugh notes, "...at every stage someone was thinking of writing in Rusyn; approximately every generation a grammar of some sort would be written but not find wide acceptance, primarily for reasons of a political nature."Some of these earlier grammars include those by , Vanja Hunjanky, Metodyj Trochanovskij , and . Harajda's grammar is particularly notable for having arrived in the midst of a five-year linguistic fervor for Carpatho-Rusyn. From 1939 through 1944 an estimated 1,500 to 3,000 Rusyn-language publications entered print and from 1941 onward, Harajda's grammar was the accepted standard.
Prešov Rusyn
In Slovakia, the Prešov literary variety has been under continuous codification since 1995 when first published by Vasyl Jabur, Anna Plíšková and Kvetoslava Koporová. Its namesakes are both the city and region of Prešov, Slovakia—historically, each have been respective centers for Rusyn academia and the Rusyn population of Slovakia.Prešov Rusyn was based on varieties of Rusyn found in a relatively compact area within the Prešov Region. Specifically, the variety is based on the language spoken in the area between the West Zemplin and East Zemplin Rusyn dialects. And though the many Rusyn dialects of Slovakia entirely surpass the limited set of features prescribed in the standard, this comparatively small sample size was consciously chosen by codifiers in order to provide a structured ecosystem within which a variety of written and spoken language would inevitably thrive.
Its orthography is largely based on Zhelekhivka, a late 19th century variety of the Ukrainian alphabet.
Lemko Rusyn
In Poland, a standard Lemko Rusyn grammar and dictionary, , was published in 2000 by and, with a second edition issued in 2004.Subcarpathian Rusyn
In Transcarpathia, Ukraine, M. Almašij's and Igor Kerča's, serves as the de facto literary standard for Subcarpathian, though "unofficial". Published in 1999, with a second edition in 2004, and a 58,000 word Rusyn-Russian dictionary in 2007, Kerča's work has been used by prominent Rusyn publishers in Uzhhorod—albeit with variations between published works that are typical of the spoken language.Common usage
Despite the above codified varieties, many Carpatho-Rusyn publications will use a combination of the three Carpathian standards. There have even attempts to revitalize the pre-war etymological orthography with archaic Cyrillic orthography ; the latter can be observed throughout Rusyn Wikipedia, where even a single article may be written in several different codified varieties. And while somewhat archaic, used of Harajda's grammar is even promoted by some in Rusyn Wikipedia.Pannonian Rusyn
Pannonian Rusyn, has variously been referred to as an incredibly distinct dialect of Carpathian Rusyn or a separate language altogether. In the ISO 639-9 identifier application for Pannonian Rusyn, the authors note that "Ruthenian is closest to linguistic entity sometimes called ,...."Literary language
The literary variety of Serbian and Croatian Rusyns is, again, significantly different from the above three Carpathian varieties in both vocabulary and grammar. It was first standardized in 1923 by G. Kostelnik. The modern standard has been continuously developed since the 1980s by Julian Ramač, Helena Međeši and Mihajlo Fejsa of Serbia, and Mihály Káprály of Hungary.History
The , dated to 1758, is one of the earliest texts possessing significant phonetic and morphological characteristics of modern Rusyn and is potentially "linguistically traceable" to the 16th century.By the 18th century, the Rusyn language was "clearly in evidence" and "quite recognizable in a more systematic fashion".
The first books produced exclusively for Rusyn readership were printed under the direction of bishop of Mukachevo, . Under his direction, the printshop at the University of Trnava published a catechism and an elementary language primer. For decades, these would be the only textbooks available to Rusyn students.
Later, in 1767 Maria Theresa's Urbarium was published throughout the Habsburg Empire in a variety of languages, including Rusyn.
Finally, under Bishop Andriy Bachynskyi's tenure in the Greek Catholic Eparchy of Mukachevo, new texts for Rusyn student readership were published. These several editions of the primer and catechism by were published in Rusyn vernacular, though with heavy influence from Church Slavonic.