Upper Sorbian language

(in English)

Upper Sorbian, Hornjoserbšćina

Spoken natively in Germany.

Region - Saxony, Brandenburg.

Native speakers -18,000  (1995).

Language family - Indo-European, Balto-Slavic, Slavic, West Slavic, Sorbian, Upper Sorbian.

Writing system - Latin (Sorbian alphabet).

Official language in regional language in Germany (Brandenburg and Saxony).

Upper Sorbian (Hornjoserbšćina) is a minority language spoken by Sorbs in Germany in the historical province of Upper Lusatia (Hornja Łužica in Sorbian), which is today part of Saxony. It is grouped in the West Slavic language branch, together with Lower Sorbian, Czech, Polish, Slovak and Kashubian.

Sorbian languages

(in English)

Sorbian, Wendish, Lusatian

Geographic distribution: Lusatia, the Sorbian-speaking region in Germany.

Linguistic classification: Indo-European, Balto-Slavic, Slavic, West Slavic, Sorbian.

Subdivisions: Upper Sorbian, Lower Sorbian.

The Sorbian languages (Serbsce, Serbski) are classified under the Slavic branch of the Indo-European languages. They are the native languages of the Sorbs, a Slavic minority in the Lusatia region of eastern Germany. Historically the language has also been known as Wendish or Lusatian. Their collective ISO 639-2 code is wen. It is closely related to Polish, Kashubian, Czech and Slovak.

Polish language

(in English)

Spoken natively in Poland. Minorities: Belarus, Ukraine, Lithuania, Latvia, United Kingdom, Germany, United States, Czech Republic, Russia, Brazil, Argentina, Canada, France, Australia, Ireland, Iceland, Israel.

Native speakers 40 million  (2009).

Language family Indo-European, Balto-Slavic, Slavic, West Slavic, Lechitic,  Polish.

Writing system Latin (Polish alphabet).

Polish (język polski, polszczyzna) is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland (being that country's official language) and by Polish minorities in other countries. Its written standard is the Polish alphabet, which has several additions to the letters of the basic Latin script.

Despite the pressure of non-Polish administrations in Poland, who have often attempted to suppress the Polish language, a rich literature has developed over the centuries, and the language is currently the largest, in terms of speakers, of the West Slavic group. It is also the second most widely spoken Slavic language, after Russian and ahead of Ukrainian.

Slovak language

(in English)

Spoken natively in Slovakia; minority language in Czech Republic, Serbia, Hungary.

Native speakers over 5 million  (2001 census).

Language family - Indo-European, Balto-Slavic, Slavic, West Slavic, Czech-Slovak, Slovak.

Writing system - Latin (Slovak alphabet).

Slovak, slovenčina, not to be confused with slovenski jezik or slovenščina, the native name of the Slovene language), is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages (together with Czech, Polish, Silesian, Kashubian, and Sorbian).

Slovak is the official language of Slovakia where it is spoken by 5 million people. There are also Slovak speakers in the United States, the Czech Republic, Serbia, Ireland, Romania, Poland, Canada, Hungary, Croatia, the United Kingdom, Australia, Austria, and Ukraine.

Czech language

(in English)

Spoken natively in Czech Republic, Vojvodina, Serbia, Banat, Romania.

Ethnicity - Czechs.

Native speakers - 13 million  (2011).

Language family - Indo-European, Balto-Slavic, Slavic, West Slavic, Czech-Slovak, Czech.

Writing system - Czech alphabet (Latin script).

 Czech language is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century. Czech is similar to and mutually intelligible with Slovak and, to a lesser extent, with Polish and Sorbian.

Belarusian language

(in English)

Spoken natively in Belarus, Poland, in 14 other countries.

Ethnicity Belarusians.

Native speakers 9.1 million  (2001).

Language family Indo-European, Balto-Slavic, Slavic, East Slavic, Belarusian.

Writing system Cyrillic, Latin.

 The Belarusian language (беларуская мова: byelaruskaya mova, Scientific: belaruskaja mova, łac.: biełaruskaja mova), sometimes referred to as White Ruthenian, is the language of the Belarusian people. It is an official language of Belarus, along with Russian, and is spoken abroad, chiefly in Russia, Ukraine, and Poland. Prior to Belarus gaining its independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, the language was known in English as Byelorussian or Belorussian, transliterating the Russian name, белорусский язык, or alternatively as White Ruthenian or White Russian. Following independence, it became known also as Belarusian.

Ukrainian language

(in English)

Spoken natively in Ukraine.

Ethnicity Ukrainians.

Native speakers 37.5 million in Ukraine  (2001) total Ukrainian language speakers - from 41 million to 45 million.

Language family  Indo-European, Balto-Slavic, Slavic, East Slavic, Ukrainian.

Writing system Cyrillic (Ukrainian alphabet).

Official language in Ukraine.

 Ukrainian (украї́нська мо́ва / ukrayins'ka mov), formerly Ruthenian - ру́ська, руси́нська мо́ва / rus'ka, rusyns'ka mova) is a member of the East Slavic subgroup of the Slavic languages. It is the official state language of Ukraine and the principal language of the Ukrainians. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic script.

Russian language

(in English)

Spoken natively in Russia, countries of the former Soviet Union, emigrant communities around the world, notably in the United States, UK, Germany, Israel, Canada, Australia, and Latin America, Egypt.

Native speakers - 144 million  (2002). Total: 220 million - 277 million (2012, 2010).

Language family - Indo-European, Balto-Slavic, Slavic, East Slavic, Russian.

Writing system - Cyrillic (Russian alphabet).

 Russian (ру́сский язы́к, russkiy yazyk) is a Slavic language spoken primarily in Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Moldova, Latvia, Estonia, and to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics of the USSR. Russian belongs to the family of Indo-European languages and is one of three living members of the East Slavic languages. Written examples of Old East Slavonic are attested from the 10th century onwards.

Славянские языки

(in Russian)

Число носителей: 400—500 млн.

Категория: Языки Евразии, Индоевропейская семья.

Состав: восточнославянская, западнославянская, южнославянская группы.

Время разделения: XII—XIII вв. н. э.

 Славя́нские языки́ — группа родственных языков индоевропейской семьи. Распространены на территории Европы и Азии. Общее число говорящих более — 400 млн человек.

Slavic Languages

(in English)

  

Geographic distribution: Throughout Central and Eastern Europe and Russia.

Linguistic classification: Indo-European, Balto-Slavic, Slavic.

Proto-language: Proto-Slavic.

Subdivisions: East Slavic, South Slavic, West Slavic.

The Slavic languages (also called Slavonic languages), a group of closely related languages of the Slavic peoples and a subgroup of Indo-European languages, have speakers in most of Eastern Europe, much of the Balkans, parts of Central Europe, and the northern part of Asia.