Rusyn language
Rusyn (also called Ruthenian) is an East Slavic language, along with Russian, Belarusian and Ukrainian.
It should be noted that most Slavic linguists do not recognize Ruthenian as a distinct language and consider Rusyn dialects as regional versions of Ukrainian or transitional dialects between the Ukrainian and Slovak languages.
Nevertheless, Rusyn has been recently recognized as an official language in the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina and as a minority language in Slovakia.
Rusyn has two distinct dialects:
Carpatho-Rusyn is close to Ukrainian and Russian languages. It is spoken in the Transcarpathian Oblast of Ukraine, Poland, Slovakia and Romania. In Ukraine, Rusyn is sometimes called a dialect of Ukrainian, but speakers frequently are reported to consider themselves distinct from Ukrainians.
Panonian-Rusyn is closer to West Slavic languages, to Slovak in particular. It is spoken in Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Croatia and the Serbian province of Vojvodina. According to the 1991 census, it had 50,000 speakers, and in 1993 some 100,000 speakers, in the Prešov region of Slovakia.
Rusyn SIL code: RUE.
See also
