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Russian (ру́сский язы́к, russkiy yazyk, pronounced [ˈruskʲɪj jɪˈzɨk]) 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, along with Belarusian and Ukranian.
It is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia and the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages. It is also the largest native language in Europe, with 144 million native speakers in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Russian is the 8th most spoken language in the world by number of native speakers and the 4th by total number of speakers.
It is the most geographically widespread language of Eurasia and the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages. It is also the largest native language in Europe, with 144 million native speakers in Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Russian is the 8th most spoken language in the world by number of native speakers and the 4th by total number of speakers.
Dialects of Russian
The standard form of Russian is generally called the Modern Russian Literary Language. Russian dialects do not have many stark differences due to the standardization of Russian in the middle of the 20th century by the education system established by the Soviet government. Influences from television and radio also had a major impact on the standardization of the Russian language.
There are three major dialects of Russian: Northern, Central, and Southern dialects. In the Central Russian dialect (as well as the standard Russian dialect), an /o/ in an unstressed position is pronounced as an /a/. For instance, in the word Москва [maˈskva] ("Moscow"), the o is in an unstressed position so it is pronounced as an /a/ sound. This phenomenon is called akanye.
In the Northern dialect, the /o/ is pronounced as an /o/, whether it is stressed or unstressed. This is referred to as okanye.
In the Southern dialect, the defining phonetic feature is the use of the voiced velar fricative /ɣ/ instead of the Standard and Northern /ɡ/.
There are three major dialects of Russian: Northern, Central, and Southern dialects. In the Central Russian dialect (as well as the standard Russian dialect), an /o/ in an unstressed position is pronounced as an /a/. For instance, in the word Москва [maˈskva] ("Moscow"), the o is in an unstressed position so it is pronounced as an /a/ sound. This phenomenon is called akanye.
In the Northern dialect, the /o/ is pronounced as an /o/, whether it is stressed or unstressed. This is referred to as okanye.
In the Southern dialect, the defining phonetic feature is the use of the voiced velar fricative /ɣ/ instead of the Standard and Northern /ɡ/.
On this website, I have included a page about the Cyrillic alphabet, in order to orient the reader to the Russian alphabet. The rest of the website is divided into five categories: morphology, syntax, phonology/phonetics, pragmatics, and lexicon/semantics. This website is not only meant for those fluent in Russian, but rather English speakers who are interested in learning more about this fascinating language.
Have fun exploring!
Have fun exploring!