Ukrainian language

Ukrainian (native name: украї́нська мо́ва, romanized: ukraïnśka mova, IPA: [ʊkrɐˈjinʲsʲkɐ ˈmɔwɐ]), historically also called Ruthenian, is an East Slavic language of the Indo-European language family, and is one of Slavic languages, which are part of a larger Balto-Slavic branch. It is the native language of Ukrainians and the official state language of Ukraine. Written Ukrainian uses a variant of the Cyrillic script (see Ukrainian alphabet).

Historical linguists trace the origin of the Ukrainian language to the Old East Slavic of the early medieval state of Kyivan Rus. After the fall of the Kyivan Rus as well as the Kingdom of Ruthenia, the language developed into a form called the Ruthenian language. Along with Ruthenian, on the territory of modern Ukraine, the Kyiv version (izvod) of Church Slavonic was also used in liturgical services. The Ukrainian language has been in common use since the late 17th century, associated with the establishment of the Cossack Hetmanate. From 1804 until the Ukrainian War of Independence, the Ukrainian language was banned from schools in the Russian Empire, of which the biggest part of Ukraine (Central, Eastern and Southern) was a part at the time. It has always maintained a sufficient base in Western Ukraine, where the language was never banned, in its folk songs, itinerant musicians, and prominent authors.

The standard Ukrainian language is regulated by the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NANU), particularly by its Institute for the Ukrainian Language, Ukrainian language-information fund, and Potebnia Institute of Linguistics. The Ukrainian language retains a degree of mutual intelligibility with Belarusian.