Difference between revisions of "Help:Rusyn"

This is a crash course in Rusyn for English speakers fluent in Ukrainian, which should help for understanding the vast majority of content in Lemko songs and songs in other Rusyn dialects.

What is Rusyn?

Rusyn is generally considered a transitional language between Ukrainian, Polish, and Slovak, though some consider it to be a dialect of Ukrainian. Lemko is the variety of Rusyn most similar to Ukrainian. Due to the strong degree of mutual intelligibility and proximity, Rusyn songs are frequently sung by Ukrainians, especially in the Ukrainian diaspora, many of whom came from these regions.

Alphabet

There are a few Rusyn alphabets in common use. On WikiSpiv, we render the songs with the closest phonetic Ukrainian approximation rather than aiming for faithful reproduction of Rusyn. We occasionally use "ы" and "ў" in addendums as part of explaining the correct pronunciation, but the main lyrics of a song will not contain them.

Here's a summary of Rusyn letters which differ from Ukrainian which you might encounter:

• В - Usually V, but sometimes makes an F sound, depending on the dialect
• Л - Some speakers use L but others use W sound in some words (like Polish ł or Belarusian ў). Details. Sometimes this letter is rendered as a "в" for the "w" pronunciation (e.g. you may see the spelling "горівка" instead of "горілка" - this would be pronounced "horeewka")
• Ё - Йо / Ьо
• Ы - This is not a Russism! In Rusyn there are three "I" sounds, and it is distinct from І and И. This letter makes more of an "uh" sound, like the second "I" in "position". In Ukrainian cognates, this is usually an "и".
• Сь - This sound is pronounced more like "шь" (and the same is true when a softened "С" occurs automatically by proximity, e.g. with the word "ся"). So "ся" would be pronounced "shya" in Lemko but "sya" in Ukrainian. This pronunciation was once common in all of western Ukraine and it's often heard in the diaspora.

Personal pronouns (Accusative)

Personal pronouns (Accusative)

Reflexive Personal Pronouns

In Ukrainian, the pronoun "ся" has become a suffix, whereas in Rusyn it continues to be a separate word, as it was in old Ukrainian (which is still preserved in some expressions, like "Бог ся рождає" = "Бог рoждається")

Ukrainian: "Він помився" = "Він помив себе" = "Він себе помив"

Rusyn: "Він помыв ся" = "Він ся помыв" = "Він помыв себе" = "Він себе помыв"

Common Vocab

Common anti-vocab

• "Тай" or "та й" often shows up in Rusyn songs as sung by Ukrainians. This is not authentic Rusyn and usually another word was originally sung there. We choose which version to use on a case-by-case basis, generally preferring the Rusyn version unless "Тай" is much more common. Examples:
  • Тиха вода: "Тиха вода, тай лем на Бескиді" was originally "Тиха вода, гей лем на Бескиді"
  • Ой на горі, пень сосновий: "Тай свого милого найду" was probably originally "Там свого милого найду" (no primary sources)

Examples of Rusyn Pronunciation

• Jordan na Łemkowyni
• Hrdza - Штефан

Additional Resources

• Ukrainian Grammar
• Lemko Video Tutorials
• Rusin/Rusyn <===> American Dictionary (Nancy J Kelly)
• Lemko.org