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 dialect of Rusyn most similar to Ukrainian, and Lemko is sometimes used as a synonym for Rusyn, but there are other dialects as well. 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. Also sometimes makes a W sound (see "Л").
- Л - Some speakers always pronounce this L, but some pronounce it L it some positions and W in others (equivalent to Polish ł or Belarusian ў). Details. Oftentimes this letter will be rendered as a "в" instead when it should be pronounced as a "w" (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 Ы 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", and we usually represent it with "и" in our lyrics.
- 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)
Rusyn | Ukrainian | English |
---|---|---|
я | я | I |
ты | ти | you (singular) |
він | він | he |
она | вона | she |
оно | воно | it |
мы | ми | we |
вы | ви | you (plural) |
Вы | Ви | you (formal) |
они | вони | they |
Personal pronouns (Genitive)
Rusyn | Ukrainian | English |
---|---|---|
мене / мя / ня / мня | мене | mе |
тебе / тя | тебе | you (singular) |
його / го | його | him |
єй / ю | її | her |
його / го | Його | it |
нас | нас | us |
вас | вас | you (plural) |
Вас | Вас | you (formal) |
іх | їх | them |
Personal pronouns (Dative)
Rusyn | Ukrainian | English |
---|---|---|
мі | мені | mе |
тобі / ти | тобі | you (singular) |
йому / му | йому | him |
ій | їй | her |
йому / му | йому | it |
нам | нам | us |
вам | вам | you (plural) |
Вам | Вам | you (formal) |
ім | їм | them |
Personal pronouns (Instrumental)
Rusyn | Ukrainian | English |
---|---|---|
мном / мнов | мною | with mе |
тобом / тобов | тобою | with you (singular) |
ним | ним | with him |
ньом / ньов | нею | with her |
ним | ним | with it |
нами | нами | with us |
вами | вами | with you (plural) |
Вами | Вами | with you (formal) |
нима | ними | with them |
Personal pronouns (Locative)
Rusyn | Ukrainian | English |
---|---|---|
мі | мені | mе |
тобі | тобі | you (singular) |
ним | ньому / нім | him |
ній / ньов | ній | her |
ним | ньому / нім | it |
нас | нас | us |
вас | вас | you (plural) |
Вас | Вас | you (formal) |
них | них | them |
Demontrative pronouns
TODO
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"
Grammatical Case | Rusyn | Ukrainian |
---|---|---|
Genitive | Себе / Ся / Сі | Себе |
Accusative | Себе / Ся / Сі | Себе |
Dative | Собі / Си | Собі |
Instrumental | Собом / Собов | Собою |
Locative | Собі | Собі |
Common Vocab
Some common Rusyn vocabulary used in songs which is different enough from the Ukrainian word that it might not be recognized.
Rusyn | Ukrainian | English |
---|---|---|
Лем | Тільки / Лиш | Only |
Бесіда | Розмова | Conversation |
Фраїр | Коханий | Beloved (male) |
Фраїрка | Кохана | Beloved (female) |
Плине | Пливе | Swims |
Хыжа (Хижа) | Хата | House |
Кедь | Коли | When |
Неня | Мама | Mother |
Неньо | Батько | Father |
Од | Від | From |