Job Discussion Forums

[james_tesol]

I plan to work in both Russia and Ukraine in the near future and was wondering which language would be better to learn....

Obviously the languages are different and one should learn the language for the country one is staying in...However, not being the most talented langauge learner, would it be possible to just study Russian and then use it in Ukraine rather than having to learn ANOTHER language!? Is speaking Russian in Ukraine viable or at least unoffensive?

Any comments welcome!

[canucktechie]

Russian is the normal language of business in Kiev and every other major city in Ukraine, except in the West. There are a fair number of people in Kiev who do not speak Ukrainian fluently, and a lot in the east and Crimea.

Given that the languages are quite similar and of equal difficulty to learn, I don't see any point in choosing Ukrainian first unless you are going to be living in the West (Lviv etc). I would also recommend against trying to learn both at the same time, since the similarity could be confusing. It's less effort to learn one first, then it's much easier to learn the other.

[IvanGrozny]

Russian. In many areas people are largely ethnic Russian (or claim to be)and don't speak Ukrainian. Until 1993 Ukrainian was almost a lost language. Russian will get you by almost anywhere in Ukraine and is a good stepping stone for learning Ukrainian. They are not easy languages to learn and russian grammatical structure, while beautiful and ideal for poets and writters, is daunting to say the least. Rosetta stone is the best program for Russian, but you should also get some phrasebooks and tapes geared to travel to learn situation appropriate vocabulary quickly. After a few years of speaking russian you will be ready to tackle Russian grammar and the book "501 Russian verbs conjugated" is a great place to learn the patterns.

Good Luck

[phrodo41]

While Russian is the more cosmopolitan of the two languages, and everyone will tell you to learn Russian, it will be helpful to at least be able to read street signs and some printed material in Ukrainian. Even in a city in the East like Kharkiv, or Sevastopol in Crimea, where virtually no Ukrainian is spoken, your signs everywhere will be written in Ukrainian because it is the national language. There is overlap in about 60% of the vocabulary, and only a few differences in both alphabets, so if you dive into Russian, some "survival" Ukrainian will not be difficult. People will probably be more impressed with you if they see you learning Ukrainian (depending on their attitude towards the language), simply because very few foreigners try to learn it. If you are really interested in learning languages it shouldn't be too hard to pick up some of both.

I studied Ukrainian, not Russian, during my time in Ukraine with the Peace Corps, in a rural area where most people speak an unrefined dialect of both languages called "Surzhik." Ukrainian is also an absolutely beautiful language, considered by linguists to be the second most melodic in the world (next to Italian). When the women speak it it sounds like birds singing, with a rolling, musical cadence.

You will do fine with only Russian. But the Ukrainian language will hugely enrich your experience and make things a little bit easier for you. Also, the band Okean Elze is awesome, and they sing in Ukrainian.

Meni podobayetsa vevchate Ukrayinski movu. Tse duzhe harne mova!

[jonpernick]

As others have said, Russian is a language that is the most versatile. This is true in the Central and Eastern and Southern parts of the country. But, if you go west to Lvov (Lviv) Ukrainian is the language. You will get a lot of somewhat nasty looks when speaking Russian. Because, Ukrainian is a more beautiful language.

In general, there is a strong nationalistic tendency in the country. And, more and more people are speaking Ukrainian in their daily lives. But, most still speak Russian since that is the language they spoke in childhood. Schools teach Ukrainian - not Russian.

Ukrainian is far more beautiful since it is softer and more melodic. But, Russian is more practical.

Good Luck,

Jonathan

[james_tesol]

I started learning with "Teach Yourself Russian"...........I'm leaving for Kiev in 2 weeks! I now purchased "Teach yourself Ukranian" too! I cant seem t0 decide which to learn........

The people i will meet in everyday life in shops,transport terminals,bars-clubs,supermarkets will be speaking which to me? I need to make a decison as to which....i see both choices but i want to focus on only one!

HELP ME I"M STARTING TO PANIC!

[rusmeister]

Jeepers, James, most here have said "Russian", and I would agree.

Phrodo is right in that it would be sharp to learn a little bit of Ukranian - maybe the 6 or 7 polite words like 'please' and 'thank you' - this will get you some mileage while in the Ukraine, while Russian will help there and everywhere else.

[paulbaxter]

Yes, Russian is the language to know in Kiev. The three best resources I've found for learning Russian are: Pimsleur tapes/cds (very expensive but good practice materials), The New Penguin Russian Course by Nicholas Brown (good grammar intro and generally well written self-study textbook), and masterrussian.com (free). If you have internet access in Kiev or wherever you go, there is an enormous amount of helpful info on the masterrussian site, including a very helpful forum.

Another web resource to look at is www.tryukraine.com They have lots of good cultural info about living in Ukraine.

[Mike_2007]

I spent last week with some Ukranian engineers and they told me the same thing - that most people either speak Russian as their first language, or speak it fluently. In fact, they were despairing at the fact that their politicians are forced by law to discuss things in Ukranian when virtually none of them, nor the people watching the debate, speak the language fluently.

Perhaps it would be like someone going to Wales. Should they learn English or Welsh? English would be more useful but Welsh might impress and endear you to the locals.

[canucktechie]

[Mike_2007]

I wasn't actually trying to compare the languages grammatically.....never mind...