As in many places, language is a significant political and social issue in Ukraine. Some counties have more than one predominant language, in Canada it's English and French, while other countries have only one, like English in the United States. Ukraine has two predominant languages, Ukrainian and Russian. It's a complex issue with strong feelings all around. Russian was the language of the Soviet Union, and prior to that, the Russian Empire. Some people see Russian as the language of the oppressor or enemy while others see it as a part of their identity and ethnic traditions. In this article I want to focus on the challenges this presents for foreigners as well as the challenge of learning one of the languages spoken in Ukraine.
One question is what language to study. I live in Kherson which is predominately Russian speaking. I am married to a Ukrainian woman and our Ukrainian family speaks Russian. Even though they speak Ukrainian they prefer to speak Russian. I have chosen to study Russian for that reason. Also, Russian is more widely spoken than Ukrainian outside of Ukraine. This choice has caused tension in some situations when people question this choice. I certainly plan to learn both but I have chosen to begin with Russian and pick up Ukrainian after that. In addition, I try to use the Ukrainian version of the names of cities and have learned enough Ukrainian to great someone and be polite. When people ask why I chose Russian I usually just say that it's what my family speaks and that is usually an acceptable reason because most people put family over politics.
There is a significant challenge to learn either language if you didn't grow up speaking a Slavic language. Slavic languages are very different from the Germanic and Latin languages I speak and are seen as some of the most difficult languages to master in the western world. The languages are based much more on word conjugations to convey meaning which makes both learning the vocabulary and the grammar incredibly difficult.
In addition to the challenge of learning either one in its pure form, the two are mixed together here. Signs in Kherson seem pretty evenly divided between Russian and Ukrainian. In addition, there are people who prefer to speak Ukrainian even though Russian is prevalent and when you run across people from the surrounding villages they'll speak Surzhyk which varies from village to village.
