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Russian language for locals and tourists in Crimea, southern Ukraine

This article is about the Russian language, how it is perceived in Crimea, southern Ukraine, and how anyone considering travelling to Crimea or any other Russian speaking part of the world should go about studying it. The Crimea is a peninsula in the south of Ukraine. The linguistic story of Crimea is principally a story of the Russian language. Ukrainian is the language of North and West Ukraine, but in Crimea it is only ever heard from tourists from those parts of the country. Language is a hot topic in Ukraine at the moment. Should everyone ... read more

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The Crimea is a peninsula in the south of Ukraine. The linguistic story of Crimea is principally a story of the Russian language. Ukrainian is the language of North and West Ukraine, but in Crimea it is only ever heard from tourists from those parts of the country.

Language is a hot topic in Ukraine at the moment. Should everyone speak Ukrainian as their first language? Will Russian obtain the status of the second national language, or will the efforts to restrict its use increase? What is for sure, is that Ukrainians are at loggerheads over this issue, and often find it difficult to find common ground on the subject.

Although most Crimeans speak Russian, they are not necessarily Russian in ethnicity, or against Ukraine in any way. Many Crimeans very much like the Ukrainian language; considering it to be 'melodic' and ''rhythmic'. Most Crimeans can effectively communicate in Ukrainian when the need arises, even though on a day to day basis they only use Russian.

Language is one of the most inalienable part of a person's culture and identity. So it is unfortunate for the Crimeans that the Ukrainian government is following a hardline policy of Ukrainiazation, in which the Russian language is been forced out of the public arena. Students are increasingly being educated in Ukrainian, whilst the Russian language is sometimes been treated in schools as a foreign language on the same level as English. Such policies enjoy no support whatsoever in Crimea and many other Russian speaking parts of Ukraine.

Most foreign learners of Russian agree that it is a fascinating language. It is a devastatingly difficult language, and it can take months to learn what might take just weeks in a more simple language. This is what makes Russian fascinating though; this complexity gives the language a Lego-set flexibility of use. Personally, I feel that is difficult not to compliment a language whose grammar is so absurd that it has a plural form for the number 1. With a great history of literature and poetry, Russian is a powerful and dramatically rich language.

If you travel to a Russian speaking part of the world such as Crimea, you really need to at the very least learn the Russian alphabet. Perhaps surprisingly, this is in fact one of the easiest aspects of the language, and much easier than it first seems. Quite a few of the letters are the same, and many others are easily recognisable. It wont take long to get a good grasp of the alphabet. If you can study undisturbed for 30 minutes a day for a week, then you will be in much better shape when you arrive to Crimea. You'll need this knowledge. Signs are rarely in English, and Crimeans, as a rule, are poor at spoken English, even sometimes in upmarket hotels.

Fortunately, if you get talking to a Crimean in a bar or a club, with each drink it becomes geometrically more irrelevant who knows what language, and the drunk mind seems to have a babel fish like ability to understand foreign sounds!

In conclusion; before you come to Crimea, or any other Russian speaking part of the world, make sure you study the Russian alphabet and a few key words, and you'll be in much better shape than if you just arrive here with no knowledge whatsoever. This is not the land not tourist information bureaus!

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