Ukrainian/Lesson 1

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[edit] Ukrainian Alphabet

Ukrainian Alphabet

Letter	Pronunciation	Name
A a	[a] (a)	a
Б б	[b] (b)	бе
В в	[v] (v)	ве
Г г	[h] (h)	ге
Ґ ґ	[g] (g)	ґе
Д д	[d] (d)	е
Е е	[ɛ] (e)	е
Є є	[ë] (ye)	є
Ж ж	[ʒ], [ʐ] (s, zh) see text	же
З з	[z] (z)	зе
И и	[y] (y, i)	и
І і	[i] (e, i)	і
Ї ї	i] (yee)	ї
Й й	[j] (j)	йот
К к	[k] (k, c)	ка
Л л	[l] (l)	ел
М м	[m] (m)	ем
Н н	[n] (n)	ен
О о	[o] (о)	о
П п	[p] (p)	пе
Р р	[r] (r)	ер
С с	[s] (s)	ес
Т т	[t] (t)	те
У у	[u] (oo)	у
Ф ф	[f] (f)	еф
Х х	[x] (ch, h)	ха
Ц ц	[t͡s] (и, й)	це
Ч ч	[t͡ʃ] (ch)	ча
Ш ш	[ʂ], [ʃ] (sh')	ша
Щ щ	[ʂʃ] (shch)	ща
Ь ь	see text	м'який знак
Ю ю	[u̟] (yu)	ю
Я я	[ä] (ya)	я

The Ukrainian language, like Russian and Belorussian, uses the Cyrillic writing system, but Ukrainian alphabet has quite many differences from the aforementioned languages. As is known, Cyrillic alphabet was created by Bulgarian Saints Cyril and Methodius, on the basis of the Greek alphabet. That is why many letters of the Ukrainian alphabet are similar to the Latin letters (because the Latin alphabet was also based on the Greek one).

There is a special sign in Ukrainian language, the apostrophe (апостроф), that used prior to я, ю, є, ї (ya, yu, ye, yi). For example, подвір'я (paw-dveer-ya), в'юн (v-yun), об'єкт (ob-yekt), під'їзд (pid-yizd). Unlike the hard sign in Russian, it is used much more often in Ukrainian.

[edit] Ukrainian Pronunciation

Basically all Ukrainian words are pronounced literally i.e., each letter has its fixed pronunciation and is pronounced separately from the others. There are a few minimal exceptions, however, - they will be described also.

So, how should the Ukrainian letters be articulated:

• Consonants:
  • Б - like b in big
  • В - like v in vote
  • Г - like h in hood, also like h in Hamlet. This h is soft. It is also voiced, unlike in English. Sometimes pronounced like a "g" as in "gate"
  • Ґ - like g in go, goose.
  • Д - like d in door
  • Ж - like s in measure, pleasure
  • З - like z in zoo
  • Й - like y in play, joy
  • К - like k in keen
  • Л - like l in love
  • М - like m in month
  • Н - like n in night
  • П - like p in pig
  • Р - like r in rabbit, but it's actually a trilled like the Spanish rr in perro
  • С - like s in sing
  • Т - like t in table
  • Ф - like f in fair
  • Х - like h but not soft; it is pronounced with the back of the throat and tongue. Often transliterated as 'kh' or 'ch', it's like the "ch" in "Bach". (But not the 'ch' in German "ich", which is pronounced further forward in the mouth.) Pronounced like j in Spanish in "mojado".
  • Ц - is pronounced like ts in bits
  • Ч - like ch in chess
  • Ш - like sh in shore, shook
  • Щ - is pronounced like two separate sounds: ШЧ. Consider the sounds the letters 'shch' make in these phrases: "Cash cheque", "fish chowder", "reddish cherry".

There are two sounds in Ukrainian that are represented by two letters:

• • дз - like ds in goods, bids
  • дж - like dg in hedge or the j in jam

They are pronounced differently from coincidental combinations of the letters д and з or д and ж. (cf. дзвеніти and підземний, бджола and піджарити)

Also there is a soft form of most consonants: mild Л sounds like l in leap, mild Р sounds like the second r in carry or r in the Spanish arriba and so on. Ч is not always mild like it is in Russian or always hard like in Belorussian, it can be both mild and hard as in течія or чотири respectively.

The soft form is called palatalization where the tongue is moved from its original position. Consider the difference in pronunciation of key and cool. In key the /k/ is palatalized and in cool the /k/ is not. Same thing with tea and tool. When we talk about soft or mild consonants we are talking about palatalization. Palatized consonants are called soft in Ukrainian.

• Vowels:
  • Simple Vowels:
    • А - like a in father or the second a in apart
    • E - like e in echo, edit, also like a in at
    • І - like ee" in "meet" and softens the previous consonant
    • И - like y in myth or 'i' in 'big' (identical to the Russian sound Ы)
    • О - like o in "more", "lore", "fore". NOT like "o" in obey, and but never spoken as ou.
    • У - like oo in "moon".
  • Complex Vowels - have their analogs among simple vowels; if a complex vowel follows an hard (not mild) consonant, the consonant becomes mild and the vowel is pronounced as the simple; else first Й is pronounced, followed by the corresponding simple vowel:
    • Я - ЙА pronounced "ya" a 'y' in front of an 'a' as in yard
    • Є - ЙЕ pronounced "ye" as in yes
    • Ї - ЙІ pronounced "yi" it is never placed after a consonant because І already palatalizes the consonant automatically
    • Ю - ЙУ pronounced like as in "you"

Ь is not pronounced, it is called м’який знак (soft sign) or знак м’якшeння (sign of softening) and is used to make preceding consonant palatized. For example, in замість (instead of) the т is softened. In fact, the м is also softened by the і and the с is also softened by being in front of the soft т

Keep in mind that there is no complex vowel that corresponds to О. Instead, Й and Ь are used together with О letter: його, льодом.

Also the apostrophe sign is used after a consonant and before a complex vowel to prevent the consonant from becoming mild. The complex vowel is therefore pronounced like й and corresponding simple vowel. For example, в'язати (to tie up) is pronounced like вйазати.

[edit] Try to Pronounce

Here are some Ukrainian words. Try to pronounce them keeping in mind the bolded vowels are stressed:

• Рак (rak; crayfish)
• Юрба (yurba; crowd)
• Їжа (yizha; food)
• Ранок (ranok; morning)
• Кол'и-небудь (koly-nebud; somewhen)
• Ядро (yadro; kernel)
• Слово (slovo; word)
• Ґедзь (ged'z'; gadfly) - "Ґ" is pronounced like "g" in "get". In this word "д" is palatalized.
• Бути (buty; to be) - Do not pronounce it "beauty" and "и" doesn't sound like [i].

Ukrainian is written as pronounced just like the other Slavs, but, like Russian and Bulgarian, the stress is very unpredictable and stressing the wrong syllable can lead to misunderstandings. Virtually every textbook and dictionary will write these words with an acute accent (ˊ) on the stressed syllable: юрба́, кість, ра́нок, коли́-небудь, ядро́, слі́дувати, ґедзь, бу́ти. Watch out for words that are written the same, but stressed in a different syllable, such as замок (castle) — замок (lock).