Why study Ukrainian?

Ukrainian is an East Slavic language and is part of the larger Indo-European family of languages. It is spoken in Ukraine and in Ukrainian communities in neighboring Belarus, Russia, Poland, and Slovakia. It is written in a form of the Cyrillic alphabet devised in the 9th century and used by several other Slavic peoples. Students learning the Cyrillic alphabet will find it easy to learn the writing systems of many other Slavic languages.

Ukrainian is spoken by about 50 million people in Ukraine and in many other countries, including Argentina, Australia, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Canada, Estonia, Georgia, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Moldova, Paraguay, Poland, Romania, and the U.S. While learning Ukrainian brings personal and intellectual satisfaction, Ukrainian majors have the opportunity to use their language and culture skills in a broad variety of settings in both Ukraine and the United States. Students proficient in Ukrainian can work in business as financial and policy analysts for American and Ukrainian companies. Other possible career opportunities include academia, print and broadcast media, diplomacy, and non-governmental organizations.

Ukrainian is a language with a great literary tradition. Ukrainian opens the door for the study of the history and politics of this fascinating country at the crossroads of many important developments in European history.

Is it hard to learn Ukrainian?

No! Most students learn the alphabet within the first two weeks of study. While the language has few similarities to English, most students can achieve rudimentary reading skills within two years. Further study in Ukraine itself can lead to complete mastery of speaking and writing skills.