I Need Advice On Langauge Choice

[fulbright]

I am going to be teaching in Ukraine in the spring of 2004. I do not know which university I will be at yet, but I want to start language training as soon as possible. I am debating between Ukranian and Russian. I realize Ukranian would be the better choice for "fitting in" while I am there, but I am faced with a problem.

I will have to learn the language using audio tapes or something similar, as there are no Ukranian teachers within 100 miles of where I life. All of the tapes/software I can find only offer Ukranian at a very simple level, while the Russian packages seem to be much more comprehensive.

I am open to your suggestions--if you know of a good Ukranian tape/software package, please let me know!

[The_Last_Word]

Go with Russian.

Ukrainian congressmen speak with each other in Russian.
Kuchma speaks with his Cabinet members in Russian, as is evident in the famous tapes provided by Melnichenko.
99 percent of Kievans speak Russian, and more than 80 percent of all Ukrainians speak Russian in their daily lives, but sometimes are afraid to admit it because of state language apartheid policies.

Originally posted by fulbright
I am going to be teaching in Ukraine in the spring of 2004. I do not know which university I will be at yet, but I want to start language training as soon as possible. I am debating between Ukranian and Russian. I realize Ukranian would be the better choice for "fitting in" while I am there, but I am faced with a problem.

I will have to learn the language using audio tapes or something similar, as there are no Ukranian teachers within 100 miles of where I life. All of the tapes/software I can find only offer Ukranian at a very simple level, while the Russian packages seem to be much more comprehensive.

I am open to your suggestions--if you know of a good Ukranian tape/software package, please let me know!

[Yaroslav]

Look, ask yourself a question. What country are you going to? Russia or Ukraine?

[Yaroslav]

So i suggest you to study Ukrainian. I personally would appreciate this. But anyway if you say you don't have enough help then choose Russian. The problem is when you start it's very difficult then to change the language if you remind.

[south40]

Well, having worked in the Ukrainian school system for two years in western Ukraine, I valued the Ukrainian I learned while I was there. Yes, I heard Russian a lot, but I learned to understand that, too. Since education is primarily in Ukrainian, I'd go with that and keep your ears open to Russian. They ARE similar, but certainly NOT the same, especially to non-native speakers.

Good luck with whichever you choose!

[Gerd-Schueler]

I just read in a russian news-paper, that in Odessa the older pupils in school continue with Russian, younger ones are learning Ukrainian. In the areas formerly occupied by the polish, the accent is more on Ukrainian, whereas in the East of Ukraina, there is more Russian -- even if recently it was interdicted to write news-papers in Russian, and only Ukrainian has to be used. Confusing, isn't it ?

Dont't worry, whatever you will learn, you will be understood. Five years ago, I started to learn Russian for Ukraina - and underand also Ukrainian. If a verb ends on:
ovat or on uvati and if you write reshenia or rishenia isn't such a difference.

By the way, if you have a look in my: translating programs - from http://www.jourist.de edition, you will also find programs to learn Russian and Ukrainian. I have no commercial interest in mentioning this jourist.de, I only was searching for a long time for a good product - and found an excellent and outstanding one.