h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I’m preparing for my Ukrainian tests and study Latin. Ukrainian is one of my two native languages. They are Russian and Ukrainian. I know the history of these languages quite well. And it’s a surprising revelation for me, that Ukrainian has saved so many ancient grammar forms and words. There are many commons between Latin and Ukrainian which you’ll not find in Russian, for example, we have vocative in Ukrainian, system of declension and declensional endings looks in general as Latin.
And what do you know about your native language?

Hello, Irina! I became curious about your "Flatmate" experience, looked at your threads and discovered that you first wrote to the h2g2! That's amazing! And got no reply... I am also surprised with your "revelation". For me it was obvious that Ukrainian is older than Russian. It is virtually "dying" language. They are trying now to "revive" it but I'm not sure they will succeed. The way they do the things... Russian is younger, more "agressive" and energetic. Nevertheless, Russian is also has now not the better times... As for Latin, I think, the things are not that certain. Actually, both languages have got the same "root" language - ancient (so-called) "church slavic". Then... a language is tightly "linked" not only with a nation (and culture) but also with a... STATE! The more powerful is a state - the more powerful is a language... Russian is among "so-called" LANGUAGE STEAMROLLERS. By the way, look at my old thread: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/mble/F2712586?thread=3520614 Maybe you'll find it interesting. Russian is also influenced by Latin... But in a different way (and perhaps later!) Look, for example, at the names of the months... Do you know the SEELANGS? I suggest you to post your idea there and... see what happens. Alex S

Some obvious things often are wrong. I can argue with you. It’s not obvious that Ukrainian is older than Russian. Only last time in Ukraine appeared such a theory. As for me, I think it’s to politicized and connect with the present time though I can be wrong. According to the classical theory Russian, Ukrainian and Belarus languages showed up only in 14-15 centuries from the common ancient language. (There are well-defined indications in linguistics of different languages and dialects in one language and they are mostly mathematic.) It was not the Church Slavonic language, this language is ancestor of Bulgarian and other South Slavonic languages. Our ancestor language is so-called Ancient Russian, in modern Ukrainian text-books it called Ancient Ukrainian. I think that the Belarus have a right to call it Ancient Belarus. And now some researchers try to prove that Ukrainian separated earlier.
I don’t agree with you about dead Ukrainian. Language connects with the economic conditions of nation’s existence. So if you say that Ukrainian is a dead language it means that Ukrainian is a dead nation.
And about Latin. Latin is much more ancient than the Church Slavonic language. These languages have common Parent language Indo-European which stopped it life about 3 thousand years before A.D. You see it’s one thing to know about something and another to see it yourself. For me it was surprised that after five thousands years our Ukrainian has so much common with Latin not in lexical meaning but in I grammar which is the most stable part of any language.
When I studied in the Institute for the first time we learn the Church Slavonic and the Ancient Russian and it wasn’t surprising that they have much common with each other but Latin was real revelation for me not in theory but in practice.

Oh... Hello, Irina! Your writing is too much profound! I should think about it for some time...
You see, I'm not a linguist...
Meanwhile... can you listen to the BBC (Internet) audio?
Can you listen to the latest "Close Up"? (Actually this is
an old programme called the "Songs of the Earth"). The audio link
is in this page: http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/programmes/close_up.shtml

Alex, excuse me for my absent-mindedness. My reply to your message is in another my thread I hope you’ll understand it. Thank you very much for reference to programme about Ukraine. I went down memory lane and that time really close to me because it's a big part of my life.
Thank you.

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