Belarusian language facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Belarusian |
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| беларуская мова
BGN/PCGN: byelaruskaya mova
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| Native to | Belarus, Poland, in 14 other countries |
| Ethnicity | Belarusians |
| Native speakers | 10 million (2007) |
| Language family |
Indo-European
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| Early forms: |
Old East Slavic
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| Writing system | Cyrillic (Belarusian alphabet) Belarusian Braille Belarusian Latin alphabet |
| Official status | |
| Official language in |  Belarus Poland (in Gmina Orla, Gmina Narewka, Gmina Czyże, Gmina Hajnówka and town of Hajnówka) |
| Recognised minority language in |  Ukraine |
| Regulated by | National Academy of Sciences of Belarus |
| Linguasphere | 53-AAA-eb < 53-AAA-e |
Belarusian-speaking world
Legend: Dark blue - territory, where Belarusian is the main language |
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The Belarusian language (Беларуская мова, pronounced "Bye-la-ROOS-ka-ya MO-va") is a fascinating Slavic language. It belongs to the East Slavic group, which also includes Russian and Ukrainian. It's also part of the larger Indo-European language family, which includes many languages spoken across Europe and parts of Asia.
Most people who speak Belarusian live in Belarus. You can also hear it in eastern Poland, especially around the city of Białystok. Many Belarusians living in other countries, like those in Europe, Australia, and North America, also speak it.
Belarusian can be written using two different alphabets: the Cyrillic alphabet (which looks a bit like the Russian alphabet) or the Latin alphabet (which is what English uses).
Images for kids
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This map shows where Slavic and Baltic languages are spoken today.
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This is a page from the first Lithuanian Statute from 1529, written in an old form of Belarusian called Ruthenian.
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The cover of the very first Belarusian dictionary by Ivan Nasovič. It's kept at the Francis Skaryna Belarusian Library and Museum.
See also
In Spanish: Idioma bielorruso para niños
