Ukrainian

The Ukrainian language is the only official language of Ukraine, the second largest Europen country by area. It belongs to the family of the east slavic languages and its closest relatives are Belarusian, Polish and Russian.

Ukrainian is written using the cyrillic alphabet. The Ukrainian alphabet contains 33 letters. In 1933, the letter "Ґ" was removed from Ukrainian orthography due to ideological reasons; however it was introduced once again in 1990.

Ukrainian, just like German, is an inflexional language. There are seven noun cases, four of which correspond with the German ones; in addition there are the instrumental, locative and vocative cases. The Ukrainian language is the only east slavic language that still uses the vocative case.

There have been many attempts to ban the Ukrainian language but it endured four centuries of oppression and is now spoken by more than 41 million people around the globe.

Every year, on the 9^th of november, the day of the Ukrainian language and script is celebrated in Ukraine. On this day, a flashmob is organised every year - the dictate of Ukrainian unity, a campaign by the Ukrainian Radio, is broadcasted, thus uniting all Ukrainians around the world through language.

This course is aimed at students who are interested in learning the Ukrainian language from scratch. The goals are to give an overview of the Ukrainian linguistic system and to teach the basics of the Ukrainian language. In this course, students learn pronounciation, grammar and vocabulary step by step. The programme contains practical conversations, interactive exercices and insights into the rich culture, history and traditions of Ukraine.

This course offers a possibility to get to know the beauty of the Ukrainian language and of Ukraine by teaching some things from the cyrillic script (reading and writing) all the way to Ukrainian songs and food. It can be used for professional reasons, personal gain, academic research, simple interest, support of Ukraine, travelling, personal development etc. Ukrainian I opens many doors to a new world through language.

No previous knowledge is needed for the Ukrainian I course.

The course consists of three lessons per week: one double and one single lesson.

The evaluation is based on active participation, preparation for the course (for example homework and reading) and a final exam.

Students of Slavic Studies and Eastern European Studies, as well as interested students of other study programmes. However, students of Slavic and Eastern Europen Studies are preferred. If there are enough slots, other interested people (for example employees of the university or people from outside the university) may also attend the course. In this case, we ask you to contact the lecturer.

Students without previous knowledge may only start with Russian I in the autumn semester. Students who do have previous knowledge may have the possibility to start at a higher course, only after consulting the lecturer.

Textbook: Крок-1 (рівень А1-А2). Українська мова як іноземна: книга для студента / Олеся Палінська, Оксана Туркевич, Львів: Артос, 2011.

The textbook and all additional material will be handed out by the lecturer.