Blogging from A to Z
Theme: Languages of the World
Belarusan
Belarusan (Бeлapycкaя мoвa), also known as Belarusian, Belorussian, Bielorussian, Byelorussian, White Russian, and White Ruthenian, belongs to the East Slavic group of the Slavic branch of the Indo-European language family. The name derives from bel– ‘white’ + rus ‘Russia’. Its closest relatives are Ukrainian and Russian. There are 6.7 million speakers of Belarusan in Belarus, a former republic of the Soviet Union. It is also spoken in Russia and other former republics of the Soviet Union, as well as in the U.S., Canada, and Australia. It is estimated that the total number of speakers of Belarusan worldwide is around 7.8 million.
Fascinating facts about Belarus
Belarus has 2 official languages: Belarusian and Russian. The first one is only studied as a separate subject at school, while all other classes, as well as official documentation, are conducted in Russian.
But, closer to the borders of Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine, the language is changing, where people talk in “trasyanka” (a mixture of Belarusian and Russian) and other language mixes.
Belarus is the last country in Europe where the death penalty is still applied.
The territory of Belarus in 40% consists of forests, which symbolises the green strip in the Belarusian flag.
Belarus is the “Silicon Valley” of Eastern Europe. About 10 years ago, the High Tech Park was created here, where about 170 companies and 27000 IT specialists work now.
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