Drevljanski

Classification and Dialects
Drevljanski /drɛvˈliɑnski/ (древляанскiй єзик drevljanskiy jezyk) is an East Slavic language native to southern Belarus and northern Ukraine, as well as in large diaspora communities in eastern Poland and across the United States. It has no official status in any country, but it a recognized minority language in Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, and a handful of counties in northwestern New York. Written Drevljanski uses a variant of the Ukrainian alphabet with the addition of ⟨ё⟩ /jo/.

While traditionally grouped with East Slavic branch of the Indo-European language family, modern linguists are split as to the origins of the Drevljanski language. While some still argue for the traditional grouping, others suggest that Russification of the Drevljanski has caused it to absorb loanwords and some grammar but remains its own separate branch of the Slavic family, as its relation to Old East Slavic is unverified.

Drevljanski came into its modern form in the late 18th century, but with the Russian Empire banning minority languages such as Polish and Ukrainian, it fell out of popular use, except in small areas between Ukraine and Belarus, with some escaping into rural Poland as well. With the fall of the Soviet Union, many Drevljanski emigrated to the United States. Drevljanski has no regulatory body, but has a fair amount of mutual intelligibility with Russian and Ukrainian.

There are two major dialects of the language: Volynian and Polesian, also called West and East, respectively. Volynian dialects, common in Poland and Ukraine, tend toward full palatalization (/tʲ/ → /c/) and penulimate stress, as well as preferring the labiodental fricative to the approximant, while Polesian, common in eastern Ukraine and Belarus, prefers the retroflex fricatives and affricates

Consonants
1Allophonic sounds, found in all dialects

2Found in the Volynian dialects

3Found in the Polesian dialects

4Occur where an aspirated stop would normally be expected in other Slavic languages. /t͡θ/ more common in rural areas and American speakers.

5All consonants are subject to palatalization except for /j r̝/

Writing System
The Drevljanski alphabet is based on the Ukrainian and Russian alphabet and contains 33 letters. Most Drevljanski keyboards have the same layout as Ukrainian keyboards, sometimes with an added ⟨ё⟩ key because of of the host of words in the Drevljanski vocabulary with it.

Nouns
The nominal declension has seven cases (nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, instrumental, locative, and vocative), in three numbers (singular, dual, and plural), and obeying grammatical gender (masculine, feminine, and neuter). Adjectives, pronouns, and the first two cardinal numbers have gender specific forms. The forms, particularly noticeable in spelling, are also determined by whether the word ends in a "soft," palatalized, or "hard," unpalatalized consonant.

There are four major declension patterns for normal nouns: masculine, animate masculine, feminine, and neuter. Below are examples of regular declension patterns. Acute accents indicated stress and are only used in linguistic works.

Masculine inanimate
гроб "grave" and грïш "sin"

Masculine animate
сол "ambassador" and нeтoпирь "bat (flying mammal)"

Feminine
гyба "fungus, mushroom" and ёpoть "war" 1Unintegrated form ёротю also common.

Neuter
ёзеро "lake, pond" and полє "field"

Verbs
Grammatical conjugation is subject to three persons in three numbers and three simple tenses (non-past, future, and past), with periphrastic forms for the future and conditional, as well as imperative forms.

Regular conjugation
знать "to know" 1 For masculine nouns; a feminine or neuter agent would use the feminine and neuter gender forms of the active past participle and auxiliary verb, respectively.

2The use of a conjugated бить is highly variable among dialects; if used, its placement is in the second position.

3Palatalized forms also found in more rural areas (-i  m  / -є  f  / -я  n ).

4Used after verbs of motion. Uncommon in American and Polish speakers, who prefer the infinitive. Also used for purpose (рукавiца боротё "boxing gloves," lit. gloves for fighting), cf. Romanian. Found among all users.

Irregular conjugation
iщь "to go" 1 For masculine nouns; a feminine or neuter agent would use the feminine and neuter gender forms of the active past participle and auxiliary verb, respectively.

2The use of a conjugated бить is highly variable among dialects; if used, its placement is in the second position.

3Palatalized forms also found in more rural areas (-i  m  / -є  f  / -я  n ).

4Used after verbs of motion. Uncommon in American and Polish speakers, who prefer the infinitive. Also used for purpose (рукавiца боротё "boxing gloves," lit. gloves for fighting), cf. Romanian. Found among all users.

Example text
«Али, ’наш, маю вiц дружбе с неудачнiками ніж сa святами. Xероiзам i светнощ нe кукают мi, нe мислю. Я єдинe заiнтересую бить чоловiк.» - Албер Каму

"But, you know, I feel more fellowship with the defeated than with saints. Heroism and sanctity don't really appeal to me, I imagine. What interests me is being a man.” - Albert Camus