The book is created by the Ukrainian students to introduce the Ukrainian language to their Spanish eTwinning partners. This short course helped Spanish partners to meet the beauty of the Ukrainian language and learn its basics to introduce themselves in Ukrainian.

Introduction to the book

The mixed team to create this book

Ukrainian team:

Shaparenko D.

Chornenkiy V.

Oslopova K.

Kucher O.

Mykhalchuk M.

Naida N.

Malinevska S.

Tkachuk T.

Didenko S.

Spanish team:

Yaiza B.    Natalia S. Zayra S.

Luis C.    Aitor V.

Miguel C.    Ale G.

Leila F.    Alex M.

Pablo G.  Elena P.

Alba G.  Óscar R.

Hans K.  Armando R.

Carla P.   Izíar S.

Hugo P.  Chloe V.

Alba S.   Ignacio V.

The Ukrainian Language. Introduction

 The official language of Ukraine is Ukrainian, an East Slavic language of the Indo-European languages family.

It is native to over 40 million people who live in Ukraine and abroad. The Ukrainian language originates from the Old East Slavic language, which existed during the period of Kyivan Rus (9th–13th centuries). Historically, the Ukrainian language has been influenced by neighboring languages as well as other European languages.  The standard language is studied by the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine. (By O. Kucher)

The Ukrainian language has a Cyrillic alphabet that is almost identical to the alphabet of other Slavic languages (Russian, Bulgarian). Some letters look the same as in the Latin alphabet used in English, but most are pronounced differently than in English and may resemble other English sounds. For instance, the letter “B” in Ukrainian sounds similar to the English “V”. Other Ukrainian letters look quite different. There are 33 letters in the Ukrainian language in total.  (By D. Shaparenko)

The Ukrainian alphabet

The Ukrainian alphabet

Аа - ангелятко, (angel)

Бб - балерина, (ballerina)

Вв - веселка, (rainbow)

Гг - годинник, (clock)

Гг-гудзик, (button)

Дд - дракон, (dragon)

Ее -  ескімо, (Escimo)

Єє - єнот, (racoon)

Жж - жирафа, (giraffe)

Зз - зірка, (star)

The Ukrainian alphabet

Ии -індик, (turkey)

Іі - іграшка, (toy)

Її - їжачок, (hedgehog)

Йй - йогурт, (yoghurt)

Кк - клоун, (clown)

Лл - літак, (airplane)

Мм - метелик, (butterfly)

Нн - носоріг, (rhino)

Оо - окуляри, (glasses)

Пп - пірат, (pirate)

The Ukrainian alphabet

Рр - ракета, (rocket)

Сс - сова, (awl)

Тт - торт, (cake)

Уу - удав, (boa)

Фф - фонтан, (fountain)

Хх - хліб, (bread)

Цц - цукерки, (sweets)

Чч - чарівник,(magician)

Шш - шкарпетки, (socks)

Щщ - щеня, (puppy)

The Ukrainian alphabet

Ьь - (м'який знак), місяць, (moon)

Юю - юшка, (soup)

Яя - ящірка, (lizard)

 (Voice-over - p. 7-11 - Dasha Shaparenko)

The Ukrainian pronunciation

Ukrainian is written in a version of Cyrillic, consisting of 33 letters, representing 38 phonemes; an apostrophe is also used. Ukrainian orthography is based on the phonemic principle, with one letter generally corresponding to one phoneme, although there are a number of exceptions. The orthography also has cases where the semantic, historical, and morphological principles are applied.

The letter “щ” represents two consonants [ʃt͡ʃ] - щастя (happiness). The combination of the sound [j] in some of the vowels is also represented by a single letter : [ja] = я, яблуко (apple), [je] = є, Єгипет (Egypt), [ji] or [jı̽] = їжа,(food), [ju] = ю, Юпітер (Jupiter),  [jɔ] = йо, йогурт (yoghurt).

The Ukrainian pronunciation

An apostrophe is used to indicate the hardness of the sound, like in “м’яч” (ball). In other cases the vowel would change the consonant to a soft sound, like "няня" (nurse).

There is a soft sign "ь"  to make the consonant soft: день (day).

A consonant letter is doubled to indicate that the sound is doubled, or long, «багаття» (fire)

The phonemes [d͡z] and [d͡ʒ] do not have dedicated letters in the alphabet and are rendered with the digraphs дз and дж, respectively. [d͡z] is equivalent to English  j in jump. Example:  дзижчати (to buzz).

Personal pronouns

I – я (ya). Я - учень. ( I am a pupil)
 You (singular) – ти (ty). Ти мій товариш.(You are my friend)
He – він (vin). Він мій брат. (He is my brother)
 She – вона (vona). Вона моя сестра. (She is my sister)
 It – воно (vono). Воно синє. (It is blue)
 We – ми (my). Ми друзі. (We are friends)
 You (plural or formal) – ви (vy). Ви - студенти. (You are students)
 They – вони (vony). Вони хоробрі. (They are brave)

(Voice-over - p.12-13 - Ksenia Oslopova)

The Ukrainian phrases

 Thank you: Дякую (Dyakuyu)
 Thank you very much: Дуже дякую (Duzhe dyakuyu)
 Sorry: Вибачте (Vybachte)
 Excuse me: Перепрошую (Pereproshuyu)
 Take care: Бережіть себе (Berezhit’ sebe)
 I’m sorry to hear that: Мені шкода це чути (Meni shkoda tze chuty)
 Please: Будь ласка (Bud’ laska)
 Can you help me? Можете мені допомогти? (Mozhete meni dopomogty)

The Ukrainian phrases

Hi/Hello! - Привіт! - "Pryvit!" 

Good morning! -Добрий ранок! - Dobryi ranok!

Good afternoon! - Добрий день! - Dobryi den'!

Good evening! - Добрий вечір!- Dobryi vechir!
Good night! - На добраніч! - Na dobranich!

Glad to see you! -Радий вас бачити! "Radyy vas bachyty"

Have a nice day! - Гарного дня! - Garnogo dnia!

(Voice-over - p.14-15 - Veronika Aleksieienko)

Ukrainian Numbers

1-один-one,

2-два-two,

3-три-three,

4-чотири-four,

5-пʼять-five,

6-шість-six,

7-сім-seven,

8-вісім-eight,

9-девʼять-nine, 

10-десять-ten

11-одинадцять-eleven, 

12-дванадцять-twelve, 

13-тринадцять-thirteen,

14- чотирнадцять-fourteen, 

15-пʼятнадцять-fifteen, 

16-шістнадцять-sixteen,

17- сімнадцять-seventeen, 

18-вісімнадцять-eighteen, 

19-девʼятнадцять-nineteen, 

20-двадцять-twenty, 

Personal information

My name is Maria. – Мене звати Марія. – Mene zvaty Mariya.

I am 14. – Мені 14. – Meni chotyrnadtsyat’.

I live in Kyiv. – Я живу в Києві.- Ya zhyvu v Kyyevi.

I have a small family. - Я маю маленьку сім'ю. - Ya mayu malen'ku simyu.

I study at school. –  Я навчаюсь у школі.- Ya navchayus’ u shkoli.

I study 10 subjects. – Я вивчаю 10 предметів. – Ya vyvchayu desyat’ predmetiv.

I speak 3 languages. – Я розмовляю 3 (трьома) мовами. – Ya rosmovliayu tryoma movamy.

I love Maths. – Я люблю математику. Ya liubliu matematyku/

My hobby is swimming.- Моє хобі плавання. – Moye hobi plavannia

(Voice-over - p.16-17 - M. Mykhalchuk)

Feedback of a Spanish student - Zayra Santos

"My experience learning a new language is interesting but the Ukrainian language has different letters of the alphabet and different pronunciation compared to Spanish, but is a very beautiful language"

"Мій досвід вивчення нової мови – цікавий, але українська мова має інші букви алфавіту ті іншу вимову у порівнянні з іспанською, але це дуже красива мова"

Feedback of a Spanish student - Óscar Rey

"It was so strange and hard trying to learn Ukrainian especially because the letters are very different from the letters Spanish and the difference pronunciation of the words"

"It was so strange and hard trying to learn Ukrainian especially because the letters are very different from the letters Spanish and the difference pronunciation of the words"

Feedback of a Spanish student - Miguel Cueto Soto

 My experience was that at first I didn’t understand anything, but thanks to English I was able to understand a little more and learn more about Ukrainian. What interested me most were the authors because I found it very interesting regarding Spanish writers, now I learn the letters of Ukraine and it is very interesting because it is a wonderful language.

Мій досвід: спочатку я нічого не розумів, але завдяки англійській я зміг трішки зрозуміти і дізнався більше про українську. Що найбільше мене зацікавило - це письменники у порівнянні з іспанськими письменниками. Наразі, я вивчив українські літери і це цікаво і мова красива

Feedback of a Spanish student - Alba Garcia

I’m Alba Garcia, I’m 15 years old.  I live in Ribadesella (Asturias). 

 The first experience that I had with Ukrainian was this year with eTwinning , I think that the Ukrainian is difficult for me, but I think that is a beautiful language, its sounds very well

Мене звати Альба Гарсія, мені 15 років. Я живу у Рібадесельї (Астурія). 

Це моє перше знайомство з українською в eTwinning (проєкті). На мою думку – українська складна для мене, але це красива мова і звучить гарно.

Feedback of a Spanish student - Alba  Somoano

"Learning Ukrainian has been a good experience. I enjoy discovering new words and learning about the culture. Every new phrase helps me understand more and meet new people".

"Вивчення української мови стало для мене гарним досвідом. Мені подобається вивчати нові слова та нову культуру. Кожна нова фраза дозволяє мені краще розуміти нових знайомих".

Feedback of a Spanish student - Armando Ruisanchez

Participating in eTwinning allowed me to learn Ukrainian in a fun and active way, as well as to learn more about their culture. It was an experience that greatly enriched my learning and helped me connect with people from other places.
 

Участь у  eTwinning проєкті зробило вивчення української мови цікавим і допомогло дізнатись більше про їхню культуру. Цей досвід збагатив моє навчання і допоміг мені у спілкуванні з людьми іншої країни.