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Russian in the Ukraine /
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Posted by: milkybar kid

Hi there, I am planning a trip to the Ukraine in late june/july, I have taken a basic russian course, and was wondering if i should keep learning that at home or switch to start learning some Ukrainian ??
And how does one get on sending a English email at an internet cafe .

Big thanks

Kevin

Posted by: Jill

Where in Ukraine are you going? Russian is fairly widely spoken, but if you're headed to the western part of the country it would probably be helpful to know a little Ukrainian. But even there you can get by with Russian.

You will have no problems sending an e-mail in English. All computers have Latin fonts. (Is that what you meant?)

Posted by: Davepdx

Hi Kevin,

I am also going to Ukraine at the same time you are.

I hope we aren't seeing the same girls!
That was a joke. :-)

Anyway, I posed that same question to the women I am planning to visit.
I am traveling through Southern Ukraine along the Black Sea coast.
Most said they speak both languages, but Russian is the primary language. Even a woman I corresponed with in the northern city of Kharkov, said the same thing. However a woman I know in Odessa says they speak Russian, but most documents are in Ukrainian. Go figure.

I will try to learn some Russian before I go.
And also find a basic Ukrainian language guide so I can read the signs.

Dave

Posted by: Kathy

All offical documents are in Ukrainian because Ukrainian is the official language of Ukraine.

Posted by: Stas

Russian is more common in the East and South of Ukraine, including the Black Sea coast (the majority in Crimea and some big Eastern cities voted to make it the second official language). It is very common in the central part, too. All official documents are in Ukrainian, but I've seen these forms filled in by locals in Russian. In the West people understand Russian and can speak it, just some really don't like it. They might be more tolerant to Westerners than to Russians, though.

Posted by: milkybar kid

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jill

Where in Ukraine are you going? Russian is fairly widely spoken, but if you're headed to the western part of the country it would probably be helpful to know a little Ukrainian. But even there you can get by with Russian.

You will have no problems sending an e-mail in English. All computers have Latin fonts. (Is that what you meant?)

Sorry that i have take so long to get back to you, but i have been working 13hr + a day to get my work finish before i left.
I am coming from southern poland into Lviv and then to Kiev, then down to odessa for a few days, i will in Ukraine for almost 3 weeks,
I dont know any Ukrainian, but i am in london now and on my to the Ukrainian bookshop , right now .

thanks

Posted by: Jill

Well, in Lviv you won't hear much Russian, but most people there understand Russian well and many can speak it. In both Kiev and Odessa, Russian is the dominant language for speaking, although many things will be written in Ukrainian. Still, if you know Russian fairly well, you should be able to get by without major problems.

Posted by: Happytravels

Hi,
I had no problems with writing e-mails in English in internet cafe's on my trip through the Ukraine and Russia last year. It was easy to find them in the main cities as the sign for internet looks almost the same.
Have a wonderful time!