Is this Ukrainian?

Moderator:TheStrayCat

darlia
Posts:8
Joined:2014-05-15, 23:09
Country:CACanada (Canada)
Is this Ukrainian?

Postby darlia » 2014-05-16, 18:08

Hello,
I have some old letters to a family member from the Ukraine, but I am not sure if they are actually in Ukrainian. I think some of my relatives had to be taught in polish even though they were Ukrainian (in the 20's or 30's era). I also saw immigration records showing some of my family as coming from Austria to Canada, when they identified as Ukrainian. Also from what I have read online it could be in Russian too.

I attached a small piece of one letter. Would anyone be able to tell me if it is Ukrainian, and if not what you think if would be?

Thank you
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.

User avatar
TheStrayCat
Language Forum Moderator
Posts:2778
Joined:2010-12-23, 11:49
Real Name:Max
Gender:male
Location:Brooklyn, New York
Country:USUnited States (United States)
Contact:

Re: Is this Ukrainian?

Postby TheStrayCat » 2014-05-17, 10:03

Yes, this is Ukrainian.

The text reads:

Greetings from the home village. December 27, 1956.

My dear sister and you, my brother-in-law, before writing a few words to you, I'd like to congratulate/greet you not with hands...


It looks like only the beginning of a family letter. If you have more letters and want to have them translated, feel free to post them to this topic and I'll be able to help you with them.

darlia
Posts:8
Joined:2014-05-15, 23:09
Country:CACanada (Canada)

Re: Is this Ukrainian?

Postby darlia » 2014-05-17, 12:41

Thank you so much for your reply! :)

This has created a bit of a mystery for me because the letters are addressed to my late Baba.
As far as I know she had always said she was an only child.

I have a number of letters from 1956 to 1958. I attached the first one.
You do not have the required permissions to view the files attached to this post.
Last edited by darlia on 2014-07-09, 23:47, edited 1 time in total.

darlia
Posts:8
Joined:2014-05-15, 23:09
Country:CACanada (Canada)

Re: Is this Ukrainian?

Postby darlia » 2014-05-19, 14:02

I used an online translator (which is not easy, because I can't seem to find all the right letters) and I did seem to get the word sister in the second line.
Is there any way that sister and cousin might be used interchangeably in the Ukrainian language?
Thank you!

User avatar
TheStrayCat
Language Forum Moderator
Posts:2778
Joined:2010-12-23, 11:49
Real Name:Max
Gender:male
Location:Brooklyn, New York
Country:USUnited States (United States)
Contact:

Re: Is this Ukrainian?

Postby TheStrayCat » 2014-05-19, 17:27

Now I see, it's Ukrainian but most likely a Western (Galician) variety, which is more distant from the literary standard than I expected. My university friend from Ternopil also confirms that it's quite close to their local dialect. It is comprehensible to me, but I doubt that an online translator will be able to manage all these words, many of which are never used on an official level, at least in such orthography, or even look outdated.

The word "сестричка" in the second line is a diminutive for "сестра" (sister). The Ukrainian words for "cousin" are "кузина" (used quite rarely) and a more common one "двоюрідна сестра". Therefore yes, it theoretically could be shortened as "сестра" (sister), because a greeting like "дорога моя двоюрідна сестричко" is indeed awkward to put in a letter.

It will take me a while to translate the whole letter though.

darlia
Posts:8
Joined:2014-05-15, 23:09
Country:CACanada (Canada)

Re: Is this Ukrainian?

Postby darlia » 2014-05-27, 10:41

Hello,
I have where they came from in this new attachment. This may solve the mystery of what type of Ukrainian it is! :)
I did some research. I think if should be from Litwinow, Ukraine.
Darlia
Last edited by darlia on 2014-07-09, 23:44, edited 1 time in total.

User avatar
TheStrayCat
Language Forum Moderator
Posts:2778
Joined:2010-12-23, 11:49
Real Name:Max
Gender:male
Location:Brooklyn, New York
Country:USUnited States (United States)
Contact:

Re: Is this Ukrainian?

Postby TheStrayCat » 2014-06-08, 14:56

Yes, the village of Lytvyniv, Ternopil region.

I'm sorry for not looking into this forum for so long, I almost didn't have free time.

Interestingly, from the standpoint of a Ukrainian speaker, the written toponyms on the letter look a bit Russified, with -o- instead of literary -i-, but it is more likely to be influenced by Polish, where the o->i shift didn't take place either.

The way of writing a personal name with the patronymic following the last name is unusual for me to. The usual order is First name + (patronymic) + last name.

darlia
Posts:8
Joined:2014-05-15, 23:09
Country:CACanada (Canada)

Re: Is this Ukrainian?

Postby darlia » 2014-06-11, 22:10

Hello Stray Cat!
Thank you for your insight. I will look for a Russian/Polish/Translator. I am having too much trouble trying to figure out the cursive writing with google translate. I suppose because of the history of the Ukraine the way people wrote may have been affected.
I find the writing very fancy, however, I don 't think my relatives would have received much education.
If I find out anything interesting about the letter or the person writing it I will post it for you!
Thank you again for your help!
Darlia

darlia
Posts:8
Joined:2014-05-15, 23:09
Country:CACanada (Canada)

Re: Is this Ukrainian?

Postby darlia » 2014-07-09, 23:59

Hello,
I have it translated now.
It is a bit sad. It is a letter from a cousin (I think) in an extremely small village. It is a young woman who is asking about her family in Canada, she mentions pictures she received. She says that everything is okay with her, but then proceeds to inform her relative in Canada that she is very poor and can not afford to celebrate her wedding. She also mentions that there are a lot of fancy packages coming from Canada to the Ukraine to other families.
From what I can tell from another letter I've been working on is that they were farmers.
Thank you again for your help!
Darlia


Return to “Ukrainian (Українська)”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 17 guests

cron