It’s common for people to live near others who speak a different – but similar – language. But generally, they handle their differences without violence.
Whether someone’s speech is a language or a dialect is a matter of both linguistics and politics.
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‘Vranyo’ is the Russian word for a lie that you tell to make yourself look good, whether people believe it or not.
A woman holds a placard with the words ‘language is a weapon’ written in Ukrainian during a 2020 protest of a bill that sought to widen the use of Russian in Ukrainian public education.
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To Russian nationalists, if the Ukrainian language is classified as a derivative of the Russian language, the invasion looks less like an act of aggression and more like reintegration.
Ukrainian passports say “Ukraine” with no “the.” On the Polish border, March 5, 2022.
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Negotiations between Western democracies and Russia over the fate of Ukraine took place against a backdrop of Russia troops entering Kazakhstan. It’s a reminder that Russia is willing to play tough.