Russian language

Russian Language

The Russian language (русский язык, russkiy yazyk) is an East Slavic language, which is official in Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, as well as being widely used throughout Eastern Europe, the Baltic states, the Caucasus and Central Asia.

Pronunciation

In phonetic transcription, the pronunciation of "Russian language" is /ˈrʌʃən ˈlæŋɡwɪdʒ/.

Etymology

The term "Russian" comes from the Old East Slavic word Rus (Rus'). The suffix "-ian" is derived from Latin, meaning "belonging to". The term "language" comes from the Old French langage, from Latin lingua - "tongue" or "speech".

Related Terms

• Slavic languages
• Cyrillic script
• Russian alphabet
• Russian phonology
• Russian grammar
• Russian literature
• Russian culture

See Also

• List of languages by number of native speakers
• List of languages by total number of speakers
• Language family

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