BEL ISO 639-3
Belarusian
беларуская мова (Biełaruskaja mova) Autonym
A language of Belarus
- ISO 639
- bel
- Alternate Names
- Belarusan, Belorussian, Bielorussian, Byelorussian, White Russian, White Ruthenian
- Autonym
- беларуская мова (Biełaruskaja mova)
- Population
- 3,510,000 in Belarus, all users. L1 users: 1,120,000 in Belarus (2009 census), decreasing. The majority of Belarusans speak Russian [rus] as their L1. L2 users: 2,390,000 (2020). Ethnic population: 7,960,000 (2009 census). Total users in all countries: 3,923,450 (as L1: 1,533,450; as L2: 2,390,000).
- Language Status
- 7 (Shifting). Statutory language of national identity (1994, Constitution, Article 17(1)), largely symbolic use.
- Classification
- Indo-European, Balto-Slavic, Slavic, East
- Dialects
- Northeast Belarusian (Polots, Viteb-Mogilev), Southwest Belarusian (Grodnen-Baranovich, Slutska-Mazyrski, Slutsko-Mozyr), Central Belarusian. Linguistically between Russian [rus] and Ukrainian [ukr], with transitional dialects to both.
- Typology
- SVO; prepositions; noun head final; gender (masculine/feminine/neuter); no articles; case-marking (6 cases); verb affixes mark person, number, gender of subject (in past tense); passives; tense and aspect; 37 consonant and 6 vowel phonemes; non-tonal; free stress.
- Language Use
- Adults only. Shifting to Russian [rus].
- Language Development
- Few schools remain in which Belarusian is used as a language of instruction. Dictionary. Grammar. Bible: 1973–2017.
- Language Resources
- OLAC resources in and about Belarusian
- Writing
- Braille script [Brai], no longer in use. Cyrillic script [Cyrl], official usage. Latin script [Latn], official usage 1941–1944, modern occasional usage.
- Other Comments
- Russian is dominant in all spheres of life, including public and private services, legislation, education, and the media (2018 BelarusFeed). Christian, Muslim.
Also Spoken in
- Language Status
- Unestablished
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Argentina
Language Name
Belarusian
User Population
3,900 in Argentina (2018). , based on nationality.
- Language Status
- Unestablished
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Azerbaijan
Language Name
Belarusian
User Population
6,500 in Azerbaijan (Leclerc 2017b).
- Language Status
- Unestablished
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Germany
Language Name
Belarusian
User Population
24,300 in Germany (2020 census). , based on nationality.
- Language Status
- Unestablished
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Estonia
Language Name
Belarusian
User Population
1,660 in Estonia (2013 UNSD). Ethnic population: 12,400 (2011 census).
- Language Status
- Unestablished
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Spain
Language Name
Belarusian
User Population
5,660 in Spain (2020 census). , based on nationality.
- Language Status
- Unestablished
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Kazakhstan
Language Name
Belarusian
User Population
8,660 in Kazakhstan (2009 census). Ethnic population: 66,500 (2009 census).
- Location
- Vilniaus county: primarily Vilnius city; possibly scattered in Alytaus, Panevezio, and Utenos counties.
- Language Status
- 5 (Developing)
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Lithuania
Language Name
Belarusian
User Population
7,110 in Lithuania (2014 UNSD). Ethnic population: 39,200 (2015 census).
- Language Status
- Unestablished
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Latvia
Language Name
Belarusian
User Population
61,600 in Latvia (2018). Ethnic population: 78,800 (2018).
- Location
- Podlaskie voivodship.
- Dialects
- Podlachian (Pudlaśka mova).
- Language Status
- 5 (Developing)
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Poland
Language Name
Belarusian
User Population
26,700 in Poland (2013 UNSD).
- Language Status
- Unestablished
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Russian Federation
Language Name
Belarusian
User Population
174,000 in Russian Federation (2010 census). Ethnic population: 521,000 (2010 census).
- Language Status
- Unestablished
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Sweden
Language Name
Belarusian
User Population
1,590 in Sweden (2020 census). , based on nationality.
- Language Status
- Unestablished
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Tajikistan
Language Name
Belarusian
User Population
6,430 in Tajikistan (2017).
- Language Status
- Unestablished
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Turkmenistan
Language Name
Belarusian
User Population
5,000 in Turkmenistan (Leclerc 2019a). , based on ethnicity.
- Location
- Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kiev, Luhansk, Odessa, Rivne, and Zaporizhia regions; Krym, autonomous republic; Kiev City, Sevastopol City.
- Language Status
- 5 (Developing)
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Ukraine
Language Name
Belarusian
User Population
56,200 in Ukraine (2003 UNSD). Ethnic population: 276,000 (2001 census).
- Location
- Scattered.
- Language Status
- Unestablished
- Other Comments
- Non-indigenous. View other languages of Uzbekistan
Language Name
Belarusian
User Population
21,200 in Uzbekistan (2019).
Map
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