Surzhyk

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Surzhyk (Ukrainian and Russian: суржик, Ukrainian pronunciation: [ˈsurʒek], Russian pronunciation: [ˈsurʐɨk]) is a mixture between the Ukrainian and Russian languages, used in certain regions of Ukraine and the neighboring regions of Russia and Moldova. Some consider it a pidgin language, while others argue against it because "harmonious contact between two closely-related languages cannot give rise to a pidgin language". The phenomenon of surzhyk is commonly interpreted as an application of Russian-language words and idioms in combination with Ukrainian speech, which makes it essentially a heavily Russified version of colloquial Ukrainian, although the opposite process can also take place. The vocabulary mix of each of its constituent languages (Ukrainian and Russian) varies greatly from locality to locality, or sometimes even from person to person, depending on the degree of education, personal experience, rural or urban residence, the geographical origin of the interlocutors, etc. The...

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