Editing Russian language (section)

{{short description|East Slavic language}}
{{distinguish|Rusyn language|text=the [[Rusyn language]]}}
{{redirect-distinguish|Great Russian|Great Russia}}
{{pp|small=yes}}
{{pp-move}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Russian
| states           = [[Russia]], other areas of the [[Geographical distribution of Russian speakers|Russian-speaking world]]
| nativename       = {{lang|ru|русский язык}}{{efn|On the history of using "русский" ("''russkiy''") and "российский" ("''rossiyskiy''") as the Russian adjectives denoting "Russian", see: [[Oleg Trubachyov]]. 2005. Русский{{nbs}}– Российский. История, динамика, идеология двух атрибутов нации (pp. 216–227). В поисках единства. Взгляд филолога на проблему истоков Руси., 2005. {{cite web|url=http://krotov.info/libr_min/19_t/ru/bachev.htm|access-date=25 January 2014|language=ru|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140218214456/http://krotov.info/libr_min/19_t/ru/bachev.htm|archive-date=18 February 2014|script-title=ru:РУССКИЙ – РОССИЙСКИЙ}}. On the 1830s change in the Russian name of the Russian language and its causes, see: [[Tomasz Kamusella]]. 2012. The Change of the Name of the Russian Language in Russian from Rossiiskii to Russkii: Did Politics Have Anything to Do with It? (pp.{{nbs}}73–96). ''Acta Slavica Iaponica''. Vol 32, {{cite web|url=http://src-h.slav.hokudai.ac.jp/publictn/acta/32/04Kamusella.pdf|title=The Change of the Name of the Russian Language in Russian from Rossiiskii to Russkii: Did Politics Have Anything to Do with It?|access-date=7 January 2013|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130518165147/http://src-h.slav.hokudai.ac.jp/publictn/acta/32/04Kamusella.pdf|archive-date=18 May 2013}}}}
| pronunciation    = {{IPA|ru|ˈruskʲɪi̯ jɪˈzɨk||Ru-russkiy jizyk.ogg}}
| region           = 
| ethnicity        = 
| speakers         = [[L1 speakers|L1]]: {{Significant figures|145.166390|3}} million (2020–2023)
| date             = 
| ref              = <ref name="e28">{{e28|rus}}</ref>
| speakers2        = [[L2 speakers|L2]]: {{Significant figures|108.197160|3}} million (2012–2020)<ref name="e28"/><br/>Total: {{sigfig|253.363550|3}} million (2012–2023)<ref name="e28"/>
| speakers_label   = Speakers
| familycolor      = Indo-European
| fam2             = [[Balto-Slavic languages|Balto-Slavic]]
| fam3             = [[Slavic languages|Slavic]]
| fam4             = [[East Slavic languages|East Slavic]]
| ancestor         = [[Proto-Indo-European language|Proto-Indo-European]]
| ancestor2        = [[Proto-Balto-Slavic language|Proto-Balto-Slavic]]
| ancestor3        = [[Proto-Slavic language|Proto-Slavic]]
| ancestor4        = [[Old East Slavic]]
| script           = [[Cyrillic script|Cyrillic]] ([[Russian alphabet]])<br/>[[Russian Braille]]
| nation           = {{Collapsible list |titlestyle=font-weight:normal; background:transparent; text-align:left;|title=[[List of countries and territories where Russian is an official language|5 UN member states]]|
|
* {{flag|Russia}} (state)<ref name=RusConst>{{cite web |url=http://www.constitution.ru/en/10003000-01.htm |title=Article 68. Constitution of the Russian Federation |website=Constitution.ru |access-date=18 June 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130606071041/http://www.constitution.ru/en/10003000-01.htm |archive-date=6 June 2013}}</ref>
* {{flag|Belarus}} (co-official)<ref name=Belarus>{{cite web |url=http://president.gov.by/en/press19329.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070502115338/http://president.gov.by/en/press19329.html|archive-date=2 May 2007 |title=Article 17. Constitution of the Republic of Belarus |website=President.gov.by |date=11 May 1998 |access-date=18 June 2013}}</ref>
* {{flag|Kazakhstan}} (co-official)<ref name=Kazakhstan>{{cite web |first=N. |last=Nazarbaev
| url=http://www.constcouncil.kz/eng/norpb/constrk/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071020060732/http://www.constcouncil.kz/eng/norpb/constrk/ |archive-date=20 October 2007 |title=Article 7. Constitution of the Republic of Kazakhstan |website=Constcouncil.kz |date=4 December 2005 |access-date=18 June 2013}}</ref><br/>
* {{flag|Kyrgyzstan}} (co-official)<ref name=Kyrgyzstan>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.kg/ky|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121222125830/http://www.gov.kg/?page_id=263|url-status=dead|title=Официальный сайт Правительства КР|archive-date=22 December 2012|website=Gov.kg|access-date=16 February 2020}}</ref>
* {{flag|Tajikistan}} (as inter-ethnic language designated by the constitution)<ref>{{cite web |title=КОНСТИТУЦИЯ РЕСПУБЛИКИ ТАДЖИКИСТАН |url=http://prokuratura.tj/ru/legislation/the-constitution-of-the-republic-of-tajikistan.html |website=prokuratura.tj |publisher=Parliament of Tajikistan |access-date=9 January 2020 |archive-date=24 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210224035434/http://prokuratura.tj/ru/legislation/the-constitution-of-the-republic-of-tajikistan.html |url-status=live }}</ref>
}}

<br />{{Collapsible list |titlestyle=font-weight:normal; background:transparent; text-align:left;|title=[[List of countries and territories where Russian is an official language#Status in dependencies or regions|Official on regional level]]|
* {{flag|Moldova}}:
** {{flag|Gagauzia}} (co-official)<ref name=Gagauzia>{{cite web |url=http://www.gagauzia.md/pageview.php?l=en&idc=389&id=240 |title=Article 16. Legal code of Gagauzia (Gagauz-Yeri) |website=Gagauzia.md |date=5 August 2008 |access-date=18 June 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513170728/http://www.gagauzia.md/pageview.php?l=en&idc=389&id=240 |archive-date=13 May 2013}}</ref>
** [[Administrative-Territorial Units of the Left Bank of the Dniester|Left Bank of the Dniester]] (co-official)
* {{flag|Ukraine}}:
** {{flag|Autonomous Republic of Crimea}} (co-official){{efn|The status of [[Crimea]] and of the city of [[Sevastopol]] is [[Annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation|under dispute between Russia and Ukraine]] since March 2014; Ukraine and the majority of the international community consider Crimea to be an [[autonomous republic]] of Ukraine and Sevastopol to be one of Ukraine's [[cities with special status]], whereas Russia, on the other hand, considers Crimea to be a [[federal subject of Russia]] and Sevastopol to be one of Russia's three [[federal cities of Russia|federal cities]]}}}}

<br />{{Collapsible list |titlestyle=font-weight:normal; background:transparent; text-align:left;|title=[[List of countries and territories where Russian is an official language|Partially recognized states]]|

* {{flag|Abkhazia}}{{efn|Abkhazia and South Ossetia are only [[international recognition of Abkhazia and South Ossetia|partially recognized countries]].|name=AbkhaziaSouthOssetia}} (co-official)<ref name=Abkhazia>{{Cite web|url=http://www.abkhaziagov.org/ru/state/sovereignty|title=Конституция Республики Абхазия|date=18 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090118213155/http://www.abkhaziagov.org/ru/state/sovereignty|access-date=16 February 2020|archive-date=18 January 2009}}</ref>
* {{flag|South Ossetia}}{{efn|name=AbkhaziaSouthOssetia}} (co-official)<ref name=Ossetia>{{cite web |url=http://cominf.org/node/1127818105 |date=11 August 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090811021536/http://cominf.org/node/1127818105 |title=КОНСТИТУЦИЯ РЕСПУБЛИКИ ЮЖНАЯ ОСЕТИЯ |trans-title=Constitution of the Republic of South Ossetia |access-date=5 April 2021 |archive-date=11 August 2009}}</ref>
* {{flag|Transnistria}} (state)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://usefoundation.org/view/436 |title=Law of the Moldavian Soviet Socialist Republic on the Functioning of Languages on the Territory of the Moldavian SSR |publisher=U.S. English Foundation Research |date=2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160921034927/http://usefoundation.org/view/436 |archive-date=21 September 2016 }}</ref>}}

<br />{{Collapsible list |titlestyle=font-weight:normal; background:transparent; text-align:left;|title=Organizations|
{{flag|United Nations}}:
* [[International Atomic Energy Agency|IAEA]]
* [[International Civil Aviation Organization|ICAO]]
* [[UNESCO]]
* [[World Health Organization|WHO]]
[[Commonwealth of Independent States|CIS]]<br/>
[[Eurasian Economic Union|EAEU]]<br/>
[[Collective Security Treaty Organization|CSTO]]<br/>
[[Shanghai Cooperation Organisation|SCO]]<br/>
[[Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe|OSCE]]<br/>
[[Antarctic Treaty Secretariat|ATS]]<br/>
[[International Organization for Standardization|ISO]]}}
| minority         = {{collapsible list|
{{flag|Romania}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=RO |title=Romania : Languages of Romania |website=Ethnologue.com |date=19 February 1999 |access-date=28 January 2016 |archive-date=31 January 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130131170434/http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=RO |url-status=live }}</ref><br/>
{{flag|Armenia}}<ref name=No148>{{cite web |url=http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/Commun/ListeDeclarations.asp?NT=148&CM=8&DF=23/01/05&CL=ENG&VL=1 |title=List of declarations made with respect to treaty No. 148 (Status as of: 21/9/2011) |publisher=[[Council of Europe]] |access-date=22 May 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120522083136/http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/Commun/ListeDeclarations.asp?NT=148&CM=8&DF=23%2F01%2F05&CL=ENG&VL=1 |archive-date=22 May 2012}}</ref><br/>
{{flag|Czech Republic}}<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vlada.cz/en/pracovni-a-poradni-organy-vlady/rnm/historie-a-soucasnost-rady-en-16666/ |title=National Minorities Policy of the Government of the Czech Republic |publisher=Vlada.cz |access-date=22 May 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120607051111/http://www.vlada.cz/en/pracovni-a-poradni-organy-vlady/rnm/historie-a-soucasnost-rady-en-16666/ |archive-date=7 June 2012}}</ref><br/>
{{flag|Slovakia}}<ref name=No148/><br/>
{{flag|Moldova}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://deschide.md/ro/stiri/politic/78929/Pre%C8%99edintele-CCM-Constitu%C8%9Bia-nu-confer%C4%83-limbii-ruse-un-statut-deosebit-de-cel-al-altor-limbi-minoritare.htm |title=Președintele CCM: Constituția nu conferă limbii ruse un statut deosebit de cel al altor limbi minoritare |publisher=Deschide.md |access-date=22 January 2021 |archive-date=29 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210129050215/https://deschide.md/ro/stiri/politic/78929/Pre%C8%99edintele-CCM-Constitu%C8%9Bia-nu-confer%C4%83-limbii-ruse-un-statut-deosebit-de-cel-al-altor-limbi-minoritare.htm |url-status=live }}</ref><br/>
{{flag|Ukraine}}<ref name="UAConstitution">[http://www.rada.gov.ua/const/conengl.htm#r1 Article 10] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110521190059/http://www.rada.gov.ua/const/conengl.htm |date=21 May 2011}} of the Constitution says: "The state language of Ukraine is the Ukrainian language. The State ensures the comprehensive development and functioning of the Ukrainian language in all spheres of social life throughout the entire territory of Ukraine. In Ukraine, the free development, use and protection of Russian, and other languages of national minorities of Ukraine, is guaranteed."</ref><br/>
{{flag|China}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://fujian.gov.cn/hdjl/hdjlzsk/mzzjt/mz/202209/t20220913_5991001.htm|title=少数民族的语言文字有哪些？|language=zh|website=fujian.gov.cn|date=13 September 2022|access-date=28 October 2022|author=Ethnic Groups and Religious department, Fujian Provincial Government|archive-date=28 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221028081421/http://fujian.gov.cn/hdjl/hdjlzsk/mzzjt/mz/202209/t20220913_5991001.htm|url-status=live|quote="我国已正式使用和经国家批准推行的少数民族文字有19种，它们是...俄罗斯文..."}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.moe.gov.cn/jyb_sjzl/wenzi/202108/t20210827_554992.html|title=中国语言文字概况（2021年版）|language=zh|website=moe.gov.cn|date=27 August 2021|access-date=18 December 2023|author=[[Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China]]|quote="...属于印欧语系的是属斯拉夫语族的俄语..."|archive-date=4 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240104031557/http://www.moe.gov.cn/jyb_sjzl/wenzi/202108/t20210827_554992.html|url-status=live}}</ref>
}}
| agency           = [[Russian Language Institute|V.V. Vinogradov Russian Language Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ruslang.ru/agens.php?id=aims |title=Russian Language Institute |website=Ruslang.ru |access-date=16 May 2010 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100719234135/http://www.ruslang.ru/agens.php?id=aims |archive-date=19 July 2010}}</ref>
| iso1             = ru
| iso2             = rus
| iso3             = rus
| lingua           = 53-AAA-ea < [[East Slavic languages|53-AAA-e]]<br/>(varieties: 53-AAA-eaa to 53-AAA-eat)
| image            = 
| map              = Idioma ruso.PNG
| mapsize          = 
| mapcaption       = {{legend|#0080FE|Majority of Russian speakers}}
{{legend|#88C4FE|Minority of Russian speakers}}
| notice           = [[International Phonetic Alphabet|IPA]]
| glotto           = russ1263
| glottorefname    = Russian
| map2             = 
| mapcaption2      = 
}}

'''Russian'''{{Efn|{{langx|ru|Русский язык|Russkiy yazyk|label=none}}, {{IPA|ru|ˈruskʲɪj jɪˈzɨk|pron|Ru-russkiy jizyk.ogg}}}} is an [[East Slavic languages|East Slavic language]] belonging to the [[Balto-Slavic languages|Balto-Slavic]] branch of the [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European language family]]. It is one of the four extant East Slavic languages,{{efn|Including [[Rusyn language|Rusyn]], which is sometimes classified as a [[dialect]] of [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]] in Ukraine.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Magocsi|first=Paul Robert|title=Language and National Survival|volume=44|number=1|journal=Jahrbücher für Geschichte Osteuropas|publisher=[[Franz Steiner Verlag]]|pages=83–85|date=1996|jstor=41049661}}</ref>}} and is the native language of the [[Russians]]. It was the ''de facto'' and ''de jure''<ref>Since 1990</ref> [[De facto#National languages|official language]] of the former [[Soviet Union]].<ref name="USSR">[[1977 Soviet Constitution|Constitution and Fundamental Law of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics]], 1977: Section II, Chapter 6, Article 36</ref> Russian has remained an [[official language]] of the [[Russia|Russian Federation]], [[Belarus]], [[Kazakhstan]], [[Kyrgyzstan]], and [[Tajikistan]], and is still commonly used as a [[lingua franca]] in [[Ukraine]], [[Moldova]], the [[Caucasus]], [[Central Asia]], and to a lesser extent in the [[Baltic states]] and [[Russian language in Israel|Israel]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.gallup.com/poll/109228/russian-language-enjoying-boost-postsoviet-states.aspx|title=Russian Language Enjoying a Boost in Post-Soviet States|publisher=Gallup |date=1 August 2008|access-date=16 May 2010|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100518073110/http://www.gallup.com/poll/109228/Russian-Language-Enjoying-Boost-PostSoviet-States.aspx|archive-date=18 May 2010}}</ref><ref name="demoscope">{{cite journal|last=Арефьев|first=Александр|script-title=ru:Падение статуса русского языка на постсоветском пространстве|journal=Демоскоп Weekly|year=2006|issue=251|url=http://www.demoscope.ru/weekly/2006/0251/tema01.php|language=ru|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130308114703/http://www.demoscope.ru/weekly/2006/0251/tema01.php|archive-date=8 March 2013}}</ref>{{sfn|Spolsky|Shohamy|1999|p=236}}{{sfn|Isurin|2011|p=13}}

Russian has over 253 million total speakers worldwide.<ref name="e28"/> It is the [[List of languages by number of speakers in Europe|most spoken native language in Europe]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tandem.net/10-most-spoken-languages-europe|title=The 10 Most Spoken Languages in Europe|work=[[Tandem (app)|Tandem]]|date=12 September 2019|access-date=31 May 2021|archive-date=2 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602215325/https://www.tandem.net/10-most-spoken-languages-europe|url-status=live}}</ref> the most spoken [[Slavic languages|Slavic language]],<ref name="language"/> as well as the most geographically widespread language of [[Eurasia]].<ref name="language">{{cite web|url=https://learn.utoronto.ca/programs-courses/languages-and-translation/language-learning/russian|title=Russian|publisher=[[University of Toronto]]|quote="Russian is the most widespread of the Slavic languages and the largest native language in Europe. Of great political importance, it is one of the official languages of the United Nations – making it a natural area of study for those interested in geopolitics."|access-date=9 July 2021|archive-date=28 June 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190628022427/https://learn.utoronto.ca/programs-courses/languages-and-translation/language-learning/russian|url-status=live}}</ref> It is the world's [[List of languages by number of native speakers|seventh-most spoken language by number of native speakers]], and the world's [[List of languages by total number of speakers|ninth-most spoken language by total number of speakers]].<ref>{{cite web |title=The World's Most Widely Spoken Languages |url=http://www2.ignatius.edu/faculty/turner/languages.htm |website=Saint Ignatius High School |access-date=17 February 2012 |location=Cleveland, Ohio |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927062910/http://www2.ignatius.edu/faculty/turner/languages.htm |archive-date=27 September 2011}}</ref> Russian is one of two official languages aboard the [[International Space Station]],<ref>{{cite web|last=Wakata|first=Koichi|author-link=Koichi Wakata|url=https://global.jaxa.jp/article/special/expedition/wakata01_e.html|title=My Long Mission in Space|publisher=[[JAXA]]|quote="The official languages on the ISS are English and Russian, and when I was speaking with the Flight Control Room at JAXA's Tsukuba Space Center during ISS systems and payload operations, I was required to speak in either English or Russian."|access-date=18 July 2021|archive-date=26 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140426232353/https://global.jaxa.jp/article/special/expedition/wakata01_e.html|url-status=live}}</ref> one of the six [[official languages of the United Nations]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/en/our-work/official-languages|title=Official Languages|publisher=United Nations|quote="There are six official languages of the UN. These are Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. The correct interpretation and translation of these six languages, in both spoken and written form, is very important to the work of the Organization, because this enables clear and concise communication on issues of global importance."|access-date=16 July 2021|archive-date=13 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210713075145/https://www.un.org/en/our-work/official-languages|url-status=live}}</ref> as well as the [[Languages used on the Internet|fourth most widely used language]] on the [[Internet]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Most used languages online by share of websites 2024 |url=https://www.statista.com/statistics/262946/most-common-languages-on-the-internet/ |website=Statista.com |access-date=12 April 2024 |language=en |archive-date=27 April 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240427100253/https://www.statista.com/statistics/262946/most-common-languages-on-the-internet/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

Russian is written using the [[Russian alphabet]] of the [[Cyrillic script]]; it distinguishes between consonant [[phoneme]]s with [[Palatalization (phonetics)|palatal]] [[secondary articulation]] and those without—the so-called "soft" and "hard" sounds. Almost every [[consonant]] has a hard or soft counterpart, and the distinction is a prominent feature of the language, which is usually shown in writing not by a change of the consonant but rather by changing the following vowel. Another important aspect is the [[vowel reduction|reduction]] of unstressed [[vowel]]s. [[Stress (linguistics)|Stress]], which is often unpredictable, is not normally indicated [[orthographically]],{{sfn|Timberlake|2004|p=17}} though an optional [[acute accent]] may be used to mark stress – such as to distinguish between [[homograph]]ic words (e.g. {{lang|ru|замо́к}} [{{Lang|ru-latn|zamók}}, 'lock'] and {{lang|ru|за́мок}} [{{Lang|ru-latn|zámok}}, 'castle']), or to indicate the proper pronunciation of uncommon words or names.