RusynsRusyns (Русины), also known as Carpatho-Rusyns (Карпаторусины or Карпатьскы Русины), or Rusnaks (Руснакы or Руснаци), are an East Slavic ethnic group from the Eastern Carpathians in Central Europe. They speak Rusyn, an East Slavic language variety, treated variously as either a distinct language or a dialect of the Ukrainian language. As traditional adherents of Eastern Christianity, the majority of Rusyns are Eastern Catholics, though a minority of Rusyns still practice Eastern Orthodoxy.
BačkaBačka (Бачка, bâːtʃkaː) or Bácska (ˈbaːtʃkɒ) is a geographical and historical area within the Pannonian Plain bordered by the river Danube to the west and south, and by the river Tisza to the east. It is divided between Serbia and Hungary. Most of the area is located within the Vojvodina region in Serbia and Novi Sad, the capital of Vojvodina, lies on the border between Bačka and Syrmia. The smaller northern part of the geographical area is located within Bács-Kiskun County in Hungary.
SyrmiaSyrmia (Ekavian Срем or Ijekavian Сријем) is a region of the southern Pannonian Plain, which lies between the Danube and Sava rivers. It is divided between Serbia and Croatia. Most of the region is flat, with the exception of the low Fruška gora mountain stretching along the Danube in its northern part. The word "Syrmia" is derived from the ancient city of Sirmium (now Sremska Mitrovica). Sirmium was a Celtic or Illyrian town founded in the third century BC. Srem (Срем) and Srijem are used to designate the region in Serbia and Croatia respectively.
VojvodinaVojvodina (, ), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia, located in Central Europe. It lies within the Pannonian Basin, bordered to the south by the national capital Belgrade and the Sava and Danube Rivers. The administrative center, Novi Sad, is the second-largest city in Serbia. The historic regions of Banat, Bačka, and Syrmia overlap the province. Modern Vojvodina is multi-ethnic and multi-cultural, with some 26 ethnic groups and six official languages.
Rusyn languageRusyn (ˈruːsᵻn; русиньскый язык; руски язик) is an East Slavic language spoken by Rusyns in parts of Central and Eastern Europe, and written in the Cyrillic script. Within the community, the language is also referred to by the older folk term, rusnac'kyj jazyk, or simply referred to as speaking our way (по-нашому). The majority of speakers live in an area known as Carpathian Ruthenia that spans from Transcarpathia, westward into eastern Slovakia and south-east Poland.
MultilingualismMultilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population. More than half of all Europeans claim to speak at least one language other than their mother tongue; but many read and write in one language. Multilingualism is advantageous for people wanting to participate in trade, globalization and cultural openness.
Endonym and exonymAn endonym (also known as autonym) is a common, native name for a group of people, individual person, geographical place, language or dialect, meaning that it is used inside a particular group or linguistic community to identify or designate themselves, their homeland, or their language. An exonym (also known as xenonym) is an established, non-native name for a group of people, individual person, geographical place, language or dialect, meaning that it is used only outside the particular place inhabited by the group or linguistic community.
