{"schema":"https://ver.cy/schemas/card/1.0.0","id":"vr.tr.belarusian","code":"thing-q9091","url":"https://ver.cy/models/thing/q9091/","name":"Belarusian","alternateNames":["Belarusian language in Belarus","Belarusian language in Ukraine","Belarusian language in Poland","Belarusian dialect","Central Belarusan","Southwest Belarusan","Northeast Belarusan"],"kind":"thing","status":"published","version":"0.2.0-wave.4","language":"en","classifiers":{"family":"Thing Registry","category":"Information and virtual systems","entryKind":"thing","plane":"INF","domain":["INF.MED"],"industry":[],"navPath":"","tags":[],"facets":{}},"whatItIs":"An East Slavic language, one of the two official languages of Belarus alongside Russian, with communities in Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania and Russia, standardised in the early 20th century with the Taraskievica and later Narkamauka orthographies, and comprising dialect groups such as Central, Northeastern and Southwestern Belarusian; its use in Belarus has declined relative to Russian, a topic of language policy debate that the model reports with attribution.","purpose":"Let an agent explain the Belarusian language and its dialects, relay history, orthographies and status from linguistic sources with attribution, describe communities in Belarus, Poland and Ukraine, and distinguish Belarusian from Russian, Ukrainian and Polish, presenting language policy debates neutrally.","scope":{"in":[],"out":[],"boundaries":[]},"distinguishingFeatures":["East Slavic","Two orthographies","Co-official with Russian","Declining daily use"],"structure":{"bundles":[{"id":"understand","name":"Understand","description":"What Belarusian is.","layers":[{"id":"definition","name":"Definition","description":"Definition and classification.","findings":[{"id":"definition-finding","name":"Definition","description":"Definition.","questions":[{"text":"What is Belarusian, and how does it differ from Russian, Ukrainian and Polish, as linguists describe?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Is the question about the language, a dialect, a community or policy?","kind":"boundary"}]}]},{"id":"dialects","name":"Dialects","description":"Dialects.","findings":[{"id":"dialects-finding","name":"Dialects","description":"Dialects.","questions":[{"text":"What are the Central, Northeastern and Southwestern dialect groups, and what is Trasianka?","kind":"definition"},{"text":"Which entry fits the specific dialect?","kind":"action"}]}]}]},{"id":"learn","name":"Learn","description":"Grammar and orthography.","layers":[{"id":"grammar","name":"Grammar","description":"Grammar.","findings":[{"id":"grammar-finding","name":"Grammar","description":"Grammar.","questions":[{"text":"What are the main features of Belarusian phonology, grammar and vocabulary?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which references are standard?","kind":"provenance"}]}]},{"id":"orthography","name":"Orthography","description":"Orthographies.","findings":[{"id":"orthography-finding","name":"Orthography","description":"Orthography.","questions":[{"text":"How do Taraskievica and Narkamauka differ, and what is the Belarusian Latin alphabet?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which sources are cited?","kind":"provenance"}]}]}]},{"id":"history","name":"History","description":"History.","layers":[{"id":"development","name":"Development","description":"Development.","findings":[{"id":"development-finding","name":"Development","description":"Development.","questions":[{"text":"How did Belarusian develop from Old East Slavic and Ruthenian to the modern standard?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits Ruthenian language?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"policy","name":"Policy","description":"Language policy.","findings":[{"id":"policy-finding","name":"Policy","description":"Policy.","questions":[{"text":"How have Soviet, post-1991 and current policies affected Belarusian, with positions attributed?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Is the presentation neutral?","kind":"boundary"}]}]}]},{"id":"context","name":"Context","description":"Communities and culture.","layers":[{"id":"communities","name":"Communities","description":"Communities abroad.","findings":[{"id":"communities-finding","name":"Communities","description":"Communities.","questions":[{"text":"How is Belarusian used in Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania and the diaspora?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits Belarusians in Poland?","kind":"action"}]}]},{"id":"literature","name":"Literature","description":"Literature.","findings":[{"id":"literature-finding","name":"Literature","description":"Literature.","questions":[{"text":"What are the major works of Belarusian literature?","kind":"provenance"},{"text":"Which entry fits Belarusian literature?","kind":"action"}]}]}]}]},"agentConduct":{"may":["Translate and transliterate Belarusian, naming the spelling norm used.","Explain the Taraskievica and Narkamauka norms and the language's history.","Distinguish Belarusian from Russian, Ukrainian and Polish."],"mustNot":["Describe Belarusian as a dialect of Russian.","Expose people who use the language in contexts where it marks political dissent.","Take a side in political disputes over the spelling norms when presenting them.","Present speaker numbers without source and date."],"requiresHuman":["Publishing translations of personal or politically sensitive texts."]},"ethics":{"considerations":["Use of Belarusian is tied to national identity and has been politically pressured.","Speakers can face risk when language marks opposition."],"affectedParties":["Belarusian speakers","Writers and teachers","Diaspora communities"]},"owners":{"steward":"Nobody owns it; it belongs to its speakers, with language institutes keeping the norms.","roles":[],"masterSystems":[]},"relations":[{"target":"Q144713","type":"parent","note":"registry parent class"},{"target":"East Slavic","type":"related","note":"in registry terms"},{"target":"Belarus","type":"related","note":"with Russian"},{"target":"Russian language","type":"related","note":"the other official language"},{"target":"Cyrillic script","type":"related","note":"with a historical Latin alphabet"}],"interaction":{"identity":{"applicability":"required","items":["Vercy registry: vr.tr.belarusian","Wikidata: Q9091 (https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q9091)","ISO 639-1: be Belarusian","ISO 639-3: bel Belarusian","Glottolog: bela1254 Belarusian"]},"properties":{"applicability":"not-applicable","items":["speakers: about 5-7 million - estimates","official status: Belarus, since 1990; co-official with Russian since 1995 note","orthographies: Taraskievica 1918, Narkamauka 1933 list","home use in Belarus: about 26 percent - 2019 census"]},"recognition":{"applicability":"optional","items":["East Slavic language of Belarus","Central, Northeastern and Southwestern dialects; Belarusian in Belarus, Poland and Ukraine","Russian and Ukrainian are sister languages; Polish is West Slavic; Trasianka is a mixed speech","Not a visible object; speech and text in Cyrillic, historically also Latin script."]},"capabilities":{"applicability":"required","items":["explain dialects and features","relay history and orthographies","describe status and communities","distinguish related languages"]},"hazards":{"applicability":"required","items":["Partisan framing of language policy","Confusing Belarusian with Russian or Ukrainian","Treating one orthography as the only standard"]},"interfaces":{"applicability":"required","items":["Belarusian law on languages","Minority language protection in Poland and Ukraine","ISO 639 codes"]},"context":{"applicability":"required","items":["Not applicable; a language.","standard Belarusian in Narkamauka and Taraskievica","Central Belarusian dialects","Northeastern Belarusian dialects","Southwestern Belarusian dialects","Belarusian in Poland and Ukraine","Trasianka mixed speech"]}},"sources":[{"title":"Wikidata item Q9091: Belarusian","url":"https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q9091","note":"identity and sense of the item"},{"title":"Wikipedia: Belarusian language","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Belarusian_language","note":"general description of the item"}],"openQuestions":["Should Taraskievica and the dialect groups be separate primary entries?","How should linguistic sources be linked?","The registry entry has merged aliases naming countries and dialects; should they be split off?"],"resources":{"spec":"/models/things/publications/thing-q9091/spec.json"},"provenance":{"origin":"thing registry research (pass 2)","builtFrom":["models/things/publications/thing-q9091/spec.json"],"providers":["Claude"],"researchStatus":"unreviewed","generatedAt":"2026-09-13T13:18:58Z","builder":"tools/build_cards.py@1.0.0"},"completeness":{"sections":{"classifiers":"filled","whatItIs":"filled","purpose":"filled","distinguishingFeatures":"filled","structure":"filled","agentConduct":"filled","ethics":"filled","owners":"filled","relations":"filled","interaction.identity":"filled","interaction.properties":"not-applicable","interaction.recognition":"filled","interaction.capabilities":"filled","interaction.hazards":"filled","interaction.interfaces":"filled","interaction.context":"filled","sources":"filled"},"notes":{"_gate":"Published through the thing publication gate 1.0 on 2026-10-07T10:10:33+00:00: completeness 1.00; sense: Wikidata description; 2 live sources; review by codex: pass","interaction.properties":"Plane INF: no invented physical properties."},"score":1.0}}