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Belarusian

vr.tr.belarusian · thing-q9091

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.

Thing Registry Information and virtual systems INF.MED
Bundle → Layer → Finding → QuestionsClassifiersWhat it isWhy it existsDistinguishing featuresWhat robots and AI may and may not doMoral aspectsOwnersLinks to other meta-modelsIdentity and identifiersDirect propertiesRecognitionCapabilities and actionsHazards and failure modesStandards and interfacesContext of useSources

Bundle → Layer → Finding → Questions Filled

4 bundles · 8 layers · 8 findings · 16 questions

Understand What Belarusian is.

Definition

Definition and classification.

Definition

Definition.

  1. What is Belarusian, and how does it differ from Russian, Ukrainian and Polish, as linguists describe? definition
  2. Is the question about the language, a dialect, a community or policy? boundary

Dialects

Dialects.

Dialects

Dialects.

  1. What are the Central, Northeastern and Southwestern dialect groups, and what is Trasianka? definition
  2. Which entry fits the specific dialect? action
Learn Grammar and orthography.

Grammar

Grammar.

Grammar

Grammar.

  1. What are the main features of Belarusian phonology, grammar and vocabulary? provenance
  2. Which references are standard? provenance

Orthography

Orthographies.

Orthography

Orthography.

  1. How do Taraskievica and Narkamauka differ, and what is the Belarusian Latin alphabet? provenance
  2. Which sources are cited? provenance
History History.

Development

Development.

Development

Development.

  1. How did Belarusian develop from Old East Slavic and Ruthenian to the modern standard? provenance
  2. Which entry fits Ruthenian language? action

Policy

Language policy.

Policy

Policy.

  1. How have Soviet, post-1991 and current policies affected Belarusian, with positions attributed? provenance
  2. Is the presentation neutral? boundary
Context Communities and culture.

Communities

Communities abroad.

Communities

Communities.

  1. How is Belarusian used in Poland, Ukraine, Lithuania and the diaspora? provenance
  2. Which entry fits Belarusians in Poland? action

Literature

Literature.

Literature

Literature.

  1. What are the major works of Belarusian literature? provenance
  2. Which entry fits Belarusian literature? action

Classifiers Filled

Family
Thing Registry
Category
Information and virtual systems
Entry kind
thing
Plane
INF
Domain
INF.MED
Other names and narrower kinds
Belarusian language in Belarus, Belarusian language in Ukraine, Belarusian language in Poland, Belarusian dialect, Central Belarusan, Southwest Belarusan, Northeast Belarusan

What it is Filled

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.

Why it exists Filled

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.

Distinguishing features Filled

  • East Slavic
  • Two orthographies
  • Co-official with Russian
  • Declining daily use

What robots and AI may and may not do Filled

Must not

  • 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.

Only with a human decision

  • Publishing translations of personal or politically sensitive texts.

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.

Moral aspects Filled

  • Use of Belarusian is tied to national identity and has been politically pressured.
  • Speakers can face risk when language marks opposition.

Who is affected

  • Belarusian speakers
  • Writers and teachers
  • Diaspora communities

Owners Filled

Steward

Nobody owns it; it belongs to its speakers, with language institutes keeping the norms.

Links to other meta-models Filled

parent

  • Q144713 - registry parent class

related

  • East Slavic - in registry terms
  • Belarus - with Russian
  • Russian language - the other official language
  • Cyrillic script - with a historical Latin alphabet

What else AI and robots need to interact with it Filled

Identity and identifiers required Filled

  • 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

Direct properties not applicable Not applicable

  • 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

Plane INF: no invented physical properties.

Recognition optional Filled

  • 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 and actions required Filled

  • explain dialects and features
  • relay history and orthographies
  • describe status and communities
  • distinguish related languages

Hazards and failure modes required Filled

  • Partisan framing of language policy
  • Confusing Belarusian with Russian or Ukrainian
  • Treating one orthography as the only standard

Standards and interfaces required Filled

  • Belarusian law on languages
  • Minority language protection in Poland and Ukraine
  • ISO 639 codes

Context of use required Filled

  • 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 Filled

  1. Wikidata item Q9091: Belarusian - identity and sense of the item
  2. Wikipedia: Belarusian language - general description of the item

Open questions

  • 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?

Machine files

Card as JSON Specification Card backlog vercy.card/1

Provenance

thing registry research (pass 2) · unreviewed

Built from: models/things/publications/thing-q9091/spec.json