The limits of my language mean the limits of my world. (Die Grenzen meiner Sprache bedeuten die Grenzen meiner Welt.)
Ukrainian is closely related to neighbouring Slavic languages, including Russian, and the resulting similarities between dialects either side of national boundaries makes counting speakers difficult. There are roughly 41 million speakers, in at least 26 territories.
As well as in Ukraine, there are large numbers of speakers in the nearby territories of Russia, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Hungary and Belarus. Ukrainian speaking communities are also present in Canada and the United States, a result of migration there in the late 19th century to work in the construction and mining industries.
