Simple speech (Ukrainian:проста мова,romanized: prosta mova;Polish:mowa prosta;Belarusian:простая мова,romanized: prostaja mova), also translated assimple language orsimple talk, is an informal reference to various uncodifiedvernacular forms ofUkrainian andBelarusian in the areas historically influenced byPolish culture.
This term has been commonly used, e.g., as a reply to the question about themother tongue or language spoken at home by theTutejszy in the historical region ofKresy, which covers parts of modernUkraine,Belarus,Lithuania and a bit ofLatvia.[1]
It also refers to the vernacular form of Ukrainian before its codification ("Old Ukrainian" of 16th–18th centuries).[2] In 16th century the chancellery language of theGrand Duchy of Lithuania wasOld Ruthenian ("руска мова", commonly called "simple speech" ("проста мова").[3] According toChristian Stang, it was based on the Ruthenian dialects of the region aroundVilnius.[4]
Also, thePodlachian microlanguage is referred to by locals as "our speech" (Своя мова), "simple speech" (проста мова), or "local speech" (тутейша мова) (cf. "Tutejszy").[5]
The term "simple" refers to the speech of "simple people", as a distinction to the "high style" of official and written language of the time and region:Church Slavonic in the case of Old Ukrainian of 16th–17th centuries[2] and the Grand Duchy of Lithuania,[4] and thePolish language in the case ofKresy.[1]
The versions of "simple speech" differ depending on the region.[1]
Polish linguist Mirosław Jankowiak reported in 2015 that most people in rural areas ofVilnius Region who declare themselves asPoles speak Polish-Belarusian "simple speech". He notes that it is difficult to explain the discrepancy between the declared ethnicity and the specifics of language use: the locals can be either Polonized Belarusians, or Belarusianized Poles, or even Belarusianized Lithuanians who later became Polonized. He also notes a linguistic puzzle on how "simple speech" survived without codification and formal education despite 200 years ofRussification and tens of years ofPolonization.[1]
Jankowiak also notes thatBronisław Taraszkiewicz who was first to codify the Belarusian language (1918, "Taraškievica") hailed fromMačiuliškės of Vilnius region, and it appears that his version of Belarusian was influenced by the "simple speech" native to him.[1]