Langenesis

Indo-European family

Belarusian

c. 1700 CE – today Living

Belarusian (c. 1700 CE – today) is a living Indo-European language. Lineage: Proto-Indo-European → Proto-Slavic → Old East Slavic → Ruthenian → Belarusian.

See Belarusian on the interactive map
Speakers
5M (5,000,000)
ISO 639-3
bel
Glottocode
bela1254

Speaker figure reflects census self-identification; everyday use is much lower due to Russian dominance.

Lineage

  1. Proto-Indo-Europeanc. 4,500 BCE – 2,500 BCE
  2. Proto-Slavicc. 200 BCE – 600 CE
  3. Old East Slavic600 CE – 1500 CE
  4. Ruthenianc. 1300 CE – 1700 CE
  5. Belarusianc. 1700 CE – today

Sister languages 2

Also descended from Ruthenian.

Sources