Ukrainian is natively spoken by about 24 million people, primarily in Ukraine, where it is the official language, and among Ukrainian communities in Russia, Canada, and the United States. It is integral to Ukrainian cultural identity, known for its literature, traditional embroidery (vyshyvanka), and festivals such as Ivan Kupala Day. Written in the Cyrillic alphabet, Ukrainian grammar features a subject-verb-object (SVO) word order, a system of noun cases, and a complex system of verb conjugations that denote tense, aspect, and mood.