Defining Terms – Sotakia

Sotakia is an ethnographical area that includes the city of Humenné and its surrounding villages in Eastern Slovakia. Those who come from this area are an intermixed group of people between Slovaks and Rusyns called Sotaks. Some go by this name, but most prefer to be identified as Rusyn or Slovak. Usually the way one can tell their ethnic allegiance is through what church they follow. For the most part Roman Catholics identify as Slovaks, while Greek Catholics and Orthodox followers identify as Rusyns. The dialect of this group is structurally Slovak with a great amount of Rusyn influence in vocabulary.