Surzhyk ( - a macaronic language, ) refers to a range of mixed (macaronic) sociolects of Ukrainian and Russian languages used in certain regions of Ukraine and adjacent lands. There is no unifying set of characteristics; the term is used for "norm-breaking, non-obedience to or non-awareness of the rules of the Ukrainian and Russian standard languages". It originates from the transition from one language to the other through "false friends": words that sound similar in both languages, but carry different meanings.