"Palianytsia" (a shibboleth for Ukrainian language)

"Palianytsia" is a Ukrainian bread. The word itself is a shibboleth for the Ukrainian language, meaning that it is used to demarcate those for whom Ukrainian is not a familiar language. This word has been used with captured Russian soldiers who are claiming that they are Ukrainian soldiers. These fighters are asked to pronounce "Palianytsia," and their failure to do so with Ukrainian phonological rules indicates that they are not Ukrainian. The distinction between Ukrainian and Russian pronunciation of the word comes from a different realization of a singular letter, и, which is pronounced as y in Ukrainian and i in Russian. Difficulty also arises with the sound ts, which can be palatalized in Ukrainian but not in Russian. Memes involving this word tend to refer to the inability of Russian speakers to pronounce this word and the use of this word as a group identifier for Ukrainians.