Northern Ukrainian is a transitional dialect to the Belarusian language, which is located to the north.

[1] A defining characteristic of the Northern dialects is archaic vocalism of stressed vowels, or, in the case of letters "о" and "е", the usage of monopthongs when stressed.

The letter "а" also acquires a sound similar to standard Ukrainian "е" when not stressed and preceded by a palatised consonant.

Some more northwestern dialects, located in Podlachia, however, lack this simplified morphology.

Lesya Ukrainka's play The Forest Song is one of the most significant works in the Northern dialects.