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Abstract: In the article the authors explore the role of language in the formation of cultural identity, using authentic linguistic material both verbal and musical (songs). The main objective of the research is to find an interdisciplinary common ground in the understanding of identity as a phenomenon in ethnolinguistics (simbols of the language of culture), in linguoculturology (language as an instrument of defining Rusyns identity), aesthetics (ontology of the work of art, perception and originality of artifacts created by ethnics). In the article there used the method of semantic reconstruction, analyzed the terminology of the wedding ceremony as an integral part of the Ruthenian spiritual culture. The material for reconstruction is verbal and non-verbal stereotypes and norms of ritual behavior as well as a system of symbols of the Ruthenian ethnos. The analysis of the terminology of the wedding rite of the Ruthenian people shows that the terms associated with ritual actions and ritual participants are motivated by signs of ritual action expressed by a verb; terms related to objective realities are expressed by nouns. The most productive morphological types of word building are affix derivation, collocation and word combination. We consider that cultural identity is the most important value that allows people to experience their lives as integral identities and members of the community but at the same time allows becoming a value for other people and communities. Special attention is paid to language and folk music, the genre classification of musical folklore. It is found that the wedding ceremony of the Ruthenian people of the Carpathian area belongs to the dramatic genres of folklore. The article considers the term “folk song” which contributes to the development of consciousness of the Ruthenian ethnic group. The authors trace the formation of the wedding ceremony and highlight the Rusyns’songs that accompany each stage of the wedding. The idea that the Ruthenian folk song is a reconstruction source of the formation of the Ruthenians’ethnocultural identity is proved. The article clarifies the features of cultural identity, the core of which is the consciousness of one’s own historicity and authenticity. At the linguistic level, it is fixed in the form of distinguishing individuals among a group of people or their inclusion in its membership (personal pronouns, endings of verbs).