We talk about languages today. It is a rather contradictory issue. I assume the russian slogan to save the russian-speakers in Ukraine was just propaganda tricks. Their true goal is to destroy Ukraine, to enslave all the inhabitants. If today we quarrel over language, it will only play into the hands of our enemy.
Sofa, Lviv:
I wanted to stay in my city as much as possible. But my family persuaded me to leave my city. Now I’m going to Berlin. It was a tough decision
I think that Ukraine is not only a place, but also people, so I understand people who save their lives to go back and make this country a better place.
Yesterday I was in Odessa and today in Lviv, I am pleased to see people who help each other. But I felt so peaceful in these cities, I hope war and destruction will not affect these places. I know for sure that the enemy will not be able to enter Odessa for a long time, while Nikolaev stands and protects this pearl by the sea.
I met one family from Chernigiv, they say that their city is almost destroyed, and they had to go to Lviv in a cargo truck.
Alina, Ukraine:
I’m writing about a thing which concerns me. I want to hear your opinion about it. Now I am in the West Ukraine. There are very friendly people who really help my family, and we thank them! But the longer I stay here, the more I see the mentality of these people. And some views of life are really weird for me. At first, people see problem only in Russian language. All people with which I met, they told me that putin attacked Ukraine because of Russian-speaking people. And in the moment of their speech about it, I see a big anger in their eyes. Next, they said our people at fault here: “if there was no one to save, no one would touch us”. They think that russian really meant to save russian-speaking people, what about Kharkiv.
Yes, I agree that we have “a big problem of language” in our country. But mass bullying won’t solve it. All my life I spoke in Russian. But at the 14 I made a conscious decision to start speaking only my native language. My family still speaking in Russian. They try to speak Ukrainian at times. But it is hard for them. And despite the fact that I can say that my family are patriots.
Russian language is only a moment of Russification, which thrives to this day. A lot of adult people even didn’t have a possibility to learn Ukrainian at school. Propaganda always promote that “Russian language gives opportunities”, while “Ukrainian is the language of village” Nonsense? Of course.
And it is a very painful for me to hear how Ukrainians hate Ukrainians.
We need to share love, we need to show that language is important but democratic, we need to give time for people to adapt to the situation and make their own conscious decision. And I am sure that our language after war will be reborn!
What about putin? I think that he wouldn’t need a reason. He just wants to execute a crazy plan from his sick head.
I just wish that our country is not broken because of it. Now we need to support and understanding more than ever.
Marharyta, Ukraine:
I believe that it’s EXTREMELY important which language a person speaks. As we are Ukrainians, and our national language is Ukrainian, thus we must know it and use it in everyday life. There should be no exceptions.
Language is a very, very powerful weapon, moreover, nowadays. And also I think that we should stop learning Russian literature in schools and universities…
Julia, Kyiv:
Recently I’ve read an interesting opinion on language question. We have russian-speaking Ukrainians, but we don’t have Ukrainian-speaking russians and that is definitely saying something. I guess we shouldn’t be really tough to our people who speak russian, I know how hard it is to switch. But we should encourage these people as much as we can. We should speak with them about this, we should write more posts about repressions against Ukrainian language and the history of our language. Hopefully, that will make people think.
Language it is something that keeps a nation alive, so we must keep fighting for it.
In addition, I agree that russian culture can follow the russian ship. We will lose absolutely nothing by denying russian language and culture. Ukraine has so many talented people and such a rich history that we can substitute and cover everything that russia imposed on us.
I’ve been doing a research last year on bilingualism in Latvia and that country is an amazing example. We actually started to move in that direction (by providing exams on Ukrainian language for officials, for example), but their language politics are much stricter than ours, and we should also go for it.
Yara, Ukraine:
I agree with you! Just a few weeks before the full-scale war has started, I and some friends of mine had a conversation on how by saying that russian speaking Ukrainians are not fully entitled to Ukrainian identity, we repeat the russian propaganda. And that is very harmful.
By saying that, I don’t mean that the language we speak is not significant – the language we speak, of course, matters. But I also think that we should stop unconsciously following the narrative of russian propaganda.
Instead, we should acknowledge that we have a lot of work to do in decolonizing and desovietizing our country. By doing so, we also have to entirely accept that the russian language in Ukraine is the result of violent policies. We must create even more policies that support Ukrainian language and through time eliminate russian language in Ukraine.
And when in comes to russian culture, we have to acknowledge that the russian culture is just as harmful as the russian troops that have invaded Ukraine. I strongly recommend reading this article on how russian culture has influenced the creation of today’s russia.
It’s also worth watching the language policies that were created in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. I think, we can learn a lot from their experience, as well.
Marina, Ukraine:
I do like Georgia’s experience of getting rid of russian language. All of their TV programs are in Georgian language. All books. Their celebrities speak only in Georgian. They got it all right after soviet union stopped it’s existing. There were no sources of learning russian and most people born after 1991 don’t know it. We lost that chance back in the past. But probably can try to use it now. For next generations of Ukrainians.
Li, France:
Before the war, my family and I spoke russian. But I think we have to go to our native language right now, which is really important now.
Today I was in the prefecture, dealing with documents (I am in France). Of the 5 families (about 15-20 people), none of them spoke Ukrainian. I was very sad. These people are fleeing the war, from the russian occupiers, in whom one of the “reason” of the war is to “protect the russian-speaking population.” But even after that, the russian language remains “more native and convenient” for them. I am sad and ashamed.
I understand that it is difficult for people who have spoken russian all their lives to switch to Ukrainian, and I know that many of them justify this by saying that they have lived all their lives surrounded by russian language. But this way we will never eradicate the russian language from our country.
In countries like Georgia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, and even in the Baltics, the older generation also remembers russian, and in the Baltics I have heard people speak it to each other several times. But people don’t use it, especially since it has long been eradicated for younger generations. People of our age in these countries no longer know russian, and it’s not understood and not used in the service sector (people often respond in russian in the field of service, even if you speak to them in Ukrainian, in fact they’re violating the law on language)
Unfortunately, there are more friends around me who haven’t switched to Ukrainian. The explanation from them is simple: I can’t speak well, it doesn’t suit me to speak Ukrainian and so on…
Natalia, Kyiv:
I have always thought and told that language is our weapon, it is our way of being, and surviving. As more languages we know, as easier we can adjust any situation in our life. If we speak Ukrainian, we love and appreciate our homeland. If we speak English and everyone knows English as global language, people almost all around the world will understand us. If we know russian we understand the language of our enemies, and it really our weapon, it is information and as we know that whoever owns information owns the world.
Thanks to the languages we survive as species, we have not got claws and fangs, or ability to run 100 km in an hour, we have language to communicate and share info about danger. Today russian language became dangerous for us, and even not today it had happened long ago. It looks like a plot for a dystopia film. Unfortunately, our life is not a movie which we watch and can stop any time, life of million people endangers, and the reason for this damn danger is the language. OMG
