LETTERS TO THE EDITOR (08/23/98)

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Changing names not part of solution

Dear Editor:

The letters from Andrij D. Solczanyk (March 13), Oksana Pisetska Struk (April 19), S. Zmyrkevych (May 24) and Andrij Homjatkevyc (August 9) on Ukrainian transliteration and transcription are all very topical, engaging and informative.

I, too, find it difficult to comprehend why in Ukraine today they still go through Russian when transliterating and transcribing. It is no secret in the international linguistic community that the Russian language has a major phonetic flaw when compared to Ukrainian and when applied within the European family of languages: the Russians don't have the "H" sound. As the result, we witness phonetic perversions in Russian foreign language studies and the creation of such names as Gollywood, Khelsinki and thousands of other Russified nearwords.

And even though the Ukrainian language does not have these problems, in Ukraine, nonetheless, when transliterations are done from English into Ukrainian, they pretend they have no "G" (Vice-President Al Hore!) or that they have no "H," when they shift from Ukrainian to English (gryvnia).

I am hopeful, however, that as Ukraine matures as a sovereign, independent nation, all this will change. Ukrainians in Ukraine will finally recognize and acknowledge the uniqueness of their own language, will do their own transliteration and transcription, and will stop plugging into Moscow's linguistic interference and jamming.

In North America, however, to change from Polish or German and use English as the basis for transliterating and transcribing Ukrainian names, as has been suggested, involves different rules and a different reality. We note, for example, that our newspapers often give the phonetic listing after the printed name because that name may have more than one pronunciation. Houston in Texas has a different pronunciation than the busy crosstown street in New York City with the same spelling. Also, the reality is that for generations many families have retained their non-English names, yet have accepted and welcomed their new American pronunciations (former New York City Mayor Ed Koch). And we should also keep in mind that Americans do not seem to have any difficulty with the correct pronunciations of such non-English names as Johann Sebastian Bach, Carl Jung, Edgar Degas, even Czecho-Slovakia and many, many others.

So, unless English is revised and becomes a more phonetic language, to start changing Ukrainian names in North America at this time may not necessarily be part of the solution.

As always, I am grateful that The Ukrainian Weekly provides a forum for discussion and an opportunity to express ideas.

Michael Pylypczuk
New York

The writer is vice-president of the Ukrainian World Association of Professional Educators.

It's OK to criticize, but not to overreact

Dear Editor:

In a free society it is O.K. to criticize President Bill Clinton, President Leonid Kuchma, the pope, the patriarch, Myron Kuropas and, yes, even Harvard! There are no sacred cows. Criticizing is not the same as condemning. It is often an expression of a frustrating disappointment and an encouragement toward improvement.

Certainly our community supports Ukrainian studies at Harvard, but the people at Harvard should not feel that they are above citicism. We well remember that they were (kicking and screaming all the way) one of the last institutions in America to drop the article "the" in front of Ukraine. They finally did this because of the reality of an independent Ukraine recognized by the entire world. Prior to this, they called the critics of the "the" controversy "anti-intellects" and "activists."

There has been a long history of discontent between the Harvard elite and the "grunts" in terms of expectations and disappointments, for example, Harvard's unwillingness to aid the Demjanjuk defense team was beyond disgraceful. It sent a very negative and demoralizing signal to the community.

In the opinion of many community grunts, including myself, Harvard exploited strong community sentiments about the anniversaries of the 1933 Famine and the Millennium of Christianity in Rus'-Ukraine to gather money. One of HURI's earliest books, the untranslated and poorly photocopied "An Early Slavonic Psalter from Rus'" by Moshe Altbauer and Horace Lunt was published at a time when the grunts expected something more. The spin doctors quickly reassured the faithful that there were things going on behind the scenes that were just too complex for us to understand, and the message was to be patient and keep giving.

One can hardly blame Dr. Kuropas for letting his patience wear thin. Was his criticism "fair"? Probably not. What is "fair" anyway? Was it a "disservice to the community"? No way, Harvard is not our sacred cow. When you pay, you have a right to criticize.

Every Ukrainian should love and be proud of the Ukrainian presence at Harvard. By the same token, the Harvard elite should not act (overreact) to every criticism.

Jaroslaw Sawka
Sterling Heights, Mich.

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