THE THINGS WE DO...: Reading Russian (05/29/05)

THE THINGS WE DO...

by Orysia Paszczak Tracz

Reading Russian

My Russian has really improved. I haven't read it that intensely for quite a while. I studied it at college, and worked in the Slavic collection of a university library for a number of years. But only during the fall of 2004 I get back into it, with my trusted Russian/English dictionary nearby.

Reading all the information about the presidential election in Ukraine, both in print and online, one needed to use Ukrainian, English and - Russian. And what surprised many people, and shouldn't have, is that so much pro-Yushchenko discussion and information was in Russian. One site, zavtra.com.ua, was completely in Russian - the orange ribbon on the top of the masthead indicating its allegiance. The information and discussions on maidan.org.ua were bilingual, either in Ukrainian or Russian, along with an English page. Ukrayinska Pravda, www2.pravda.com.ua, had Russian and English pages, while Pora's site - pora.org.ua - had an English page, but no Russian one.

On the Maidan site especially, in the news, the articles and the forum discussion group, there was very much in the Russian language. I was very surprised at the Ukrainian patriotism expressed in the letters and even poems written in Russian.

I should not have been.

So many people grew up not knowing Ukrainian. Others were "influenced" into thinking that it was a second-class language and did not have the status of Russian. There are still so many people who think it is for the village, but not sophisticated enough for important or refined conversation.

As John Kolasky showed decades ago, Russification in the schools meant that to get into university, you'd better know Russian rather than Ukrainian. That ugly legacy of Russian imperialism permeating Ukraine still lingers.

I hope that people soon realize that Ukrainian really is a legitimate language, and is not substandard, as they were brainwashed to believe.

And to my not-too-objective ear - it is so much more pleasant-sounding than Russian. Last summer in Lviv an American tourist commented to me on some teenagers standing nearby, talking away in Russian. "Why are they speaking Russian, when Ukrainian is so much more beautiful to listen to?!" He didn't know either language, but recognized the difference between them.

Many Ukrainians are bilingual, and many more have been or are becoming multilingual. Along with Ukrainian and Russian, they know a number of the European languages, and almost every young person also knows English. In fact, English is now the lingua franca of communication, with English elementary and high schools the place to be.

My ears and brain short-circuit and I gag at "Russisms" and "Englishisms" in Ukrainian. Of course, languages are enhanced by words from other languages, but when existing Ukrainian words are eliminated for the sake of foreign words - and so very often bizzarely and ungrammatically - it really bothers me. For example, now in Ukraine, instead of saying "tam bulo 20 liudei/osib" (there were 20 people/individuals there), they say "tam bulo 20 cholovik." Not even "cholovikiv," which would be grammatically correct, even if incorrect Ukrainian terminology. "Cholovik" in Ukrainian is man, while in Russian "chelovek" is person. This is a straight translation from Russian, rather than good old Ukrainian.

And the terms from English! Where does one start? I realize the new computer terminology is international, but what about "imidzh" (image); why is it "siurpryz" (surprise - what happened to good old "nespodivanka"), "mitynh" (meeting), "vizyt" (visit), "ofis" (office), "mer" (mayor), "konsensus" (consensus), "komfortabelnyi" (comfortable) and on and on?

This is happening to many languages around the world, and it is a real shame. Not that English is not the lingua franca - this can't be denied - but the other languages should at least remain themselves within themselves.

The previous Russification was forced, but this new English-invasion is people-driven. True, one cannot deny progress, but is the eradication of vocabulary a necessary part of advancement?

And don't even get me started on "H" and "G" and transliterations. The brain just fries.

Now that the Orange Revolution has succeeded, I pray that the Ukrainian language will enjoy a revival in its own. Hey, with the revolution's impact around the world, it will be "in" to be Ukrainian - in Ukrainian!

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