“Language Needs No Holidays, Rather Normal Daily Use”

“The other day, the calendar marked the Day of the Ukrainian Language and Literature. Do we have anything to celebrate?”

The Day addressed this question to Prof. Anatoly POHRIBNY, chair of the All-Ukrainian Pedagogic Society named for Hryhory Vashchenko.

“As a board member of the Prosvita [Enlightenment] Society, I was among the persons who were pressing for this holiday be introduced. This being said, I believe that it would be acceptable if there was no special holiday of the Ukrainian language. A language needs no holidays, rather normal daily use. A public holiday is a means of attracting publicity to the humiliating state in which the Ukrainian language has found itself. The current language situation is worse than it was in the early nineties. An orgy of Russification can be seen in virtually all spheres of life. That period and the beginning of the third millennium are two fundamentally and qualitatively different epochs. That period marked a psychological turning point, but it was ruined by our non-Ukrainian government. And now “we have what we have...”

“What are the biggest problems the Ukrainian language faces in the current situation?”

“One could say this is all a matter of individual conscience, but I don’t see it this way. I know only too well that the level of public conscience is something that can be shaped and directed. The key factor is the attitude taken to the language by the powers that be. I wouldn’t like to blame all those pulling the levers of power, because people vary. But right from the top the power is Malorus (little Russian) instead of Ukrainian. The main cause of problems is not the language, but the fact that the government still has not declared that what we are building in Ukraine is a national state of the Ukrainian people (Under Article 1 of the General Principles of the Constitution of Ukraine, “Ukraine is a sovereign and independent, democratic, and social state governed by the rule of law” — Auth.). No clear national guidelines for state formation have been drawnup.”

“Why has the Ukrainian language still not earned prestige in terms of its overwhelming use in big cities as centers of culture?”

“I would phrase this question a bit differently. What is prestigious and what is not?.. For an intelligent and cultivated person it is always prestigious to use the Ukrainian language. It’s a sign of erudition and culture. Regrettably, not everyone understands that. And when it comes to using a language, lack of prestige is a typically philistine reasoning. Generally speaking, this happens because the very guidelines of state formation are not prestigious, as they are not accentuated and lack government backing. This stems from the policy pursued by the state.”

“What methods or measures do you believe could give the Ukrainian language more widespread popular appeal?”

“A language is sacred to such an extent that in a normal country it should enjoy social and comprehensive respect, and admiration...”

“What is meant by social respect? Specifically, there is a Ukrainian language contest named for Petro Jacyk...”

“I am also a member of the board patronizing this contest. It’s not excessive, it’s something we need, but, unfortunately, it will not solve the problem. The language situation is paradoxical. One can win the Jacyk prize for knowing the language and not use it. Something of the kind happened in the nineteenth century. At that time a lot of people knew Latin but hardly ever used it. Without a doubt, one should promote the language, but this alone will not solve the problem. This issue should be addressed at levels above that of the language, namely the powers that be should work toward building a nation state. Until this happens, nothing will go further than enthusiasm and enlightenment. The problem is that the Ukrainian nation is still unformed. It will take great effort to ‘turn bumpkins into a people,’ to quote Ivan Franko.”

“A common nuisance is the glaring illiteracy poured on us from the texts of advertisements that have mushroomed high and low. How should we fight this humiliation?”

“Of course, this is a manifestation of the state in which the Ukrainian language has found itself. I really don’t know. Maybe we should bring in some watchdogs. In a normal state it would be possible to impose fines for distorting the language. Similar systems of penalties are known to have been introduced in Poland and France. And the penalties are quite heavy! Incidentally, the Russians are drafting similar legislation.”

“In your opinion, do the Ukrainian language spelling rules currently in use meet the real needs of language development?”

“I used to sit on the Presidential Language Council and would like to say that the present spelling rules are forcibly acceptable. But changes are necessary. I wish everyone would realize how much the Ukrainian language was warped and crippled in 1930s under Stalin, and then in the Khrushchev era. Russification has affected not only the lexis, but also syntax and morphology. The wrongs done to the language are horrific. A lot of inherently Ukrainian forms have simply disappeared. I understand only too well that not everything can be recovered, but we need to rejuvenate and purify the language. This should be done in a gradual, tactful, and considerate manner. In this work we should look to long-term prospects... On the whole, this problem is not to be solved by a motley throng of people. It is up to the scholars, not anyone else, to have the final word.”