'Kyiv' and 'Kiev'

[Paul B. Gallagher]

J. Woodsworth wrote:

> Ottawa (Canada), Friday 17/12/04 15h30 EST
>
> Dear SEELANGERS,
>
> Some of you may be interested in an article in today's Christian Science
> Monitor about the spelling of the name of the Ukrainian capital in the
> Western press -- the pros and cons of choosing one variant over the
> other.  Written partially in response to Ukrainian-Canadians, it is a
> serious article, once you get past the kitschy headline.
>
> http://www.csmonitor.com/2004/1217/p18s04-hfes.html?s=hns

I can't agree that it's a "serious" article. Here's the letter I sent to
the editor:

[begin quote]

Ruth Walker's article on the correct spelling of Kyiv/Kiev is an
interesting if somewhat uninformed piece whose chief purpose seems to be
to justify the status quo. She fails to mention, for example, that the
sound of the vowel in the first syllable (written with the same letter
in both Russian and Ukrainian) is quite different in the two languages
(compare French "u" in "truc" vs. English "u" in "truck" or "truce").
Different languages assign different sounds to similar-looking letters,
and the transliteration reflects this fact.

But more importantly, she completely ignores the most obvious parallel:
the example of Peking/Beijing. When the Chinese demanded that we adopt
the Pinyin spelling "Beijing," a much better rendition of the
contemporary pronunciation than the antiquated Wade-Giles "Peking," the
world didn't come to an end, and we didn't lose touch with the fact that
it is the capital of China. We got used to it, and now "Peking" looks
peculiar.

Choosing "Kiev" is not simply a matter of tradition. It's also a
political statement that Ukraine is still a province of Russia and has
no right to its own language or culture. If Ms. Walker is so concerned
with telling the Ukrainians' story, she should learn it first.

[end quote]

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--
War doesn't determine who's right, just who's left.
--
Paul B. Gallagher
pbg translations, inc.
"Russian Translations That Read Like Originals"
http://pbg-translations.com

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