No subject

[Nadia Michoustina]

I am both alarmed and upset by the joking and dismissive tone of the
discussion regarding the Kiev/Kyiv question. Certainly, it is not
only the question of transliteration. I'd expect that Slavists
should demonstrate awareness of issues of post-Soviet national
identity and sensitivity to matters of language.

Incidentally, the United Nations has been using Kyiv in its
communiqués since 1990s when the Ukrainian government revised some
official English spellings to better match its country's language. 
    The media stuck with Kiev, perhaps because it is better known,
perhaps because they don't want foreign governments dictating
English spelling, or maybe because they're worried that Kyiv looks
like a typo. But all Ukrainians I know welcome the change because
it better reflects their perception of Ukraine (not "the Ukraine"
by the way) as an independent nation. (In a similar spirit
Leningrad was renamed to St. Petersburg)



-- 
Nadia Michoustina
Doctoral Candidate
Department of Slavic Languages
Columbia University
708 Hamilton Hall
1330 Amsterdam Avenue
MC 2839
New York, NY 10027

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