NY Times - "The Retreat of the Tongue of the Czars"

[Alina Israeli]

Quote:
The books are classics — by Oscar Wilde, Victor Hugo, Mark Twain, and  
Shakespeare — that have been translated into Ukrainian, in editions  
aimed at teenagers. A Harry Potter who casts spells in Ukrainian also  
inhabits the shelves.
Two decades ago, there would have been little if any demand for such  
works, given that most people in this region are ethnic Russians. But  
the Ukrainian government is increasingly requiring that the Ukrainian  
language be used in all facets of society, especially schools, as it  
seeks to ensure that the next generation is oriented toward Kiev, not  
Moscow.

Children can even read Pushkin, Russia’s most revered author, in  
translation. (This tends to bother Russians in the way that “The Star- 
Spangled Banner” sung in Spanish can touch off cross-cultural  
crankiness in the United States.)



They can, but do they? They can even read Gogol in Ukrainian  
translation.

A recent (July 2009) anecdote from Nemtsov:

НЕМЦОВ: Так вот я должен сказать, что я хотел ее [свою книгу]  
перевести на украинский, но мне книгоиздатели украинские сказали –  
Боря, не парься, 85% книг, продаваемых в нашей стране – русские  
книги. Интернет украинский на 85% русский. Знаете, когда насилием  
начинают выбивать, то у людей дух противоречия возникает. (http:// 
www.echo.msk.ru/programs/opponent/612946-echo/)

I can attest it with my own anecdote: a few (probably three) years  
ago I had a heritage speaker student in my upper language class, one  
of the best, he was from Ukraine. I assumed he had studied Russian at  
school and was taking my course (500, so he would be allowed even  
after a Russian high school) for an easy A. Only after the semester  
ended he told me than he never even spoke Russian until he came to  
America. I was flabbergasted. He explained that he read all the  
classics — Dumas, Dickens etc. in Russian.

Alina


On Sep 13, 2009, at 1:42 PM, Max Pyziur wrote:

> The Retreat of the Tongue of the Czars
> http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/13/weekinreview/13levy.html
>
>
> Russia's shrinking linguistic empire
> http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2009/09/12/weekinreview/ 
> 13levy_graphic.html
>
> fyi,
>
> MP
> pyz at brama.com
>
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Alina Israeli
Associate Professor of Russian
LFS, American University
4400 Massachusetts Ave.
Washington DC 20016
(202) 885-2387 	fax (202) 885-1076
aisrael at american.edu





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