Andrii Smytsniuk1; 1 Slavonic Studies, MMLL, University of Cambridge, UK
Discussion
This proposed presentation seeks to examine the ambiguity of the decolonisation of the Ukrainian orthography and explore the political forces associated with this process. The main focus of this research will be the new orthography rules established in 2019 and the controversy surrounding them. This historical change was a partial attempt to return to the first official set of spelling rules commonly known as skrypnykivka that was accepted by both Western Ukraine and Eastern Ukraine in 1928. The decision to return to the spelling as it was almost 100-year-old spelling rules was challenged in the court and still sparks debate on the questions of the ownership of a language, as well as its effect on identity development. The presentation will attempt to answer the following questions: What motivated such a decision? How do politics affect the spelling in contemporary Ukraine? Who, if anyone, has the authority to decide what the spelling should be?
