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Article 30 of the State Language Law, approved on April 25, 2019, will come into effect today. This makes the use of the state language mandatory for all service sectors and includes Internet platforms.
The Supreme Council of Ukraine still voted in favor of the law during the time of former Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko, which had the support of 278 deputies.
Since July 16, 2019, the names of the country’s airports, train stations and bus stops can only be printed in Ukrainian, and administration can only be done in the state language.
However, it is known that Volodymyr Zelenysky in his presidential election campaign foresaw, among other things, a revision of the language law, in comparison, representatives of the pro-Russian opposition force attacked him in front of the body dressed in a tunic, so his request stumbles in one place. It is not possible to discover any political intention on the part of the regulatory power to revise or amend the legislation, wrote the Carpathian True Word.
What will change with the entry into force of the law?
- All forms of business, institution and organization of the owner, entrepreneurs and other business organizations must provide services in Ukrainian, as well as information related to products must be provided in the language of the state, this also applies to online stores,
- Price tags, instructions, technical characteristics, markings, entrances, and menu information must also be in Ukrainian.
- E-commerce organizations registered in Ukraine must ensure that all information required by law is provided in the language of the state.
- Information in the state language related to goods and services may be published in other languages, but in this case the amount of information in Ukrainian cannot be less than the mandatory amount required by the Consumer Protection Law.
- If the customer insists, the service can be in another language if both parties can
- In the information on goods, works or services rendered in the state language, the law allows the use of words, abbreviations, abbreviations and symbols in the letters of the English, Latin and Greek alphabets.
However, the changes affect not only commerce, but also educational services (professional clubs and circles), medical care and social services.
The law was also scrutinized by the Venice Commission, who said it was extremely important to strike the right balance in its language policy, as this was the only way to prevent the language issue from becoming a source of tension between the groups. ethnic living in Ukraine. They also recognized that language policy is an extremely complex, delicate and politicized issue in Ukraine, especially with regard to the conflict with Russia.
Given the previous crackdown on the Ukrainian language, the Venice Commission understands the need to promote the use of the Ukrainian state language, writes Transcarpathia.ma. Earlier, Ildikó Orosz, president of the Association of Hungarian Teachers in Transcarpathia, emphasized to the newspaper about the law:
The Ministry of Education of Ukraine believes that the mother tongue of minorities is a foreign language and therefore does not foresee a different number of hours. Or maybe you don’t want your children to learn a third foreign language, which would be natural in the 21st century.
Csilla Fedinec, principal investigator at the Center for Social Sciences Research (TK), told the Hungarian nation about the law that
This law made the use of the state language in public administration, public life, culture and sport exclusive, with the exception of private conversations and religious ceremonies, and placed quotas on the use of minority languages in the media of communication and education.
He also emphasized that since the Education Law passed in 2017 was in conflict with Ukraine’s previous language law (which has since been repealed), a new state language law was needed. According to the 2012 Language Law, when the proportion of native speakers of a certain minority language reaches or exceeds ten percent, the minority language can be used as an official language in addition to the state language in the territory of administrative units.
Under the regulation, they can only be fined for violating the rule from July 16, 2022, but until then they cannot be fined even if they do not want or cannot serve a Ukrainian-speaking customer in Ukrainian.
The law, which is now coming into force, consists of several parts, which will come into force gradually. Certain provisions are in effect as of July 16, 2019, but there are also articles that will go into effect in 2030.
István Csernicskó, Professor of Linguistics, II. The rector of the Hungarian College of Transcarpathia Ferenc Rákóczi told Transcarpathia.
It is clear that the state is not choosing to create the conditions to support the state language through dialogue with its citizens, but to force us to speak Ukrainian with force and violence at all times, everywhere and in all circumstances.
He also recalled that Ukraine had committed to allowing or encouraging the use of minority languages in local government meetings when it joined the Council of Europe. He added:
So don’t overdo it. Just because it must be in Ukrainian does not mean that it is not allowed in another language.
(Cover image: Dnepropetrovsk bus station, Ukraine in 2014. Photo: Brendan Hoffman / Getty Images)
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