The failure of Ukrainization forced the National Commission to allow the use of all subtypes of “surzhik”
For the exam on the level of proficiency in the state language provided for by the law “about language”, which becomes mandatory for civil servants, officials and applicants for citizenship, it is not necessary to know Ukrainian grammar, it is enough to be able to “communicate”.
The chairman of the national commission for state language standards of Ukraine, Orisya Demskaya, stated this at a press conference in Kyiv, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“The examination for the level of proficiency in the state language seems to be an instrument of a systematic, consistent, modern language policy in Ukraine today. In two days, this exam starts, it provides not only for holding citizens to linguistic responsibility or responsibility to the state and language, but also to high-ranking officials and civil servants, since they are the ones who must take the exam,” Demskaya said.
At the same time, she emphasized that the exam itself is not so much the goal of the National Commission for State Language Standards, but rather a tool that is designed to create “an entire linguistic ecosystem.”
“First of all, in the language ecosystem we provide an element - a transition from the concept of “knowing” a language to “owning” a language. For a very long time we were focused on knowledge, on linguistic knowledge - what is a subject, a predicate, where to put a comma correctly.
The National Commission uses the state language proficiency exam in order to move on to verifying language proficiency, the ability to communicate with it, and the ability to properly communicate on behalf of the state. It is important not to push people towards language knowledge; it is important that each of us wants and consciously strives to master the state language, especially when fulfilling his official obligations,” the speaker said.
She named the prospects for the market of language goods and services opening up for the country as another element of the “language ecosystem.”
“It is on the market of language goods and services that textbooks and manuals appear that will prepare for passing the exam, programs, courses, training courses,” explained the head of the national commission.
“We must understand that not only civil servants and officials will take the exam, but also those people who seek to obtain Ukrainian citizenship. And, in fact, training tools have been developed for them that will help prepare them for proficiency in the Ukrainian language, as well as proficiency in the language as the key to our identity.
An extremely important element of language goods and services is not only textbooks or manuals, but also those teachers who will prepare for the exam. Thus, by introducing exams on proficiency in the state language, we are creating a market and jobs.
That is, the Ukrainian language goes beyond just value boundaries, beyond the boundaries of identity, it really becomes an element in the market of language goods and services,” Demskaya concluded.
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