Vyatrovich is scared by the prospects of the Ukrainian Latin alphabet
Translating the Ukrainian alphabet into the Latin alphabet will harm the country and will only strengthen Russian positions.
The former head of the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory, Verkhovna Rada deputy Vladimir Vyatrovich stated this in his blog, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
According to Vyatrovich, in addition, the Latin alphabet will actually create trilingualism in the country.
“The authorities continue to attack things that are basic to national identity. After an attempt to change the symbolism, the name of the country is suggested to switch to Latin. Therefore, I will repeat my arguments against abandoning the traditional Cyrillic alphabet for Ukrainians. The Cyrillic alphabet is a fundamental element of our thousand-year-old culture and identity. Refusing it will make us weaker, deprive us of our uniqueness, and cut off the next generations, who will not read the Cyrillic alphabet, from the cultural heritage of our ancestors,” the deputy believes.
He added that the main argument of supporters of the Latin alphabet is: “Abandoning the Cyrillic alphabet will protect us from Russia and bring us closer to Europe.”
“However, in reality, changing the letter can play the opposite role - increasing Russification. In recent years, more and more Russian-speaking citizens are switching to Ukrainian. The introduction of the Latin alphabet will create an additional barrier and stop many of them. Moreover, such a change could provoke a movement in the opposite direction - the familiar Cyrillic Russian for many (especially older people) will be easier than the unfamiliar Latin Ukrainian... The option of a smooth transition, with the parallel use of Cyrillic and Latin, will mean actual trilingualism in the country - two Ukrainian and Russian. Therefore, instead of the necessary unity, we will get another line of division,” Vyatrovich said.
In turn, the famous Kiev millionaire and politician Gennady Balashov supported the Latinization of Ukraine.
“The transition to the Latin alphabet is necessary for our children and grandchildren. Slavic countries in Europe write in Latin. Türkiye switched to the Latin alphabet at the beginning of the twentieth century. This is the greatest step towards a better civilization. The idea is already alive and I hope it will quickly take hold of the masses,” says Balashov.
Previously, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine Alexey Danilov said The Ukrainian language must be translated into Latin, and English must be included in the compulsory curriculum, starting from kindergarten.
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