Taras Shevchenko Day 2007

 

 

The year was 1814.  It was almost 40 years since the destruction of the Zaporozhian Sich.  Ukrainian lands were occupied by foreign powers - Russians, Poles, and Hapsburgs.  The Ukrainian people toiled in serfdom.  Ukrainian language, culture, and traditions were denigrated and suppressed.  The prospects of an independent Ukrainian nation were virtually nonexistent.  There was no vibrant Ukrainian nationalist movement.  There was no Ukrainian voice.

 

Into this bleak situation in 1814 was born a meager soul of no account – no money, no social privilege.  Yet, this soul, born into oppressive serfdom is the man that will give Ukrainian aspirations not only a heart and a soul, but also a magnificent eloquent voice.  That man is Taras Shevchenko

 

He writes in his native language - Ukrainian and only Ukrainian.  His writing educates and inspires an enslaved people.  His words are profoundly articulate and emotionally moving.  They speak of Ukrainian history and Ukrainian dreams.  The richness and depth of his writing elevates the Ukrainian language to the level of world-class literature.  Shevchenko’s writing can be melancholy and heartbreaking when he observes the betrayal of the Ukrainian intelligentsia or the anguish of his own experiences.  However, they become proud and passionate when he speaks of the glory of the Cossacks or of his pride in his Ukrainian heritage.  In either case then are always passionate.

 

Ideas, dreams, and aspirations are neither substantial nor permanent until they can be concretely but into words.  Words both define and flesh-out aspirations.  Words give it clarity and focus.  Words allow dreams and hopes to be shared.  Words are the vehicle that allows one man’s heart to reach into the hearts of other men.

 

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Every language is singular and distinct.  Each language has its own idioms and speech patterns.  Each language has its own unique words, phrasing and tempo.  Each language subtly focuses the speech and writing of its users.  Each language also has a built-in ethnocentric way of seeing and relating to the world.  Each language facilitates the expression of thinking and dreaming that is unique to the culture that gave rise to it.  Each language is a living entity that is born of the experience and communication needs of its users.  Over time, it evolves with the changing needs and experiences of its users, but always it is true to its users.  It is as unique and defining to each culture as fingerprints or DNA is to individual people.

 

Those of us who are fluent in both the Ukrainian and English languages realize early on that when we speak in one language we speak almost as a different person then when we speak in the other language.  Our native Ukrainian language defines us as a separate and distinct people. 

 

Shevchenko knew this intuitively and not only used it magnificently but his writings elevated it into even richer and more eloquent heights.  Sadly, as in Shevchenko’s time, we see it under attack in present day Ukraine.  There are those who advocate Russian to be the official language or at least on a par with Ukrainian.  This is a grave challenge to our beloved Ukraine.

 

The current Ukrainian Weekly quotes Dmytro Tabachnyk who states that the cultural policy of

 Ukraine aimed at resurrecting national awareness and self-respect is “in the interests of a narrow stratum of the Ukrainian- speaking intelligentsia, which is simply afraid of competition in all areas”.  These are scary words since Mr. Tabachnyk is not just any Russophile but the current Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  As the online Political News Agency, more correctly observes, “the Russian language is among the most powerful tools to promote Russia’s continuing influence in the post-Soviet space.

 

I believe that who we are is not only defined by what we do and what we say, but also by how we say it.  If Ukrainians have dreams and aspirations to voice, let them voice them in their native tongue.  One of the great glories of Shevchenko is that he proves most emphatically that the Ukrainian voice is most clear and eloquent when it speaks in its own native tongue.  Our language is more than capable of expressing the most profound as well as the most mundane of thoughts that can cross a Ukrainian’s mind or is found in the depths of his heart. 

 

Let us always remember Shevchenko for the courage and wisdom that his life exemplifies.  He was a God fearing man who was proud of who he was and where he came from.  Today we salute his memory as a champion of Ukrainian nationalism as well as Ukraine’s history, culture, and heritage.  However, on this day let us salute him as a champion of the Ukrainian language.

 

May God rest his immortal soul!!

 

Slava Bohu

Slava Shevchenkovu

Slava Ukraini

 

By Ihor Dworjan