Taras Kremin, Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language, expressed concern about the slowing down of Ukrainianization processes in Ukraine. In his recent post, he reported a significant decrease in the share of people who consider Ukrainian their mother tongue. These changes affect not only the general population, but also students, parents and teachers.
In particular, among students, the share of those who consider Ukrainian their native language decreased by 17%. Among parents, this indicator fell by 11%, and among teachers - by 8%. This testifies to the growing influence of other languages, in particular Russian, on young people and the educational process. Kremin also noted that the convergence of the media space, especially in the south and east of Ukraine, contributes to this process.
Another important problem is the use of the Ukrainian language in the Internet space. According to the commissioner, the number of students who communicate in Ukrainian in social networks has decreased, which is another symptom of the slowdown of Ukrainization.
In connection with these problems, Taras Kremin expressed a number of proposals for strengthening the language policy in Ukraine. As one of the key tasks, he identified ensuring the implementation of the State target national and cultural program until 2030, as well as the completion of the implementation of the Law of Ukraine on the translation of international treaties into Ukrainian.
Kremin emphasized the importance of strengthening the position of the Ukrainian language in all spheres of public life, because it is not only a question of cultural identity, but also of national security and defense capability of the country. He called for systemic changes to avoid further slowing down of Ukrainization.
