14:18, 21 April 2009 | GMT +5
State language ? attribute of sovereignty, Ukrainian Ambassador
ASTANA. April 20. KAZINFORM /Maksat Naimantaiuly/ It is not only political, economic and humanitarian spheres that bring Kazakhstan and Ukraine together, but also common problems that the two countries face, including expansion of the sphere where the state languages is used - Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Republic of Kazakhstan Nikolai Selivon said relating Ukraine?s language policy experience.

Mr. Selivon, having gained independence both Kazakhstan and Ukraine faced the problem of revitalization of the national language. In this respect the experience of Ukraine in conduction of the language policy is important to us. What are the principles of Ukrainian legislation in the sphere of languages?
In October 2008 within the Year of Ukraine in Kazakhstan we held a roundtable titled ?Experience and Problems of State Language Formation: Kazakhstan and Ukraine?. The event was organized under the auspices of Kazakhstan Ministry of Culture and Information with leading experts of our country involved. It was an unanimous opinion that our countries have a lot in common, namely in the ways of development of our state languages and expansion of the spheres of their usage.
One of these problems is the heritage of the Soviet period when Russian was the language of inter-ethnic communication, and in fact it forced out the national languages. Following the roundtable the participants concluded it was important to continue this dialogue, research and exchange of experience in this issue.
As for the Ukrainian legislation, undoubtedly, the Constitution is the major document which has defined the legal basis of conducting official language policy in the country and which has consolidated the state status of the Ukrainian language. In accordance with the Constitution the government ensures all-round development and use of the Ukrainian language in all spheres of social life countrywide.
In addition, language appears to be an issue under specific category in several laws, such as the Laws On Languages in the Ukrainian SSR as of 1989, On Education, On Information, On Printed Mass Media and others.
The decision of the Constitutional Court as of December 14, 1999 significantly influenced on determination of the status of Ukrainian as the state language, since it qualified the very notion of the ?state (official) language?. Also, a state program on development and use of the Ukrainian language for 2004-2010 was adopted in 2003. The document aims at creating favorable conditions to help develop and expand the sphere of the Ukrainian language usage, bring up respectful attitude towards the native language, raise national self-consciousness and patriotism among Ukrainian citizens.
How do you estimate the situation with the usage of the Ukrainian language in public institutions? activity?
During the first years of our independence when only a few people realized that the state language was one of the elements of the constitutional regime and an attribute of sovereignty, the usage of the Ukrainian language by public institutions was not obligatory though it was provided by the legislative framework.
The spheres of use of the national language as an official language were later determined by the decision of the Constitutional Court on December 14, 1999. Being a member of the Court I took part in the decision making. The decision reads as follows: ?knowledge of the Ukrainian language is one of the obligatory conditions to enter the public service?. It should be mentioned that the Constitutions of our countries stipulate fluent knowledge of the state language as one of the primary obligatory requirements to a candidate for president.
As per the Constitution and legislation, the entire records management in all central and local executive bodies has been performed in the Ukrainian language for several years. However, it was taken into account that not every Ukrainian and particularly foreigners speak Ukrainian fluently. Therefore there was established a rule providing that lack of knowledge of Ukrainian is not a reason for refusal to accept or consider any documents by executive bodies.
On the other hand, there are other ethnoses also residing on the territory of Ukraine which preserve their culture, traditions and language. I am not talking about Russians only which make 17% of Ukrainian population. In such cases the Russian and other languages of the national minorities can be used along with the state language.
It is known that the most effective results can be reached through study of foreign language from early childhood. How are children taught the official language in Ukraine?
The Ukrainian language is a compulsory discipline in all educational institutions. According to the poll held in 2005 over 70% of respondents noted that children and students became more fluent in Ukrainian owing to studying the language at kindergartens and schools. Thus before they go to secondary schools children can speak Ukrainian and have basic knowledge of Ukraine, its culture, literature, traditions and history. Like Kazakhstan, Ukraine is a multinational state. Thus the national legislation guarantees national, cultural and language right to all Ukrainian citizens.
- A significant role in the outreach of the state language belongs to mass media, especially electronic. How does it help to promulgate it and what is the share of the public information published in the official language?
- The language use in this sphere is regulated by Ukrainian Laws on Printing Mass Media, and TV and Radio Broadcasting, and others. For instance, the article 10 of the TV and Radio Broadcasting Law stipulates that TV and radio companies broadcast information in the official language that is the Ukrainian language. As for the specific TV channels and programs, the language is determined by the broadcast license conditions. A specific case has specific approach with provision for the region, audience, and information content. For the nation-wide broadcasting the running time in the Ukrainian language must not be less than 75% of daily broadcasting.
What incentives are envisaged to encourage non-Ukrainian individuals to learn the official language?
Here lies another difference between our countries. Russian has been the language of international communication in our countries for a long time basically being official, for russification underlaid the foundation of the language policy of the former USSR. Ukrainians in their majority are bilingual. There aren?t any differentiations on a national principle in this sphere, therefore there are no special incentives for ethnic non-Ukrainians. However, every one has the right to study at national schools, publish newspapers or broadcast TV and radio programs in their language.
2007 was declared the Year of Kazakhstan in Ukraine. 2008 was the Year of Ukraine in Kazakhstan. How do you assess the results of these events?
The Year of Kazakhstan and the Year of Ukraine are very big events. In both countries about 400 various campaigns took place thereupon. I set forth my thoughts about these events in my article titled ?Inseparable with each other? published by Kazakhstanskaya Pravda as of March 12 2009.
On the whole my assessment of these two years is absolutely positive. The remarkable results are manifested by the mutual trade volumes boosted more than twofold, not mentioning numerous business forums, scientific conferences, exhibitions and concerts. A lot of spheres have been vitalized, such as tourism and youth policy and some others which used to go last in our bilateral cooperation. The most important is that these two years have fortified the existing foundation of our cooperation and opened new directions and prospects for interaction. We will do our best to preserve the potential that we have, and use it to carry through mutually beneficial projects.
Thank you very much for such an informative interview.