Myroslava Popovych
The state language is not an award, not a name, it is a function. In any state, its language works like any other function of the state apparatus. In most countries of the world there is one official language. The legislature of the state and the army should operate using one national language in order to avoid double interpretations. That is why, in the field of public administration, language undoubtedly plays a key role. Otherwise, there will be no administration, the courts will work even worse, and the army will not defend the country. Language is also a component of our mentality, our essence. Ukraine could become one of the few countries with two official languages. But our country does not need such changes at all and there are several reasons for this.
The ethnic composition of the population of Ukraine is dominated by Ukrainians. Their number is 77.8% of the total population. According to the last census (2001), ethnic minorities in Ukraine accounted for 22.2% of the total population. Representatives of more than 100 nations live in Ukraine. The most numerous of them are Russians, Jews, Belarusians, Moldovans, Bulgarians, Poles, Hungarians, Romanians, Greeks, Tatars, Armenians, Roma, and others. Hence, adding official languages after the establishment of the nation can be tricky, and it probably can lead to the beginning of the country’s dissolution.
This can be seen in Hungary, a country which lost much of its land because of its ethnic minorities, which constituted ethnic majorities in certain areas. Most of them did not want to speak Hungarian, so there was no language unity and as a result no national unity.
In addition, having only one official language means that people speak, write and learn the language easily. Сhildren will not be divided on the basis of language and forced to choose different schools. The same applies to teachers. It is a very important component that shapes national consciousness and patriotism.
However, the above arguments may not work in such countries as India or Pakistan, where there is no single official language and all of the major languages are the mother tongues of specific ethnic groups. Choosing one of those mother tongues would be seen as unfair by the rest of the population and could lead to the break-up of the nation. While this may be true, Ukraine does not belong to the group of such countries, as according to statistics 67.5% of the population and 82% of ethnic Ukrainians consider Ukrainian as their mother tongue. We can assume that after the revolutionary events these numbers have only increased.
In conclusion, it should be noted that because of the tragic events in the east of the country at this moment Ukraine needs national unity, and this unity is important now more than ever. In order to move in the same direction, Ukrainians must speak one official language, which is a reflection of our traditions and difficult history in the struggle for independence.
Literature
All-Ukrainian population cencus (2001),
http://2001.ukrcensus.gov.ua/eng/results/general/nationality/, [21.05.2021]
A Hungarian tragedy,
http://www.americanhungarianfederation.org/news_trianon.htm, [21.05.2021]
Languages of India,
https://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Languages_of_India, [21.05.2021]
Pakistan languages,
https://www.familysearch.org/wiki/en/Pakistan_Languages, [21.05.2021]