Yanukism
Yanukism (Ukrainian: янукізм) is a Ukrainian term for different linguistic blunders and mistakes that Ukrainian politicians make. The phenomenon is named after the previous president Viktor Yanukovych who was trying to put up a façade of a well-educated man but ended up embarrassing himself due to numerous mistakes.[1]
One of the best known examples of a Yanukism is probably proffessor (Ukrainian: проффесор), which got started as Yanukovych misspelled the academic title in his registration form during the 2004 presidential election. In the same form, Yanukovych made in total 12 different mistakes: he misspelled the names of his wife and his hometown.[2] In addition, Yanukovych has made so many other mistakes that his doctor's degree in economics has been called into question.[3] Also, the fact that Yanukovych was among the best-selling authors of Ukraine in the early 2010s raised questions about the true author of his books due to all his past mistakes.[4]
Examples on Yanukisms
| Yanukism | Explanation | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| проффесор (proffesor) | extra ф (f); also the Ukrainian language seldom uses geminates in foreign loanwords | [2] |
| Welcome in Ukraine! | wrong preposition (to instead of in); Yanukovych uttered this while on a state visit to Japan in 2011 | [5] |
| Isaak Bebel | Yanukovych mixed up the Ukrainian author Isaac Babel and the German politician August Bebel | [6] |
| йолка (yolka) | means 'a Christmas tree'. The correct Ukrainian term is ялинка (yalynka), which Yanukovych forgot. | [5] |
| прємьєр-міністр (premyer-ministr) | correct spelling: прем'єр-міністр, means 'a Prime Minister' | [2] |
| курасани (kurasany) | correct spelling: круасани (kruasany), means 'a croissant' | [7] |
| Secretary General Clinton | while meeting Hillary Clinton, Yanukovych misstitled her as 'Secretary General' instead of 'Secretary of State' | [6] |
| People from Lviv are "the country's best genocide" | Yanukovych mixed up the words for gene pool (генофонд, henofond) and genocide (геноцид, henotsyd) | [8] |
| Anna Akhmetova | correct spelling: Akhmatova | [6] |
| "when you see with your own hands (– –) you touch it with your own eyes" | Yanukovych describes reports from regional governors | [9] |
Yanukisms can also be manifested by factual mistakes instead of misspellings or other mistakes language-wise. Yanukovych has said among other things that Mount Athos is located in Palestine (actually in Greece), called the Winter Olympics 2022 'a World Championship' and said that Israel is a European country.[6][10]
References
- ^ "Янукізми". Український тиждень (in Ukrainian). 2010-09-03. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
- ^ a b c "Тому що "проффесор"". Українська правда (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2023-03-04.
- ^ "The proFFesor's latest flub: Yanukovych without a clue". Kyiv Post. 2010-09-30. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
- ^ "Ukrainian President's Millions In Book Fees Raise Eyebrows". Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. 2012-04-19. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
- ^ a b "Янукович помилився, вимовляючи класичну англійську фразу". Корреспондент.net (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-03-04.
- ^ a b c d "35 курйозів, що сталися в житті екс-гаранта України Віктора Януковича". Погляд – новини Чернівці та Чернівецької області. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
- ^ ""Самсунг" вам й "курасани" з маком: найкумедніші ляпи Януковича за рік". Gazeta.ua (in Ukrainian). 2012-12-28. Retrieved 2023-03-04.
- ^ "Янукович назвав львів'ян "кращим геноцидом країни"". tsn.ua (in Ukrainian). 2010-03-11. Archived from the original on 2010.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|archive-date=(help) - ^ "В Луганске Янукович рассказал об украинской традиции "увидеть руками, глазами потрогать"". Сегодня (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-03-04.
- ^ "Черговий конфуз Януковича. Тепер спортивний". Українська правда (in Ukrainian). Retrieved 2023-03-04.