buzoJul 22, 2025
Eugene McParland 🇺🇦

💬 "Using the correct names of Ukrainian cities isn't just about spelling - it's about respect and acknowledging of Ukrainian identity and history.

🔷 Kyiv, not Kiev

🔷 Kharkiv, not Kharkov

🔷 Chernihiv, not Chernigov

🔷 Chornobyl, not Chernobyl

🔷 and more 🇺🇦

These names matter. They reflect language, culture, and the right to self-identification."

Source: MFA #Ukraine

Jul 19, 2025 at 8:08pmWeb
Show threadMiha MarkičJul 19, 2025
@EugeneMcParland You sure it's not Kharkiv? :)
Show threadPetr JežekJul 19, 2025
@EugeneMcParland Kharkiv not Kharkov
Show threadGJ Groothedde 🇪🇺Jul 19, 2025
@EugeneMcParland I think you mean "Kharkiv, not Kharkov" though.
Show threadRuud SteltenpoolJul 19, 2025
@EugeneMcParland "Kharkiv, not Kharkiv" ?
Show threadorphadelJul 19, 2025
@EugeneMcParland then Japan should be called Nippon.
Show threadPetraPandaJul 19, 2025
@EugeneMcParland respect and recognition is important.
Though it's unlikely you use the proper nane for the capital of Italy, to make just one example.
People have always adapted foreign names to their own language.
Why would one call Germany anything other than Deutschland?
Show threadAS07Jul 20, 2025
@EugeneMcParland You know they use the Cyrillic alphabet, right? I think as long as pronounce their place names and people names properly, that's plenty respectful.
Show threadhumourmetomJul 20, 2025
@EugeneMcParland Wien, not Vienna. Munchen, not Munich. Roma, not Rome. Venezia, not Venice. Firenze, not Florence. Praha, not Prague. Kobenhavn, not Copenhagen. Lisboa, not Lisbon.
Show threadClickyMcTickerJul 20, 2025
@EugeneMcParland Київ not Kyiv
Show threadwallabra 🇧🇷Jul 20, 2025
@EugeneMcParland Where does the second name come from? Is it a Western exonym?
Show threadKibrikaJul 20, 2025
@wallabra @EugeneMcParland Worse - Russian.
Show threadwallabra 🇧🇷Jul 20, 2025

@kibrika @EugeneMcParland I really wish the USSR had more respect for the identities of the countries inside it, instead of ostensibly believing (making the excuse) that these identities would get in the way of working class solidarity.

Of course they didn't believe that. They didn't believe anything. They were just imperialists. They did not treat the workers of Ukraine — or much of Eastern Europe, for that matter — fairly, even compared to how poorly they often treated their own.

The good things they did do need to be extracted out of all the bad as lessons, like any other country.

Show threadChloé RaccoonJul 20, 2025
@EugeneMcParland @VulpineAmethyst One explanation I came across that I like is "Kyiv is a city, Kiev is a chicken"
Show threadToni AittoniemiJul 20, 2025
@EugeneMcParland Exactly. Using the spelling derived from the colonial masters is subtle, but still gives them power!
Show threadTerryBJul 21, 2025
@EugeneMcParland It's amazing how long it took the BBC to get this. Even now, after we've all learnt it's "Ky-iv".they sometimes say "Keev"