“Kyiv” or “Kyiv”? The spelling of the name of the Ukrainian capital is debated within French-speaking newsrooms. “Kiev”, its name taken from Russian, has been commonly used for years by Western media, but several have recently decided to favor the Ukrainian transliteration “Kyiv”. Much more than a simple change of vowel, it is for some a political gesture.
“Despite the habits of readers, political reason prevails. For Releasethe “Kiev” from Russian no longer exists and will now be written “Kyiv””, announced the French daily on Tuesday, on the sixth day of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.
Release has thus followed in the footsteps of several English-language media such as the BBC, CNN, The Guardian or even the New York Times, which a few years ago adopted the spelling “Kyiv” to designate the Ukrainian capital. However, in the French-speaking media world, we can say that the daily started the ball rolling.
On Tuesday, Quebecor announced that its news media will now use the spelling “Kyiv” rather than “Kiev”. The i umlaut allows here a connection with the Ukrainian pronunciation “ki-ive”.
The next day, Noovo Info, Deals and The Press followed suit.
“The choice to favor Kyiv (as well as Kharkiv and Lviv) can be seen as support for a democratic country targeted by a barbarian invasion, but it first aims to normalize a situation that this crisis forces us to consider, albeit belatedly, we recognize that,” the deputy editor of The Press, François Cardinal, in a message to readers.
He explains that “by an effect of use”, the word “Kiev” was privileged all these years without any questioning, “despite the geopolitical changes which should have encouraged to review this habit”. “For all sorts of good reasons (The Press is not a combat journal and follows customs rather than imposing them) and bad (the agency texts that we receive and publish favor Kiev), we had not yet adopted this change in terminology, “adds- he.
Other media in Quebec, such as Radio-Canada, the regional media of CN2i or even The duty, have begun a reflection, but have not yet decided on the question.
“It gives rise to relevant and necessary reflection, but I plead for a calm examination, as neutral as possible, and based on linguistic and usage criteria above all”, argues the editor-in-chief of the HomeworkMarie-Andrée Chouinard, who judges that this reflection “forced by a political conflict” can distance the media from their “natural objectivity”.
She specifies that she asked the reviewers of the daily to look into the question and establish guidelines in order to broaden the reflection to other names of cities in the world.
“It’s an issue that is not trivial, I don’t think we should be pushed around to position ourselves, also believes Valérie Gaudreau, editor-in-chief of the Sun. There is still a political stake in this name, it should not be taken lightly. »
She explains that for the sake of standardization, the six Coops de l’information newspapers are thinking together about the preferred spelling. And since the bulk of published international news comes from news agencies—which still use the word “Kiev”—the change is not so simple. “If we decide to attribute this spelling heavy with meaning to a text that is signed by an agency, it is to make it bear the weight of our decision”, notes Mme Gaudeau.
“Respect”
For historian Alex Tipei, researcher at the Center for International Studies and Research at the University of Montreal, the media could have changed this name a long time ago. But, as they say, better late than never. »
“‘Kiev’, for Ukrainians, evokes all Russian domination. It has a strong symbolic, even political value, she explains. Using “Kyiv” is a way to show them our support, or at least our respect. It is to recognize the autonomy of the country. »
She recalls that Ukraine declared its independence in 1991 and has since continued to affirm its difference from Russia through its culture and language, in particular. The name “Kyiv” was officially adopted in Ukraine in 1995. In 2018, after the Russian invasion of Crimea, the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched the “Kyiv not Kiev” campaign to invite international authorities and media to change the name to designate the Ukrainian capital.
Linguist Marie-Éva de Villers, author of Multidictionary of the French language, concedes that choosing “Kyiv” rather than “Kiev” has a political and symbolic dimension, which may cause some media to hesitate. However, she believes that there is “nothing more neutral than opting for the Ukrainian spelling” in the current context and hopes that the movement will become widespread in the media space.