For more than five months, Ukrainians have been living in a permanent state of emergency, under the threat of unpredictable Russian bombardments that can affect anyone, anywhere. In order not to give up despite the dead and about 20% of the territory occupied by the enemy, they began to invent often very funny words and expressions to ward off fate and continue to live.
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There are obviously words directly related to combat such as “Bayraktariser”, from the famous Turkish drone Bayraktar, which defeated many Russian tanks and armored vehicles. It means “eliminate the enemy”.
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And there is a derivative, “to be Chernobayivkaized”. “When the Russian forces were wiped out in the village of Chernobaivka, then they were said to have been Chernobayivkaized”explains Artyom.
The major political players in the conflict have also inspired Ukrainians. “There is a word that is not very nice for the French. It is ‘macroniser'”give as an example the girlfriends of Artyom, Olga and Dasha. “‘Macronizing’ is giving your word and not keeping your promises. At the beginning of the war, Macron promised a lot of things and then he called Putin and delayed arms deliveries. Because of that, ‘macronize’ is used to qualify someone who cheats on you”they explain. “We also have for Boris Johnson, the word ‘johnsonyuk’. It is someone who does not promise anything but who acts. Yes, it is the opposite. In Ukraine, we prefer ‘johnsonyuk’ to Macron… Sorry.”
And Boris ‘Johnsonyuk’ also has his song, a simple melody, a lively rhythm and abundant puns.
“Every war remains a great tradition of humor. We are a people who laugh during war”, commented Vassyl Kmet, historian and head of a network of libraries. And there are in particular words that have infused the Ukrainian language since the beginning of the conflict in the Donbass, eight years ago. This is the case of “Putler”, the contraction of Putin and Hitler or even “Rachiste”, for Russians and fascists.
When Ukrainians laugh at war by inventing words – Report by Thibault Lefèvre and Éric Audra.
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