Odesa region ranks second in terms in the number of complaints about violations of language legislation

As of March 1, 2023, the secretariat of the Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language received 66 such appeals. Yaroslava Vitko-Prysiazhniuk, a representative of the Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language in the Odesa region, told about this during a briefing at the Media Center Ukraine – Odesa. 

“As of March 1, 2023, residents of Odesa region received 66 complaints about violations of language legislation. This is the second-highest rate in Ukraine, or 15% of all complaints. Last year, this indicator was 6.6%. But this is not because Odesa’s residents violate more. They are “triggered” by the violation of the law, and they contribute to correcting it,” – Vitko-Prysiazhnyuk said.

She also added that if, in general, complaints in Ukraine concern violations of language legislation on the Internet, then residents of Odesa complain about shops, cafés, places where employees refused to serve customers in the state language.

“The number of complaints about signs has also increased. Occasionally, there are complaints about violations of the law during the educational process, in entertainment establishments and, unfortunately, cultural institutions,” – Yaroslava Vitko-Prysiazhniuk said.

She also added that the ombudsman’s secretariat does not keep statistics on the number of issued fines, because the task “is not to punish, but to support and develop the state language.”

Nataliya Orobets, coordinator of the “Yedinі” project in Odesa region, which provides free courses on the transition to the Ukrainian language, noted that, in her opinion, the demand of citizens for such a product is growing in the region.

“The “Yedinі” project turns one year old. More and more, this culture is gaining momentum, we see crazy support from society and a clear request from citizens to keep doing what we do. There is a demand for such courses. And it’s growing. People come to us for various reasons – someone is a civil servant who needs to improve his language skills, someone works in the service sector. Someone doesn’t want to speak the language of the occupier. And someone says he doesn’t understand the school tasks of his child” – Orobets said.

She added that the educational course of the “Yedinі” project on the transition to the Ukrainian language lasts 28 days. You can study in 5 locations throughout the city. On April 6, twelfth course starts. 

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