Without ‘Zayinka’: the language ombudsman demanded to rename kindergartens in Ukraine

The Commissioner for the Protection of the State Language, Taras Kremin, has expressed concern over the names of kindergartens in Ukraine. According to him, they allegedly violate the laws regulating the names of preschool institutions both in Russian and foreign languages.

He dedicated a post to this topic on his Facebook page.

Kremin has appealed to local self-government bodies, local military administrations, and private kindergarten owners regarding the need to bring the names of preschool educational institutions into compliance with the norms of Ukrainian spelling and the standards of the state language.

“We receive frequent complaints about the names of preschool educational institutions that have a Russian-language character, do not meet the standards of the state language, and some simply defy common sense,” he noted.

During a selective check of the names of preschool institutions, the following names were discovered: “Ivushka,” “Ladon’ki,” “Karandashkino,” “Solnyshko,” “Kuznechik,” “Vasilok,” “Topolyok,” “Zvezdochka,” “Zain’ka,” “Cheremushki,” “Roma + Mashka,” “Kul’ Babochka,” “Inzherash,” “Mugurel,” “Universul prikindeilor,” “Endekert,” “Pachirta,” “Montessori Family,” “Speak English,” “Greenrise Kids,” etc.

“Russified, sometimes foreign names are predominantly found in the territories of eastern and southern regions of Ukraine, but foreign distortions are present everywhere, and this needs to stop! It is necessary to decisively assert the primacy of the state language in all spheres of life,” Kremin emphasized.

He urged local authorities to make maximum efforts to “permanently eliminate foreign distortions in the names of preschool educational institutions.”