Latynka
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The Latynka is the Ukrainian language written in the Latin alphabet.
History
[change | change source]In Ukraine the Ukrainian language had been written in the Latin alphabet (Latynka) since the 16th and 17th centuries. The versions used for publications closely resembled the Polish and Czech alphabets. Moreover in the 19th century a Ukrainian priest and scholar from Lviv, Josyp Łozynski Ivanovyč, the author of the publication, "Ruskoje wesile" (1834), tried to promote the idea of Ukrainians using the Latin alphabet.
During the rule of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the authorities, in an attempt to westernize Ukrainians, initiated this project under the supervision of the Czech politician Josef Jirecek. The authorities went as far as to impose the alphabet on the locals. This attempt was fiercely opposed because it tried to assimilate Ukrainians, making them seem more Polish.
In 1927 at a conference in Kharkiv, linguists M. Johansen, B. Tkačenko and M. Nakonečnyj proposed the use of a more international Latynka for Ukrainian. This idea was strongly opposed by the Soviet Regime.
