During the event, the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine emphasised the need to recognise that many normative acts still contain Russisms, calques from bureaucratic language and vocabulary that is not characteristic of modern Ukrainian. «There is no unified system for translating legal terms, which creates problems not only for understanding the laws, but also for adapting them to European Union law,» Ruslan Stefanchuk stressed.
He also stressed the need for a large-scale expert review to determine what changes should be made to the texts of Ukrainian laws to bring them into line with modern language standards.
«The Ukrainian language must be accurate, modern and competitive in the legal sphere. This is especially true now that we are preparing for EU membership and most of our legislation will need to be accurately translated from and into English,» said the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
First Deputy Speaker of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Oleksandr Korniienko noted that two major processes are currently underway in Ukraine: European integration and digital transformation. «The speed of our accession to the EU and the functioning of state institutions for future generations depend on how well we adapt Ukrainian legislation to European standards,» he said.
Oleksandr Korniienko also drew attention to the influence of artificial intelligence: «Algorithms learn from texts, so it is important that the Ukrainian language, legal formulations and official documents are accurate, understandable and up to date. If we want future language models to “speak Ukrainian” correctly and reflect European standards of thinking, we must create a correct corpus of state texts today.»
Deputy Chair of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Olena Kondratiuk emphasised the importance of using feminine forms in legislation. «Language is alive, language is evolving, and this should be reflected in the language of legislation, in particular the use of feminine forms,» she said.
According to Ruslan Stefanchuk, following the meeting, it is planned to consider a draft of the new Ukrainian spelling rules by the end of the year and to start a new era of font creation at the beginning of next year.
«This is not only about form, but also about content — about establishing the linguistic independence of Ukrainian legislation,» concluded the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.