UTOG’s work in derussification of Ukrainian Sign Language
Callie Frye, Daily Moth Reporter:
The Kyiv Independent recently posted a story on its TikTok where they visited the UTOG (Ukrainian Society of the Deaf) office. UTOG is working to eliminate Russian signs and influence on Ukrainian Sign Language.
[Video clip: Credit: TikTok/the_kyiv_independent]
[Clip shows Tetiana Kryvko, the First vice-chairman of the Ukrainian Society of the Deaf explaining that the UTOG created an expert committee of Ukrainian Sign Language that is working on the eradication of russianisms. A clip shows a worker saying, “All sign units that have even a hint of russianisms, we’re trying to get rid of.” The next clip shows Kryvko saying, “In Ukraine, in sign language, up until this point, older people used the sign “thank you.” Due to derussification… This is the sign for derussification… we transition to an international version of the sign “thank you.”]
Callie: I’m curious about your thoughts.
Iryna Chepchina, UTOG President:
At first, there was controversy among Deaf people on Facebook and Telegram on certain signs and whether they were acceptable because of Russian influence. So we at UTOG made it official with a list. We invited Deaf experts in Ukrainian Sign Language. There are seventeen people. One is from America, Arkady Belozovsky. He is a part of the committee. Arkady really loves Ukraine and is active. So we have seventeen people on the committee and they made the signs official. In the past, during communism (USSR), we had a similar sign language but today, Ukrainians have a changed perspective. We want the Ukrainian spoken language to have the same applications for Ukrainian Sign Language. We used to sign “who” — you Americans sign it like this. Ukrainians used this sign (kto), but it’s no good because it is based on the Russian language. We Ukrainians write the word differently. So we changed the sign from “kto” to “xto.” Russian and Ukrainian are different languages. For the names of the 12 months, it is also different between Russian and Ukrainian. Ukrainians speak it differently. So during this time of war, we want to make it completely Ukrainian.
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Callie: How many years have you been the president?
Iryna: I’ve been the president for eight years. Prior to that, I was the vice president for 15 years. And before that, I was the regional president for 15 years. So all together, it’s a long time! After I finished college, I worked with the UTOG and after all this time, I’m still here. I love working with Deaf people, communicating and helping them. It’s my passion.
The World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) has provided wonderful financial assistance. In 2022, they provided support so we could provide interpreters and advocates. I’m grateful to them. I’m also grateful to Canada. They have a robust organization of Ukrainian-Canadians who have provided wonderful financial assistance.
We are working with the Ukrainian government at factories where there are sewing machines. Those (Deaf people) sewing are supporting the army by making their uniforms. We help with this work. We can’t showcase this because we have to keep it private because we don’t want the (factories) to be bombed. There are 18 factories where UTOG is helping with the sewing.
This morning, there were bomb sirens so we had to go underground. We often do this. We are very tired of this routine. There is a subway station near us where we can take shelter. We have to wait until the sirens are done. We have alerts on these smart watches that tell us it’s safe to go back to the office.
Kyiv Independent videos:
https://www.tiktok.com/@the_kyiv_independent/video/7294722286467190022
https://www.tiktok.com/@the_kyiv_independent/video/7293965879476374790