[mova] Ukr President's message 'edited for clarity'

[I Bell]

>Dear Mova-ites -
>         Below, with the permission of the 
> Editor, a letter that I wrote to The Ukrainian 
> Weekly on what I consider to be an important 
> communication issue for Ukraine, with the reply 
> by the Editor.  Published in the March 1 
> issue.  Painful, but had to be done. Ukraine deserves better.
>         I wonder if Mova readers can help by 
> reacting, and bringing the problem to the 
> attention of those responsible for Ukraine's 
> high-level government communications.
>                                                 Irena
>P.S.  E.g. From President Yushchenko's Press 
>Office, on his official web site  "President 
>condoles with people of Slovakia".
>
>>Dear Editor:
>>
>>The Ukrainian Weekly is always an interesting 
>>read. But may I make one observation?  In the 
>>recent letter by President Viktor Yushchenko to 
>>President Barack Obama, The Weekly’s 
>>introduction stated that the English-language 
>>letter had been “edited for clarity.” I think 
>>we would be doing Ukraine a much greater 
>>service by seeing, in their original state, 
>>letters that require “clarity”  and perhaps by 
>>reacting to that lack of clarity.
>>
>>It is unfortunate that English-language 
>>information originating in Ukraine, official 
>>letters from Ukraine, and official websites in 
>>Ukraine, are so often written by people with a 
>>limited knowledge of English.  Surely there are 
>>sufficient native English speakers in Ukraine 
>>by now who could ensure that letters by 
>>Ukraine’s top government officials, and their 
>>English-language websites, are written in correct English.
>>
>>The use of incorrect English jeopardizes the 
>>credibility of a message, as the reader focuses 
>>on the faulty use of language rather than the 
>>message.  Ukraine’s government cannot afford to 
>>have that happen with its communications. We do 
>>not help Ukraine by being too polite to bring 
>>this to the attention of those who might correct the situation.
>>                                                            Irena Bell
>> 
>>Ottawa
>>
>>EDITOR’S NOTE: We at The Ukrainian Weekly have 
>>struggled with this question: to edit or not to 
>>edit? However, when we see two versions of a 
>>letter, communiqué, speech, statement, etc. – 
>>one in English and the other in Ukrainian, one 
>>poorly written and in some cases 
>>unintelligible, and the other well-written and 
>>comprehensible – we cannot, in good conscience, 
>>use the very faulty translations provided by 
>>Ukraine’s officials. Our aim in such cases – as 
>>is the case with all articles submitted to The 
>>Weekly – is to have our readers understand what 
>>is being written. At the same time, we have 
>>brought this matter to the attention of 
>>Ukraine’s diplomatic corps in this country.
>>Thank you to our letter-writer for bringing up 
>>this crucial issue. We continue to hope that 
>>Ukraine and its leaders see fit to hire fully 
>>qualified translators who understand the 
>>nuances of both the language in which something 
>>is written and the language into which it is translated.
>>
>>  Roma Hadzewycz
>>Editor-in-Chief
>>The Ukrainian Weekly and Svoboda
>>2200 Route 10
>>Parsippany, NJ 07054
>>tel: 973-292-9800, x 3049
>>fax: 973-644-9510