KIEV — The convenience store opposite my apartment in this city’s historic center is run by people from western Ukraine who make no secret of their disdain for the Russian language. When I order my cigarettes or beer in Russian, they’re churlish, and often claim not to have any change for my large bills. When I throw in a few words of Ukrainian, however, a smile lights up their faces, and they even offer to bag my purchases for me.
What I didn’t realize until recently is that my attempts to curry linguistic favor has its own name, whose history goes …read more
Source: European Voice
