Hold Your Tongue: School Incident Plays Into Sensitive Issue Of Language In Ukraine

Radio Free Europe/ RadioLiberty

Center

Mixed Factuality

Government: U.S. Agency for Global Media

Hold Your Tongue: School Incident Plays Into Sensitive Issue Of Language In Ukraine

An elementary-school art teacher in Odesa berated a pupil for speaking Ukrainian, not Russian, driving her to tears in front of her classmates. When the teacher was dismissed, it fit into what one analyst called a gradual role reversal between Ukraine's two most commonly spoken tongues.