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TO: OUR LIFE — Editorial In your most recent issue, you were kind enough to wish me well and con gratulate me on my election to Sec retary of the National Council of Women of the United States. May I take this opportunity to thank you and the entire membership of UNWLA for your understanding, enthu siasm and support which serve as a constant reminder of the wonderful women I represent. Sincerely, Cam ille Sm orodsky Translated and Condensed by Olha Stasiuk OUR COVER This month's cover features the woodcut "Ferns on Black" by Ukrainian artist Jacques Hnizdovsky. An Our Life interview with Mr. Hnizdovsky, one of America's foremost woodcut artists, begins on page four of this issue. It is accompanied by several reproductions of his works. Mr Hnizdovsky was one of eleven artists representing the United States at the ll-e Triennale Internazionale della Xilografia Contemporanea in Italy in 1972 where he exhibited three woodcuts. He designed the logo (logotype, or identifying symbol) for the UNWLA Museum (see page five). Mr. Hnizdovsky (right foreground) conversing with Mrs. Franklin B. Tuttle, chairperson of the Governing Committee, during the opening of his exhibition at the Brooklyn Botanical Garden in 1974. BETWEEN US AND THE TELEPHONE OUR CHILDREN AND THE UKRAINIAN LANGUAGE A current problem facing Ukrainian parents is getting their children to speak Ukrainian among themselves. Much of the blame can be placed on peer pressure. Children who speak Ukrainian fluently are especially suscep tible to taunts of "show-off" in the soc iety of friends less proficient in the language. Unfortunately, few Ukrainian families actively nurture the Ukrainian language. (Often, the grandparents use a more "polluted" dialect than the younger gen eration.) The children of such families feel free to speak Ukrainian among them selves because they are all on the same level of proficiency. Those who work with adolescents observe that between the ages of 13 and 19 the psychological need not to be different motivates young people to use English when talking with Ukrainian friends. When they mature (from 20 to 22) they usually make a choice as to which language they will use in the company of Ukrainians — a choice directly affected by the initial selection of friends. If the young people have had the opportunity to be in a group conducive to the retention of the ethnic identity, they tend to continue using Ukrainian as their "home language" even after they are married. They also usually have a large vocabulary and are skilled in various levels of usage. Of critical importance is the quality of motivation young people receive from their parents — whether they were not limited to an elementary vocabulary even in childhood. The cultural isolation of the parents (ignoring professional literature in Ukrainian,; skimming one or two Ukrainian newspapers) often puts them in the position of not knowing more complex and advanced terminology, and thus limits their range of expression. It all depends on personal attitude — some progress while others stagnate. When some parents complain that their children "don't want" to speak to them in Ukrainian, it is apparent that these parents don't always use the language themselves, thereby failing to retain its purity. There are also homes where parents nurture more than one language, not insisting on the exclusive use of any one. The apparent aim here is to equalize the languages in the hope that the children will later continue to use Ukrainian with out pressure. Unfortunately this ap proach is rarely effective; more often than not the Ukrainian language suffers reduction to an elementary level. Aside from the influence of friends, perseverance respect and love determine the eventual choice of language. НАШЕ ЖИТТЯ, ЧЕРВЕНЬ 1976 23
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