War of words: my language lessons in Ukraine
Summary
Guardian culture correspondent Charlotte Higgins discusses her journey learning Ukrainian amid the war, sharing insights from her new book, *Ukrainian Lessons*. She reflects on the linguistic and emotional challenges of studying a language shaped by conflict, while her teacher Olya Makar highlights the nuances of Ukrainian grammar and culture. The episode explores how language has become a political act of resistance, featuring poignant stories of displaced Ukrainians and the role of poetry in processing trauma.
Topics discussed
Introduction: Charlotte Higgins' first trip to Ukraine
Meeting Olya Makar and the decision to learn Ukrainian
Learning war vocabulary vs. pleasure languages
The sorrow and grammar of displacement
Arriving in Kyiv: The 'quiet' code and first missile attack
Why learn a language? Identity and linguistic obsession
The struggle of learning a language in your 50s
The joy of being understood and local compliments
Olya's perspective: Why she agreed to teach Charlotte
The grammatical complexity of Ukrainian
Beauty, nuance, and the importance of language for journalists
Language as a political act and historical repression
Zelensky's language switch and the personal cost of change
Artem's Murakami book and the complexity of Russian texts
The Cyrillic alphabet as a symbol of resistance
Black humor and the 'mustache' phrase
Art and intimacy: Anonymous confessions from @my_pet_spider
Promo: Black Box AI series
How language learning changed reporting and poetry's role
Reading Irina Tilk's poem 'My Day'
Book recommendations and episode credits
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