A note on my translation

By Aussiegirl

I have posted below my own translation of Victor Yushchenko's Inaugural speech, delivered on Sunday, January 23, 2005 in Kyiv, Ukraine.

I used the English translation which I found on the official website of President Yushchenko and also the original Ukrainian transcript which I also found there: http://www.razom.org.ua/

My version, I think, reflects a more common English usage and flows more naturally to the American ear, and in many ways is closer to the original Ukrainian meaning, as I spent the day poring over the beautiful Ukrainian language and hearing its poetry and its music reverberating in my heart. I believe this is the closest translation in meaning, feeling, intention to the original Ukrainian. It is at times like these that I fall down on my knees and thank my mother who insisted I learn Ukrainian even when I whined and complained. Dyakuyu Mama!! Now I have the astonishing privilege of knowing two languages fluently -- as my mother tongue. And what the heart longs to express in one, I feel that I can well express in the other, even when the two languages are so different. Because my heart speaks both Ukrainian and English.

As I pored over these beautiful and meaningful words, and as the beauty of the thoughts expressed and the emotions became clear, I was deeply moved. This is truly a speech for all ages and all nations. And if President Bush wants an example of how the vision of HIS inaugural speech can become reality, he has only to look to the events which unfolded over the past months in Ukraine, and the glorious day celebrated yesterday in Independence Square in Kyiv, to be rewarded for his vision and foresight.