- It is a name issue that has been politicized, which is ultimately about Ukraine saying that it wants other countries to use a certain spelling that feels better and is perceived as less Russian, says Ola Karlsson, linguist who is also a member of the media language group .
Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine would be spelled if we had translated it from Ukrainian today.
If you were to translate it from Russian today, it would instead be called Kiev.
The established form, Kyiv, is an old translation from Russian.
- I would not say that Kyiv is a pro-Russian form in a Swedish perspective, but it is an old name form that has solidified and that we have used for hundreds of years, says Ola Karlsson.
- Then there are emotional and political reasons that make you still want to break with this tradition, he continues.
Who decides the spelling?
There is no normative authority or the like in Sweden that decides such things.
Instead, it is a collaboration between mainly three forces, says Ola Karlsson: Politics, the media and language care.
What ultimately decides is the users.
- The media likes to stick to traditional forms.
In this case, you do not want to change in the middle of an ongoing report, it can be confusing, Ola Karlsson explains.
- You also want to stay neutral - and a name change like this can be experienced as a political mark.
Kyjiv in the long run
Foreign Minister Ann Linde also wants to stick to the old spelling for the time being, she writes in an answer to a written question in the Riksdag.
Despite this, Ola Karlsson believes that Kyjiv has a future ahead of it.
- I think so, in the long run.
Politics can fluctuate quickly.
I have received indications from the European Council that they may want to change to Ukrainian spelling, so we will have to wait and see.