Japanese support for Ukraine took a linguistic turn last Friday when the government officially changed the transliteration of the country’s capital to キーウ (Kīu, Kyiv) from the Russian-derived キエフ (Kiefu, Kiev). Other new pronunciations include チョルノービリ (Chorunōbiri, Chernobyl), オデーサ (Odēsa, Odessa), ハルキウ (Harukiu, Kharkiv) and ルハンシク (Ruhanshiku, Luhansk).
The move came just over a week after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gave an 演説 (enzetsu, speech) to Japan’s parliament, one of many he has given to governments around the world.
Each 演説 has been tailored with specific 共感ワード (kyōkan wādo, words that evoke empathy) in order to win over his audience. In his 演説 to the United States, for example, Zelenskyy referenced the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, 真珠湾攻撃 (shinjuwan kōgeki, the attack on Pearl Harbor), and quoted Martin Luther King Jr.’s 1963 speech, 「私には夢がある」 (“Watashi ni wa yume ga aru,” “I have a dream”), to appeal to the emotions of American lawmakers when requesting they establish a 飛行禁止空域 (hikōkinshikūiki, no-fly zone).
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