Yanukism
{{Short description|Ukrainian term}}
Yanukisms ({{Langx|uk|янукізми|yanukizmy}}) is a Ukrainian colloquial term for various linguistic blunders and mistakes made by former President Viktor Yanukovych, who put up a façade of a well-educated man but frequently embarrassed himself with misspellings and other mistakes.{{Cite web |date=2010-09-03 |title=Янукізми |url=https://tyzhden.ua/ianukizmy/ |access-date=2023-03-04 |website=Український тиждень |language=uk}}
One of the best known examples of a Yanukism is proffesor, which got started as Yanukovych misspelled the academic title in his registration form during the 2004 presidential election. It became an internet meme and a nickname of Yanukovych. In the same form, Yanukovych made in total 12 different mistakes: he misspelled the names of his wife and his hometown.{{Cite web |title=Тому що "проффесор" |url=https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2004/09/21/3002574/ |access-date=2023-03-04 |website=Українська правда |language=uk}} In addition, Yanukovych has made so many other mistakes that his doctor's degree in economics has been called into question.{{Cite web |date=2010-09-30 |title=The proFFesor's latest flub: Yanukovych without a clue |url=https://archive.kyivpost.com/article/opinion/op-ed/the-proffesors-latest-flub-yanukovych-without-a-cl-84539.html |access-date=2023-03-04 |website=Kyiv Post}} Also, the fact that Yanukovych was among the best-selling authors of Ukraine in the early 2010s raised questions about the true author of his books due to all his past mistakes.{{Cite news |date=2012-04-19 |title=Ukrainian President's Millions In Book Fees Raise Eyebrows |language=en |work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine_president_million-dollar_book_deal_raises_eyebrows/24552217.html |access-date=2023-03-04}}
Yanukisms can also be manifested by factual mistakes instead of misspellings or other mistakes language-wise. Yanukovych has said among other things that Mount Athos is located in Palestine (actually in Greece), called the 2022 Winter Olympics 'a World Championship' and said that Israel is a European country.{{Cite web |title=Черговий конфуз Януковича. Тепер спортивний |url=https://www.pravda.com.ua/news/2011/07/8/6368248/ |access-date=2023-03-04 |website=Українська правда |language=uk}}
Examples
| class="wikitable"
!Yanukism !Explanation !Ref. |
| проффесор ({{ill|proffesor|uk|Проффесор}})
|extra ф (f) |
| Welcome in Ukraine!
|wrong preposition (to instead of in); Yanukovych uttered this while on a state visit to Japan in 2011 |
| Isaak Bebel
|Yanukovych mixed up the Ukrainian author Isaac Babel and the German politician August Bebel |
| йолка (yolka)
|means 'a Christmas tree'. The correct Ukrainian term is ялинка (yalynka), which Yanukovych forgot. |
| прємьєр-міністр (premyer-ministr)
|correct spelling: прем'єр-міністр, means 'a Prime Minister' |
| курасани (kurasany)
|correct spelling: круасани (kruasany), means 'croissants' |
| Secretary General Clinton
|while meeting Hillary Clinton, Yanukovych mistitled her as 'Secretary General' instead of 'Secretary of State' |
| People from Lviv are "the country's best genocide"
|Yanukovych mixed up the words for gene pool (генофонд, henofond) and genocide (геноцид, henotsyd) |
| Anna Akhmetova
|correct spelling: Akhmatova |
| "when you see with your own hands (– –) you touch it with your own eyes"
|Yanukovych describes reports from regional governors |
| "revival and development of Pridnestrovie and all of Ukraine"
|Yanukovych mixed up the Ukrainian region of Dnipropetrovsk ({{Langx|uk|Дніпропетровська область|translit=Dnipropetrovska oblast}}) and the self-proclaimed unrecognized country of Transnistria ({{Langx|uk|Придністров'я|translit=Prydnistrovia}}), which is a part of Moldova. |
| демілітація (demilitatsija)
|Yanukovych forgot the word делімітація (delimitatsiya), means ’delimitation’. |
| "Energoatom"
|while visiting a power engineering company called Turboatom, Yanukovych called it "Energoatom" thrice. |
| "low-enriched Iran"
|Yanukovych was meant to tell Barack Obama that a new research center in Kharkiv will focus on researching low-enriched uranium; he mixed up the words for "Iran" ({{Langx|uk|Іран|translit=Iran}}) and "uranium" ({{Langx|uk|уран|translit=uran}}). |
| :uk:Астанавітєсь! (Astanavites!; Stop!)
|Russicism for proper Ukrainian Зупиніться!, another internet-meme associated with Yanukovich.[https://doba.te.ua/post/22009 Інтернет заполонив новий мем з Януковичем (ФОТОЖАБИ)] He uttered it addressing to the new Ukrainian government after he was removed from power in 2014 |{{cite web | url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxx6xrh0duE | title=Астанавітєсь — Янукович (Full HD) | website=YouTube | date=30 March 2023 }} |