Abstract:

New, post-Euromaidan reality in Ukraine intensified the debate on how to fill the gap between national identity and language use, particularly in the civil service sector. The present paper argues that the further development of language policy within the Ukrainian civil service domain is a rational response to the existing language challenges. This argument is supported by the comparative analysis with the Baltic states experience. Unfortunately, the Ukrainian language legislation still does not have any precise and ultimate statement, which would give the supremacy of the state language and offer some mechanisms to stimulate and control the use of the Ukrainian language in the public sector. In the present work we examined the detailed requirements to the language proficiency level of civil servants, the structure and the procedure of the state language proficiency examination, based on comparative analysis of the Baltic states and Ukraine.