Language Trouble

I’ve been trying to figure out a way to refer to the invaders in conversations with my husband. To say “your people” or “Russians” is unnecessarily hurtful. I switched to “fascists” but this word has humorous connotations in Russian. I refuse to say “Putin” because the problem is precisely that it would all be the same if Putin never existed. The closest word to invaders is захватчики, but it’s long, impossible to pronounce several times in a row and also sounds humorous, like I’m making fun of the situation. Nazis also has humorous connotations.

I’d use swear words but my husband is sensitive and swear words don’t work to move the conversation along.

Also, on a different topic, people ask if N would get vaccinated if it weren’t for me. The question is, though, how would he find out that vaccination existed if it weren’t through me? The man is practically a hermit.

8 thoughts on “Language Trouble

  1. “a way to refer to the invaders in conversations with my husband”

    You could try the old white Southern expression ‘those… people’ (there needs to be a very slight but still perceptible pause between the two words and you do mention who those…. people are at least once in the beginning…

    “захватчики”

    To ears attuned to Polish that words sounds just… adorable…. almost but not quite suggesting zachwyt (delight, enchantment) it makes me think of people who run out behind the door and start tickling you or something….

    Liked by 1 person

  2. You could call them snowflakes, since they are supposedly there to “help make Ukraine less violent”…by violently invading and taking over.

    That kind of hypocrisy is a very snowflake-ish thing.

    Like

  3. How about something ambiguous like merely saying “the army” and refer to the Ukrainian forces simply as “the Ukrainians”?

    Like

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