в vs. на Украине

[wordchick.livejournal.com]

My first Russian teacher was a wonderful woman, as well as being an incredible St. Petersburg snob. She was very particular about our language and pronunciation and emphasized the fact that Ukraine, alone of non-island countries, takes на. I have subsequently lived in Ukraine and discovered that these days, Ukrainians use на and в interchangeably, though tending to use в more often. My most recent Russian teacher (a Ukrainian) told me that using на is out of date. like saying the Ukraine.

However, on Russian television, everyday people often say на. What is the general Russian opinion? The learned, linguistic opinion? Are they the same? Thanks in advance.

Comments

Re: general Russian Opinion

[thespinningone.livejournal.com]

Exactly.
For example, I belong to those who love to stick to the literary norm - because "на Украине" really is one!
Saying "в Украине" (which is, by the way, becoming more and more popular on TV) is either a sign of this strange Ukranian nationalism and self-pride (as long as their inexplicable desire to change our language) - or that of "political correctness".