Linguist criticized The Bachelor: why the title of the show is a Russicism.

According to inkorr.com: Linguist Olga Vasilyeva pointed out the unacceptable name of the popular show 'The Bachelor'. She noted that this word is a Russicism and does not comply with the norms of the Ukrainian language. This situation was discussed in an article in the 'Language Question' section of the publication Glavcom.

Russicisms in the Ukrainian language

Olga Vasilyeva explained:

“Yes, this is a Russicism. There is no such word in old dictionaries, but it is present in Soviet explanatory dictionaries. In old dictionaries, there are related words 'holosty' (empty) and 'holostyty' (to castrate). Of course, one can form 'holostyak', but this is a pejorative term that means 'an empty', 'infertile' person. Instead, the Ukrainian language uses the words 'holostyak' and 'holostyachka' to denote a young man and a girl. More neutral variants are 'odynak' and 'odynachka'.”

Choosing dictionaries

The philologist added that when using old dictionaries such as SUD-11, it is important to carefully check words for the presence of Russicisms and refer to more modern sources, for example, SUD-20: 'I remind you that SUD-11 contains Russicisms. It is necessary to be able to use this dictionary, recognizing and verifying suspicious elements. One should rely on the more modern - SUD-20, however, it was released under the letter P. Whether it will contain 'holostyak', we will see. Perhaps it will be marked as 'colloquial'.”

In times when the Ukrainian language is fighting for purity and correctness, it is important to pay attention to details such as the name of a television show. The statements of language experts like Olga Vasilyeva contribute to the popularization of the Ukrainian language in the media space.