“Dictionary of War”, compiled by poet and translator Ostap Slyvynsky, was created from real testimonies gathered in the first months of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Words redefined by war. Language carrying memory and loss.
Over the course of two months, Scottish poets Christopher Whyte and Roseanne Watt translated ‘definitions’ from the “Dictionary of War” into two of Scotland’s languages — Gaelic and Shetlandic — languages that carry their own histories of displacement, struggle for visibility, and preservation.
This project is not only about translation. It is about creating a space for cross-cultural dialogue and exploring how the experience of war can be carried across different languages and contexts.
In the links below you can read the Dictionary of War in English, Gaelic and Shetlandic as well as Ostap Slyvynsky’s heartfelt reflection on the project and translation process.
