As you may have noticed, I am Czech and, knwing some other languages as well, I can honestly declare that Czech is the most beautiful of them. Unfortunately, most people studying it do not think so. Many who decide to get to the top of the hill called Czech get out of steam quite quickly.
The language IS horrible, once you master some rules, you find out that there are so many exceptions that learning the rule actually does not make much sense. To me it seams that the safest way to learn Czech is to learn it by heart. I do mean it: come here, listen to people and imitate what they say. Don´t forget to put your heart in it too. One more thing: don´t be frustrated if Czech people keep correcting you. First, it is one of our national sports, secondly - you want to speak the right Czech, don´t you?
I have a few friends from various countries who speak good Czech and enjoy it. Also, I have had some students to whom I taught the basics of Czech and who now speak it really well. All of the people say, that it was extremely difficult but it was worth it.
Now they can read the orginal versions of Vaclav Havel´s speeches or Bohumil Hrabal´s novels and finally find out how fantastic they are.
Friday 4 June 2010
There have never been any lions here
I am a Czech citizen and since we have been celebrating the 20 anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, I would like to share some experience with you.
First of all, I am really glad that the initial period is eventually over. Still, let me start with this since - as time passes - some of the stories are funny.
Yes, we did know what TV is.
Yes, we used toilets. (You don´t go to the cactuses any longer???- Well, this question was really great considering the location of our country on the globe, but the person asking was from Arizona...).
And, yes, Charles University is MUCH older than Harward. (Yes, it is a university - we know what that means).
I loved this sentence: Prague is a great city. You have McDonald´s.
Honestly, I didn´t want to know whether the two sentences were meant to be connected with "because, and, moreover or even if". Personally, I can easily exist without MD. I have been there once, and as a classic puts it: Never more!
But I understand that lots of people like it. OK. No problem.
To sum up, at that time my country was well-known because of the "revolution" that in fact wasnt´t any revolution at all, which demonstrates one feature of our national character (if there is anything like that). And the whole world knew Vaclav Havel, the great little man, who has done more for this country than anyone else in the past few decades.
However, lots of foreigners thought that the country needed "civilizing", because anything that exists OUT THERE can be labeled by "Hic sunt leones."
First of all, I am really glad that the initial period is eventually over. Still, let me start with this since - as time passes - some of the stories are funny.
Yes, we did know what TV is.
Yes, we used toilets. (You don´t go to the cactuses any longer???- Well, this question was really great considering the location of our country on the globe, but the person asking was from Arizona...).
And, yes, Charles University is MUCH older than Harward. (Yes, it is a university - we know what that means).
I loved this sentence: Prague is a great city. You have McDonald´s.
Honestly, I didn´t want to know whether the two sentences were meant to be connected with "because, and, moreover or even if". Personally, I can easily exist without MD. I have been there once, and as a classic puts it: Never more!
But I understand that lots of people like it. OK. No problem.
To sum up, at that time my country was well-known because of the "revolution" that in fact wasnt´t any revolution at all, which demonstrates one feature of our national character (if there is anything like that). And the whole world knew Vaclav Havel, the great little man, who has done more for this country than anyone else in the past few decades.
However, lots of foreigners thought that the country needed "civilizing", because anything that exists OUT THERE can be labeled by "Hic sunt leones."
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