Lesson 2– Exercises

   Hello, now we'll do some exercises. Practise makes perfection!
        If you've missed the Lesson 2, click here: http://ciray.blogspot.cz/2013/10/lesson-2-greetings.html

        So, read the descriptions of situations and choose the appropriate greeting. Good luck to you!

1) You've moved in to a new house in the Czech republic. One day in the morning, you get up and go out to check your mailbox. While you're checking it, you note that a curious neighbour is staring at you. What do you say? (Don't be rude, hehe.)

2) It's your first day at school. You're sitting at your desk, when a classmate sits next to you and says hello. What do you say?

3) Your husband/ wife has invited you to their house. She/ he wants you to meet her/ his parents. How do you greet them?

4) You're with your friend, but, unfortunately, you have to leave. What do you tell them?

Post your answers below, I'll check them. ;)

Lesson 1– Exercises

Hello, it's time to revise. Here are two videos with Czech subtitles. Listen and read the subtitles to improve your writing, listening and reading skills. The subtitles contain exactly what is said, so all you have to do is to read them. I should mention that Richard Nedvěd (the comedian/magician in the video) is from Prague (the capital of the Czech Republic), so he speaks colloquial Czech, not the proper language. :)

 (Prohlašuji, že nevlastním žádná práva na tato videa a nebyla uveřejněna za účelem zisku. Volně stažitelná.)

Lesson 2– Greetings

  Hi, welcome to the second lesson, if you missed the first one, look for it on my blog. (Sorry, I still have no idea how to create a menu. :)
         Now we'll learn how to greet someone. It's very important, because you start communication with a greeting. So, first, I need to tell you that Czech language has two forms: formal and informal. You should use the formal language when talking to: someone you don't know, your boss, an elder person, your colleagues (if you haven't agreed on an informal form), teachers, etc. Yes, and your mother-in-law and father-in-law, even if you've known for a while, don't use the informal talk until they ask you to. :)

Formal greetings                  

Dobrý den –"good day"                    
used during whole daytime                
                                                          
Dobré ráno – "good morning"                                                                        
used in the morning                                  
                                                                               
Dobré poledne –"good noon"
used only in the midday                        
                                                          
Dobré odpoledne –"good afternoon"   
used in the afternoon                        
                                                            
Dobrý večer –"good evening"             
used in the evening                               
                                                           
Dobrou noc –"good night"                   
used when wishing good night to          
somebody

Na shledanou –"see you"
used when leaving and you'll
or plan to meet the person again

Sbohem – "goodbye"
used when leaving supposing you
won't meet the person ever again 

Informal greetings

Ahoj –"hello"                            

Čau –"hey"                              

Čest –"honor" (Yes, very similar to
the English "chest".:)

Zdar or Nazdar –"well-being" or
"succes" (Actually, I don't know how
this developed. :)

Měj se/ Mějte se –"stay cool" (only
 when leaving). "Měj se", when leaving
one person, "Mějte se", when leaving
two or more persons.

You can use all of these, except for
"Měj se" when leaving and when
meeting someone.

Both

Zdravím –"I'm greeting"
+ You can use all of the formal
greetings when greeting
friends, but they'll probably
think that you're weird.


     One more thing – we separate greetings with commas like in English, e. g. Ahoj, Sarah. Dobrý večer, slečno. (=Good evening, miss.)

The Sound of the Czech Language

   As I mentioned before, foreigners hear merely consonants when somebody speaks Czech. (Sounds funny to me.:D) But not everybody speaks that way. For example, I try to speak slowly because I tend to mix words together and mumble. It all depends on the person's usus (Czech "úzus") (= a specific speaking habit of a person). Nevertheless I checked out some web pages and made a little research in a facebook group (https://www.facebook.com/groups/languagescom/), which you can join, and foud out that Czech sounds like Russian with an Italian or Spanish accent. Some say that it's like Russian, or that all Slavic languages sound the same (*facepalm*).

      So, Czech has the stress on the first syllable of a word. Surprisingly, without exception. :) Our neighbours, Slovaks, say our language is monotonous and "harsh" and that they can speak our language, but we can't speak theirs. (If I were on facebook, I'd put here the F*ck Logic pic. :) On the other hand, Polish people find our language melodic, cheerful and full of optimism, despite the fact that we are well-known for our coldness and pessimism. I like both Slovak and Polish. They sound familiar. 

While I was watching the reactions on facebook, I decided to write an article about Czech humour because it's something that needs to be mentioned. 

      Feel free to tell me your opinion on Czech language. You can leave a comment below. :)

P. S.: There is nothing better than listening, listening, listening...  here you can listen to this (as a podcast): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JdBV0HEzpbg. I'll try to add subtitles to some videos, so that you could know what they're saying. :)