From England - Czechs arriving all the time!

don't the words So, Go, No, end in oh + oo? so it sounds as though it has both oh sound and 'oo" sound at the end? (like the word "toe"?)
Kocka is pronounced with just "oh" like in a word "lock"

 

Here is Czech children song "Kočka leze dírou, pes oknem":
http://www.musicvars.cz/Audio/0038.mp3

First word is "kočka", so you can listen to right pronunciation.

 

Typical American English pronounces the so-called "long o" as a diphthong vowel sound (Canadian English, too--see I'm looking out for you, Kanadanko! ) . While we don't usually consider it as a diphthong in English, when transliterating the sound into most European languages (perhaps Asian as well), one hears a distinct diphthong of "o" and "u" (pronounced as a long "oo" as in "boot" in most languages). I found that many Americans learning Czech (even Spanish or Russian, for that matter) never make the distinction in their pronunciation.

 

Excellent Eso & Sova!

Thanks for clearing that up for us. Well regardless of if there's a diphthong or not, I say like the song does. :lol: :lol:

 

great explanation, Sova. Thanks.

 

Hi:
we live in south dakota usa and are interested in learning about Czech republic with the possibility of moving there.
We are reformed Calvinists and are intersted in meeting likeminded Christians to learn about the reformed faith in the Czech republic.

My husband and I are half German half Hungarian and are drawn to your country by the warmth of your people. We miss that in the usa.

 

I'm not aware of any sizeable Calvinist population in the Czech Republic. I believe, however, that there are areas of Slovakia (eastern side, if I remember correctly) where there are communities of Calvinists.

Well, it only seems natural then that you both should find yourselves attracted to a "middle" ground.

I'm not sure South Dakota is the right place to find warmth. But seriously, I've never been to South Dakota, but I can tell you there definitely are other places in the USA, where one (even foreigners) can find warm people.