it is evident that people are still confused as to how to address natives of the czech republic. i have heard they take offense when referred to as slovokians........ can anyone explain what happened after the split? and also what is the correct way to address czech natives?
There are heaps of articles on this forum regarding what supposedly caused and what happened after the split. Czech natives are often reffered to as 'Czechs', some will call them "Czechians" but this is rarely used...I think possibly due to the fact that it has a strong resemblence to the word 'Chechnian' used for natives of Chechnya - which can create undersirable confusion hehehe :lol: .
the czechs and the slovaks have always been two ethnic groups, each with a separate language the czech republic today actually consists of three areas -- čechy (bohemia) morava (moravia) and slezsko (silesia) -- during the period of time that is was czechoslovakia, the country also included slovakia
To confuse it a liitle bit more - before WW2, Czechoslovakia also included part of Ukraine. This was given to USSR after the war.
this is actually another ethnic minority -- rusín - in czech the area was called podkarpatská rus and, as halef said, the ussr took and annexed this region after wwii a large number of ukraininans in the cr today have come in search of better employment opportunities
Czechoslovakia did not exist before 1918. The country was knitted together after the WWI by the European powers. The territory of the present Czech Republic comprises what used to be the Kingdom of Bohemia (Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia), previously part of the Austrian Empire. The inhabitants of CR are Czechs.
I think calling them Czechs is your safest bet. If you call them Slovaks you are stating that they're from another country. How I explain it to some people is that it's like calling a Canadian American. We're not American, that's an entirely different country, even though they are both in North America. THen they seem to understand.
At my question about the proper usage on the country's name, I got this reply (from a person in West Bohemia, if it makes a difference) a while ago: How do other people feel about this? Is Česko an acceptable form to use to refer to the Czech Republic as a whole? When I write in Czech, I have so far tried to stick to "ČR" whenever possible to avoid confusion
I think we've got quite used to it now. Česko, as a short form, is used preferably in the media, and nobody protests anymore.
Hm, I don't think this is a good example. I know that U.S. citizens are called Americans, but technically, Canadiands are as Americans, as Czechs are Europeans. So I'd advise using another country - Mexico might be fine
Maybe they are in the southern states, I just give an example to what's relevant to me and the people around me. I've never been to the USA, so I don't know how it is down there. ETA: If you call a Canadian an American, referring to their being North American, they will be very insulted. The ONLY people called Americans are those from the USA. If you call a Czech a European, they won't be.
I can think of better comparison. I think it's as if you called Scottish people English and vice versa. Scotland is part of U.K. just like North Ireland. However you can go safely with them just calling them Brittish. So after the country split up, there is two countries Czech Republic and Slovak Republic. There is no longer Czechoslovakia, so stop calling us that. :roll: