Hi

Discussion in 'General Language' started by mariposablanca, Aug 19, 2004.

  1. mariposablanca

    mariposablanca Active Member

    I don't post here very much but I do visit frequently and read quite a bit. The more I read the more intrigued I am. I'm looking at the language and it has really peaked my interest. I really want to learn. I've heard it's very difficult. I was thinking of teaching myself with books and what not. I was curious to know if anyone here has taught themselves this language and had good luck with it. I have absolutely no reason at all to learn the language, I only know one person from the CR, and I'll never travel there, but wow, it takes my breath away and I just have to know it! Does that make any sense at all? Anyway, I may be a nut but I have such an urge to learn. Any tips would be greatly appreciated :D

    BTW, I've been reading through all the forums and I think all of you are such nice and friendly people. I'm glad I happened across this board :)

    edited to add: I've decided I need to learn the language to impress that certain someone who is from the czech republic. I think I stand a better chance of being in a relationship with him if I learn about his country and his language. Keeping my fingers crossed!!
     
  2. adder

    adder Active Member

    I suppose that you come from States, and I come from Poland. As for me it'd be much easier to learn Czech since our languages are similar so I cannot say how it is when you learn Czech from English. I know one person who learns Polish from English but he's not even American or British and doing very well, after living in Poland for 2 months he understands the languae quite well.

    Anyway, at the beginning I think you should start with some basic phrases which you can easily find, that's in order to get used to the language (how it writes, how it sounds). There are some grammar guides on the net but unfortunately I think they will be hard for English speaking people. I used to read them and learn words from dictionaries - it doesn't cost anything. I just wish that there were some full Czech language courses :) . Any books are useful anyway because Slavic Languages have a different structure than Germanic.
     
  3. mariposablanca

    mariposablanca Active Member

    THank you for your response Adder. Yes I am in the states and would be learning it from English. So far all I know is ahoj and cau :p I'm trying to memorize some of the phrases that are on local lingo but even that is hard. I'm tring to memorize the alphabet too so I can get a grasp of how differently the letters are pronounced. Not easy. And some of the rules are very complicated. I'm looking into getting any type of books I can but haven't been able to yet. Thanks for your tips :)
     
  4. brook

    brook Well-Known Member

    Some here may already be familiar with it, but if simply memorizing phrases and such gets old mariposa, check out The Little Czech Primer http://www.czechprimer.org. It's a fun way to learn a few new Czech words. You'll make all kinds of mistakes learning Czech, so you might as well have fun with it! :D And I definitely recommend trying to purchase an audiotape or recording of some kind (rent a few Czech films too from your local video store) so that you can actually hear the language.
     
  5. mariposablanca

    mariposablanca Active Member

    Thanks for the website, it's really neat. I totally expect to make mistakes, this would be my third language, so I'm very familiar with language learning. I appreciate any advice I get :) I'll have to look for Czech films at the video store, never thought to do that.
     
  6. Jirka

    Jirka Well-Known Member

    Hi Amy,

    besides watching movies on TV you can, of course, find some online resources to listen to natural native Czech:

    http://dir.seznam.cz/Zabava_a_hry/Radio ... index.html
    http://www.nova.cz/tvarchiv/
    http://www.czech-tv.cz/vysilani/
    http://www.czech-tv.cz/program/detail.php?nzv=Popularis
    http://www.iprima.cz/zpravodajstviasport/?460e=1610
    http://www.psp.cz/docs/video.html
    many more...

    Anyway, it may be too early for you to use such stuff now. You should get an elementary Czech textbook with audio recordings first...

    Jirka
     
  7. mariposablanca

    mariposablanca Active Member

    Those are really great sites, thanks so much Jirka :) The last time he was over here he was looking at that nova.cz site :) Cool.
     

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