My Czech Republic Message Boards

Grammar & Pronunciation: RE: more on se and si

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 22:46:16 GMT

scrimshaw wrote:

Starobyl�....ne starob�l�. ...Sta�� Egyp�an� postavili pyramidy a ty pyramidy jsou i dnes zdroje mnoha spekulac�. Jak je stav�li? Jak pohnuli tak velk�mi kameny?

Rou�ky proti prase�n� ch�ipce jsem tady nevid�l j�. Ale nebydl�m ve velk�m m�st�.
V televizi, si mysl�m, �e jsem vid�l lidi na ulici v New Yorku, kte�� nos� rou�ky.

A� �ije dlouho svobodn� a nez�visl� tisk, je to o�ima a u�ima svobodn�ch lidi. Den, kdy� tisk u� nen� nez�visl�, je den, kdy� se to stane jen hlasem vl�dy.
Nesvobodn� tisk je jen mluv��m vl�dy, zdrojem propagandy.
Zdrav� demokracie si z�vis� na zdrav�m nez�visl�m tisku.

Vyn�lezem internetu zm�nil sv�ta. Sv�t je dnes o mnohem men��, ne� byl jen p�ed stolet�m.

Smrt hrad� je t��e sva�en� ?? se v�e k vyn�lezu kan�nu. Hrad na dne�n�m boji�ti by byl jen snadn� ter� pro dne�n� modern� zbran�. Ale p�ed vyn�lezem kan�nu, hrady byly srdcem a du�� v�le�n�ho moci ve Evrop�.
Z hrad� v Anglii ryt��i kulat�ho stolu vyj��d�li na venkovu/do sv�ta, aby zachr�nili/��ili cti�est a sl�vu sv�ho kr�le, odv��n�ho Artou�e. Ty slavn� dni jsou jen ��st minulosti/ji� pat�� do minulosti.
�ij� d�l jen v str�nk�ch knih a ve filmech.

Vlajky m�vaj� tady na p�l holi�erdi, proto�e nespokojenci v pevnosti Hood v Texasu zast�elili t�in�ct a zranili v�c ne� t�icet sv�ch spole�n�ch voj�k�, kte�� slou�ili s nimi. Oni jsou nejlep��m p��kladem zr�dc�, jak� by si n�kdo mohl p�edstavit.
Je �patn� z�minka �lov�ku ?? a mus� ��t s t�m, co ud�lal.

Grammar & Pronunciation: RE: more on se and si

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:41:42 GMT

Starobyl�....ne starob�l�. ...Staroegyp��ni postavili piramidy a ty piramidy jsou i dnes zdroje moc spekulace. Jak je stav�li? Jak hnuli tak velk� k�meny?

Rou�ky proti prase�n� ch�ipku jsem tady nevid�l j�. Ale nebydl�m ve velk�m m�stem.
V televizi si mysl�m, �e jsem vid�l lidi na ulice v New Yorku, kte�� nosi rou�ky.

A� �ije dlouho svobodn� a nez�visl� t�sk, je to o�ima a u�ima svobodn�ch lidi. Den kdy� tisk u� nen� nez�visl�, je den, kdy� se to stane jen hlasem vl�dy.
Nesvobodn� tisk je jen mluv�� vl�dy, zdroje propagandy.
Zdrava demokracie si z�vis� na zdravu nez�visl�ho tisku.

Vyn�lezem internetu zm�nil sv�ta. Sv�t je dnes o mnohem men��, ne� byl jen p�ed stolet�.

Smrt hrad� je t��e sva�en� k vyn�lezu kan�nu. Hrad na dne�n� boji�ti by byl jen snadn� ter� pro dne�n� modern� zbran�. Ale p�ed vyn�lezem kan�nu, hrady byli srdce a du�i v�le�n�ho moci ve Evrop�.
Z hradu v Anglie ryt��i kulat�ho stolu odji�d�li do venkovu, aby zachr�nili cti a slavu sv�ho kr�lu, odva�n�ho Artou�e. Ti slavni dni jsou jen �ast minulosti.
�ij� d�l jen v strank�ch knih a ve filmech.

Vlajky m�vaj� tady na p�l holi, proto�e nespokojenec v pevnosti Hood v Texasu zast�eli t�in�ct a zranili v�c ne� t�icet sv�ch spole�n�ch voj�k�. On je nejlep�� p�iklad zradcu, kter� by si n�kdo mohl p�edstavit.
Je �patn� z�minka �lov�ku a mus� ��t s t�m, co ud�lal.

Vocabulary & Translation Help: RE: can someone look at this ...

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 19:14:11 GMT

TomKQT wrote:

And this is exactly why I said what I said, just to make sure nobody would understand it this way (you should prefer -� in spoken language because it's common). That's all. I don't think it's meaningless, this forum is about learning the czech language, isn't it? And after all, it was you who pointed out this mistake, not me I just didn't want it to sound like if this wasn't a mistake at all, which could easily confuse somebody.

Well, it was Alexx, not me .

TomKQT wrote:

Sorry, if my comment sounded like a criticism. I was just trying to point out that mistakes like this should definitely be corrected (regardless of whether they are made in English or in Czech).

And yes, I'm Czech but I usually don't translate English back into Czech in order to understand it, so it took me a while to figure it out. I think, it would be the same the other way around as well (e.g. if someone said "Tahle �loha je kus kol��e" then I would be probably rather confused too).

Travel Tips & Advice: RE: Airport to hotel ( Acc-Nifos UNION Hotel )

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:16:16 GMT

hyeung wrote:

Los Angeles Airport Hotel

Hallo,

I have booked my hotel at Acc-Nifos UNION Hotel at OSTRCILOVO SQUARE 4, Prague,12800. How can I go there by public transportation from the airport?

Thank you,

Howard

I only wish the public transport in the US was even half as good as it is in Europe!!!

Grammar & Pronunciation: RE: more on se and si

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 11:06:34 GMT

scrimshaw wrote:

Starob�l� �eck� in�en�r �ekl: 'Dejte mi pevn� bod a budu moct pohnout sv�tem.'

Starob�l� is "oldwhite"

Starobyl� - old, ancient, traditional - cannot be used for people. In this case i would say "staro�eck�" or "in�en�r star�ho �ecka".

Vocabulary & Translation Help: RE: can someone look at this ...

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:20:23 GMT

ondras wrote:

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to say he should use the "-�" ending, I'm just trying to say that correcting such mistakes is in my opinion rather meaningless.

ondras wrote:

btw. Using Czech idiomatic expressions in English is in my opinion far worse . It took me a while to decipher what you meant by "in the first row" .

Sorry but I though this forum was about something else. OK, my english is not 100%, I'm Czech and I'm here to help with the Czech language. I think you're Czech too, aren't you? Then I don't understand why it took you some time to decipher it.

And about using Czech idiomatic expressions in English - you'd be surprised how many idiomatic expressions are the same in both languages. I'm a member of one international community and I've heard this (in English) many many times by people from all over the Europe, so I propably started to think it's correct also in English.

Vocabulary & Translation Help: RE: can someone look at this ...

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 09:46:09 GMT

ondras wrote:

Ctyri koruny wrote:

I've never heard "in the first row" before.

It is from the Czech idiom "v prvn� �ad�". The meaning is pretty similar to "In the first place".

Ctyri koruny wrote:

As a learner I would prefer to be told about the mistakes, and that they are used colloquially, because if I sit an exam or have to write an essay in the future I will need to know the difference between standard written and spoken Czech.

A good example is Kdybyjsme, most books for learning Czech don't mention it, then the first time I heard it I was like.. what on earth is that... It's good to see it written there and understand it, but not to use it...

Yep, I realize that there are some people, for example you, who want, for whatever reason, to learn the standard Czech, but the majority just want to improve their communication skills, and for them, it is really not important whether they use pekne fotky or pekny fotky. They should be able to understand both anyway.

Ctyri koruny wrote:

It's the same when I teach English, I tell the students what they will hear on the street, just so they'll understand it, but learning every colloquial variant is a lot harder than just learning one standard version.

A good example is Kdybyjsme, most books for learning Czech don't mention it, then the first time I heard it I was like.. what on earth is that... It's good to see it written there and understand it, but not to use it...

Again, I'm not arguing against learning the standard Czech, I just think that it is not really necessary to correct every single mistake even when the incorrect version is in fact the most used one. Of course, if one wants to be corrected then it is perfectly fine to do so, but otherwise it can be more counterproductive than helpful.

Ctyri koruny wrote:

and anyway.. you learn Bohemian colloquial endings, then you go to Moravia, and everyone cringes.

Well, I cringe (nice word btw ) almost every time I hear the standard Czech (which is not very often) so I guess you really don't have much of a choice here . Of course if you want to take some exams in Czech then you should use the standard Czech, but otherwise it is really only up to each individual to choose which version to use. Anyway, as I said, everyone should be able to understand both the colloquial and the standard Czech.

Fair enough, but I think the mistakes should be pointed out, but maybe in a different colour ha ha, so we know we can ignore it if we like.

I'm sure not all mistakes are pointed out anyway, as my teacher, with her PHD in Czech, is pained every day to see signs and leaflets all around her with grammatical and spelling errors on them, even Czech books by other PHDs. It seems to me that standard written Czech is for most of us an impossible dream!

General Language: RE: Pimsleur Czech-opinions?

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 09:30:03 GMT

worldtraveler wrote:

I bought the Comprehensive Czech a while back. It really kick-started my studies in the right direction. On top of the 30 spoken lessons it came with a bunch of reading lessons and a booklet. Their approach to teaching reading is kind of unconventional. They start by teaching you the sounds of the language and how letters combine to form new sounds.

Colloquial Czech also does that, but for about 6 pages, most of which didn't make sense to me till i'd already been living here and studying for months.

Quote:

It's actually rather smart. The focus is not on reading for meaning from the start. You start by mastering the sound system. Overall I loved the Comprehensive and only wished they had a level II and III like other more popular languages. I saw their Comprehensive course available on iTunes the other day! I wish they were available in that format when I bought my CD set because ripping 16 CDs to my computer, to then load on my iPod, was a pain.

sounds good!

Travel Tips & Advice: RE: Hotel (or hostel) in Jaromer ?

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:06:30 GMT

jimrayner wrote:

Karel_lerak wrote:

Erdinger wrote:

Thank you for your answer .. but if I understood correctly what their page says I am afraid it's full:

Quote:

Omlouv�me se, ale v term�nu kon�n� festivalu Brutal Assault 2008
od 14. - 16. 8. 2008 jsou ji� kapacity pensionu pln� obsazeny.

or ?

You are right

We apologize, but in the time of the festival Brutal Assault 2008 from 14.-16.8.2008, the pension is fully occupied.
Downtown San Diego Hotels Cheap Lake Tahoe Hotel

Is it currently full?

Yes, I do believe you are just a little bit late

Vocabulary & Translation Help: RE: can someone look at this ...

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 22:56:37 GMT

Ctyri koruny wrote:

I've never heard "in the first row" before.

It is from the Czech idiom "v prvn� �ad�". The meaning is pretty similar to "In the first place".

Ctyri koruny wrote:

and anyway.. you learn Bohemian colloquial endings, then you go to Moravia, and everyone cringes.