Czech Update

Scottish Harvest in Bohemia Wins BCSA Prize

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 19:38:10 -0500

From a BCSA press release:

A Scottish Harvest in Bohemia – Edwin Muir’s Return to Hope is the title of an essay that has just won a prize of £300 in a writing competition run by the British Czech & Slovak Association. The author is Clarice Cloutier.

The essay is an analysis of two beautiful and thoughtful poems, set in the Bohemian countryside, by the Scottish poet Edwin Muir. Muir, from Orkney, wrote Autumn in Praguewhile staying in the new state of Czechoslovakia between 1923 and 1925, and The Cloud while serving as Director of the British Council in Prague in the turbulent period from 1946 to 1949. The essay studies his style and evocative imagery and suggests the deeper meanings underneath.

Clarice has studied at Yale, Dartmouth, Princeton, Oxford and Charles Universities. She lives in Prague, where she currently teaches both undergraduate and graduate courses on Central European literature and culture. She has won the Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn Prize for Slavic Studies, and has compiled, translated and edited (with her colleague Bronislava Volková) a dual language selection of 65 Czech poets, Up the Devil’s Back: An Anthology of 20^th Century Czech Poetry, to be published in the USA in December 2008.

Spread Bohemica.com with new widget!

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 18:37:01 -0400

You can now help spread Bohemica.com by sharing this widget on your site or on Facebook. Share on Facebook

Strčprstskrzkrk.com launches

Dominik Lukeš — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 16:42:08 -0400

I've owned the StrčPrstSkrzKrk.com domain for a year but only now did I find a few minutes to make it live. All it contains is a video of me pronouncing the phrase. But with any luck, I will be adding more Czech tongue-twisters there, as time goes on.

Czech Studies teaching job at Glasgow University

Dominik Lukeš — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 07:23:47 -0400

An interesting job in teaching Czech!

Glasgow University is looking for a new Lecturer in Czech Studies

The University of Glasgow is advertising a new permanent position of Lecturer in Czech Studies. The successful candidate will have native or near-native knowledge of Czech, will be fluent in English, will have a postgraduate qualification, will be a charismatic teacher, and as a research scholar, he/she will have proven ability to attract outside research funding.

The salary will be on the Research and Teaching grade, level 7, £30,013 - £33,780 per annum.

Further particulars HERE

Expand your vocabulary with this online gadget!

Dominik Lukeš — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 14:22:56 -0500

I just got an early look at a great new gadget by the good people at Learnit Lists! It helps you practice 10 new words every day by putting it on your iGoogle page or in one of your social networks.

A New Face on Czech Update

Erik Piper — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 12:24:33 -0400

Hello! I'm Erik Piper, and I've agreed to do some blogging for Czech Update in addition to Dominik's entries. My approach will be fairly casual; that is, I'll be adding content when I have time. I'm an American living in Brno, so those two topics may be coming up a lot -- "America" as a topic only in relation to the Czech Republic, of course. Not that there are any noteworthy topics in Czech-American relations on the radar right now, mind you.

So... what am I like? I'm just this guy. I've been living here for 14 years, and am married, with one daughter. I'm employed as IT tech support and as my employer's internal ("dvorní") translator. Yes, I also moonlight. No, I don't moonlight much. Yes, I would say that even if I did moonlight often. But... trust me!

Czech Heritage in Texas

Dominik Lukeš — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 05:48:16 -0400

Not a lot of money but it would be interesting to read some of the essays when they are submitted.

MySA.com: Metro | State The Czech Heritage Society of Texas is accepting applications for the $500 Victor Peter Memorial Scholarship, which will be awarded to a graduating high school senior. Applicants must provide a 300-word essay on one of two topics: a family member who represents Czech heritage or a family member who contributed to the Czech heritage in the United States.

Welcome to New Bohemica

Dominik Lukeš — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 06:26:58 -0400

Bohemica has moved to a new system. The transition is not quite complete yet but it was time to upgrade. The old website is still available on http://old.bohemica.com.

Czech ministry of education to sponsor students of Czech

Dominik Lukeš — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 05:09:49 -0500

Every year the Czech ministry of education sponsors a certain number of foreigners to study Czech in the Czech Republic for up to a month. See the enclosed document (in Czech) for details on how to apply. Submissions are due by February 18.

Doomsday 2010 Prague Short Story Wins BCSA Prize

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 15:33:35 -0500

Mayor Šulc’s Astounding 2010 Directive is the title of a short story that has just won a prize of £300 in a writing competition run by the British Czech & Slovak Association. The author is Adam Daniel Mezei.

The story set in a Prague in 2010, which secedes from a Czechia which is controlled by a Communist revisionist government, and which in turn is part of an imperial Euro superstate. It explores the extraordinary consequences of political changes in the far from distant future – where Language Police patrol restaurants, and where Prague (Mayor Šulc’s ‘Inner District’) resorts to a helicopter airlift to take passengers to the airport to avoid the random searches and hefty tolls imposed by the Communist authorities. It’s one of several stories Adam submitted to the competition that tackle rather different, often unsettling subjects. (From BCSA Press Release)

For more information and how to enter the prize for next year (2007), see the BCSA Website.

PF 2007

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 05:30:35 -0500

Všechno nejlepší do Nového roku. All the best in the New Year from Czech Update. Here is your Péefko: PF 2007. Read more about PFs here. Here is an example of the many online PFs published in many places on the Czech Internet.

Veselé Vánoce a šťastný Nový rok

Dominik Lukeš — Sun, 24 Dec 2006 08:06:21 -0500

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from CzechUpdate.com. Ať Vám Ježíšek přinese plno dárků. This year brought a bounty of holiday posts that necessitated a new holiday category to make them easier to find. This is the second holiday greeting on this blog which has been in existence a little under 14 months. This is the 324th post on the blog from the very start which means one post almost every day. All in all, not a bad run for a little blog. I have also recently added quite a few new categories that should make it easier to find interesting things about items in the Czech news. The future holds, hopefully, closer integration with Bohemica and with any luck more people blogging.

Svátky: The holiday season

Dominik Lukeš — Tue, 05 Dec 2006 05:03:13 -0500

MF DNES To, že jsou Vánoce již za dveřmi, lze poznat z nabídky a výzdoby obchodních domů a od čtvrtka je bude připomínat i výzdoba v ulicích Prahy 8.

The holiday season is upon us, around the corner, or behind the door (za dveřmi). More and more Christmas trees are showing up in the streets of Czech cities and soon they will be joined by tubs with carp. But first, we will have to celebrate St Nicholas on Mikuláš day (5. of December). Last year I put together a Christmas vocabulary, and here are the key words for the season again:

Mikuláš, čert, anděl, nadílka
Vánoce, stromeček, štědrý večer, dárky, koledy, kapr, cukroví
Nový rok

Also, this might be a good time to introduce two new categories: holidays and seasons. I went back and added old posts to them, as well.

Babí léto - Indian Summer

Dominik Lukeš — Mon, 11 Sep 2006 18:24:17 -0400

Well, we've said nashledanou to okurková sezóna (the summer slow news season) and are about to welcome another time of year: babí léto (Indian Summer). I don't really know why it's called that but it seems to be reminiscent of bába (hag) but hag's summer sounds a little strange. Unfortunately, I don't have any etymological dictionaries to hand. This is what Czech wikipedia has to say about it:

Babí léto bývá charakterizováno obdobím suchého, málo větrného, slunného a přes den velmi teplého počasí. Noci ale bývají již poměrně chladné a poměrně často se k ránu vytvářejí radiační mlhy, které se s postupujícím podzimem udržují po větší část dne.

If you're in the CR, you can visit the folk-blues festival http://www.babileto.cz.

Okurková sezóna? Cucumber season?

Dominik Lukeš — Fri, 23 Jun 2006 03:04:59 -0400

I finally have time to update this blog and nothing interesting is happening. Oh, I somehow missed the new Czech government and Czech exit from the world cup, but that's really rather dull. When I say nothing is happening I mean nothing with interesting linguistic or cultural implications. The summer months are notoriously slow newswise - Czech has a term for this: okurková sezóna - ĺiterally 'cucumber season'. Let's hope things pick up soon. In England, this period is often refered to as the Silly Season characterized by stories of the "Dog bites man" variety (for which Czechs have no idiomatic equivalent). Another interesting bit is the fact, that the Czech cucumber season is a little longer: i.e. all of summer, as opposed to, mainly August in English speaking countries.

Czech Update updates to slow down

Dominik Lukeš — Sat, 04 Feb 2006 05:31:06 -0500

Fortunately for me, and unfortunately for Czech Update, I will be away and busy for the next four and a half months. As a result, my postings to Czech Update will become less frequent but I will try to do at least a weekly update. I also appreciate if anybody sends me interesting stories that should perhaps appear here. Dominik

Sport: New category on Czech Update

Dominik Lukeš — Tue, 10 Jan 2006 05:35:58 -0500

Although I'm not a big sports fan myself, it is a big part of any culture, and Czech culture is no exception, particularly with the recent and past successes of Czech 'sportovci'. I've already posted a few items in the culture category, but on reflection, I think a dedicated category might be in order. I've also gone back and reclassified some of the earlier posts that fit in.

Twisted Spoon publish Máj: Seminal work of Czech 'revival' in new English translation

Dominik Lukeš — Fri, 06 Jan 2006 06:53:31 -0500

Twisted Spoon Press, the Prague-based publisher of quality Czech and Central European literature in English translation came out with one of the key works of Czech national revival, Karel Hynek Mácha's 1836 Romantic epic poem Máj. Please support Twisted Spoon and CzechUpdate by buying the new translation on Amazon. This is the first published English translation in over 50 years. The Czech original with an older translation by Edith Pargeter is available online on http://www.lupomesky.cz/maj.

Byl pozdní večer – první máj – večerní máj – byl lásky čas. Hrdliččin zval ku lásce hlas, kde borový zaváněl háj.

These are probably the most famous (and most misunderstood) words of Czech poetry. Every Czech student will be able to recite at least the first two lines (whether they read the whole poem or not - and it is not for most). This is what they mean:

Late evening, on the first of May— The twilit May—the time of love. Meltingly called the turtle-dove, Where rich and sweet pinewoods lay.

The Oxford Czech studies scholar (and Colloqial Czech author) James Naughton also offers the original along with an annotated parallel translation aimed at students on his website: http://users.ox.ac.uk/~tayl0010/macha2.html. There is a s This is what Twisted Spoon have to say about the work:

Compared to Byron, Keats, Shelley, and Poe, called Lautreamont's "elder brother" by the Czech Surrealists, Karel Hynek Macha (1810-1836) was the greatest Czech Romantic poet, and arguably the most influential of any poet in the language. May, his epic masterpiece, was published in April 1836, just seven months before his death. Considered the "pearl" of Czech poetry, it is a tale of seduction, revenge, and patricide. A paean as well to his homeland, virtually every Czech student learns to recite the first stanzas of the poem from memory and new editions are still regularly published. The reason for the poem's popularity and longevity is the beauty of its music and its innovative use of language. Scorned at first by the national revivalists of the 19th century for being "un-Czech," he was held up as a "national" poet by later generations, a fate from which the interwar Czech avant-garde, who considered him a precursor, tried to rescue him.

New Czech course on CD-ROM

Dominik Lukeš — Fri, 06 Jan 2006 06:18:44 -0500

Czech Express: LANGMaster.com LANGMaster Czech Express is a fast Czech language course aimed at students of all nationalities encountering Czech for the first time. It serves as a practical gateway to the language and forms a solid foundation for further study, while at the same time is also completely appropriate for those whose aspirations stretch to “survival level” Czech.

Finally a Czech on CD course that is worth anything. This description from the Czech company Langmaster is fairly accurate. Of course, CD-ROM language courses are always limited in their use - they're always a complementary material at best (the other two existing course are virtually useless - one because it has no useful information the other because it is aimed at translation only). However, Lída Holá, the author of the interesting Czech Step by Step textbook did a very good job. Now, the CD does not have all the bells and whistles you might see on other Langmaster products for English or even some of the high-value CDs for French or English produced by large companies. There is no video or animation. However, there is plenty of good sound and some nice illustrations. There is also a grammar and the optional dictionary (Czech-English or Czech-German). The navigation is a little confusing and the lessons stop at a fairly low level but overall it is probably worth the money if you're already taking a course, particularly, if your teacher can spend a bit of time with you to build it into your lessons. If you're just starting on your own, there's no harm in using this but it will not replace a good Teach Yourself textbook which, of course, does not replace a good teacher.

Site upgrade notice

Dominik Lukeš — Tue, 03 Jan 2006 09:21:25 -0500

The software powering Czechupdate received an updgrade so I updated the layout a little as well with a slightly new theme. You can now choose which colors to display on the front page. Otherwise, all other improvements are under the hood (or as they say 'pod kapotou'.

PF 2006 - Všechno nejlepší do nového roku

Dominik Lukeš — Sun, 01 Jan 2006 14:41:48 -0500

Czechs are not nearly as prolific card writers as the English but they certainly send out lots of them on special occasions. The typical New Year card bears the acronym PF (from the French pour féliciter) and is refered to in Czech as 'péefko'. Most people send a postcard (pohled) but many people and companies make their own. Bohemica's PF card is on Bohemica.com/2006. Some more traditional PFs can also be found on pohlednice.centrum.cz or this specialized PF service www.peef.cz.

Šťastné a Veselé

Dominik Lukeš — Sat, 24 Dec 2005 19:53:34 -0500

Šťastné a veselé vánoce a příjemné prožití sváteční doby přeji všem čtenářům CzechUpdate.com. Dominik Lukeš

Czechupdate.com is here

Dominik Lukeš — Sun, 18 Dec 2005 16:09:26 -0500

Czech Update has received a present from Santa. Its own domain Czechupdate.com. It is still hosted on Bohemica.com and the old link will be functional.

Welcome to Czech Update

Dominik Lukeš — Fri, 18 Nov 2005 09:48:12 -0500

This is Bohemica.com's blog updating all interested on current Czech related events accompanied by thoughts on Czech language and culture. Hopefully, we will have some audio updates as well.