Language study

Well my life currently revolves around language lessons and study, so I thought I would tell you a little more about this.

I currently have 3 lessons a week, each of about two hours. (My language teacher suggested that I might want shorter lessons as I tend to struggle towards the end of them!) At home I am studying about 2 to 5 hours a day, and then spending time with the family talking in Czech (and English). Ocassionally I get very confused and end up talking in Russian (I did one year at university)!

Some of the words that I have enjoyed learning are:

• No - it means well or so. Apparently it comes from "ano" which is the word for yes. This is somewhat confusing!
  
• krk - the neck. Try and procounce this: "Strč prst skrz krk" which is roughly translated put your finger through your throat. (Not actually a common phrase in Czech!)
  
• Days of the week (English: Czech=literal meaning in Czech):
• Monday: pondělí = after Sunday
• Tuesday: úterý = 2nd day
• Wednesday: středa = middle day
• Thursday: čtvrtek = 4th day
• Friday: pátek = 5th day
• Saturday: sobota = sabbath
• Sunday: neděle = no work
• snacha - daughter in law

Some of the language learning is quite difficult. One particular difficulty is the letter ř. As far as I can tell this is combination between saying shh and a rolled r at the same time. This letter is so difficult that even a former President of the Czech Republic, Vaslav Havel, is unable to pronounce it correctly.

Language learning is fun. You get to know a lot about the culture of the country through the language. I find it interesting for instance that "Ahoj" (pronounced "ahoy") is both the word for hello and for goodbye.

Its also quite fun to watch English language programmes that have been dubbed over. I particularly found amusing watching a bit of "Yes Prime Minister". Some programmes you just can't dub over, so Monty Python's Flying Circus gets sub-titles!

Ahoj!