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Czech Alphabet | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Specific Languages |  | |
| Scoobs Newbie United Kingdom Joined 5654 days ago 27 posts - 31 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Spanish, Persian | Message 1 of 12 16 April 2012 at 4:02pm | IP Logged | ||
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I've been looking into learning Czech and I've been wondering, what is the actual Czech alphabet?
There seems to be many variations on different websites: some include consonants with diacritics, some don't; some include accented long vowels, etc. I counted 42 letters on one page yet another stated the alphabet to have 41 letters... Thanks. 2 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Gosiak Triglot Senior Member Poland Joined 5117 days ago 241 posts - 361 votes  Speaks: Polish*, English, German Studies: Norwegian, Welsh | Message 2 of 12 16 April 2012 at 4:40pm | IP Logged | ||
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a, á, b, c, č, d, ď, e, é, ě, f, g, h, ch, i, í, j, k, l, m, n, ň, o, ó, p, q, r, ř, s, š, t, ť, u, ú, ů, v, w, x, y, ý, z, ž. (42)
I found this on czecgforum.pl (Polish forum of Czech culture and language) You may find Omniglothelpful. Edited by Gosiak on 16 April 2012 at 4:47pm 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Cavesa Triglot Senior Member Czech Republic Joined 5000 days ago 3277 posts - 6779 votes Speaks: Czech*, FrenchC2, EnglishC1 Studies: Spanish, German, Italian | Message 3 of 12 16 April 2012 at 6:19pm | IP Logged | ||
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No.
That is a complete list of letters used in Czech language but it is not the alphabet children learn at schools. You will not find an Á section in any dictionary. A B C Č D Ď E F G H CH I J K L M N Ň O P Q R Ř S Š T Ť U V W X Y Z Ž Edit: What I wrote is what I remeber from my early school years. I've just found a wikipedia article with the 42 monster you found. No idea whether it is used for anything. Perhaps the Czech linguists use it for fun (such as trying to say it all and in correct order when drunk). Edited by Cavesa on 16 April 2012 at 6:23pm 3 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Splog Diglot Senior Member Czech Republic anthonylauder.c Joined 5660 days ago 1062 posts - 3263 votes Speaks: English*, Czech Studies: Mandarin | Message 4 of 12 16 April 2012 at 7:21pm | IP Logged | ||
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Cavesa has provided the "basic czech alphabet". Each of these letters has a distinct pronunciation.
On top of the basic alphabet, each of the vowels, plus the secondary vowel y, can have an accent (á, é, í, ó, ú, ů, ý). In the case of the letter u there are two possible accents, for entirely historical reasons, but both have the same effect. These accents do not affect pronunciation of the vowels, but do affect how long the sound of the vowel is held. Many people argue that these accented vowels are not distinct members of the alphabet since they have the same (albeit extended) pronunciation as their non-accented variants. In addition, there is ě. This is unique in that it does not have its own pronunciation. Rather, it is pronounced like a normal e, but in addition it affects the pronunciation of the letter preceding it. So, again, according to many people it is not a distinct letter since it does not have its own distinct pronunciation. Edited by Splog on 16 April 2012 at 8:02pm 7 persons have voted this message useful | |||
| Cavesa Triglot Senior Member Czech Republic Joined 5000 days ago 3277 posts - 6779 votes Speaks: Czech*, FrenchC2, EnglishC1 Studies: Spanish, German, Italian | Message 5 of 12 16 April 2012 at 8:02pm | IP Logged | ||
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Splog is very precise, I couldn't have said it better :-)
1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| LaughingChimp Senior Member Czech Republic Joined 4690 days ago 346 posts - 594 votes Speaks: Czech* | Message 6 of 12 16 April 2012 at 11:45pm | IP Logged | ||
I don't think this is true. Perhaps it's true in some conservative Moravian dialecs, but the long vowels definitely sound different from short vowels. People in Bohemia (Moravias often mock as for speaking like that, so I guess they don't do it) often prolong certain words and it doesn't change the vowel. Edited by LaughingChimp on 16 April 2012 at 11:48pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Cavesa Triglot Senior Member Czech Republic Joined 5000 days ago 3277 posts - 6779 votes Speaks: Czech*, FrenchC2, EnglishC1 Studies: Spanish, German, Italian | Message 7 of 12 17 April 2012 at 5:18pm | IP Logged | ||
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I'm not sure I understand what you mean, laughingchimp. How could the long vowels sound different from the short ones, other than just being a longer sound?
I am not moravian and despite my knowledge of various dialects, I just don't understand what you mean. Could you give an exemple please? Or perhaps tell me in Czech because from my understanding, which may be wrong, you just opposed yourself in one post. Are saying the vowels don't change (in which case I agree) or are you saing they do change somehow? 1 person has voted this message useful | |||
| Splog Diglot Senior Member Czech Republic anthonylauder.c Joined 5660 days ago 1062 posts - 3263 votes Speaks: English*, Czech Studies: Mandarin | Message 8 of 12 17 April 2012 at 6:23pm | IP Logged | ||
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I wonder if LaughingChimp is referring to colloquial spoken Czech having more regional variations that formal Czech?
It is true that colloquial Czech can have different pronunciation for short and long vowels. For example, the formal Czech word dobrý has a colloquial spoken form dobrej in some parts of the country, which involves more than just extending the vowel. This, however, is a completely different issue from the alphabet, since the alphabet is based on pronunciation of formal Czech, and even people in Prague would pronounce dobrý as dobrý in a formal setting. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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