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PanoramaCzech expats from around the world come to Dobruška to connect with their heritage
Every summer the north-east Bohemian town of Dobruška turns truly
cosmopolitan, opening its doors to Czech language students from around the
world. The Czech language summer school organized by Charles University
lasts for a month and is specially tailored for Czech expats and people who
have developed an interest in the Czech language and culture.
More
Letter from PragueThe delicacies of you and You
English speaking foreigners to the Czech Republic who are interested in the
language are often befuddled or even annoyed by the feature of formal and
informal speech in Czech grammar, called vykání and tykání - that is,
the formal, plural “you” and the informal, singular “you”. Nowhere
is that characteristic more frowned upon than in multinational companies,
where new employees, called “formal you” at the job interview, are
renamed “demotic you” on their first day of work, and told to address
everyone else accordingly. More
One on OneProfessor Lubomír Doležel – now retired doyen of Czech Studies in Toronto
Professor Lubomír Doležel, who was born in the Moravian village of
Lesnice in 1922, is an internationally respected academic best known for
his pioneering work in literary theory and linguistics. After three years
at the University of Michigan in the second half of the 1960s, he was
invited to the University of Toronto, where he established the study of
Czech language and literature. On Friday Professor Doležel received the
Czech Foreign Ministry’s Gratias Agit prize for promoting the good name
of his native country.
More
PanoramaFocus on both language and culture at weekly Czech school in Queens
Every Friday evening during the school year, children from all over New
York (and sometimes even further afield) gather for Czech lessons at the
Bohemian Hall in Queens. As well as improving their Czech, the school’s
pupils learn about various aspects of Czech culture, while their parents
get to catch up on what’s happening in the community.
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Talking PointCzechoslovakia, Czech Republic or Czechia – what’s in a name?
“And I regret some of the recent behaviour that Russia has exhibited, and
I’ll be glad to talk about that later including the reduction of oil
supplies to Czechoslovakia after they agreed with us on a missile defence
system…” That was Republican presidential candidate John McCain
talking
in New Mexico earlier this summer. More
Current AffairsAuthorities launch website to help residency applicants with Czech language exams
Beginning in January 2009, foreigners from outside the EU who seek
permanent residency in the Czech Republic will have to pass a Czech
language exam to qualify for the permit. The authorities have now launched
a website with information on the language test, a list of language centres
where they can take the exam, as well as places where they can receive a
voucher that will entitle them to one exam free-of-charge. And the website
also features a sample exam in which seekers of permanent residency can
test their Czech language skills.
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Current AffairsLanguage exams for permanent residence applicants to begin next year
Under a new system presented on Thursday, foreigners who apply for either
permanent residence or Czech citizenship will, from next January, have to
first pass a compulsory exam in the Czech language. But why is the Czech
Republic introducing this requirement? And will applicants from other
Slavic countries find the tests relatively easy? More
One on OneNicholas Kirke - the British entrepreneur who came to Prague in search of his father and founded a property empire
Our guest for One on One this week is Nicholas Kirke, a British-born
property developer who has been operating in the Czech Republic since the
early 1990s and whose La Salle property development company now own
thousands of square metres of prime real estate in Prague, including the
historical Melantrich building on Wenceslas Square.
More
