jeff
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Mon May 30th 14:32 2005 / #1 |
Hi Gretchen - nice to see you back - haven't seen you post in awhile...
A few of us here at PTV have taken semi-private lessons (3 people) at Channel Crossings/ Twice now we took 6 month sessions .. Both excellent/ Very competent teachers - just the right amount of pushing our limits. The classes were only an hour (think maybe little longer would have even better). They are located there at Lazarska...
Channel is the only true classroom experience i have had. All others have been private lessons. I could give number for private teacher, but frankly i also find the classroom enviroment more effective ...
Also - as i posted today in another post: if you have DVD player/atd then watching old CZ films is a great, fun addition to a learning program .. (Passive learning but not near as passive as CZ TV. Unbearable to watch 90% of it. Would rather read CZ soup labels.) |
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jeff
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Mon May 30th 14:35 2005 / #2 |
Contact info: http://prague.tv/venues/348
And re: paid to hype them - full disclosure is that they WERE a client but are not at moment as focus budget on other language education - so i am recommending as Jeff and not as part of PTV... |
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Pacman
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Mon May 30th 15:18 2005 / #3 |
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SF Servis summer course intensives were great for me. about 5 people per class. 3 days a week you have 3 hours of grammar, and 1.5 hours conversation, then the other two days you have three hour courses. the course runs one month, and costs nearly around 800 dollars (yikes) but honestly, I had people in my class that just arrived in prague and spoke better after a month intensive than expats that have lived here for years. I did cheat a little bit at the same time however. I had a czech girlfriend who would only speak czech with me (yes, they do exist in prague, contrary to popular expat opinion) and I started going out with her and her friends. out of respect to her, I spoe only czech with her friends. Now, after about two years in prague I would say that I can communicate and understand almost everything. fluent, no. Trust me though, I think the only way to learn czech is through speaking. The grammar is ridiculous, and I have czech-american friends who have been here ten years, and are fully integrated, and they still make mistakes. So my advice is to take an intensive course, and find a steady person to speak with on a regular basis, because if you don't speak, there's no way you're really going to be able to communicate. |
Gretchen
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Mon May 30th 15:30 2005 / #4 |
Hi Jeff, I quit my office job, so i don't get to sit online and post all day anymore. And I work insane hours at the new job, so I have been a slacker about being online. Thanks for the advice. I will check them out.
Pacman, my boyfriend would do that if i asked, but it gets frustrating and if he wants to make sure I understand he will speak in English. I do try to speak as much Czech as possible, and since some of my co-workers speak very little English, its often neccessary.
I just know from my personal experience that a classroom situation would be immensely helpful. When someone is a trained teacher they will be able to break the language down in a way that is not so overwhelming. |
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Gretchen
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Mon May 30th 15:49 2005 / #5 |
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I just called Channel Crossings, and they don't have the classes that are so long, but they have a very intensive 2 week course that I think I will take. 4 hours a day, 5 days a week. |
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opossum
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Tue May 31st 15:32 2005 / #6 |
Howdy,
Speaking of 'old Czech' films...where might one find them? I've been surfing e-bay (American Version) and picked up Divided We Fall and Zelary, but those seem to be the only ones (there are one or two more) that pop up and the seller was from Hong Kong.
Thanks |
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jeff
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Tue May 31st 15:53 2005 / #7 |
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Opossum, you are not in CZ i assume? Try amazon - i searched for "Czech" in DVDs and it returned 43 titles. Happy hunting! |
pragueboy
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Wed Jun 1st 07:37 2005 / #8 |
27.5. ZABAVA: Anglictina vs. Cestina
archiv zabavy
Rceni (sayings)
* damage to speak = skoda mluvit (not worth mention)
* don't wake up a swan = nebud labut
* relax in the living room = odpocivej v pokoji (rest in peace, pokojcan
mean room or peace)
* where she married herself, here she married herself = kde se vzala, tu
se vzala
Slovni spojeni (collocation)
* unvomitable thruth = nezvratna pravda
* welded wine = svarene vino (hot wine)
* hand-bag TV = kabelova televize
* from-under-her laundry = spodni pradlo (underwear)
* pulling birds = tazni ptaci (migrating birds)
* poisoning mechanism = travici ustroji (digestion system)
* selective driving = vyberove rizeni
* crotch writing = klinove pismo (cuneiform syllabary)
* guilty basements = vinne sklepy (wine cellars)
* sausage of lovers = parek milencu
* goose burp = husi krk (krk can be neck or burp)
* for me behind me = pro mne za mne
Osobnosti - Celebrities
* Paincelebrate Soup = Boleslav Polivka
* Tunecelebrate Littlecarrot = Ladislav Mrkvicka
* Martin Give-a-present = Martin Dejdar
* Peacecelebrate Little-miner = Miroslav Hornicek
* Fun Titman= Svanda Dudak
* Springcelebrate Hedgehog = Jaroslav Jezek
* Christopher the Bastard from Afterspoon and Without Satellites, Master
on Stone = Krystof Harant z Polnic a Bezdruzic, pan na Pecce
Vety a fraze (sentences and phrases)
* she is lubricated like a fox = je mazana jako liska (she's clever as a fox)
* all the hydrogen probably made love in the solution = veskery vodik se
asimiloval v roztoku
* he vomited a long postcard on her = vrhl na ni dlouhy pohled (he checked
her out)
* your eyes September = tve oci zari (your eyes shine)
* she was sitting on between = sedela na mezi
* I am not smelling myself in my leather today = necitim se dnes ve sve kuzi
(I don't feel myself today)
* stop knitting my head = prestan mi plest hlavu (stop confusing me)
* he afterdid himself = podelal se (shit himself)
* world champion in tanks on ice = mistr sveta v tancich na ledu (tanec -
dance, when plural in Czech can mean tanks)
Jednoslovni nazvy (single words)
* half-blame = polovina
* overgossip = preklep
* simplegreeknes = prostorekost
* behind-without-baking = zabezpeceni
* meeter = potkan
* spasmer = krecek
* neo-raked = neohrabany
* aftersteak = porizek
* undergater = podvratak
* ghostess = duchna
Studentske preklady do cestiny (student translations into Czech)
* Easter = Vychodnar
* Pubescent = ten, kdo smrdi hospodou (the one who smells like a pub)
* general Failure reading disc C = general Failure cte disk C:
* I passed the exam = propasnul jsem zkousku (missed the exam)
* Sportswear = sportovni nadavka (sport swear!)
* he stopped smoking = prestalo se z neho kourit
* close relatives = zavrit pribuzne (jail relatives)
* to deliver = odjatrovat (remove liver;-) |
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opossum
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Thu Jun 2nd 02:27 2005 / #9 |
Howdy,
No, I am not in CZ...I'm in the USA, West coast Washington.
In reading your phrases, Praugeboy, I laughed myself silly. Actually, these are the things that the books/CD's don't go into much, as far as I've found. If anyone has the energy, I'd love some further information on some of these as taken out of contex or not knowing what they mean when said they are very funny.
For example: all the hydrogen probably made love in the solution = veskery vodik se asimiloval v roztoku
I have no idea what this means or when someone would say it, but looking at the English translation I'm not sure if I should blush or say it to my closest friend under my breath. I guess that's what I'm confused about.
Such as: don't wake up a swan = nebud labut or sausage of lovers = parek milencu
What do those mean when you say them? I really appreciate things like this, because it gives me a peek into your actual culture.
Later!
Update: Gretchen...how often do they have those classes and cost associated with 'em. Two weeks long might work...not sure about air fair/hotel...yet :-) |
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Gretchen
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Thu Jun 2nd 16:00 2005 / #10 |
Opossum, they seemed to have them every month, but it alternates between the beginner and intermediate classes. They tried to convince me to take the intermediate class, not the beginner one, but i don't think I know enough for that. It was 4500KÄ?, which is not bad at all.
I am not able to take the June course, and the July one is intermediate, so i will go and talk to them about taking it in August. |
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opossum
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Fri Jun 3rd 09:05 2005 / #11 |
Howdy,
Thansks for the info. If I did my conversion correclty that's about $182 (US), which as you said isn't bad at all. I've dropped almost that much already and we're not talking interactive here. Something to consider... |
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Corbin Dallas
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Fri Jun 3rd 14:41 2005 / #12 |
I've added one to Pragueboy's list:
Litochlebske namesti - Sorry Bread Square |
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opossum
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Sun Jun 12th 09:19 2005 / #13 |
Howdy,
I received a wonderful e-mail from someone about my post up above and want to share it. They mentioned they didn't know how to post and I've dropped their name and e-mail from it.
I came across your postings about the Czech language, and would like to explain something about the following one. I am not sure how to add the answer to the webpage where I found them, so I'm e-mailing you and hope you don't mind. I am a Czech, by the way.
I would like to explain generally about the funny quotations that made you (and me, too) laugh. Things like "kde se vzala, tu se vzala" - "where she married herself, here she married herself".
They are jokes, and here is how they are created: You take a phrase in a language (either a saying, or just any sentence) and instead of reading it "right", you read the synonyms of the words into the words. That's how the jokes were created. The person took a Czech phrase, read it "creatively" (or like a learner who doesn't yet have the full command of the entire scope of the language) and translated the "creatively read" version into English.
Let's say I read the following English sentence: "He went out on a limb" and I decide that "He went out" means "he passed out, he fainted" and that "a limb" means "a leg, or an arm" - I can then translate it into any language as: "He fainted on top of a body part".
Or if I took a sentence like: "We are running a leadership conference in March" - I could translate it into any language in this way: "We are jogging a boss-vessel conference in Army-Style-Walking". I think the "webpage translating programmes" do exactly these things, and sometimes we laugh about that too.
Or I could look at a sentence "I saw a tree trunk" and could translate it as "I understood a tree suitcase" (or is trunk "car boot" in the USA ? it differs in the UK and in the USA).
As for the questions you asked:
all the hydrogen probably made love in the solution = veskery vodik se asimiloval v roztoku
is a pun on the word "asimiloval" which means assimilated. But, "asi" in Czech also means "probably" and "miloval" means loved, or made love. So it is a daring "translation" of "all the hydrogen probably {got} assimilated in the solution".
sausage of lovers = parek milencu
see, parek milencu means "a dating couple" or, possibly, "a couple of lovers". But the word "parek", "a couple", has also been used to denote "a couple of sausages (smoked while hanging together)" , and since several decades ago, we forgot about the history of the word, so even an individual sausage still has the name "parek" (a couple). So, synonyms again.
don't wake up a swan = nebud labut
Nebud labut is a bit of a slangy saying, it means something like "don't be silly", or "don't be naive", while the actual words really mean "don't be a swan", the swan is present there mostly because of rhyming with "nebud". Now, "nebud", don't be, also sounds like "nebud" - "don't wake up". Hence the translation "don't wake up a swan". All Czechs who know a bit of English laugh at it, and to most others, it is a very strange sentence, like all of them are! :0)))
Just one more explanation:
where she married herself, here she married herself - kde se vzala, tu se vzala.
This Czech phrase actually means, "she appeared out of nowhere, or, she appeared out of the blue". Literally, I could translate it as "where she got herself, here she got herself" (but that's already the literal translation, which does not render the meaning). And "vzit se" also means "to marry someone". So here is how we arrive at "where she married herself, here she married herself".
In a sense, my explanations were not as funny as the original text, but I hope they were of some help anyway.
I wish you all the best of luck in all your communication! And if you learn Czech, good luck and have fun! And, Jesus cares about you!
- A
***
Thank you, �A� and in the USA it is trunk, however I do know what a Car Boot is.
When I start to learn how to read Czech, I'll be able to pronounce those three sayings and know what they mean. Then I'll have my first baby step into being able to actually converse in a casual manner. |
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artdog
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Mon Jun 13th 09:22 2005 / #14 |
The charles night courses are quite good if you get a good teacher. Some are very good, some are not. The night courses are for 3 hours twice a week. I made allot of progress in one of these classes. Unfortunately, after 6 months they switched teachers and the new one was hopeless.
The more intensive course you have time for, the better off you will be. |
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airport_scooter
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Fri Nov 11th 20:39 2005 / #15 |
I speak fluent english and basic german , but I hope my fluent croatian will help a lot
btw. communication with resident of fluent language is a key |
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Crodzilla
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Wed May 31st 18:18 2006 / #16 |
Hey gretch,
drop me a line... use the paintbox address |
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ZelenyMuz
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Sun Sep 24th 18:08 2006 / #17 |
I would have to entirely agree that personal lessons are a waste of money--not because the Czech teacher is conning you (more than a fair share might be) but because a proactive concerted effort to learn Czech takes more than just an hour a day of study and attention. Czechs really do have a difficult time thinking outside their box, and only the young Czech women are interested in showing thiers...to an outsider.
Think more like an intensive 3 months of disciplined instruction. Can any one name any effective and reasonably priced programs currently in existance that do this? Zero---(Charles University program I will give a 3 out of 10, because it is horrendously overpriced yet semi effective) Every book written to teach this language I have had a native Czech look over it with me, and in every case there have been blaring goofs, or errors on the part of the author or in the lessons ie. phrases and words that are never used, or excercises that not even native Czech speakers understand to know to solve immediately--hence should I feel stupid because I can't make sense of it--or question how that author is intending to encourage language learning?
Something is missing in the Czech teaching program. It would seem to be a prime concern for the Czech government to preserve its culture by promoting its language, in a proactive, cost effective, efficient way.
Thus far---nothing like this has happened at all. You either get it or you don't. Thats the attitude here. People who do get it---still get shunned has been my understanding---because they are not Czechs!
You may continue blaming yourself for being a bad learner or you can accept the conditions and continue trying---(altering your day and living standards to suit a culture that clearly does not appreciate what it actually takes to effectively teach its language to the outside world.)
The Czech Language is the single sore point and it should be the way to integrating itself to the outside world---by proactively promoting itself---effectively!
Furthermore, the learning tables verses the subconcious phrase to fluency method are both precarious for the simple reason that tables fly in the face of speaking actively and correctly where learning that pronouciation immediately and correctly is equally important as you learn. Stay home studying tables, instead of using and practicing the language? Should I study thinking a mistake is correct, then use it and get blasted, or ignored? In fact, every step of learning Czech is vital. Pronouciation, grammar, case, gender, declination, conjugation. All this seemingly has to be learned simultaneously, which is perhaps why the phrase, and subconscious technique may fare slightly better as a method than table learning.
So in any case--- I rest my case. Go for it! No one is pushing you- :) Learn Czech!
I think its easier for a 400 pound man to loose 200 pounds on a excercise program over 2 years, than it is for a native english speaker to fluently speak this language in 2 years.
But give it a shot. Prove me wrong. Its you that wins |
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pragueboy
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Sun Sep 24th 18:58 2006 / #18 |
Best way to go are individual 1-on-1 lessons
try www.czechlessons.com |
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Pacman
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Mon Sep 25th 04:44 2006 / #19 |
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Well, maybe I m one of those jerks who picked up czech way too fast, but honestly feel like I did nearly nothing in my 4 years living here. i watched czech movies, I have friends who only speak czech, I watch czech tv, listen to czech music, and when I don't know a word I write it down. My best advice is to carry a dictionary, a small notepad, and a pencil. Sure, the grammar simply has to be taught, but without a large base of verbs, and nouns at your disposal, you're never going to pick up the grammar in a conversational setting. I think the difficulty of the language is exaggerated, it's more the desire to learn, if you re staying here a year, sure, you will not become fluent in that time, but if you're planning on living here, then one has to put forth the effort to learn, I know it can be hard to fit in between getting drunk, and trying to make money, but if you want to learn the language it is absolutely possible. Write words you don't know in a notepad, and then use them in conversation, it's really the only way. I personally still write down words I didn't know previously into my phone, and then save them, this way you don't look insane, and you can review your words on the tram, or metro. But the key is that you have to use a language, or it will stagnate, and this is the very reason why so many english teachers are here, people need to speak, otherwise the language is only technical, and without substance. Sadly, many expats stay in very closed circles, and don't speak much czech at all, if you don't speak the language, it is almost impossible to learn. |
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jeff
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Tue Oct 3rd 09:29 2006 / #20 |
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I've been putting on CZ-TV news and sometimes the radio in the background now.. It helps immensely i think in combination with a little study. Passive reinforcement of phrases / etc /etc// |
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ZelenyMuz
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Wed Oct 4th 01:37 2006 / #21 |
Agreed Jeff. Leave something on low volume while you sleep, in the Czech Language. That and study, is sure to embed (pun intended) the Czech into your mind while you sleep.
One important point I forgot to mention from my last post -
What is clearly needed to teach Czech, is a non native Czech speaker who learned to speak the language fluently, and did so successfully. Study from that person exclusively(avoid Czech teachers when you start), or learn what they "the sucesses" did. Few if any such teachers exist---however--- I think that approach would beat the pants off the "inside the box" Czech teaching methods and teachers who use them.
Also, I invite anyone to just try this example excercise for a good long laugh. (I think its funny---I understand Czech humor at least)
Since we all live here and know where places are, I recommend just randomly asking Czechs where places are(that you already know) in either English or broken Czech to see what good advice and information you get. Don't make it easy, or too difficult. Just what would be a seemingly direct clear request for directions that will deliver you to the destination.
The point of this, is every time I have done this, I have always gotten directions that were erratic, or totally wrong! I have had friends also do this for a laugh, and the same results!----so asking a Czech to teach you how to learn their language "the best way"--could have the same effects...(in fact it does in most cases)
Call me a cynic, but I think an outside in approach to Czech teaching and learning Czech, are definately what is needed.
Teach Yourself Czech is one such book, but many errors, or erronious unused expressions were spotted by "trusted Czech friends"
Good luck learning, and being a joker---its only you that wins if you do it. No one is pushing you :o :) :0 |
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jay
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Sat Oct 14th 00:14 2006 / #22 |
This may be a little off topic but here goes. I'm planning to take a CELTA certification course in Prague next summer (2007) so naturally I would like to learn some Czech before I get there. In my hometown I located a group of Czech speakers who get together once a month presumably to speak Czech. I'm going to the next meeting to check it out and hopefully find a tutor.
I'm American but I used to live in Germany and I can attest that learning a new language is a pretty daunting experience but it can be done. People learn differently. For me, learning German was easy but a lot of people think it's hard. I think French is hard and consequently I can't really speak it. But the only way to really learn a language is to refuse to speak your own. You'd be amazed how quickly you'll pick it up out of necessity.
The second part is the fear of speaking or the fear of sounding stupid. Let me tell you that you will always sound more ridiculous mixing English and Czech together than if you'd just stick to one or the other. After being in Germany for a long while, people stopped assuming I was American because I could handle their language just fine. I got asked if I was Dutch a lot...probably because we Americans tend to overpronounce things we're having trouble with. That's my 2 cents...
That being said, I'm planning to stay in Prague for a while so I hope I can both find work and learn Czech. |
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Alex Johnstone
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Sat Oct 14th 21:18 2006 / #23 |
>>But the only way to really learn a language is to refuse to speak your own.
That's a good idea. However I am not sure that it will work so well in America.
Make sure that you a) rote learn the grammar and b) rote learn the core vocabulary. You won't "pick up" Czech any more easily than you will pick up Czech women. You need a framework first. |
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jay
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Mon Oct 16th 02:39 2006 / #24 |
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well all of what i was saying assumes you know basic grammar & vocabulary. if you're a beginner, it would be a good idea to take some courses. I was just trying to say that memorizing conjugation will only take you so far. You have to force yourself to use the language every day. |
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aleksandar11
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Tue Oct 24th 17:12 2006 / #25 |
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Hi there. Any good Czech lines for picking up women? |
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MyCandyCane
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Sat Dec 16th 20:37 2006 / #26 |
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Why don't you buy the Rosetta Stone course? They are EXTREMELY useful. The FBI and other government agencies use their courses, too. |
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IJ
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Sat Dec 16th 21:03 2006 / #27 |
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Do they do Czech? I have the Russian and Germany courses, but never seen a Czech one. |
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MyCandyCane
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Sat Dec 16th 22:24 2006 / #28 |
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You're right. My apologies. In fact, it's very hard to find a Czech course. Why is that? |
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LadyDarcy
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Tue Mar 8th 20:57 2011 / #29 |
I don´t have any problem with my czech, because I visited course in czech language training center, it was really great - lot of fun, fantastic teacher, I improved my (czech) language skills a lot :)
www.czlt.cz |
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miroslava
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Tue May 1st 12:42 / #30 |
If you want to learn Czech language them you should
go to on this site http://www.berlitz.cz/
this is language school with the longest tradition and offer the best service |
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