Czech for Beginners

[TheMathematician]

Does anyone have any resources for someone accustomed to learning foreign language, but no experience in Czech or, for that matter, any of the slavic languages

my history is french for four years in HS , and entering my fifth year(1st in uni, and most likely a french major), and two years of latin (not contiuning)

[mabsoota]

go to prague.
say 'dobry den' (?wrong spelling) to everyone.
it means 'hello'.
everyone is so nice and polite, you will love it there and you will then be motivated to learn the language properly!
if you do actually go, there is a lovely russian orthodox church in the south of the city.

seriously though, get free lessons from internet and buy a phrase-book.
once (if) you finish the phrase book, it means you're ready to invest proper money and learn it properly.
 

[ialmisry]

Does anyone have any resources for someone accustomed to learning foreign language, but no experience in Czech or, for that matter, any of the slavic languages

my history is french for four years in HS , and entering my fifth year(1st in uni, and most likely a french major), and two years of latin (not contiuning)

Are you in the Czech Republic?

I only dabbled in Czech when I when there, just before communism fell (it was few of communist states where you were always aware you were in a commmunist state).  The resources were very sparse, as Czech is not exactly in high demand.

I was quite pleased (and the Czechs in utter shock) that I could pronounce  Ř
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C5%98
correctly according to their ears.

You can go through the wikipedia articles, which are accurate enough if not full enough, to get an idea of what you are getting yourself into, and then go on (if you still want) to Routledge's essential language
http://books.google.com/books?id=huHvHt6hIGoC&printsec=frontcover&dq=Czech+a+grammar&hl=en#v=onepage&q=Czech%20a%20grammar&f=false

[mabsoota]

wow, you pronounced the r with the hat!
respect!
i couldn't manage that during my 3 day stay, but then i have a problem with 'r's anyway!

[IsmiLiora]

You definitely want something audio related, because Czech words are whack. My relatives howled at my pronunciation when I visited them.

I can't find the one that I used on Amazon, but it was a set of 6 CDs. You'll want to start with the basics just to get the pronunciation down. (At least that is my opinion) I have one of the Lonely Planet phrasebooks, which is good to flip through for some more commonly used words and cultural notes, so I would just buy one to look through.

I actually have an extra one if you want it. PM me and I can send it to you sometime.

[Tags:]

OrthodoxChristianity.net > Foreign Language Forums > Foreign Languages Forum > Slavic Languages (Moderator: Michał Kalina) > Topic: Czech for Beginners