True story: Trying to Learn Czech - Part 2

Here is the second part of a true story. Part I was published yesterday in Metropolitni Expres. As this American flew to Prague, he decided that he would try to "impress" this new Bohemian Beauty in his life, by trying out his newfound Czech on her.

Expresially for you: true adventures while trying to learn Czech | foto: Profimedia.cz

Angličtina na iDNES.cz
VŠECHNY LEKCE ZDE

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After arriving in Prague unannounced, he wanted to "surprise" her, so he first spent the night with his American friend and decided to practice.

While having some beer and Becherovka, he pulled out his notebook from his class and began reading aloud various Czech phrases he had learned to pronounce and understand during the three months he had taken his Czech class.

WHAT are you "speaking"?
As his American friend listened, he had no reaction. He didn’t speak Czech, so he couldn’t comment.

However, a Czech woman was present, and she certainly did have some remarks about what was being spoken.

Her first question was: "What kind of Czech are you speaking?"

A "perfect" accent
As it turned out, the "instructor" who "taught" this wealthy American employee of Microsoft, didn’t really care about Czech accents.

She told not only him, but everyone else in the class that their "Czech" accents were "perfect."

The truth is, no one could pronounce the "ř" sound, (nor were they taught it), which is uniquely Czech.

If they were lucky, a few could mispronounce this unique sound by just rolling the "r" exactly like you would in German or Spanish.

Obviously, this sound is an entirely different one, and has nothing to do with Czech.

The highlight of the evening was when he discovered that "no" is short for "ano."

Until he visited Prague, he never knew this either, and of course this "teacher" never told him.

Jokes: More George W. Bush Quotes

By popular request, here are some more amazing quotes from U.S. President George W. Bush. It’s nice to know that he is "so loved" in the Czech Republic.

1. "As Luce reminded me, he said, without data, without facts, without information, the discussions about public education mean that a person is just another opinion."

2. "I mean, there needs to be a wholesale effort against racial profiling, which is illiterate children."

3. "People that are really very weird can get into sensitive positions and have a tremendous impact on history."

Angličtina vychází od pondělí do pátku.

Najdete ji také v bezplatném deníku Metropolitní expres.

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