Self-study of the Czech language. How to learn Czech on your own

In the Czech Republic? Are you going to study or work? Or maybe you are simply attracted by the sound of Czech speech? In any case, you are faced with the question “How to study Czech?».
In order to understand the variety of language teaching options, you first need to have an idea of ​​what the Czech language is, what group of languages ​​it belongs to, and what related roots it has with the Russian language.

About the Czech language

Czech is spoken by about 12 million people. Czech - official language Czech Republic. It belongs to the group of West Slavic languages ​​and is related to the Russian language. The Czech alphabet uses the Latin alphabet. Unlike Russian, in Czech there are long and short variants of vowel sounds (for example, drahá - “dear” and dráha - “road”), which perform a semantic distinguishing function.
It should be noted that the Czech language is quite soft in nature, has big amount soft hissing, it is even sometimes called “snake tongue”. Therefore, it is easy to recognize a Russian-speaking person, even if he speaks Czech, since the Russian language is characterized by greater hardness.
There is also one of the Czech languages complex sounds– the sound “ř”, which is not always easy for even the Czechs themselves. Often, to achieve correct pronunciation, Czechs resort to the help of a speech therapist. There is no similar sound in the Russian language, and our articulatory apparatus is not adapted to pronounce it, therefore, to obtain good result you need to train a lot. For simplicity and convenience, many teaching aids recommend pronouncing this sound as “rzh”. But the Czech language is much softer than Russian, this sound is pronounced very, very softly, the sounds “r” and “zh” merge into one. Moreover, this sound is original and practically does not occur in other common world languages. Czechs are proud of this sound. But if you pronounce it in the Russian manner, they will still understand you.
How easy is it to learn this language? The language is related to Russian, so you can find many similar words.
For example: people – lidé, seller – prodávající, teacher – učitel, and others.
Some of the Czech words and phrases may seem funny at first.
For example: čerstvé potraviny – fresh food, chytrý – smart, pozor – attention, and others.
You will find a lot of such words in the Czech language, which at first may make you giggle and smile, but with a more detailed immersion in the language, you will understand the processes occurring in it.
If your native language is Russian or another Slavic language, you have a linguistic education and already have experience in, then learning Czech will be much easier for you than for everyone else.
So, you have decided to start learning Czech.

Study using a phrasebook, tutorial, textbook

For a tourist trip to the Czech Republic, learning the language using a phrasebook is the best option. In the phrasebook you will find the main necessary phrases, signs, make purchases in a store, call an ambulance, pay in a restaurant, and also perform other necessary operations. You will learn basic phrases and necessary words. In the phrasebook, all words and phrases are divided into thematic groups, so it is quite convenient to learn phrases by comparing them with the situation.
But I draw the attention of the readers of MirSovetov, it was not for nothing that we said “learn phrases”, since using a phrasebook, you will not be able to understand the system of the language, the principles of word formation, the principles of constructing phrases.
A self-instruction manual in this regard is much more useful, since it not only gives ready-made phrases, but also helps to understand how they are formed. Undoubtedly, the self-instruction manual should be accompanied by a disk with phonetic exercises. Because, even knowing the spelling of words and grammar perfectly, being able to navigate the text, but pronouncing words phonetically incorrectly, you will experience difficulties in communication.
Of the recommended textbooks, Shirokova’s Soviet textbook for universities is still the best. Everything in it is worked out in such detail and consistently that you will immediately fall in love with the Czech language. Also very popular is the textbook for Russians “Chcete mluvit cesky”. Many classes for Russians in Czech universities are taught based on the materials in this textbook. The textbook does not have a clear system, but the material is given quite completely.
But at the first stage of learning a language, you need a specialist who would correct you and point out your mistakes so that you do not memorize them.

Audio aids, radio, television, cinema

In the modern age, all this has become accessible. To immerse yourself in the Czech language, you can tune in to the frequencies of the Czech radio and listen not only to Czech news and music, but also on the Internet pages of the Czech radio Rozglas you can also find audio books. Czech films can be downloaded in a VKontakte group specially created for this purpose, on torrent resources and in other places. From the films offered, you can also choose Czech films with Russian translation or Russian subtitles. Watching national films is very useful, because... Almost all Czech films have a unique, characteristic flavor only for them. Specific humor, Czech realities, peculiarities of mentality - you can experience all this when watching Czech films.

Internet, online courses

This is also a good option, since materials on the Czech language have now appeared. You can download not only textbooks, but also audio programs, and study using multimedia programs on the Internet. There are several copyright websites where materials are posted and seminars and language classes are held. The advantage of multimedia programs is that you can control yourself.

Tutor, courses, university

When registering for courses, it is better if you have a native speaker teach the classes. You will be able to avoid fixing errors in speech that are typical for Russian speakers. Since the languages ​​are related, I always want to speak by analogy. But here readers of MirSovetov should be attentive and careful. In the Czech language there are many such controls in phrases and sentences, which in Russian are used with other prepositions or in a different order.
For example: go to university (Russian) - it to university (Czech), wait for someone - check for ... (Czech)
Therefore, classes with an experienced teacher who is a native speaker will be much more useful.

Language environment

If you go to study and think that in a language environment the language will learn on its own, then you are deeply mistaken. Without systematic, high-quality studies, the only thing that awaits you is that you will learn to perfectly understand others, but will develop linguistic muteness in yourself. Or will you talk to gross mistakes so that it will be very difficult for a foreigner to listen to you. And also remember that if you have chosen Prague for immersion in the language environment, then communication in Czech can be kept to a minimum.
When you come to Prague, you will be surprised how often you will hear Russian. There are indeed a lot of Russian speakers in Prague, so you will not have problems with communication, you can always find a Russian-speaking friend who will help you. Companies in Prague also often recruit multilingual employees. And you, in addition to practicing the language, will always be able to “chat” with someone in Russian. And the temptation is great, especially when you are a beginner and find it difficult to express yourself in an unfamiliar language. Therefore, I advise MirSovetov readers to learn Czech not in the capital. For this purpose, it is better to choose a smaller city. But do not forget that there are 4 dialects in the Czech Republic - therefore, if you find yourself in these places, the speech of the residents may contain elements characteristic of this particular area.
In the environment, you will learn to perceive someone else's speech well, distinguish what is said, and perhaps model it with your own voice, adapting it to the soft, hissing Czech speech.
It’s good if you studied this language at the language department of a university, perhaps even did an internship. In the Czech Republic, there are Czech courses at Charles University and at other universities in the republic, and you can also go to a Czech summer language school for several weeks.
Of course, under no circumstances should you travel with zero knowledge of the language. You must have an understanding of the language and know basic phrases. Since modern Czech youth are reluctant to learn Russian, and people of the older generation have already forgotten a lot, and do not always like to communicate in Russian.
Have fun learning!

Name: Czech language - Self-teaching textbook for beginners.

In a new edition of the classic teaching aid, which has been reprinted many times, corrections and additions have been made, mainly relating to the changed socio-political realities.
The manual consists of 20 lessons, including texts, exercises for them and grammar. A reference apparatus is given at the end of the book.
The main volume of phonetic material, grammatical and lexical topics and a system of exercises aimed at developing everyday communication skills, mastering the mechanism of reading, understanding simple texts, and writing skills. Grammar is reinforced based on vocabulary learned in previous lessons.
Designed for everyone who wants to master the basics of the Czech language. Can also be used as a tutorial.

The first edition of the proposed textbook was published in 1960 in Prague. Its authors were prominent Czech Bohemians and Russian scholars, and the reviewer was the largest Soviet Slavist A. G. Shirokova, Doctor of Philology, Honorary Professor of Moscow State University named after M. V. Lomonosov, Honorary Doctor of Charles University in Prague.
Despite its compactness, the manual fully complies with the requirements of the genre - its goal is to teach how to communicate in household topics, read and understand simple Czech texts, and write a simple letter, congratulations, etc. An important advantage that distinguishes it from many publications of this kind is a consistent comparative approach, taking into account data from the Russian language (most of the quite conscientious Czech language textbooks for foreigners now published in the Czech Republic are aimed at English-speaking students, for whom common Slavic vocabulary is as incomprehensible as common German vocabulary for Russian, and the developed case system is a nightmare).

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Preface
CONTENT
From the editor
Czech alphabet
1 Letters AEOUBDJKLMNST
Accent
Bundle
2 Letters I Y P R V Z
Long vowel sounds
Present tense of the verb byt "to be"
Past tense of byt
3 Letters II C SI F G X R
Negation
4 Letters C S Z D f N Е
Verb mil "to have"
5 Dialogue
Future tense of byt
Future tense of imperfective verbs
Czech-Russian homonyms
6 Topic of conversation: “Family”
Cardinal numbers
Diphthongs
Verbs tina nest “to carry”
7 Topic of conversation: “Breakfast, lunch, dinner”
Gender of nouns
Adjectives
8 Topic of conversation: “Hotel”
Hard and soft consonants
Numerals
9 Text: “Prague”
Syllables I and g
Verbs ending in -fin, -is
10 Topic of conversation: “Station”
Verb chu"t “to want”
The semantic role of long
and short vowels
11 Topic of conversation: “Mail”
Verbs like kupovat “to buy”
Letters Q q and W w
12 Text: “Karlovy Vary Resort”
Verb like dclal "to do"
Aspiration
Vocalization of prepositions
13 Topic of conversation: “Vacation”
Matching full vowel combinations
in Russian and Czech languages
Declension of nouns
Declension of nouns female
14 Topic of conversation: “Cinema. Theater. Concert"
Declension of neuter nouns into -o
And male on a hard consonant
15 Text “Prague Astronomical Clock”
Plural of nouns
masculine and neuter
16 Text: “Calendar. Time"
Syntactic connection of quantitative
numerals with nouns Demonstrative pronoun
ten, la, to “this, this, this”
17 Text: “Shopping”
Conditional mood
Vowel alternation
18 Text: “Czech Republic”
Declension of adjectives starting with -у, -а, -е
19 Text: “Charles Bridge”
Declension of adjectives starting with i
Passive voice
20 Text: “Dogheads”
Personal pronouns
Subject dictionaries
Brief Russian-Czech phrasebook
Tables
The Key to Exercise
Czech-Russian dictionary
Russian-Czech dictionary

Download the e-book for free in a convenient format, watch and read:
Download the book Czech language - Self-instruction manual for beginners - Izotov A.I. - fileskachat.com, fast and free download.

Download pdf
You can buy this book below best price at a discount with delivery throughout Russia. Buy this book


Download - Book - Czech language - Self-instruction manual for beginners - Izotov A.I. - depositfiles.com

Letitbit.net

Publication date: 04/26/2011 15:39 UTC

Tags: :: :: :: :.

What prompted me to think about this issue is that it is believed that the Czech language is very easy to learn for students from countries former CIS. In this article I will try to talk about the arguments both for and against. By the way, I have been studying languages ​​for a long time - I studied at a school with in-depth study of English, I even won a couple of Olympiads, I took French and German courses for a couple of years (and I still remember a little of them), I taught at the institute Spanish- in general, you can trust me :)

First, I would like to talk about a couple of myths, where they come from and confirm/refute them.

Myth one. The Czech language is very easy, like Russian, only in Latin letters.

The Czech Republic is a fairly attractive country for tourists. Of course, the main flow of tourists goes to Prague. She is especially popular center. Entrepreneurs are not fools at all, so their services provide on different languages . Russian, English - including. An unprepared person will draw his first conclusions here after hearing Russian speech and seeing many signs. In fact, it's still pure tourist place, and drawing conclusions here is stupid.

Those who are lucky enough to get outside of Prague will also not experience huge problems. For example, what can be seen in Poděbrady - the words “museum”, “církev”, “ostrov” (see the sign on the right) - are quite clear, and if something is not clear, you can guess it from the pictogram. From this we can also conclude that Czech is very clear language, However, it is not. In fact, all signs are made to attract maximum amount people, so they are written as simply as possible. In such cases, international variants of words are often used.

In fact, the vocabulary hidden from tourist eyes is not as easy as it might seem. For those who want to try their hand at understanding Czech texts right away, you can try reading the news on http://ihned.cz/ - it’s unlikely to be very easy.

Speaking of what language Czech is similar to - it is similar only in Slovak. With the others there is only similarity, which does not always help, and more often it only hinders.

Myth two. You can learn Czech quickly.

This myth is born mainly among those who have already tried to start learning this language. And it’s hard to argue here - the first period of study is quite easy for Russian-speaking students - in the first month of our study, almost everyone had excellent grades.

Then, very often, everything falls into place - the grammar becomes complex. The main problem (for me personally) is the frequent illogicality. If a rule applies in one case, it is not a fact that it can be applied in another. However, this trait is inherent in many Slavic languages, Russian - including.

The test results at the end of the year are proof of my words. Rare student more than 90%. As for admission to top universities in Prague, I’m just silent.

Myth four. I am a techie (doctor/lawyer/athlete/idiot), I won’t need Czech in my profession.

(If you want to find out whether a Czech student can work -!).

Everything here is also quite controversial. Firstly, working in the Czech Republic without knowing the Czech language is strange, to say the least. Secondly, you need to be very lucky to immediately get to a foreign country like this. Thirdly, you need to study, and here you can’t go without a language - foreign students have the same rights as Czech students (and, therefore, the same responsibilities), which means their studies will take place in Czech. And in the end, sooner or later you will also want to talk to someone.

One of the subtypes of this myth is the myth that knowing English is enough here. I admit, I thought so too. It seemed to me that if I knew the language, then everyone knew it too. And this is Europe, civilization. Oh, how wrong I was. English language, mostly educated people know, which means they are unlikely to help you in everyday tasks - in shops, banks, at the post office - everything is in Czech. And if suddenly a person knows English, this is also unlikely to help you. Usually, it was taught at school and forgotten without practice, so you won’t be able to show off your knowledge.

It just so happens that I am now (yes, which is the antivirus). The working language is English; you can also speak Czech with colleagues. Do you think there are many techies here who boast that language is just a tool? In a nutshell: if you don’t know the language, well done, go work where you don’t need to communicate.

Well, I guess I talked about myths. Now, I think it’s worth talking about the Czech language and looking at it with my Russian-speaking eyes :)

The Czech language belongs to the Indo-European family (like Hindi, Farsi, Spanish - do you think they are all similar?). This is a very large group of languages, and they are quite different. Czech belongs to Slavic group languages ​​(i.e., it still has something in common with Russian), and even more precisely, to West Slavic (together with Slovak and Polish, which actually already have a lot in common with Czech).

Czechs write in Latin letters with diacritics. There are 3 diacritics: charka (á), gachek (č) and krouzek (ů). There are 42 letters in the Czech alphabet, it is very easy to begin to understand the Czech letter.

Now - about the difficulties that any Russian-speaking student will most likely encounter.

1) False friends of the translator

This phenomenon has been known for a long time. For example, the word “město” (read as mnesto) is translated as city. Everyone will definitely come across the word “pozor” (read as disgrace) - this is a call to be more attentive. In fact, it happens very often, so it’s a shame!

As you can see in the picture, there are a lot of them. There is no need to learn everything; it comes naturally with the experience of living in a particular place. In Russia the situation is different, on Far East You will most likely be understood just as well as in Moscow (if they still speak Russian in Moscow 🙂).

On the other side, single standard, nevertheless, exists - it is what is studied in schools, universities, and used in official documents.

5) Ignorance of Czech realities and history

From my own experience, knowing these things is very important for learning a language. Sometimes only history helps to understand why a word is called one way and not another. And knowledge of realities recent years In general, it is necessary - in order to understand peers.

So, let's summarize. Czech is a difficult language. Only Slovaks understand it relatively easily; the rest need to work on themselves. Knowledge of the Russian language does not always help, and even more often it confuses. Knowing English helps very little. On the other hand, if you use this knowledge correctly, success in learning Czech is much easier to achieve. It is worth learning a language (any language) in the country in which it is spoken. However, if it is not needed for practical application, but as a hobby, you can do it at home. It’s also worth saying that you shouldn’t judge the Czech Republic and the Czech language by the center of Prague - there are a lot of interesting things around, take it at least.

Many people believe that Czech is so similar to Russian that it is very easy to learn. In fact, this language is really quite easy to understand by ear, but if you want to speak it correctly and fluently, you will have to make an effort. Some resort to the help of tutors, others enroll in a language school or even go to the Czech Republic to plunge into the environment. All this requires a lot of money, but we will tell you in more detail about how to learn Czech on your own.

Before you start learning Czech on your own, you should familiarize yourself with the standard recommendations. So, what you should pay attention to if you want to study the language in the comfort of your home:

• learn new language not that difficult, provided enough time is given to it. However, you should adhere to the rule - you need to exercise every day. Even 30 minutes will be enough;
• you need to surround yourself with Czech as much as possible, look interesting videos on it (for starters, you can with subtitles), listen to music, read news and stories;
• find a carrier for speaking practice– this can be done for free on language exchange sites;
• It is important to immediately learn the rules of reading in order to remember words correctly, otherwise you will not be able to recognize them later by ear.

Selection of textbook

To start learning any language on your own, you need to choose good textbook. It is important that it has an audio application, because without it it will not be possible to understand how certain words are pronounced correctly. At the moment, the two best options are:

• ČESTINA EXPRES – contains basic information and will help you reach level A1 quickly enough if you learn words and texts from it. If a student is interested in Czech solely for tourist purposes, then the first textbook will be enough for him. However, for those who want to delve deeper into the language, a small number of exercises and theoretical material will not be enough;
• ČESKY KROK ZA KROKEM – this textbook consists not only of a book for the student, but also workbook, however, in general it is an expanded version of the first one (they have the same authors). It contains more explanations and tasks, more texts and necessary materials. Therefore, if you have time, it is better to start learning Czech nominal with it.

By the way, if you have any doubts regarding pronunciation, it is recommended to use the site forvo.com. There you can listen to how to correctly say any word or phrase. Moreover, they are all voiced by native speakers. You can also enter into the search not any specific word, but simply look at the sections in which everyday phrases, names of body parts, flowers, food, and other things and objects are grouped.

Developing Important Skills

To achieve success in mastering the Czech language, you need to pay attention to the development of all basic skills: listening, reading, speaking and writing. Of course, it is recommended to focus on whichever one is most needed. So, if a person is primarily interested in communication, then speaking and listening should be developed. In cases where you want to be able to read books in Czech, the main focus is on reading. Let's talk briefly about methods for developing each skill.

Listening

Good material for improving listening comprehension are radio broadcasts, as well as videos on Youtube. You can select videos and podcasts on topics that interest a person so that it is not only educational, but also exciting. Children's songs can also be useful in the early stages: they are easy to learn and then sing along with.

Reading

It is important to know that it is strictly not recommended to start developing this skill with fairy tales. They contain old vocabulary, as well as less commonly used phrases. It is best to choose a collection of adapted stories as your first book. Preferably those that have an audio version, this will help train listening comprehension at the same time. You can also pay attention to children's books.

Talk

Even at the very beginning, you can practice conversation skills. To do this, it is advisable to prepare a text about yourself, as well as basic questions (“What is your name?”, “Where are you from?”, “How old are you?”), memorize them so that you can easily recognize them in speech. After this, you can find a conversation partner on language exchange sites. In addition, it is useful to record yourself and your speech on video for later self-monitoring.

Letter

The best way to practice this skill is by answering questions in the textbook in writing. This should be done in detail, trying to use the studied phrases, words and grammatical structures. Written texts can be posted on sites where native speakers check them for free (for example, in a notebook on italki.com). You can also write a blog in the language you are learning, talking daily about events that have happened.

Difficulties of studying

Some people believe that those who speak Russian find it easy to learn Czech. However, this is not quite true. Let's look at the difficulties that beginners will definitely encounter:

• externally identical words that have different meanings. For example, the well-known “pozor” in Czech means “attention”;
• different pronunciation. So, it should be remembered that the stress is always placed on the first syllable, and it is also especially worth emphasizing the length of vowels;
• words that seem similar may be differently cased and have different endings;
• a large number of dialects, that is, the spelling and pronunciation of words in different cities and regions is sometimes not the same.

Moreover, if you put in some effort, Czech is definitely easier than other European languages.

There are many ways to learn Czech: studying with a tutor, attending language schools, but it is faster and cheaper to do it yourself. The main thing is to have motivation and a conscious goal. For example, if a person wants to move to the Czech Republic, then only knowing National language, it will really be possible to integrate into the environment. Therefore, it is important to set a goal, outline a plan to achieve it, select educational materials and start taking action.