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Structure
Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 20 general entries.
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 Czech
| Ok, two last ones. A 'sutr'/shootr/ and a 'pomeranc'/pomeranch/ are what, respectively? No hints. The first you need English for, the second, French. | Foreign Borrowings in Czech
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A small stone and an orange. 'Sutr' is from English, but I can't determine when it came into Czech. I've found reference to it as far back as the 20s, but not before. I suppose it originally refered only to small stones that were good for skipping, but now any small stone at all is a 'suter'. 'Pomeranc' is from French 'orange apple' and is a lot older. There are thousands more borrowings, but I'll stop here.
| A pub is a 'hospoda' and an inn is a 'hostinec'. 'Spital'/Shpital/ is an older word for hospital. A 'hospodar' is a landlord or manager, while the verb 'hospodarit' can mean either 'to manage', or 'to keep house'. 'Hospodarstvi' can refer to the economy in general, or things agricultural in particular. All these words find their origin, more or less, in the word 'hospitum' - a particular part of a medieval building. Where could you find a hospitum? | Foreign Borrowings in Czech
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A monastery. The functions of the 'hospitum' varied, but in general it housed travellers - hospes, or guests - and dealt with the outside world in general. The monasteries were more than contemplative institutions. They were inns, clinics and medical dispensaries, breweries and distilleries, and of course, landowners and agriculturalists. English cognates include hostel, hospitality, etc.
| The verb 'tunelovat' has made the news a lot in the past few years. It's been big news in the States too in 2002, what with certain business scandals and all. What does it mean? | Foreign Borrowings in Czech
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To launder money. Highly elaborate schemes featuring a trail of banks highlight the activities of the 'tunnelers'. Whether this word is from German or English is the cause of some debate around the pub I go to. Can anyone help me out here, please?
A kind of cookie. As far as I can tell, the word originated in the Italian 'biscotta', or twice-cooked. It moved into French as 'biscuit', and from thence over most of Europe. A Czech piskot is a plain, vanilla wafer not unlike a ladyfinger.
| 'Bavlna', or cotton, is derived from the German 'Baumwoelle'. 'Mancestr'/Manchester/ is corduroy and the term comes from the city that exported the material. So, as the word in Czech for T-shirt is 'triko', what language does that come from? | Foreign Borrowings in Czech
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French (tricot). It's from 'tricot', or knitted fabric, in French. Other terms for fabrics that are borrowed include 'cinc' or chintz, and 'len' for linen. 'Vlna' is wool.
| Unsurprisingly, a lot of English-derived slang has to do with computers. The official word for computer in Czech is 'pocitac'/pocheetach/, but the kids say 'compac'/kompach/. The word 'hadr' means rag or duster, but in cyberCzech it refers to your hard drive. Traditionally, a 'chatar' is someone who spends a lot of time at the 'chata', or cottage. So what's a 'chatar' in cyberspeak? | Foreign Borrowings in Czech
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Someone who chats on the Internet. Teen slang is full of anglicisms, including the ubiquitous 'cool' and a whole lot of other stuff I can't mention here that comes in through movies and rock music lyrics.
| The Czech words for coat and tulip - 'kabat' and 'tulipan' - have something in common. Both things were introduced to Europe in the 16th century from another source. What language was spoken by the people who introduced coats and tulips to Europeans? | Foreign Borrowings in Czech
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Turkish. A good thing about the Turkish invasions of the late 16th century was the introduction of a longer, looser and more comfortable garment than the short jackets worn by Europeans of the day. The tulip is thought to have been brought first to the Netherlands in 1593, but according to some sources, the Turks themselves borrowed the terms from Persian, the original source. The words 'kaftan' and 'turban' are cognates.
| 'Ahoj' /Ahoy/ is a common informal greeting or parting in Czech that corresponds roughly to 'hi! or 'bye!' in English. What language does 'ahoj' come from? | Foreign Borrowings in Czech
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English. A lot of young Czechs fled Bohemia during World War I to serve in the British navy. They brought back the maritime greeting with them and during the 20s and at least part of the 30s it was used exclusively for people travelling by water. Eventually it hit land and stayed there.
| It's been a long day, and you return to the hotel. But with all the day's drama, you have a headache. How would you explain this to your Czech companion? | Basic Czech Phrases For Tourists
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Bolí me hlava.. "Bolí me bricho" means "I have a stomach ache", "bolí me v krku" means "I have a sore throat", and "mám horecku" means "I have a fever."
| It happens. A pickpocket tries to steal your billfold from your belongings, but you catch him. You yell "Help!", but realize no one speaks English. What should you have yelled in Czech? | Basic Czech Phrases For Tourists
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Pomoc!. Horí! = Police!, Zlodej! = Thief!, and Prominte! = Sorry!
| You arrive at the playhouse, but can't seem to find the door. You ask a man on the street, and he tells you the door is around the corner. He tells you in Czech "zahnete doprava". Did he tell you to turn left or right? | Basic Czech Phrases For Tourists
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right. If he told you to turn left, he would have said "zahnete doleva."
| Before you left home, you looked on the Internet and found a performance of a Czech play you would like to attend today. You need to take a taxi to the playhouse. Once you flag down a taxi and tell him where it is, what would you say to ask how much money it would cost to get there? | Basic Czech Phrases For Tourists
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Kolik to stojí?. Václav Havel, the current President of the Czech Republic, is a prominent playwright and poet himself! (Muzete tady pockat? = Can you wait here?, Prominte, jste volný? = Excuse me, are you available?, and Máte mapu města? = Do you have a map of the city?)
| You decide to go get some food, and eat at a local restaurant. During the meal, you hear the Czech people at the tables around you say "Zaplatíme!" to the waitress. What are they asking for? | Basic Czech Phrases For Tourists
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The check or bill. Examples of traditional Czech food would be knedliky (dumplings), cibulacká (onion soup), and palacinky (dessert pancakes that can be filled with ice cream or fruits and then covered with whipped cream or almonds).
| You get to the hotel, but the concierge cannot find your reservation. They rebook you and ask how many nights you would like to stay for. How would you say "three nights" in Czech? | Basic Czech Phrases For Tourists
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Tri noci. "Jeden, dva, tri, ctyri" are the numbers "one, two, three, four" respectively.
| Getting from the airport to the hotel, you need to take the metro, but you don't know where it is. How would you ask a local where the metro station is in Czech? | Basic Czech Phrases For Tourists
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Kde je stanice metra?. The Prague metro is the 7th busiest subway system in Europe. (Kde je vlakové nádrazí? = Where is the train station?, Kde se kupují jízdenky? = Where do I buy tickets?, and Kde je zastávka tramvaje? = Where is the tram stop?)
| It's time to begin your Czech adventure! If you arrive from a far-away place, what would you call the place that your plane lands? | Basic Czech Phrases For Tourists
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Letiste. Ruzyne Airport in Prague is the Czech Republic's largest airport. (Tramvaj = tram, vlakové nádrazí = train station, and toalety = bathroom.)
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