5 Czech Language Myths – Debunked!

You hear this opinion a lot. I know I have. Fortunately, Dr Ilona Kořánová from the Institute of Bohemian Studies provided a fairly definitive answer as to whether Czech is the most difficult language.

“Certainly not. Every language has its specifics and difficulties. It depends on the individual student; how he/she is generally talented in the study of language; by what method the language reaches him/her; whether the procedure and pace suit him/her, whether he/she has initiative and takes every opportunity to practice what is acquired and further develop it in everyday communication.”

Having said that, The Foreign Service Institute – which trains members of the US foreign affairs community – ranks Czech amongst the second hardest languages to learn. Yet, this applies to English speakers. Which brings us to the next myth…

Not exactly, according to Dr Kořánová. Of course Slavic languages have some similarities but it does not necessarily give an advantage to speakers of other Slavic languages in mastering Czech.

“Paradoxically however, some Slavic students rely excessively on this situation [of language similarity] and do not study, only relying on what they pick up in class. As a result, on the contrary, students from very distant language groups such as Chinese or Korean, Japanese, can achieve the same results as they do, or even better. It is, therefore, always primarily a matter of personal prerequisites and overall study conditions,” explains Dr Kořánová.

This next myth, which I have also heard a few time, concerns not so much Czech’s apparent difficulties but one area of alleged ease. The language is said to be “phonetically spelled”, or better said, it is phonetically consistent.

“It is so that we write that during the 17th and 18th century Czech shifted from the prestigious and public sphere (nobility, state and science) to the rather less prestigious and private spheres (townsfolk, county folk, personal communication, folk tales, but also religious texts, sermons and the bible), but it was definitely not obliterated.”

I have to admit I sort of wondered this myself. Walk around the historical centre of Prague and you see a lot of signs in English. On the metro or trams you’ll hear young people drop OMG and WTF into conversations. But does this mean the language is in decline?