Czech Culture

Slovanská Podporující Jednota Státu Texas

Česká Část

ROČNÍK 109 ZÁŘÍ 18 27.srpen.2021 Podpora ★ Lidskost ★ Bratrstvi´

BENEVOLENCE HUMANITY BROTHERHOOD

Uředni orgán SPJST ★ Založené roku 1897

Učme se Česky Let us Study Czech Lekce Třínáctá Lesson 13

Accent (stress) and Intonation

In this lesson, we will discuss some rules and guides to speaking correct Czech, and using stress and intonation.

1. In Czech, the accent is invariably on the first syllable: PRÁ-ce, SKÁ-kat, ŠKO-la.

2. In the case of three or more syllables, there is a secondary accent on the third syllable: PRÁ-co-VÁti, VZDĚ-la-VÁ-ti, zA-palo-VÁ-ti.

3. One syllable prepositions form one single unit with the word following, and are always accented: Do Prahy (doprahy), po válce (poválce).

4. If the preposition consists of only one consonant - v, z, s, k, it must be joined in a single sound with the word following k vám kvám - not ke vám: V Novém Yorku (not ve Novém Yorku).

5. Before other groups of consonants these prepositions are said in full and accented: VE středu, KE mně, SE mnou, ZE školy. 6. Prepositions are pronounced in full if the word following begins with the same sound: VE Vídni, KE kostelu, SE sestrou, ZE země. The reason for this is because double consonants are pronounced as single consonants in Czech: (Anna, cenný). A double vv or double kk are no pronounceable. However, in a word like nejjemnější, the two j’s are separated because nej is a superlative prefix. More on superlatives later.

7. Although the accent is always on the first syllable, it does not lengthen a short vowel following it, and we must not yield to the temptation to stress long vowels outside the first syllable. The length or shortness of a vowel has no bearing on the stress.

8. Stress is not as strongly marked in Czech as in English, German, or Russian. The intonation (melody of the speech - its “musicalness”), that is, the rise and fall in the pitch of the voice, is not made up from as many tunes and patterns as in the above three languages. The voice does not rise to as high a pitch, nor does it fall low as readily as in the above languages. In these respects, the Czech language, may be said to be rather “flat” and monotone in character.

9. The outstanding feature of Czech speech is the contrast between long and short vowels, alternating in succession, giving it rather staccato character. Examples: ČES ko slo ven ská RE pub li ka. Máte dnes MNO ho PRÁce?

POT-kal jste pana DOKtora? A-no, pot-ká-vám ho VEL-mi ČASto. 10. Finally, this rule should probably be observed: if you’re not sure which syllable is to be accented, don’t accent any; this will be better than stressing the wrong one. Don’t worry too much about stresses and intonation at this point, but make it a part of each lesson as we move along.

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Exercise

Construct sentences with all Czech words in today’s lesson. Use a Czech-English dictionary to look up words new to you. Make them a part of your vocabulary list.

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Lépe zpívati, nežli klívati. Nadávat ti pumůže ledakdo. Kde kázeň, tu strach a bázeň. Na slunce teplo, u matky dobro. Jenom hloupý člověk ví všecko.

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Sliby

Ve slibech buď opatrný, věrný a svědomitý. Dítě nemajíc žádného jmění, nemůže mnoho slíbiti. Jak krásná jest to chvála pro člověka, když se říká o něm, že jest spolehlivý, věrný a pevný ve slibech svých. A člověk takový může mnoho dobrého působiti, i jest příkladem, jenž lásku k pravdě, pevnost mysli, věrnost a důvěru lidí k lidem kolem sebe rozšiřuje. —SPJST—

Brazos Valley CHS to offer fall Czech language class

Brazos Valley Czech Heritage Society (BVCHS) will be offering Czech language classes which will begin Monday, September 27, 2021, and continue through December 13, 2021, at St. Joseph Parish Activity Center in Bryan, Texas, from 7 to 8:30 p.m. (the class will not meet the week of Thanksgiving). The class will address basic Czech and Czech culture and is open to anyone who is interested. Tuition will be $35 for the semester.

The instructor for the course will be BVCHS member Stanislav (Stan) Vitha, who is from Olšovice in the Southern Bohemian Region of the Czech Republic and now a resident of Bryan.

For information regarding the class, contact Jo Ann Zaeske at 979-224-4434. Kelly J. Sandhop, ADN, RN BVCHS Reporter —SPJST—

CCMH exhibit features lithographs by Joachim Barrande

Czech Center Museum Houston’s new exhibit features a series of lithographs by Joachim Barrande, showcasing the geological diversity of the Czech Republic. 19th-century geologist and paleontologist Joachim Barrande discovered Prague’s vast fossil deposits in the 1830s. He spent years mining and documenting the different specimens, publishing volumes of lithographs in his famed work Système silurien du centre de la Bohême (1852–94; “Silurian System of Central Bohemia”).

Thanks to a donation from Anna Stanley, the Czech Center Museum Houston will feature original proof sheets of Barrande’s lithographs.

The collection opened on Thursday, September 23. Submitted by, Sandra Samolik —SPJST—