Adobe Systems
aVLCJ0181 Czech Language for Foreigners I
Czech lettres & pronunciation
also in textbook, p. 10; appendix, p. 206

Adobe Systems
Letters. Alphabet / sounds
̶Latin Alphabet Letters
a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z
̶Czech Letters: Consonants
č ď ch ň ř š ť ž
̶Czech Letters: Vowels
á é / ě í ó úů ý

Adobe Systems
Vowels — short
§ A — maminka, Masarykova univerzita, ano (yes)
§ E — telefon, ne (no), den (day)
§ I, Y — prsty (fingers), pivo (beer), byt (apartment)
§ O — nos (nose), oko (eye), noha (leg)
§ U — ucho (ear), žaludek (stomach), ruka (hand)

Adobe Systems
Vowels — long
§ Á — máma, dobrá (good), nová (new)
§ É — lépe (better), milé (nice), krásné (beautiful)
§ Í, Ý — bílý (white), moderní, dobrý, být (to be)
§ Ó — gól, móda, pól
§ Ú, Ů — dům (house), stůl (table)

Adobe Systems
Vowels — short × long
§ long vowels are about 1,75× longer
§  lenght is meaning-bearing
§
§byt (apartment) × být (to be)
§ bílý (white) × bily ([women] were beating [someone])

Adobe Systems
Difthongs
̶OU, AU, EU
̶dobrou noc (good night), na shledanou (good-bye)
̶auto, autobus, automatická
̶euro, euthanasie

Adobe Systems
Consonants: hard × soft × ambiguous
̶hard: H, CH, K, R, G, D, T, N
̶soft: Ž, Š, Č, Ř, Ď, Ť, Ň; C, J
̶ambiguous: B, F, L, M, P, S, V, Z
̶
̶distinctions hard × soft is important for some grammar rules
̶ambiguous: only in writing (on advanced levels)

Adobe Systems
Consonants: hard
̶H, CH, K, R, G, D, T, N
§ hlad (hunger), nohy (legs), hýbat se (to move)
§ ucho (ear), dýchat (to breathe)
§ koleno (knee), oko (eye), kontrolovat (to check)
§ ret (lip), brada (chin), trup (chest)
§ gynekologie, guma
§ tvrdý (hard), mladý (young)
§ týden (week), tabule (board), prst (finger)
§ noha (leg), nos (nose), rameno (shoulder)

Adobe Systems
Consonants: soft
Ž, Š, Č, Ř, Ď, Ť, Ň; C, J
§ žebro (rib), žíla (vein), žít (to live)
§ slyšet (to hear), uši (ears)
§ močit (to urinate), čelo (forehead), česky × český (czech)
§ďábel (devil)
§ cesta (way, trip)
§ já (I), jahoda (strawberry)
§

Adobe Systems
Consonants: Ď, Ť, Ň
D/T/N + Ě = [ĎE], [ŤE], [ŇE]
 D/T/N + I/Í = [ĎI], [ŤI], [ŇI] / [ĎÍ], [ŤÍ], [ŇÍ]
̶dítě (child), děti (children), dělat (to do)
̶něco (something), nic (nothing)
§

Adobe Systems
Consonants: ambiguous
̶B, F, L, M, P, S, V, Z
§ bratr (brother)
§ fyzioterapie
§ levný (cheap)
§ Martin
§ pivo (beer)
§ soda
§vlevo (on the left)
§brzy (soon)
§

Adobe Systems
Special pronunciation
̶bě – pě – vě  [bje – pje – vje]: oběd (lunch), pět (five), věda (science)
̶mě [mnje]: město (city), měsíc (month)

Adobe Systems
Special pronunciation: consonant at the end
̶d → t: oběd (lunch) → [objet]
̶ď → ť: teď (now) → [teť]
̶v → f: Václav → [václaf]
̶z → s: kvíz → [kvís]
̶ž → š: když (when) → [gdiš]
̶h → ch: vrah (murderer) → [vrach]
̶g → k: song → [sonk]
̶b → p: Jakub → [jakup]

Adobe Systems
Pronunciation in general
̶the only way to learn to pronunciation is to use the language
̶try to speak czech as much as possible
̶try to listen to czech people, instructions on buses/trams, movies, TV series etc.