The formal and informal form in Slovak - Using greetings

Many of the same phrases that we use in English for greeting others throughout the day also exist in Slovak. The primary difference is that in Slovak one has to differentiate between whether the person can be greeted in the informal way or not.

Informal greetings are used for those that you know well - generally, friends, neighbours, all children and family. Formal greetings should be used for those who are older than you, are not considered to be close friends or family, or are for example in higher positions or in positions that require a formal relationship e.g. a student speaking to a professor at university. 

Examples

• Formal: Ako sa máte? Ďakujem, dobre. A vy?
• Informal: Ako sa máš? , dobre. A ty?
• Plural: Ako sa máte? Ďakujem, dobre. A vy?

These all mean: How are you? I am fine thanks. And you?

The key differences between the formal and informal is the declination of the verb (mať - to have). The ending -te indicates that the verb is being used either as a plural or in the formal form.

If in doubt, use the formal form!

Some other useful Slovak phrases can be found here on omniglot.

Learning Slovak - A longer journey than expected

Learning Slovak has been a goal since I married my husband over 5 years ago. It's a goal I have been working on at times more than others and is one that is still ongoing.

After many years of being around Slovak native speakers, hearing the language and trying to speak it myself, I have progressed significantly from being not able to speak at all to being able to have basic conversations with family members or friends.

Although the topics are limited to what I am able to say, my understanding of what other say is far broader. I hope to close this gap over the coming years and to be able to finally say I can truly use and speak the language.

To do so, I have started having private lessons a few times a month for 90 minutes at a time with a native Slovak speaker. The book we use in our lessons is called "Križom Kražom Slovenčina A1" and also has a CD by the same name. There is also an exercise book that can be used for practicing what has been learnt called "Križom Kražom Slovenčina A1+A2 Cvičebnica". All of these items can be bought online for example here.

I hope to use this blog to capture the key points from my lessons and reinforce what I have learnt. Come and join me on this language learning adventure!