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!

Pronouncing non-accented letters in Slovak - Part II

In the previous entry, Pronouncing non-accented letters in Slovak - Part I, we discussed how to pronounce vowels and consonants which do not have any accents and fall into one of the two following categories: Pronounced in the same way or with a slight variation in pronounciation compared to the English equivalent.

In this entry we will look at the final three groups for non-accented letters. These are consonants or vowels that:
1.Are pronounced in the same way as a different letter in English.
2.Are pronounced in the same way as only one of the English variations of pronounciation for the same letter in English.
3.Have no English equivalent.

1. Slovak Letter ≈ Another English Letter
The following letters are pronounced differently to their English equivalent but are comparable to another English letter: 'a', 'i' and 'j'. Examples for each consonant are provided below.

'a': Pronounced like the 'u' in “but”. Slovak examples of its usage are: “ako” which means “how”, “akt” which means “act” and “akné” which means “acne”. These are pronounced as follows: “uh-ko”, “ukt” and “uk-ne”.
'i': Pronounced like the 'y' in “body” where the 'y' is said as”bod-ee”. Slovak examples of its usage are: “izba” which means “room”, “iba” which means “only” and “iný” which means “other”. These are pronounced as follows: “eez-bah”, “ee-bah” and “in-eeh”.
'j': Pronounced like the 'y' in “yes”. Slovak examples of its usage are: “jeden” which means “one”, “jahoda” which means “strawberry” and “júl” which means “July”. These are pronounced as follows: “ye-den”, “ya-ho-da” and “yule”.

2. Slovak Letter = Only one of the English pronounciations
The pronounciation of the following letters is equal to only one of the English pronounciations for the same letter: 'c', 'e', 'h', 'o', 'u' and 'y'. Examples for each consonant are provided below.

'c': Pronounced only as “ts” and never as 'k' (like the 'c' in the English word “car”) or as “s” (like the 'c' in the English word “cement”). Think of “tsetse fly” and the soft pronounciation of 'ts' in this case. Now try apply this when pronouncing the 'c' in Slovak. Slovak examples of its usage are: “cesta” which means “road” and “citron” which means “lemon”. These are pronounced as “tse-stah” and “tsi-tron”.
'e': Pronounced like the 'e' in “set” and never as the long English “ee” used to name the letter 'E' in the alphabet, for example, “E-bay” . Slovak examples of its usage are “veda” which means “science” and “zase” which means “again”. These are pronounced as “veh-duh” and“zuh-seh”.
'h': Pronounced like the 'h' in “happy” and with a stronger emphasis than in English on the 'h'. It is never silent in Slovak, unlike the 'h' in French (think “hotel” = 'otel”) or in some English words like “Hannah” where the last 'h' is silent. Examples of its usage in Slovak are “hlas” which means “voice”, “hladný” which means “hungry” and “hody” which means “feast”. These are pronounced as “hlas”, “hlad-nee” and “ho-dee”.
'o': Pronounced only as the 'o' in “organic” and never as the long 'o' in words like “so”. In Slovak, it is used in words like “koleso” which means “wheel”, “plod” which means “fruit” and “topánka” which means “shoe”. These are pronounced as “koh-le-soh”, “plohd” (Be careful not to say the English word “plod” meaning to walk slowly) and “toh-paan-kah”.
'u': Prounced like the 'u' in “put” and never as 'yew' as in English words like “usually”. Slovak examples of its usage are “ruka” which means “arm” and “upír” which means “vampire”. These are pronounced as “ruh-kah” and “uh-pee-r”.
'y': Pronounced like the 'y' in “body” and therefore the same as the Slovak 'i'. It is never pronounced like “yha” as the 'y' in “yellow”. Examples of its usage in Slovak are “kvety” which means “flowers” and “grécky” which means “Greek”. These are pronounced as “kve-tee” and “grets-key”.

3. Slovak Letters without an English equivalent
Finally, there are two Slovak consonants which do not have an English equivalent: 'ch' and 'r'. Examples for each consonant are provided below.

'ch': This is a voiceless consonant and is pronounced similarly to the German 'ch' sound in the word “buch” or the 'ch' in the Scottish word “loch”. You can hear the pronounciation of “buch” on the dict.cc website here. In Slovak, 'ch' comes after 'h' in the alphabet and therefore also after 'h' in the dictionary. Examples of its usage in Slovak are “chlapec” which means “boy” and “chliev” which means “stall”. These are pronounced as “chla-pec” and “chlee-yef”.
'r': This has no English equivalent and is rolled like the Spanish 'r' in “arriva”. See the previous entry, Pronunciation of the Slovak Accents for more detail on the Slovak 'r'. Examples of its usage in Slovak are “rod” which means “family” and “román” which means “novel”. These are pronounced as “roh-d” and “roh-maan”.

That brings us to the end of this series on the pronounciation of the Slovak consonants and vowels without accents. Next time we will discuss dipthongs, the controversy about 'y' and 'i' and the inclusion of foreign consonants in the Slovak alphabet. Until then!

Pronouncing non-accented letters in Slovak - Part I

In the previous entry, The Pronunciation of the Slovak Accents, we discussed how to pronounce vowels and consonants which have an associated accent. In this entry, we are going to discuss how to pronounce the consonants and vowels in the Slovak alphabet that do not have any accents.

The Slovak consonants and vowels without accents can be divided into five basic groups:
1.Those pronounced in the same way as their English equivalent.
2.Those where the letter may vary slighly in pronounciation compared to the English equivalent.
3.Those pronounced in the same way as a different letter in English.
4.Those pronounced in the same way as only one of the English variations of pronounciation for the same letter in English.
5.Those that have no English equivalent.

As there are several groups to look at, we will focus on the first two groups only in this entry. Let's begin...

1. Slovak Letter = English Letter
There are many Slovak consonants that are pronounced exactly as they are in English. These consonants are: b, d, f, g, l, m, n, s, v and z. Examples for each consonant are provided below.

'b': “babka” means “old woman” and is pronounced something like “bub-ka” where the 'b' sound approximates the first 'b' in “bubble”.
'd': “drak” means “dragon” and is pronounced something like “drahck” where the 'd' sound approximates the 'd' in “day”.
'f': “farba” means “colour” and is pronounced something like “phar-ba” where the 'f' sound approximates the 'f' in “fame”.
'g': “orgán” means “organ” and is pronounced something like “or-gaan” where the 'g' sound approximates the 'g' in “gore”. Remember to roll your 'r'!
'l': “problém” means “problem” and is pronounced something like “prob-lehm” where the 'l' sound approximates the 'l' in “low”.
'm': “maslo” means “butter” and is pronounced something like “mus-low” where the 'm' sound approximates the 'm' in “mud”.
'n': “nad” means “above” and is pronounced something like “nud” where the 'n' sound approximates the 'n' in “nut”.
's': “streda” means “Wednesday” and is pronounced something like “stre-duh” where the 's' sound approximates the 's' in “strain”. Make sure you pronounce the 'stre' like “stress” and not “street” here.
'v': “voda” means “water” and is pronounced something like “voh-dah” where the 'v' sound approximates the 'v' in “vary”.
'z': “záchod” means “toilet” and is pronounced something like “zaa-chod” where the 'z' sound approximates the 'z' in “zoro”.

2. Slovak Letter ≈ the same English Letter
The following consonants are pronounced similary to their English equivalents but are closed. This means that the consonant is pronounced without aspiration. To understand this concept put your hand in front of your mouth and say the word “tent”. You should feel your breathe on your hand as you say the letter 't'. Now say “store”. You should not feel any breath on your hand this time. This is a closed 't'. Bearing this in mind, the following consonants in Slovak are all closed: 't', 'p' and 'k'. Examples for each consonant are provided below.

't': “malta” which means “mortar” is pronounced something like “mull-tah”. Think of the 't' sound in “knot”.
'p': “pohoda” which means “well-being” is pronounced something like “poh-ho-dah”. Think of the 'p' in “pore”.
'k': “makový” which means “poppy” is pronounced something like “muck-o-vee”. Think of the 'k' in “fickle”.

That brings us to the end of Part I for the series on pronouncing non-accented letters in Slovak. The next entry will discuss the remaining three groups of letters. Be sure to check back for the next entry.

The Slovak Accents: Acute, Caron and Circumflex

The Acute Accent Mark

In the previous entry the acute accent mark (prolongation mark or "dĺžeň"), which is used to denote long vowels in Slovak, was introduced. The acute accent mark is used on all Slovak vowels except the wide a (ä). These long vowels are therefore: á, é, í, ó, ú and ý. They are called long vowels because the vowel is emphasised when it is pronounced by holding the sound of the vowel.

Let's look at an example. In Slovak the word for "wine" is "'víno". As you can see from the acute mark, the 'i' vowel is long (í). The word "víno" is therefore pronounced more like "vee-no" and not like "vi-no". Other examples of long vowels include "biológia", which means "biology", and "súd", which means "court".  The pronunciation of "biológia" is something like "bi-o-low-gia" and closely resembles "sood" for "súd" where the 'ú' is pronounced like the 'oo' in "moo". 

It is important to note here that the acute accent mark can also be used with the consonants 'l' and 'r' to produce the letters 'ĺ' and 'ŕ'. As with English, a consonant is a letter of the alphabet that is not a vowel. However, these two consonants are considered vowels in these instances. Examples of their usage in Slovak are "kĺb", which means "joint" and "hŕba", which means "pile" or "heap".

The Caron and Circumflex

In Slovak there are two other accent marks that we have not yet introduced. These are the caron ("mäkčeň") and the circumflex ("vokáň"). The caron is a 'v'-like accent that is used with consonants only. It is written in two forms: as a small 'v' above the letter 'c', 'n', 's' and 'z' to create the letters 'č', ň', 'š', and 'ž'; and as an apostrophe behind the letters 'd', 'l' and 't' to create the letters 'ď', 'ľ', and 'ť'.

The caron serves to soften the sound of these letters when they are pronounced in Slovak. For example, the word "žena", which means "woman", is pronounced more like "zje-na" and not like "ze-na", where the 'ze' is something like the 'ze' in "zebra". Another example is "široký". This word means "wide" and is pronounced more like "she-ro-key" and not like "sa-ro-key".

The circumflex is an upside down 'v' that is used above the vowel 'o' only. It is represented as 'ô' and forms a diphthong. An example of the use of the circumflex is in the word "stôl", which means "table". It is pronounced something like "stwol". Diphthongs will be covered in a later entry on this blog.

As it is quite difficult to explain the pronunciation of the Slovak sounds through comparison with other English words, I suggest you try to familiarize yourself with Slovak by listening to the Slovak language and how it sounds in daily conversation. I will be looking for some Slovak sound clips to see if I can assist with this familiarization in some ways.

In the meantime, why not listen to some Slovak online? Visit Surf Music to listen to radio stations broadcast in Slovakia online. I recommend FUN Rádio and KISS 98; these are both radio stations that I often listen to when travelling in Slovakia. Rádio Slovensko (shown as Radio Slovensky on the Surf Music webpage) is also a good option as they talk more than some of the other radio stations. Look for a link that includes the word "živé" ("alive") on any of the websites to connect to their live broadcast. If you want to search for other broadcasts try using the search term "rozhlas", which means "radio broadcast".

Next time we will be looking at Slovak consonants and their associated accents in more detail.

An Introduction to Slovakia and Slovak

Slovakia, or Slovensko as it is known to the locals, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The Slovak Republic territory that exists today was established in 1989 after the fall of Communism. The country was recognised as a sovereign state when Czechoslovakia was divided into two separate countries, the Czech Republic and the Slovak Republic, on the 1st of January 1993.

With just under 5.5 million inhabitants, Slovakia is one of the smaller countries in Europe. Its size in terms of square kilometers is somewhat larger than that of Denmark and almost two thirds the size of its western neighbour and historical partner, the Czech Republic. Since its formation Slovakia has built a name for itself within Europe. The country joined the European Union in 2004 and the Schengen zone in 2007.  It also adopted the Euro on the 1st of January 2009.

The national language of Slovakia is Slovak (slovenčina). Slovak is a slavic language, or simply, a language of the Slavic people. The Slavic people are an ethic and linguistic group of people who populated many parts of Europe in around 6BC. Like other Slavic languages, Slovak descends from a parent language called 'Proto-Slavic' and is categorised as a 'West Slavic' language based on its geographical origin.

Slovak utilises the Latin alphabet, which is the same as the English ABC's. However, it includes 'ch' as a separate letter after 'h' and also excludes 'w' and 'q'. The letter 'x' is usually only used in foreign words. The language has two additional vowels compared to the English "a, e, i, o, u". These are the vowels ("samohlásky") 'y' and 'ä'. The vowel 'y' is pronounced like the English small 'i' and the wide 'ä', which is written as an 'a' with an umlaut, is pronounced more like the English small 'e'.

All of the vowels except for 'ä' are used in both a short and a long form, where the long form is denoted by an acute mark above the vowel. The differentiation between the long and short vowels is an important aspect of the Slovak language as the pronunciation of the word gives it its meaning. Take for example the Slovak word "rad". Spelled with a short 'a' (an 'a' without an accent), it means "row" or "line" in English. Replace the short 'a' with a long one, 'á' (an 'a' with an acute mark), and it means "gladly" or "with pleasure".

It becomes obvious then that understanding the Slovak accents and sounds is a vital step to mastering the language. Next time we will cover the Slovak consonants and their accents, which modify their pronunciation and result in a lot of tongue twisting for those of us who are not used to a soft language like Slovak!