For anyone who knows me, language is a difficult thing for me, as it is for many people, especially with the subpar approach to language learning in the United States. Even while I enthusiastically attempted to learn Spanish through junior high and high school, it was just not something I picked up, unlike my brothers in their learning experiences. Still, language is an integral part of understanding anyone’s culture, and the topic fascinates me to this day.
While knowing Czech is not required by any means to be in Prague, I wanted to actively try and learn at least a little bit. As a tourist there for a few days, I would have at least attempted to learn a few phrases like hello (dobrý den) or thank you (děkuju), but living there for almost three months is a completely different story. I was working, living, and functioning much like anyone in the city. I had interactions with the staff in my building and throughout daily activities, like going to the grocery store, that, while English was something I could use, I felt like I could at least try to learn enough Czech for these situations.
My office was composed of a diverse group of people from several nationalities, so while I heard Czech daily, our “business language” was English. My building manager and the staff that worked in the dorm and shops around where I was living, on the other hand, didn’t speak any English. Those were some of my most difficult interactions throughout my stay in the country. If you want to leave Prague, knowing a little Czech can also be helpful, such as getting stuck in a train station in Benešov, though thankfully I had a colleague with me for that one.
With all of this in mind, I set a goal for myself: Before I left Prague, I wanted to be able to make it through simple interactions at restaurants and markets strictly in Czech. It started small, with my mentor just jotting down some helpful phrases and making sure I understood how to pronounce them, but I was capable of picking up a few things. My approach was crude to say the least, but by the mid-way point, I made it through most of my restaurant interactions strictly in Czech. I never fully mastered the market interaction, but I could make it through most of those without speaking at all.
Having fallen in love with so many things about the Czech Republic, upon my return to the United States, I enrolled in a Czech language course that I thoroughly enjoyed last semester. I’m still not completely satisfied with my skills and actually holding conversations in Czech makes me extremely nervous, but I have come much further in this language than the Spanish I studied on and off for seven years. While I am no longer enrolled in a structured course (due to scheduling issues), I am also continuing down the path of learning more. I have textbooks, flashcards, online resources, and, of course, most important, those colleagues still in Prague. I hope when I return (hopefully this summer), I’ll be able to test what I’ve learned and surprise even myself.
Raven K 