What is the correct pronunciation of Czechia

Czechia is pronounced correctly /ˈtʃɛkiə/ - written by symbols of the IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet), in simple transcription "checki-ya"

Listen here: How to pronounce Czechia :-) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFvNbq-IaaQ¨

Czechia pronunciation 

The word comes from the root "Czech" (adjective, language, inhabitant), which is pronounced /ˈtʃɛk -/ (IPA), simply "check" and originally Latin suffix "-ia"
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Notice: the digraph "cz" comes from the old Czech orthography, typical for West Slavic languages (Czech, Polish), which was taken over by Latin and later also by English for the name to express pronunciation of /t͡ʃ/ (IPA key). In Polish is "cz" digraph still used, in modern Czech (since the standardization of modern orthography in 19th century) is substituted by consonant "č" (however it was introduced already at the break of 14th and 15th century), usually denoting the voiceless postalveolar affricate consonant [t͡ʃ] like the English "ch" in the word chocolate. "Č" originated in Czech language, and from it was adopted in Slovak, Croatian, Macedonian, Slovenian, Bosnian, and Montenegrin. It is used also in Latvian and Lithuanian.

Czechia jersey

Česko jersey

Ice hockey jerseys Česko / Czechia

Team Czechia

Břetislav Kafka - Experimental Parapsychology

Břetislav Kafka (May 14, 1891, Horní Kostelec u Náchoda, Bohemia, Czechia - August 27, 1967, Červený Kostelec, Bohemia, Czechia), was a Czech researcher in the field of experimental psychology and parapsychology. He is considered one of the founders of modern parapsychology and the spiritual father of the tradition of this discipline in Czechia. Kafka studied the characteristics and capabilities of the human brain using hypnosis.

Kafka acquired all new knowledge through his communication with persons in hypnotic state. Using hypnosis, his experiments brought up at that time new special theories in the fields brain morphology, principles and mechanisms of thinking, relations between consciousness and subconsciousness (studying the phenomena of clairvoyance), and volitional manipulation of reality through telepathy, telekinesis and psychokinesis - in general describing discoveries of remarkable qualities and abilities of human brain.

In his book New Essentials of Experimental Parapsychology (originally called "The Dawn in Mind") published in 1925, Kafka described the theory of some "supercellular", "non-cellular" or "superior cellular" principles of brain activity, where the process of thinking is concentrated in substances, that are associated around neurons. Kafka calls those structures "esplana". Their selective vibratory motion represents own mental activity and they are also the wearers of the memory. Kafka's theories of new basic structures of the matter, from "pre-matter" to some kind of "superior matter" and their time and space independent interconnection, seem to be in some aspects predecessors of theories of the physicists Alain Aspect and David Bohm from second half of 20th century, psychologist Stanislav Grof or neurophysiologist Karl H. Pribram. Kafka was founded of the discipline of parapsychology in Czechia, later storied by psychologists Zdeněk Rejdák, founder of psychotronics, Stanislav Grof, important scientist in transpersonal psychology, František Kahuda and others. 

Bibliography :

"The Dawn in Mind" (Svítání v duši) - 1925, since 8th edition (December 1945) "New Essentials of Experimental Parapsychology" (Nové základy experimentální psychologie)

"Parapsychology" (Parapsychologie)

"The Man of Tomorrow" (Člověk zítřka)

"Culture of The Reason and The Will" (Kultura rozumu a vůle)

Is the name Czechia really so big problem for English speakers ?

Czechia (read "checkia",  in proper linguistic signsˈtʃɛki.ə] is a landlocked country in Central Europe, consisting of three historical lands, Bohemia (Čechy), Moravia (Morava) and Czech Silesia (Slezsko). The country is bordered by Germany to the west and northwest, Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east and Austria to the south. Czechia is the English short-form and geographical name of the Czech Republic. The name was registered by the United Nations and included in the UNO Gazetteers of Geographical Names in the beginning of the modern Czech state in 1993.The name “Czech Republic”, is the administratively-political name of contemporary state, while “Czechia,” is the denomination for the geographical and settlement-historical unit, which is independent of actual political regimes and is therefore from this point of view neutral, enabling to be used for denomination of the state with more than 1200 years old history.

The traditional name of the country in English was Bohemia, that came from the Latin denomination of the territory, settled before Czech tribes (called by their leader Čech) came into the country in the 6th century AD by Celtic tribes Boii. That name persisted for centuries, because of former higher hierarchical status of Bohemian part of the country (Kingdom of Bohemia / The Moravian Margraviate / The Principality of Silesia). Also, the Czech people and their language were for centuries called “Bohemian” in English. But, during the rise of national revival in the 19th century did the derivative of the Czech endonym (using antiquated Czech) appear in English to distinguish between Czech- and German-speaking ethnicities living in the country that time. The first evidence of the name of the country, containing the same verbal basis - Czechia - using by English speakers comes from 1866, being identical with original Latin appellation, which has appeared from the first half of the 17th century. The name was also commonly used in United States in the twenties and thirties of the 20th century during existence of conjoint state of Czechs and Slovaks „Czechoslovakia“ for denomination of the Czech part of the state and in historical meaning, e.g.in well known newspapers, such as the New York Times or Herald Tribune.

Thus, the name Czechia has its tradition also in English. Also political representation of anglophone countries expressed the consent with the name in the beginning of the modern Czech state.

So, where is the problem ? In other languages, the equivalent of „Czechia“ is used, so, why does English have to be so limited ? Perhaps, is it so hard to learn read it properly if everybody knows how to read Czech ? Or, is this name so strange for English speakers, however they are commonly using many other names, which sound much more weird in their language ? What about Illinois, Lithuania, Massachusetts, Saskatchewan, Utah, Chad, Ghana, Idaho, Zimbabwe and many others. We miss using the standard name of our country in English. Our country is not only the republic, that has been existed since 1993, but also the country of our ancestors, where republican system has been existed only for short part of its history.. Why some people call our country „Czech“, why such a nonsense ? It is an adjective, the name of inhabitant and language, but surely not of the country. Do English speakers use French for France, Japanese for Japan, British for Britain or Australian for Australia ? I do not think so. Or, is it some kind of uneducated simplification of „the Czech Republic“ ? Am I a Czech from Czech ? Terrible. Absolutely not !

Simply, the “Czech Republic” is not enough to denominate our country. The great Czech composer Antonín Dvořák, inter alia the founder of American classical music in the end of the 19th century, was not from the Czech Republic, because such a state did not exist that time, but he can be from Czechia without fail. Czechia is the correct name and not so hard to learn it, then, I do not see any problem in using it by English speakers.

If you like this article you might like also Facebook page of Civic initiative Czechia or its official page.

Vladimír Hirsch (2012)
#Czechia

Czechia - the name dispute

“Czechia” (ˈtʃɛki.ə), the English short-form and geographical name of the Czech Republic has been disputed since the founding of the new Czech state, which was formed on January 1, 1993 with the dissolution of Czechoslovakia. Although Czechia has been occasionally used in the media and scholarly circles[1], the contemporary Czech state is the only one among the European countries without a widely used short name in English, while having its official equivalents practically in all other languages. Due to the unclear statements of Czech representatives to institutionalize the name, by restricting the denomination of the country only to the political name of the contemporary state “the Czech Republic”, Czechia remains lesser known in the general public and sometimes is substituted by the grammatically incorrect and practically confusing adjectival form “Czech.” This situation complicates a clear resolution of the Czech state in a historical context, both in general and particular levels of understanding the differences in the names[2].

Parts of Czechia

The history and origin of the problem

The Czech state consists of three historical lands: Bohemia (Čechy /ˈtʃɛxi./ in Czech) - the western part, Moravia (Morava) - the eastern part, and Czech Silesia (Slezsko) - the north-eastern part (see the map). Due to the fact that the Bohemian part of the country had a higher hierarchical status in medieval times, the three lands were for centuries together called the "Bohemian Kingdom," "Lands of the Bohemian crown" or simply “Bohemia” (Čechy) in a broader meaning. This is why the name Czechia, as well as "Česko" [ˈtʃɛskɔ] in Czech, has been felt, for some inhabitants of the eastern part of the country, as more favourable for the Bohemian section, though these names in English, as in Czech, have always been proposed as a denomination for all the Czech lands, that is, for the entire country[3]. This problem actually did not exist during the existence of Czechoslovakia (1918-1992) nor before, although the status of the individual parts of the land were changed several times throughout history. With the dissolution of the Czechoslovak state during the German occupation and the annexation of Slovaks into the Nazi regime "Slovak State" between 1939 and 1945, the country was called under German pressure "Bohemia and Moravia"[4], however for a short time in the beginning of the so called "protectorate", the area was mentioned as "Czechia" in the press of English speaking countries[5]. The problem with the denomination of the Czech state emerged in 1993, at first merely as a linguistic or quasi-aesthetic question, but later also as some local (in this case Moravian) reflection of the manifestation of general nationalistic or even separatist tendencies in post-communist countries (Soviet Union, Yugoslavia, Czechoslovakia).

The dispute course

Early in 1993, the name Czechia was naturally installed and incorporated into the United Nations´ list of geographical names[6] but, soon after, became a subject of discussion among Czech politicians and specialists, above all linguists and geographers., Primarily, however, the problem lied in different opinions of adopting the country´s appropriate one-word name in Czech language, i.e. “[ˈtʃɛskɔ]”, which was rejected by some authorities and also by a part of the population. Since there were no other reasonable options, the problem was not solved conclusively but simply abandoned without any definitive official decision. As a result, general usage has been limited to the political name only, i.e.,"Česká republika" in Czech, “the Czech Republic” in English, despite some recommendations in favour of Czechia issued by the The Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport[7] in 1990´s. After years of hesitation, the Czechs are finally getting accustomed to the country´s one-word name in their mother tongue, but the problem with its English form persists until today. Unfortunately, "Czechia" is currently not widespread, even though representatives of English-language countries repeatedly confirmed their preparedness to adopt it[8], and emphasized the fact that the decision depends on the Czech officials. Unlike "Česko", its English equivalent "Czechia" can responsibly be discussed by specialists (geographers, linguists) and/or people with advanced knowledge of the English language. Nevertheless, the overwhelming majority of the Czech population has an opinion on the matter, regardless of their education or knowledge of the English language; only a minimum of the persons questionned do not have any opinion on the issue. English speakers involved in the problem are also diversified. They usually focus on aspects of practical usage, such as pronounciation, whereas Czech participants are more concerned with other attributes including historical and economic reasons but also special problems of understanding the meaning of Česko / Czechia in relation to the names of the "historical lands".

Czech politicians seldom participate in the discussion. They do so only on demand and possibly on official request, otherwise they commonly ignore it. They are permanently unwilling to make an official decision, partly because they are accustomed to use solely the political name, partly for fear of promoting some separatist tendencies in the state. The problem of the name appears in Czech media only sporadically and without any substantial general impact.The results of the ambivalent attitude of Czech institutions is documented by the appellation of the country in a contemporary "Index of countries" of the Czech Statistical Office from 2012, where - besides the political name "the Czech Republic," - the short-form name is grotesquely given as "Czech republic (the)"[9]......

Throughout history, the status of many states change over time, including long-term loss of independence of the country. This seems to be one of the substantial reasons for the problem with the standardization of the Czech short name of the country, which was transported to English language in the circumvention of appellation by Czechs. The result of this confusion in English speakers (not only native), includes, among others, obvious tendencies to call Czech state throughout the history "the Czech republic", which is the blunder (including Wikipedia), because the republican system in the state did not exist until 1918. Probably the most obvious nonsense in Wikipedia can be found in the category "Centuries in the Czech Republic"[10].

Arguments

In the current dispute, the common reasons for or against using Czechia remain the same for years, despite concrete practical issues and inconsistancy with actual facts which have been continuously brought up. The ongoing inability to find a resolution despite its being constantly discussed has its origin and history in the English name itself: its linguistic form, pronunciation, meaning and various particular problems, the overwhelming majority of which arouse due to diverse explanations of the two names (both Czechia and Česko) in various parts of the Czech lands.

Comparative list of opinions, myths and statements

Other names

In some discussions, the expressions “Czechland”[25] or “Czechlands,”[26] were mentioned as possible candidates to the country´s short name but this form has never been officially discussed. It is barely used, sometimes it occurs as the collocation "Czech lands." The usage of the adjectival form “Czech” is relatively frequent in the general public, but it has never been officially accepted and it was completely rejected by specialists, regardless of their opinion on using Czechia. The reasons consist predominantly in grammatical incorrectness and impractical usage: it is a linguistic error where the nationality and adjective are interchanged with the name of the country, which is a rare case, if not non-existent case in English. The argument is documented usually in examples of a sentences like e.g. :”The usage of the word in Czech is not common,” from which it is not clear if the term refers to the language or country and subsequently, it all has to be explained by another sentence, or an example from some tourist guide “Beauties of Czech,” which evokes a connotation with the same characteristics of some person or language.

Vladimír Hirsch (2013)

#Czechia

References

1 Pavlínek P., Ženka J.: The 2008–2009 automotive industry crisis and regional unemployment in Central Europe (Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy & Society) 

2 Czechia, Czech lands or the Czech Republic (Interview with linguist Jiří Felix, opinion poll and discussion) - in Czech 

3 Krejčí P.: The Study on the problem of diferentiation of the terms Čechy and Česko in the Slavonic languages. 

4 The New York Times, March 16, 1939: Bohemia and Moravia likely to retain names 

5 Soviet Note to Germany, The New York Times, March 20, 1939 

6 Jeleček, L.: Czechia. In: Encyclopedia of World Environmental History. Eds. S. Krech III, J. R. McNeill, C. Merchant, Vol.I., A Berkshire Reference Works, Routledge, New York &, London, pp. 279–280

7 Recommendation of Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport (1999)

8 Statement of British Embassy in Prague 

9 Czech Statistical Office: Index of countries 2012 (Číselník zemí ČSÚ - CZEM)

10 Wikipedia : Centuries in the Czech Republic 

11 Recommendation of Ministry of Foreign Affairs (1998) 

12 The Mercury, July 21, 1866: Latest from Prussia 

13 Horová E.: “Where are you from?“ - “I am from Czechia. 

14 Hubálek Z.: Czechia, nebo Czechland(s)? 

15 Horová E.: Record of Proceedings of the 7th Public Hearing of the Senate, May 11, 2004 (in Czech)

16 Hirsch V.: Czechia - is this name really so big problem for English speakers ?

17 Mathesius V.: The Czech and general linguistics, 1947, s.159: In this connection, Czech supporters of the name "Czechia" usually cite linguist Vilém Mathesius: "A confusing wealth of facts is necessary to simplify to obtain such a system of knowledge, which is clear in itself and with which can be further to work“

18 The example of an error: "Czech may refer to anything from or related to the Czech Republic" 

19 Jeleček, Leoš (2009). Geografické rozhledy. 19 1 (Jméno Česko/Czechia po šestnácti letech): 19-21.: citation: "The question should not be WHETHER to use Czechia OR the Czech Republic - both are equally right - but we only need to distinguish WHEN and WHERE to use the first and (when and where) the second one"

20 Rechcigl.M: Usage of the Term "Czechia" or NNDB Rewrites the History 

21 Foreign Policy: Czech ambassador clarifies that Czech Republic is not Chechnya 

22 Krejčí P.: Don't be afraid of Czechia, it needs your help! (2008)

23 Munzar J., Drápela M.V.: Czechia = Bohemia + Moravia + Silesia (Moravian Geographical Report. Brno: Ústav Geoniky, 1999. s. 58-61. Moravian Geographical Report, sv. 7, č. 2.)

24 CZECHIA - the name of the Czech Republic / History [

25 Hubálek Z.: West Nile fever in Czechland 

26 Jeleček L.: On the geographic name of the Czech Republic