You are currently browsing the monthly archive for July 2012.
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David is leaving Slovakia! Saša is sad. Is this the last Snack we’ll ever enjoy? It’s all in the word dovidenia…
Grammar tip: dovidenia is 2nd case (do videnia), and sbohom is 7th case (s bohom). Although these are fixed phrases, it’s still interesting to know the mechanics. 🙂
Slovak uses vykanie (formal/plural you, literally “you-ing”) and tykanie (informal/singular you, literally “thou-ing”) when talking to others. You normally start with vykanie until given permission – yes, verbal permission!* – to use tykanie. Using tykanie without approval is being too familiar and comes across as simply rude. The other side of the coin is that once you use tykanie with someone, you (almost) never go back to vykanie: that would be like saying “I don’t know you anymore.” Using vykanie with family members is tantamount to disowning them.
*and no, you can’t simply ask. It’s a little more complex than that.
Erratum: David has clearly picked up a Záhorácky accent and is pronouncing the de and ni in dovidenia as hard, when in proper Slovak they should be softer and palatal (ď/ň). Daj pozor, Dave!
Song: Tajné milovanie (Secret Lovemaking) by Silvayovci feat. Tomáš Buranovský
We decided to offer you a special song: a Slovak singer (Buranovský) collaborating with a trad-mod Slovak group (Silvayovci) doing a cover by a Slovak band (IMT smile). Triple whammy? Even better: Richard Müller wrote the lyrics.
Bonus music!!
Silvayovci – Children of the Sandstorm (cover)
www.silvayovci.sk
Tomáš Buranovský – Blízko Cieľa (Near the Goal)
www.tomasburanovsky.com
IMT Smile – Tajné milovanie (original version)
Richard Müller singing Tajné milovanie (live)
Backing music by RA90901
Dovidenia…
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It’s summer and school’s out! Saša and David agree that everything now is v pohode.
Pronunciation tip: the v becomes an f sound because the following sound (p) is unvoiced. Although written Slovak is generally phonetic, consonants will become voiced or unvoiced in speech, depending on the other consonants which precede or follow.
A voiced consonant (b/d/g/h/z) at the end of a word is unvoiced when spoken. eg. hrob (grave) = “hrop”, zahrad (garden) = “zahrat”, mozog (brain) = “mozok”, sneh (snow) = “snech”, and teraz (now) = “teras”.
Details about the Pohoda festival can be found here! www.pohodafestival.sk
Song: Tvoj sneh (Your Snow) by Collegium Musicum
www.collegiummusicum.sk
Backing music by RA90901
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It’s pády time!!
Saša and David tackle the monstrous hydra that is Slovak declension. Its not that scary, really… just pay a bit of attention and you’ll live.
By this podcast, we offer you a mouthful of the tastiest language in central Europe.
= Týmto podcastom vám ponukneme sústo toho najchuťnejšieho jazyka v strednej Europe.
A recap on the cases (pády), in order of appearance…
Siedmy pád (7th case) – the agent by which something is done. Without a preposition, it suggests “by” (eg. arrive by plane: prisť lietadlom). It also follows certain prepositions such as s (with), pred (before/next to), nad (above), pod (under) and za (behind).
Tretí pád (3rd case) – the indirect object; also used for directions which are not destinations, eg. k Bratislave – toward Bratislava, but not “to Bratislava” (where you need druhý pád: do Bratislavy)
Štvrtý pád (4th case) – the direct object which receives the action.
Druhý pád (2nd case) – the possessive which suggests “of” by itself, but also used for destinations (with do) or origins/causes (od/z). The pattern is learnt with the preposition bez (without).
Šiesty pád (6th case) – a location (where), and learnt with the preposition o (about). “A story about David” is Príbeh o Davidovi.
Prvý pád (1st case) – the subject, and also the form you’ll find in a dictionary. It’s only included in the sentence if the verb has the “it” or “they” conjugation. In other cases, the performer of the action (I, you, we) is already clear, thanks to the verb form. You would add ja/ty/my/vy only for emphasis.
Piaty pád (5th case) – direct address. This is only found in old forms of Slovak as it mostly corresponds with prvý pád, and is considered almost obselete in modern Slovak, with rare exceptions.
You can find more details on the Slovak declensions here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slovak_declension
Basically, the only way to comprehend this properly is to make use of it. Just follow the patterns (vzory).
To show how an example word can change:
1.pád (nominatív) – podcast
2.pád (genitív) – podcastu (this follows the dub pattern, which can be either -a or -u)
3.pád (datív) – podcastu
4.pád (akuzatív) – podcast
5.pád (vokatív) – podcast
6.pád (lokál) – podcaste
7.pád (inštrumentál) – podcastom
If we write a nonsensical sentence using the same word – “by this podcast, we offer the podcast a podcast of the tastiest podcast in central podcasts” – it becomes:
Týmto podcastom(7) / podcastu(3) / ponukneme podcast(4) / toho najchuťnejšieho podcastu(2) / v stredných podcastoch(6, plural).
Although this may look a little confusing at first, the endings of the words (plus order, nearby determiners and adjectives) make the relationship between the nouns very, very clear.
Song: Profesor Indigo by Peter Nagy
www.peternagy.sk
Backing music by RA90901
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Saša and David spend the whole podcast taking the Lords Name in vain, and discuss religion in modern Slovakia.
Phrases:
Ježišmaria/Žišmaria! – Jesus and Mary!
Kriste pane! – Lord Christ!
Bože môj! – My God!
There’s no real “grammar rule” for these expressions, but interestingly Bože môj and Kriste pane both use the (old and nigh-obsolete) piaty pád/vokatív form, for direct address.
Song: Môj bože (My God) by Katarína Knechtová
www.katarinaknechtova.com
Backing music by RA90901
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Saša and David give you a wealth of phrases when someone is getting papuľnatý (mouthy), and you just want to tell them to SHUT UP.
Polite:
Ticho, prosím – Quiet, please
Nevyrušuj(te) – Do not disturb
Direct:
Buď ticho! – Be quiet! (In Profesionáli: Šaňo, ty buď ticho! Ty si debil! – Shut up! You are an idiot!)
Pšt! – Shh!
Very direct/colloquial:
Zavri / Drž hubu! – Shut / Hold your gob!
Zavri si chlebareň / klapačku / klapajzňu / piraňu! – Shut your breadbox / little clapper / stupid little clapper / piranha!
Zklapni! – shut it!
Grammar tips:
The direct and colloquial forms all use the imperative form of the verb… of course.
You can use a diminutive form derisively in Slovak, with the meaning of “stupid little…”, by adding -zňa to the end, instead of -ka. In our examples, because the noun is a direct object (štvrtý pád), -zňa becomes -zňu.
Speech is sliver, silence is golden:
Hovoriť striebro, mlčať zlato (Slovak)
Mluviti stříbro, mlčeti zlato (Czech)
Song: Ticho má hlas (Silence Has a Voice) by Komajota
www.komajota.sk
Backing music by RA90901
Slovak Snack 
