The Project Gutenberg eBook ofBohemian Grammar

The Project Gutenberg eBook ofBohemian GrammarThis ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online atwww.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.Title: Bohemian GrammarAuthor: Jaroslav Victor NigrinRelease date: December 2, 2015 [eBook #50595]Most recently updated: October 22, 2024Language: EnglishCredits: Produced by Charlene Taylor and the Online DistributedProofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This book wasproduced from scanned images of public domain materialfrom the Google Books project.)*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BOHEMIAN GRAMMAR ***

This ebook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this ebook or online atwww.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you will have to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this eBook.

Title: Bohemian GrammarAuthor: Jaroslav Victor NigrinRelease date: December 2, 2015 [eBook #50595]Most recently updated: October 22, 2024Language: EnglishCredits: Produced by Charlene Taylor and the Online DistributedProofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This book wasproduced from scanned images of public domain materialfrom the Google Books project.)

Title: Bohemian Grammar

Author: Jaroslav Victor Nigrin

Author: Jaroslav Victor Nigrin

Release date: December 2, 2015 [eBook #50595]Most recently updated: October 22, 2024

Language: English

Credits: Produced by Charlene Taylor and the Online DistributedProofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This book wasproduced from scanned images of public domain materialfrom the Google Books project.)

*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BOHEMIAN GRAMMAR ***

JAROSLAV VICTOR NIGRIN, A. M.HARRISON TECHNICAL HIGH SCHOOL, CHICAGO.

Book (decorative)

BOHEMIAN LITERARY SOCIETY. CHICAGO.

Slavie Publishing Co. logo (decorative)

Copyright, 1918, by the Slavie Publishing Co.,Chicago, Ill.

“Slavie” Publishing Company 465 2544 S. Millard Ave., Chicago.

ToCHARLES R. CRANEa true and enlightened friend of the Slavsthis work is dedicated

J. V. N.

Chicago, July 14, 1917

In preparing the present work it has been my aim to present to English speaking people a practical text book of the Bohemian language written along modern lines, explaining the grammatical principles and supplying enough exercises to illustrate them. As far as I am aware there are only two other books published on the same subject in English:—Chas. Jonáš “Bohemian Made Easy” a book based on conversational method and Grammar of the Bohemian language by W. Morfill, a very brief work destined for philologists rather than general students. As Jonáš’s book is out of print, and, as there is quite a demand for a practical text book of Bohemian among businessmen and students—Bohemian is at present taught at several Universities and High Schools in the United States—this work was undertaken.

The basis of this work was “Mluvnice česká” by Dr. Jan Gebauer, this being the standard Bohemian Grammar sanctioned by the university of Prague. My task was to arrange, to present the facts of the language given by Gebauer in such a way as to make its study most easy, practical and palatable. To accomplish this aim I have used my own experience and also followed suggestions given in various methods employed in the teaching of modern languages, in order that the book may be of assistance not only in a class-room but also in private instruction.

It is perhaps needless to point out that the first part, dealing with phonetics is very important, because, if the student obtains a correct pronunciation at the very outset, he will have made considerable progress in understanding and making himself understood. It is further recommended that the oral exercises be really practised orally—eventually by the entire class in unity. Learn the language by ear and eye! To the exercises from Bohemian into English very soon are added small articles, fables, stories and poems, which bring the student in touch with the living language and not only with prepared grammatical examples. It is certainly an easier and a surer way to learn correct Bohemian by reading and hearing as much as possible of good Bohemian than by making translation from English into Bohemian. Therefore, the exercises given in Bohemian are more numerous than those in English. Repetition makes mastery, and I did not hesitate to repeat a point that seemed to me to be important and the student ought to return again and again to such sections which are more difficult and also more important.

Bohemian is a highly inflected language and presents a great variety of forms. I tried to simplify the study of this multitude by systematizing, by linking and uniting similar forms and by gradually introducing the question of declension and verb forms. The part dealing with idiomatic expressions and syntax is not as complete because I had not enough material on hand. This present work is to a certain degree a pioneer work and as such has had its difficulties that could not be mastered in a comparatively short time and with insufficient material. The book was written during the Great War, when it was impossible to obtain the aid of authorities in Bohemia. However, I wish to express my indebtedness to the following works consulted in my present work: Rádce správné češtiny: Peter Zenkl; Škola českého jazyka, Říha, Heyduk, besides the already mentioned works of Gebauer, Morfill and Jonáš. I wish also to thank most sincerely the following kind helpers: my colleague Boh. Kral, Mr. Josef Mach, Dr. J. E. S. Vojan and Miss Marie Novak whohelped in the compiling of the dictionary and especially Miss Katherine Kiely for painstaking revision and help in proof-reading.

I hope, that the included paper by Mr. A. R. Nykl, on the “Slav Nations and their languages” will help to awaken interest in Slavic philology. It will also show that by studying Bohemian—a language of 10,000,000 people—of whom about a million are living in the United States, we are really getting in touch with a race of almost 150 million souls, a race that is comparatively youthful on the horizon of the history of mankind and undoubtedly a race with a bright future.

I sincerely hope that this present work will help to foster the study of Bohemian and that it will awaken interest in the literature and culture of my native land.

Chicago, August 18, 1917.

Jaroslav Victor Nigrin.

TheSlavsbelong to the Aryan or Indo-European group of races.

As theoriginal dwelling placeof the Slav race the majority of savants designate the territory between the Carpathians and the Baltic Sea, along the rivers Elbe, Vistula and Dnieper. It is generally assumed that during the great migration of nations in the course of the first centuries after Christ, various Slavonic tribes have left their original common home and migrated West and South, forming several separate groups, which in the course of time have developed characteristic religious, climatic and linguistic idiosynsrasies. This theory is considered the most plausible historically, though it is not quite corroborated by archeological research.

TheNAME SLAVS(Slověne) has been differently interpreted as being derived from “slavný” (glorious) or “slovo” (word, speech, sermon). It is assumed that the Slavs called themselves so, because they could understand each other, while they called their neighbors, the Germans, whose speech was unintelligible to them “Němtsy” (ně-umtsy), i. e. people who were unable to speak intelligently. Another theory is that the appellationSlověnewas first adopted by a Slav tribe living in the vicinity of Saloniki, which had been converted to Christianity by the Sts. Cyrill and Methodius, and, having at the same time learned the use of writing, wished to be known as a more educated people, in contradistinction from other, still illiterate, tribes. Their language has been preserved in the Orthodox church liturgy and is called the Old Slavonic. As Christianity, and with it the use of writing, gradually spread among the other Slav tribes, the distinctive nameSlověnewas also adopted by them, and finally became synonymous of the whole race.

Originally the whole territory East of the river Elbe, part of Western Saxony, Bohemia, Moravia, Hungary and Illyria were inhabited by Slavs. From their settlements on the Elbe the Slavs were gradually driven East by the Germans, in Hungary they were driven from the plains into the mountains, i. e. the Carpathians, Tatra, the Alps and the Carso. In the Balkan peninsula they were hemmed in by the Greeks and later by the Turks. In Russia they were several times overrun by Asiatic races. They stubbornly held their ground as guardians of Europe against Asiatic domination, particularly so their Eastern and Southern groups. These constant struggles have somewhat retarded their intellectual and economic development, but their latent strength will surely bring them to the position they should rightfully occupy in the world’s history.

According to their present dwellings the Slavs can be divided into three groups:

I. NORTHWESTERN, comprising the Bohemians(Czechs), Slovaks, Lusatian Serbs (Wends), Poles and Kashubes.

II. EASTERN, comprising Russians, i. e. Great Russians, Little Russians (Ruthenians, Ugro-Russians) and White Russians.

III. SOUTHERN, comprising the Slovenes, Serbo-Croatians and Bulgarians.

THE NUMERICAL STRENGTHof the Slav nations is variously estimated between 140 and 150 millions, distributed approximately as follows:

THE MUTUAL RESEMBLANCEof the Slavonic languages is very great, especially in syntax and grammatical structure. If a Bohemian, for example, learns Russian thoroughly, he can understand and translate the remaining Slavonic languages with a considerable degree of accuracy.

One may best judge of the similarity of the Slavonic languages by comparing the following examples, which are the translation of the first four verses of the Lord’s Prayer:

Bohemian (Czech):

Otče náš, kterýž jsi v nebesích, posvěť se jméno tvé. Přijď království tvé; buď vůle tvá, jako v nebi tak i na zemi.

Old Slavonic:

Otče naš, iže jesi na něbesěch! da svjatitsja imja tvojé, da priidět carstvie tvojé: da búdět vôlja tvojá, jako na nebesi i na zemi.

Bulgarian:

Tatko ny kojto si v nebe-to, neka da se svjati ime-to tvoje; da dojde carstvo-to tvoje; da bude volja-ta tvoja kakto na nebe-to, taka i na zemja-ta.

Serbo-Croatian:

Oče naš koji je si na nebesima, da se sveti ime tvoje; da dodje carstvo tvoje; da bude volja tvoja, i na zemlji kao na nebu.

Slovene:

Oče naš, ki si v nebesih, posvečeno bodi ime tvoje. Pridi kraljevstvo tvoje. Zgodi se volja tvoja, kakor v nebesih, tako na zemlji.

Lusatian Serbian:

Wôtče naš, kiž sy w njebjesach; swječene budž twoje mjeno; přindž k nam twoje kralestwo; twoja wola so staň kaž na njebju, tak tež na zemi.

Polish:

Ojcze nasz, który jest w niebie, świeč sie imie twoje, przyjdź królestwo twoje, badź wola twoja jako w niebie tak i na ziemi.

Little Russian:

Otče naš ščo na nebi! Nechaj svjatitsja imja tvoje. Nechaj priide carstvo tvoje. Nechaj bude volja tvoja jak na nebi, tak i na zemlj.

Russian:

Otěc naš kotorj jesi na něbesach; da svjatiťsja imja tvojo, da priďot cárstvo tvojo, da budeť volja tvoja kak na něbesach i na zemli.

WRITING:

The invention of the oldest Slavonic writing, theglagolitsa, is generally attributed to the two apostles, Cyrill and Methodius, but it seems that this writing had already been in use prior to their advent. It is derived from the old Greek alphabet, towhich new letters, representing sounds unknown to Greek, such asšt,šč,š,č,jer,jery,jať, were added. From the rather unwieldy letters of theglagolitsathe more mobilekyrillitsahas been evolved, which is now used in the Russian-Orthodox church books. The modern Russian alphabet, thegraždanka, is a simplified form of kyrillitsa, and was first introduced by Peter the Great of Russia. It is used by all Orthodox Slavs: the Russians and Little Russians, the Bulgarians and Serbs. Those of the Slavonic tribes who came under the influence of the Roman-Catholic church, i. e. Czechs, Slovaks, Lusatian Serbs, Slovenes, Croatians and Poles, have adopted the Latin alphabet.

OLD SLAVONIC, also called Church Slavonic, was originally spoken in the vicinity of Saloniki, and was the first literary language of the Slavs. The old Bulgarian language is the one most closely related to it. Its structure and vocabulary are used as a basis for comparative philology.

BOHEMIAN (Czech) and SLOVAK have been treated in detail in the foregoing pages.

BULGARIAN is spoken by a race of Ugro-Finnish origin, which emigrated from Northern Russia to the Balkans and adopted the language of the Slav tribes whom it conquered. Its main characteristic is the use of definite article at the end of nouns, cf.car-at,zemja-ta,nebe-to. Its older literature contains many fine examples of Slav poesy. (There are three principal dialects spoken in Bulgaria: the Danubian, the Thracian and the Macedonian, which form the bridge between the Russian on the one side and the Serbo-Croatian on the other.)

SERBO-CROATIAN is spoken in Serbia, Croatia-Slavonia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Dalmatia, Adriatic islands and Southern Hungary (Bacska, Sirmia and Banat). (There arefour principal dialects:čakavština,štokavština,kajkavštinaandcvrližština.) The only difference between the Serbs and the Croats is that the former are chiefly Orthodox and partly Mohammedan and use the Russian alphabet, while the latter are mostly Roman-Catholics and use the Latin alphabet. The greatest literary treasure of this language constitute the national epics (narodne pjesme), in which the national heroes, who fell in the fateful battle of Kosovo Polje. The chief characteristic of this language is that it is spelt entirely phonetically.

SLOVENE is spoken in Southern Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, Istria, Gorizia, Trieste and in several districts near Udine in Italy. It is very much akin to the Serbo-Croatian and shows but slight differences in syntax and composition.

WEND or LUSATIAN SERBIAN is spoken in some districts of the Upper and Lower Lusatia and forms a bridge between the Bohemian and Polish. The center of this tribe, now entirely surrounded by the Germans, is the town of Bautzen (Budyšín).

POLISH is next to Slovak the most akin to Bohemian. Various sounds, which in Bohemian are rendered by diacritical marks, such asš,ř,č, are represented bysz,rz,czin Polish. A difference is also made between the soft and hard l, as in Russian. The language has also preserved the old Slavonic nasal soundsą(on) andę(en). A glorious national history and splendid literature are the heritage of the Polish nation, and the language is well worth the study.

The KASHUBE is a dialect spoken in Pomerania, near Danzig, by about 200.000 souls. The Kashubes, however, mostly consider themselves Poles.

LITTLE RUSSIAN, also called Ruthenian or Ukrainian, is spoken in Eastern Galicia, in the Carpathians from Uzhorod to Munkács, Northern Bukowina, and Southern Russia, along the Black Sea and the rivers Dniester, Dnieper and Don. It is richin national poesy, and, like the Serbo-Croatian, has preserved some of the purest characteristics of the Slav race. It constitutes a bridge between the Polish and the Russian, being to a certain extent a mixture of the two languages. It chiefly differs from the Russian in the pronunciation ofjery,jať,e,o, andu, cf.dilo(Russ. djelo),buv(Russ. byl),dovg(Russ. dolg),ridny(Russ. rodnoj),vže(Russ. uže),usjaki(Russ. vsjaki).

RUSSIAN, also called Great Russian, is the official language of the Russian Empire. It is the most important of all the Slavonic languages and every Bohemian ought to learn it, especially in view of the great facility with which he can acquire it as compared with non-Slavonic nationalities. By learning it one acquires at the same time the key to all other Slavonic languages, so that one can learn any one of them in less than six months.

The grammatical forms and syntax in Russian are purer and more elaborate than in any other Slavonic tongue. The knowledge of Russian opens one the door to an immense literature, whose beauties have thus far found only a very fragmentary interpretation in America. Bohemians in America ought to devote special attention to the learning of Russian language and affairs, because Russia has a great future before her, and the friendliest relations should be cultivated between her and the United States.

Among the extinct Slavonic languages a special mention deserves thePolabian, which was spoken by the Slav tribes who lived on the river Elbe, i. e.Vagriin Lauenburg and Holstein,Bodriciin Mecklenburg, andLutici(Veleti) in Brandenburg, as far back as the latter part of the 18th century.

The Bohemian alphabet—abeceda—(called after the first four letters a, b, c, d) consists of 39 letters—písmen.

To these letters correspond individual sounds—hlásky—which go to make up the Bohemian words. The Bohemian language is very nearly phonetic, that is, for each sound there is a letter or, in other words, the spelling of words agrees with the pronounciation. These sounds are divided into: vowels—samohlásky—; and consonants—souhlásky.

The vowels are the word building sounds.Every vowel (and every consonant) has only one, unchanging pronunciation.The vowels are:

The vowels a, e, i, o, u, y as given above are called short—krátké,—and their pronounciation is short. But the same vowels occur long—dlouhéand then they are marked with the long sign—čárkaand are pronounced long.

Dlouhé samohlásky:á,é,í,ó,ú,ý

Most of the consonants in Bohemian have the same sound as in English. These will be taken up first.

The following consonants have the same pronounciation in Bohemian as in English:

b,d,f,h,l,m,p,r,t,v,z. The lettersis always pronounced as thesin side; never like s innose(sound z).

In Bohemian the accent falls upon the first syllable. If the word contains many syllables a secondary and weaker accent falls upon the odd syllables (that is upon the third or fifth). Since the accent is regular there is no need of marking it.

Note.—Differentiate between the long syllable and the accented one! Examples: Voda (water). Here both syllables are short, the first one is accented; pátá (the fifth); here both syllables are long, the first one is accented. Kámen (the stone); here the first syllable is long and is accented; malá (small); here the first syllable is short but accented, the second is long and unaccented. The accent is the stress of the voice, while the long syllable refers merely to the prolongation in sounding.The beginner is advised to pronounce the long syllables markedly long just for the sake of practice.

The negative form of the verbis formed by simple prefixing—ne—to the verb. Examples: neznám—I don’t know; nemáme—we have not etc.

We begin with the nouns of the first declension. They end in a consonant in the nominative singular. In the objective (accusative) case they add-a; in the objective plural they replace-aby-y.

Examples:

Article.—There isnoarticle, definite or indefinite in Bohemian.

Use of the cases.—The subject of a sentence is in the nominative case (the case that names the person or thing). The object of the verb is in the objective case.

Pán volá hocha.—The gentleman calls the boy.

Who(kdo) calls?The gentleman calls.—Pán volá. The gentleman is the subject of the sentence and is in the nominative case.Whom(koho) does the gentleman call? The gentleman callsthe boy.—Pán volá hocha. The boy is the object of the verb calls and is in the objective case.

Since Bohemian is a highly inflected language, it is of extreme importance to become acquainted early with the case forms and their meanings.

Translate into English:

Mám bratra. Máme bratry. Znám ptáka. Voláme sedláky. Bratr volá hocha. Sedlák má syna. Pán volá bratra. Sedlák nezná pána. Hoch nemá ptáka. Bratr nevolá hocha. Neznám pána. Nevolám sedláka. (The article and auxiliary do, does, are not translated).

Translate into Bohemian:

The farmer knows the gentleman. We have a brother. The gentleman has a bird. The farmer doesn’t know the boy. We know the farmer. The gentleman doesn’t call the boys. The farmer has sons. The brother knows the boys. I know the boy. I don’t know the gentleman.

cpronounced like ts,nocthe night,celýwhole.

jpronounced likeyin you, já I,vojákthe soldier.

chpronounced likekh(more exactly like Germanch, machen)—chudý, poor.

When the Latin script was adopted for the Bohemian language there were not enough letters for some of the Bohemian sounds. In the early times groups of letters were used to denote such sounds. The long vowels were marked by doubling. Ex. Pán was written paan, the present letterš(equal to ourshinshoe) was writtenss,sh, orsch. In the XV. century the Bohemian reformer John Hus advanced a spelling reform by devising simple marks over kindred Latin letters to represent such sounds as had no Latin equivalents. At the present hooks are used to mark these peculiar consonants.

It is impossible to indicate the exact pronounciation of the lettersď,ťandř. The best way to learn their pronunciation is by imitating the native Bohemians. The following phonetical description of the more difficult sounds will be perhaps helpful.

ď,ť,ňare palatal dentals. They are formed when the tip of the tongue is close to the conjunction of the palate and front teeth.

ž,š,čare palatal sibilants, the position of the tongue is in the middle of the mouth, the teeth are almost closed andhissing sounds are formed.

ř, the tongue as in the preceding section, but the tip is slightly raised and it trills whenřis pronounced.

h,ch,gutturals, are formed in the throat.

Syllablesdi,ti,niare pronounced as if writtenďi,ťi,ňi, leaving out the “v” hook is an exception in writing.

Distinguish carefully in writing and speaking the syllablesdi,ti,ni, fromdy,ty,ny. This is very important!

Examples:—zvony, bells;zvoní, rings;u vody, by the water;vodí, leads;letí, flies;tety, aunts;noviny, newspaper;nic, nothing;ticho, silence;boty, boots;vždy, always;divadlo, theater.

The second person singularjsi,máš,volášetc. corresponds to our: thou art, thou hast, thou callest etc. These forms, however, are obsolete in English and therefore the Bohemian forms ought to be translated by you are, you have, you call etc.

In Bohemian the singular formsjsi,máš, etc. are used in a familiar way, in talking to intimate friends, to children, or among the members of the family. The plural forms,jste,máteetc. are the polite forms to be used by the stranger.

The nominative plural of the nouns of the first declension ends in -i.

Translate into English:

Jsem žák. Jsme žáci. Nejsem voják. Nejsme vojáci. Žák má bratra. Žáci mají bratry. Voják volá sedláka. Sedlák jest zde. Nejsem sedlák, jsem žák. Bratr jest doma. Hoši jsou doma. Hoch má holuba. Voláme pány. Voláš pána. Máte holuby. Jste zde. Neznáme hochy. Ona jest doma.

Translate into Bohemian:

I am here. The boy is home. The farmer has a pigeon. The farmers have pigeons. You don’t know the gentleman. The soldier has a brother. We are soldiers. The gentleman has a son. You call the boy. We know the gentleman. The birds are here. She is home. He is here.

Lev spal. Malá myška mu skočila na záda. Lev se probudil a chytil myš do svých drápů. Ulekaná myš prosila lva: Pusť mne, odplatím se ti jednou. Lev se dal do smíchu, že mu malá myška slibuje odplatu, ale pustil ji na svobodu.

Za rok lovci chytili lva a přivázali ke stromu provazem. Myška uslyšela řvaní lva, přišla, přehryzla provaz a pravila: Vidíš, smál jsi se, že bych ti nemohla pomoci, ale teď vidíš, že i malá myška může mnoho vykonati.

The two vowelsi, andydiffer slightly in pronounciation, seeLesson I.Iis called měkkéi(soft i),yis calledtvrdé y. The distinction between these two letters is very important.

h,ch,k,d,t,n,rare calledtvrdé souhlásky—hard consonants and they are followed byyorý.

ž,š,č,c,ď,ť,ň,ř,j, are calledměkké souhlásky—soft consonants and are followed byi, orí.

Memorize each set of the consonants and keep well in mind the fundamental distinction between them.

ouis the only diphthong in Bohemian. It is pronounced asoinlow.Koule, a ball;louka, a meadow.

ú, ů.If the longuoccurs at the beginning of the words the simple long mark´is used;úkol, lesson;úterý, Tuesday. If the long u occurs in the middle or at the end of the words a little circle markůis used to denote the length,růže, rose;dolů, down;kůže, leather.

Where we haveůat present the old Bohemian hadó, bóh o. B. (bůh),stólo. B. (stůl), table etc.

ěoccurs in the following syllables:

Syllablesdě,tě,něare pronounced as if writtenďe,ťe,ňe. Bothdi,ti,nianddě,tě,ně, are exceptional modes of writing.

Distinguish carefully between:dÄ›,tÄ›,nÄ›, andde,te,ne;mÄ›,bÄ›,pÄ›,vÄ›,fÄ›, andme,be,pe,ve,fe.

Vedeme,tebe,tělo,umění,něco,věci,nedělej,pěst,ledy,týrá,udice,utíká,nyní,u vany,voní.

There is no progressive form of the verb in Bohemian, thereforeslyšímcan also be translated by I am hearing;voláme, we are calling etc. The following verbs are conjugated in the same way asslyším. The first person only is given:vidím, I see;nosím, I carry;chodím, I walk;mluvím, I speak;chválím, I praise.

The possessive case of the nouns of the first declension ends in-ain the singular and in-ůin the plural.

The nouns of the first declension are all of the masculine gender. They are divided into two sections, the first denoting animate things only, the other denoting inanimate beings. The second section, that of the inanimate nouns is declined as follows:

As we have seen we do not need to use the personal pronouns with the Bohemian verb to indicate person and number. The endings of the verb show that with sufficient clearness.

The interrogative formis denoted by the question mark in writing and proper accentuation in speaking, e. g.

Translate into English:

Kdo má kabát? Já mám kabát. My máme kabáty. Koho voláte? Volám bratra a vojáka. Zde jest kabát hocha. Vidíte strom? Ano, vidím strom. Ne, nevidím strom. Máš chléb? Ano, mám chléb. Žák má klobouk a kabát. Koho slyšíte? Slyším hocha. Koho chválíte? Chválíme žáka. Pán má obraz. Rám obrazu. Chléb sedláků.

Translate into Bohemian:

The gentleman has a picture. Whom do you hear? I hear the soldiers. We speak. Do you know the farmer? Yes, I know the farmer. Whom do you call? I call the brother. We praise the farmers. What do you hear? Do you see the boy and the soldier?

Koulelo se, kouleločervené jablíčko.—Komu ty se dostaneš,mé zlaté srdíčko?Myštičko, myš,pojď ke mně blíž.Nepůjdu, kocourku,nebo mne sníš.

Koulelo se, kouleločervené jablíčko.—Komu ty se dostaneš,mé zlaté srdíčko?Myštičko, myš,pojď ke mně blíž.Nepůjdu, kocourku,nebo mne sníš.

Koulelo se, kouleločervené jablíčko.—Komu ty se dostaneš,mé zlaté srdíčko?

Koulelo se, koulelo

červené jablíčko.—

Komu ty se dostaneš,

mé zlaté srdíčko?

Myštičko, myš,pojď ke mně blíž.Nepůjdu, kocourku,nebo mne sníš.

Myštičko, myš,

pojď ke mně blíž.

Nepůjdu, kocourku,

nebo mne sníš.

There are some words in Bohemian that contain no vowels; ex.vlk, wolf;prst, finger.… In such words the consonantslandrplay the part of a vowel; they take a softer sound and are called semivowels (Pronounce them as if there were a slight e before l or r.Vlkasvelk,prstasperst).

Examples:—Strč prst skrz krk. Drn, pln, slz, brk, vlna.—Some consonants following each other give trouble to the inexperienced beginner. Much practice is therefore necessary to acquire a good pronounciation right from the beginning.

hněv, anger;čti, read;zdi, walls;štěstí, happiness;kořist, prey;zvon, bell;sklep, cellar.

Šla Prokopka pro Prokopa, Prokope, dej trochu oukropa. Třiatřicet křepelek letělo přes třiatřicet stříbrných střech.

a,á,b,c,č,d,ď,e,é,é,ě,f,g,h,ch,i,í,j,k,l,m,n,ň,o,ó,p,r,ř,s,š,t,ť,u,ú,ů,v,y,ý,z,ž.

The lettersq,x,woccur only in words of foreign origin.

The vowelsa,e,i,o,u,yhave full vocal tone. Consonants are divided into surdsch,k,t,ť,p,s,c,š,č,f. They have a dull sound and no vocal tone while the sonantsh,g,d,ď,b,z,ž,v, have a clear sound and light vocal tone.—When a surd follows the sonant or vice versa, either in the same word or in two neighboring words, then either the surd changes into a sonant or the sonant into a surd so that they are both of the same quality.

Examples:

When, however, a vowel follows the sonant, this will keep its full sound;lvi, lions;ve sněhu, in the snow;lezu, I crawl;běžím, I run;lodě, ships.

Prepositionsv, in;k, to, towards;s, with,arewords. They must therefore be separated from words before which they stand but in speaking they are united to the following word and pronounced as one, e. g.:v lese, in the forest sayvlese;k bratru, to the brother saykbratru,s pánem, with the gentleman, sayspánem.

Notice that while in English the plural of all three he, she and it isthey, each of these has its own plural form in Bohemian.

We have had so far two classes of verbs and the auxiliary to be,býti.

The personal pronoun is usually omitted, except in emphatic statements. The third person plural of the verbs of the first lessons:mají, they have,znají, they know (the same asvolají) andjsou, theyare.

All nouns in Bohemian belong to either the masculine, feminine or neuter gender.Jsou buď rodu mužského, ženského nebo středního.This distinction is called grammatical gender.—Nouns ending in the nominative singular inaare of feminine gender.

Declension of the feminine nouns ending in -a.

Feminine nouns of this declension:

Ve Å¡kole, in the school (locative case).

Translate into English:

Kdo jest ve škole? My jsme ve škole. Pán jest doma. Kde jsou vojáci? Oni jsou zde. Mám knihu. Má sestra má knihy. Neslyším sestry. Sestry volají hocha. Kde jest hoch? Hoch jest ve škole. Voláme tetu, ona jest doma. Knihu žáka má voják. Vidím dům sedláka. Chválíte žáky? Ano, chválíme žáky.

Answer in Bohemian:

Kde jest sestra? Máte knihy? Slyšíte pána, znáte vojáky? Kde jest hoch? Co má ona? Koho volají ony? Vidíte stromy?

Translate into Bohemian:

We don’t hear the gentleman. She has an aunt. The pupils are in the school. Where is the sister of the soldier? The bread of the farmer is here. She doesn’t hear. They (masc.) don’t hear. They (feminine) don’t see. What do you see? I have books. We have books in the school.

Vowels.—Samohlásky.

Consonants.—Souhlásky.

The remaining consonants:b,p,v,l,m,s,z,f, are calledneutral consonants—obojetné souhlásky. These consonants become hard or soft in certain cases or verb ending as will be shown in the grammar or they are soft or hard in certain words to be taken up latter on. The proper use ofyoriafter neutral consonants is one of the difficulties of the Bohemian grammar.

Long vowels—dlouhé samohlásky.—It is very important to employ the long mark´over long vowels and to give sufficient length in pronouncing them. The beginner especially should prolong them to acquire the habit. Many quasi-homonyms are distinguished by the length sign: e. g.pata, heel,pátá, fifth,peče, bakes,péče, care,pára, steam,párá, ripping,psi, dogs,psí, of the dog,kůl, post, pillar,kul, forged.

The indirect object is expressed by the dative case. It answers to the question to whom? Komu?

I give a book to the boy.—Dám knihu hochovi.

I give what? The book. The book is the direct object.

To whom do I give the book? To the boy,hochovi. The boy is the indirect object expressed in Bohemian by the dative case. The prepositionk, to or towards, (keorkubefore word beginning withk,b,v,p) is used only to denote direction, when the verb implies motion.Jdu ke stolu.I go to (towards) the table.

The forms of the dative.

In Bohemian the adjectives agree with the noun they modify in gender, number and case.

Nominative singular and plural of the masculine and feminine forms of the adjectives.

The adjective ends in the nominative singular for the masculine in-ý.

The adjective ends in the nominative singular for the feminine in-á.

The adjective ends in the nominative plural for the masculine anim. in-í.

The adjective ends in the nominative pl. for the masculine inanim. in-é.

The adjective ends in the nominative plural for the feminine in-é.

Translate into English:

Hodný sedlák dal hochovi knihu. Hodní sedláci dali hochům knihy. Stromy jsou zelené. Malý žák jest ve škole. Kde jest hodný hoch? Hodný hoch jest doma. Pán dal hochovi klobouk. Slyším sestru. Jest žák hodný? Ano, žák jest hodný. Jest kniha stará? Ne, kniha není stará, kniha jest nová. Sedlák dal chleba pánovi. Starý pán jest doma. Hodná matka jest zde. Starý dům jest veliký. Kabát hocha jest nový.

Translate into Bohemian:

The old gentleman knows the boy. The old gentlemen know the boys. Is the small boy in the school? Yes, he is in the school. No, he is not in the school, he is at home. The coat is old. Where is the big soldier? We have coats and hats. The good pupils are in school. Where is the big sister? The aunt is good. The tree is big and green.

Kmotr Matěj šel navštívit kmotra Jíru. Nedaleko statku potkal kmotrova chlapce.

“Co dělá táta, Josífku?” ptá se ho.

“Právě chtěl jíst, ale když vás viděl přicházet, vstal a nechal jídla být,” odpověděl pravdomluvný hoch.

“A proč pak?”

“Inu, táta povídal, že byste nám mnoho snědl, a máma to musela se stolu všecko uschovat.”

“A kam pak to schovala, Josífku?”

“Husu dala na pícku, kýtu na kamna, klobásy se zelím do trouby, buchty na polici a dva džbány piva pod lavici.”

Kmotr se neptal dále, usmál se a v okamžení vešel přes práh ke kmotrovi.

“Pozdrav tě bůh!” vítal ho kmotr Jíra. “Ale že pak jsi nepřišel o chvilku dříve, mohl jsi s námi jíst, právě dnes nám od jídla nic nezbylo, čím bychom tě uctili.”

“Nemohl jsem, milý kmotříčku, dříve přijít, přihodilo se mi na cestě něco neočekávaného.”

“A co, povídej!”

“Zabil jsem ti hada, a ten had měl hlavu tak velikou jako ta kýta, co máte na kamnech, tlustý byl jako ta husa, co je na pícce, bílé masíčko měl jako ty buchty, co jsou na polici, dlouhý pak byl jako ty klobásy, co leží otočené na zelí v troubě, krve ale bylo, co piva v těch dvou džbánech, co tamto pod lavicí stojí.”

Dobře to Matěj vyvedl. Kmotr Jíra se za svou nehostinnost zastyděl, žena musela jídlo a pití na stůl postavit, a oba teprv hosta častovali.

Božena Němcová.

It was stated inLesson III.that the plural of the masculine animate nouns and their adjectives ends in-i—měkkéi.Sincei,měkké, cannot follow a hard consonant this mustsoften,that is change into corresponding soft consonant. In softening,při měkčení

d,t,nsoften automatically upon the addition ofi—di,ti,ni.

Neutral consonants simply add-i.

This change, called softening, is very important, it also occurs afterÄ›.

After the prepositions:o, about,v (ve), in,po, following, after,the locative caseis employed in Bohemian.

After the prepositions:s (se), with,za, behind, further where in the English we employ the prepositionbyto signifyinstrumentalityto some action,the instrumental caseis used in Bohemian.

Note.—Prepositionss, with;v, in;k, to, towards, add-efor the sake of euphony, (kbeforek,b,v,p,vbeforev,f,sbefores,z,š,ž).

Locative case.

Instrumental case.

Mluvímo hochovi. I speak about the boy. Locative case.

Mluvíms hochem. I speak with the boy. Instrumental case.

The following verbs form their present indicative likejdu:nesu, I carry,čtu, I read,beru, I take.

Jdu s pánem. I go with the gentleman,jdeš s pánem, on jde s pánem, ona jde s pánem.My jdeme s pánem, vy jdete s pánem, oni jdou s pánem, ony jdou s pánem.

Continue orally as in the example above indicated throughout all three persons singular and plural:

Do(preposition) is followed by possessive case.

Translate into English:

Jdu do školy. Máš klobouk a kabát. Ta dívka jest Češka. Jest ten voják Čech? Ne, on není Čech, jest Američan. Jdu do lesa. V lesejsou stromy. Pták zpívá v lese. Kdo mluví o škole? Hoch sedláka mluví o škole. Koho volá sestra? Sestra volá tetu. Co čte bratr? Bratr čte knihu. Co nese starý sedlák? Starý sedlák nese knihu. Ten sedlák jest Čech.

Change the sentences in Exercise II. into plural (in Bohemian).

Translate into Bohemian:

A good pupil goes to school. She takes bread. They hear the soldiers. What are you hauling? The good aunt has a garden. A big sister reads a book. A gentleman goes with the soldier. Behind the soldier is a tree. The big house is the school. Where do you go? I go home. We speak about the school.

Ve škole jsou žáci a učitel. Mají knihy. Učí se pilně. Sedí v lavicích. Učitel jest u stolu. Na stole má velkou knihu. Jeden žák stojí a čte, ostatní dávají pozor.

Jsme ve škole a učíme se. Jsme žáci. Sedíme v lavicích. Máme knihy a papír.

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