Comments on: What is it about Czechoslovakia?

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» PCP Effect: John McCain « Pagan Centered Podcast » Blog Archive — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 23:13:24 +0000

[...] More about this on Reuters. [...]

By: Rick

Rick — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:01:54 +0000

I have some maps and a Replogle World Globe that show Czechoslovakia and other countries like Burma, East Pakistan and Belgian Congo as well as cities like Leningrad and Bombay, why…there’s even an East Germany! So what exactly is the point being made here? There will always be cities and countries whose names have been changed to fit the political climate. People who have lived long enough to have seen these changes will always recognize the country by whatever name it is called- today or yesterday or last century. They may even use the names interchangeably. Viva Saigon…sorry, Ho Chi Mingh City.

By: David

David — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:51:30 +0000

It’s just old men who lived through the Cold War and can’t substitute a newer designation in their minds. If I call my kid by his brother’s name it doesn’t mean what I have to say is unimportant. With men over fifty, it is the substance that matters, not the detail.

By: Mike

Mike — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:48:15 +0000

What amazes me is how the media parse this stuff to no end but give no time to more important topics. Yep, they goofed. So what? Is there really nothing more important that we could be discussing??

By: John Andre

John Andre — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 15:25:04 +0000

My mother’s family (Kysilko) is Czech. They used to call themselves “Bohemians” (though the family is two-thirds Moravian) and the name for the Czech Republic used to be the “Kingdom of Bohemia” until 1647 when the Habsburgs defeated the Hussite Bohemian forces at the Battle of the White Mountain during the Thirty Years War. The name “Bohemia and Moravia” has been suggested for the current republic but has generally been rejected since that name was used for Hitler’s “protectorate” during World War II.

Although Czechs and Slovaks speak nearly identical languages the deep cultural divisions date to Habsburg times. Generally the Czechs retained their own heritage while the Slovaks adopted Hungarian customs, due largely to the fact that the Magyars repressed the Slovaks more thoroughly than the Austrians ruled the Czechs.

By: Jamaal

Jamaal — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:53:32 +0000

‘Czech Republic’ is a fine name for a country. ‘Czechia’ sounds too much like ‘Chechnya’ and would only lead to worse mistakes.

By: Merry

Merry — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 13:06:47 +0000

@JV: You mean like THE United States?

@Akiva: I still cut both sides some slack. Unlike someone in their early 20s, they had fifty or more years of referring to the place as “Czechoslovakia” before the name changed It’s a force of habit. Unlike Russia/USSR or the states that emerged from Yugoslavia, the name still starts the same way, and it is easy to slip. In neither case does the slip actually impugn their credentials on foreign policy… it’s just funny.

By: APS

APS — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 12:08:17 +0000

Actually, there are many countries with “the” in the name:

“The United Kingdom” or “The UK” and “The USA” come to mind right away.

Nearly all countries to which we include “republic” start with “The”, even “The French Republic”. That is not to say that we cannot say “France” of course.

I think that the slip made by these gentlemen is more likely due to the fact that time has sped past for them, and their lexicon is still ingrrained in the past.

By: Akiva

Akiva — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 03:11:00 +0000

From my experience (I am in my early 20’s), having had Slovakian friends and having met Czech people, referring to “Czechoslovakia” is ignorant and a mistake I long ago learned not to make. As far as I can tell the Czechs and Slovakians have little in common culturally and likely resent having been lumped together into one country. I don’t refer to Russians as living in the “USSR” so why would I refer to “Czechoslovakia” as though it is a country that still exists? Given that I am easily able to avoid making the mistake these politicians made, I find their performance somewhat less than confidence inspiring.

By: JV

JV — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 01:49:00 +0000

Let’s face it “the Czech Republic” is not a good country name, at least in English for every day use. I have a few Czech friends who also agree.

There is almost no other country that needs “the” in the name we use every day. So when you start to say “Czech” without the “the”, the natural way to finish is by saying “Czechoslovakia”.

Actually, the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs suggested the name “Czechia” in 1993 as an official alternative in all situations other than formal documents. This is akin to “the Russian Federation” being normally called “Russia”. But this has not become widely-used in English, though other languages have single-word names, such as “Tschechien” in German or “Czechy” in Polish.

So let’s start using Czechia in the media, instead of the awkward “THE Czech Republic”.