In a previous article, [email protected] (John W. Maly) says: >To expediate genealogical research, I would like to A) obtain a good Czech- >English dictionary, and B) learn some Czech. Can anyone recommend a good >dictionary (there seem to be a lot listed at amazonbooks.com) and a good >beginner's course in Czech? My native language is English, with limited >experience in French and Lithuanian. > >P.S. What's the difference between the Czech and Slovak languages? Minor >differences? And how do you know if your "Bohemian" relative was Czech or >Slovak? Do Bohemia and Moravia correspond to Czech and Slovakia, respectively? >Sorry for all the questions! > If amazonbooks.com lists dictionaries, they probably also list Czech grammars. The "Teach Yourself _____" series (available for many languages) is a good beginner's course, but several other books are also good. French and Lithuanian won't help you much with your Czech, sorry to say. Czech IS similar in grammar and vocabulary with other Slavic tongues, such as Polish and Slovak. Nouns, adjectives and verbs have LOTS of endings to learn, like Latin. The concept of verbal aspect is handled in the usual manner as for most Slavic languages, which is quite different from English. Czech and Slovak are different languages, though if I am speaking Czech and you are speaking Slovak, we can understand each other for the most part, that's how close they are. In written form there are significant differences, but usually a person has to be somewhat familiar with either Czech or Slovak to be able to recognize the differences. Certain letters with diacritical marks are unique to one or the other, as well as certain letter-combinations and inflectional endings. I could give more details, but I think you get the idea. Bohemian and Czech usually mean the same thing. Moravian and Czech/Bohemian are both within the present-day Czech Republic. Slovaks are in Slovakia. These statements do not cover individuals whose roots are in one country, but who relocated to the other. I hope this answers your questions. If not, post again and I will clarify any other questions you have. -- Gary N. Deckant [email protected] Youngstown, Ohio