I may be completely English by origin, but I am also a committed Czechophile. After several years of occasional visits, I moved to the Czech Republic in 2019, initially to work as a language teacher. Certain global developments the following year made teaching difficult, so I was overjoyed to be given the chance in the summer of 2020 to undertake a PhD with the University of Edinburgh. For three and a half years, I carried out research in the academic field of linguistics, specifically on historical languages. During this time, Prague remained my home, but I had the good fortune to get to experience the delights of Scotland too.
I defended my thesis and completed the PhD in the spring of 2024. All throughout my studies, I developed my passion for public engagement and for sharing linguistics with a general audience. As well as through my writing, this personal mission involved audio adventures into podcasting. These in turn sparked a newfound passion for interviewing guests and creating interesting and entertaining content for listeners. When fate offered me this great opportunity to work for Radio Prague International, which perfectly combines my Czech interests and broadcasting aspirations, I jumped at the chance.
articles by the author
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International Engineering Fair in Brno gets presidential visit
The International Engineering Fair has got underway this week in Brno, running from Tuesday 8th to Friday 11th, and enjoyed a visit by President Petr Pavel.
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Signal Festival returns to light up Prague for its eleventh year
Signal Festival, the annual festival of pioneering lightshows across Prague, begins its four-day programme on October 10th.
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The resurrection of Spirála: Unique theatre puts on first performance since 2002 floods
After twenty-two years of closure, the distinct round theatre by Prague’s Výstaviště has reopened under the new name of Nová Spirála.
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Jan Žižka 600 Years: Exhibition and festival in Tábor marks six centuries since the warrior’s death
This week sees the anniversary of the death of the Hussite general Jan Žižka, and the city of Tábor is commemorating the event with an exhibition and a weekend festival.
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The voice of Czech jazz: Celebrating Ondřej Havelka’s seventieth birthday
Today’s Sunday Music Show showcases the music of jazz singer Ondřej Havelka, who turns seventy on October 10th. Havelka has performed with The Melody Makers since 1995.
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Say goodbye to Petřín’s funicular railway!
The funicular railway up Petřín Hill will close for essential repairs, but the Prague Public Transport Company is giving fans a chance to say goodbye with guided tours.
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This weekend: music, food, drink and fireworks at Břevnov Festival 2024
From Friday 4th to the evening of Sunday 6th, the Břevnov Monastery is hosting a funfair of food, drink, crafts, music and fireworks within its historic grounds.
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Future leaders convene in Prague for exclusive Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Duke Wenceslas programme
The Duke Wenceslas Future Leaders Programme, which welcomes the diplomats and political analysts of the future to Czechia, has successfully taken place for a second year.
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Czech conductor Jakub Hrůša wins two 'classical music Oscars' for opera and concerto of the year
The winners of this year’s Gramophone awards include the Czech conductor Jakub Hrůša, who won in the categories of opera and concerto.
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House of history: Plzeň building, where German garrison surrendered in 1945, set to become museum
A Plzeň building partly designed by the architect Adolf Loos, in which the surrender of the German garrison occurred on May 6th 1945, is set to be renovated and repurposed.