Mailbox

Today in Mailbox: Listeners' response to the proposed new name Czechia; Iraqi refugees in the Czech Republic, memory of Český Těšín, mystery Czech quiz. Listeners/readers quoted: Karin Roos, Lynda-Marie Hauptmann, Stephen Hrebenach, Philippe D'Exelle, Alecx Schulz, Annika Tetzner, Jaroslav Tusek, Samuel Beckwith, Mark Palmer, George Frierson, Colin Rose, Alan Gale, Barry Jandera, Bonita Rhoads, Tim Knott, Ocean Eale, Evelyn Coviello, Paddy Phillips, Hans Verner Lollike, Jayanta Chakrabarty, Mary Lou Krenek.

Photo: Radio Prague International

Hello and welcome to Mailbox, Radio Prague’s regular programme for your questions, views and comments. Let’s browse through the mail we have received in the past four weeks. Reports about the recent suggestion by the Czech Republic’s top officials that the country’s name in English should be shortened to Czechia have met with huge response from Radio Prague’s listeners – and mostly negative.

Karin Roos was emphatic in her e-mail:

“PLEASE, NO!!!!!! It will be confused with Chechnya - I am sure. For some reason it sounds CHEAP. NO AND NO, PLEASE.”

Lynda-Marie Hauptmann from the United States wonders about the pronunciation of the name:

“I saw the article on how the Czech Republic would like to be referred to as Czechia in English. What is the official pronunciation of the name? Would it be pronounced Chek ee uh, Chek shee uh, Cheshk ee uh or another pronunciation that may not have occurred to an English speaker?”

Our regular listener, Stephen Hrebenach from Ohio, wrote:

“From the first time that I heard the term ‘Czechia’, I have to admit that I did not like it. I cannot give any specific reason other than I thought it didn't sound ‘right’. I have no problem using the full term ‘Czech Republic’. In English, using ‘Czechia’ only saves one syllable in pronunciation, so it is not that much shorter.

“If there is a desire for a shortened version, I like ‘Česko’ and don't see why that can't be used outside of the country, unless the loss of the háček during Anglicization of the term causes pronunciation problems. (Although heaven knows that there are so many pronunciation exceptions in English, that learning how to say ‘Česko’ would not be that difficult.)

“The other alternative is to just use ‘Czech’. I believe that I have heard hockey players from your country here in the NHL use that term. And of course, ‘Czech’ was emblazoned on the back of the sweaters (jerseys) of the famous 1998 gold medal hockey team. Ultimately, it is not my decision as a non-native and non-resident. I can always opt to continue to use ‘Czech Republic’.”

The proposed new name has also been widely discussed on Radio Prague’s Facebook page:

Philippe D'Exelle writes:

Photo: CzechTourism

“People are lazy nowadays. Everything must be fast, short and easy... Czech Republic as the official name of the state should be OK for all of us. As for Czechia, use it if you want, in the streets, on TV, whatever. But it's not a reason enough to change it.”

Alecx Schulz comments:

„Gosh no. As I said in another post relating to this topic, what's wrong with Czech Republic or Česká republika? Are we really getting that lazy now that we can't be bothered to pronounce full country names?”

Annika Tetzner replies:

“No, it is not laziness. Czechia is much better and connects to the historical heartland! By the way I was born in Prague, but most of my mother's family lived in Teplice and a few other places around Ústí nad Labem... I now live in Israel and we do say Tsjekkia in Hebrew!”

Jaroslav Tusek adds:

“It would cost the Czech Republic a pretty penny. As one of my American friends asked me, after seeing the new name, ‘Isn't there already a country with that name in the former Soviet Union?”

Samuel Beckwith suggests:

“They should shorten it to The Czech, in the same way that The Wirral Peninsula is shortened to The Wirral.”

Mark Palmer writes:

“In Esperanto it is Ĉekio, and always has been, even before the split with Slovakia.

George Frierson argues:

“It should be left as is. Changing it will only make it sound like a different country. Many people are geographically ignorant, changing the name won't help at all.”

Colin Rose says:

“It won't work, sounds too near Chechnya, even yet so many friends still say Czechoslovakia, it's easier to get to Česko which can be written Chesko.”

Alan Gale made this comment:

“Think I would prefer just 'Czecho', we were used to using that when it was Czechoslovakia.”

Barry Jandera writes:

“No... Leave it alone Czech Republic is far better.”

Bonita Rhoads suggest a different name:

“Czechlandia would be nicer.”

Tim Knott came up with yet another one:

“How about the name 'Czengland'? We have so much in common.”

Ocean Eale adds:

“Most people I know still call it Czechoslovakia, so good luck with that!”

Evelyn Coviello says:

“Czechia sounds too juvenile... for such a distinguished country and culture.”

Paddy Phillips says:

“Awful! Why not have ‘Czechomoravia’ instead? Or ‘Czechomoravosilesia’?”

Thank you for all your comments and suggestions and we’ll, of course, keep you updated on developments.

Lynda-Marie Hauptmann from the United States also responded to the story of Iraqi refugees who refused asylum in the Czech Republic:

“Maybe it is because my father was unable to return to his beloved Czechoslovakia, because I am not feeling any sympathy for the refugees who keep saying they don't want to live in the Czech Republic/Czechia.

“A part of me is definitely feeling, ‘You miserable ingrates. There were so many people, like my father, who WANTED to live in the beloved Vlast (homeland), more than anything, but could not, because of the communists and their nonsense. YOU are there now, thanks to the kindness and generosity of the Czech people, which is taking you out of a horrific war zone and into safety, but it's not good enough for you?!?’

Iraqi refugees, photo: Filip Jandourek

“Perhaps there is more to it than that - the Syrian and Iraqi people have been through hellishly traumatic experiences. Are they confused? Homesick? I think they need to explain themselves a LOT better, because it sure looks like ingratitude to most of the rest of the world. They say they wanted asylum in Germany instead, but would even that be enough for them?”

Thank you very much for your feedback and before we move onto our monthly quiz, here’s an e-mail from our regular contributor Hans Verner Lollike from Denmark, inspired by last month’s mystery Czech quiz question:

“I would like to share a memory. It might not be relevant, but I write to you anyway. My memory popped up thanks to this month’s mystery person who was born in Český Těšín.

“In 1980 I participated in a study tour for Lutheran pastors around Poland, Czechoslovakia and Hungary. We were 23 in total travelling in an old bus. Back in history a count of Ciescin( Těšín) protected the people who had joined the reformation, from the counter-reformation, so that even today you find a rather numerous Lutheran church on each side of the boarder. Coming from Poland upon crossing the border we were systematically checked. We had to take all our luggage out of the bus and open it. It was amusing to see the faces after having checked 23 robes. We had visas, so we could get to an old fashion hotel just in front of the train station. In Czechoslovakia we were not allowed to participate in official meetings or church services. We visited a church that was put on a special construction, since the mines had undermined the earth. Only one new church had been built in the area between 1940 to 1980. Our tour continued to Slovakia where there was and is a Lutheran Church. My first time in your country started in Český Těšín.”

Thank you for sharing that memory and this is the answer to the quiz question itself sent in by Mr. Lollike:

Terry Haass, photo: Czech Television

“Terry Haass was born in 1923 in Český Těšín, a town on the border with Poland, and died in Paris this March 1st. She was Jewish, and her fate was to escape at the right time from the Nazi regime first from Czechoslovakia to Paris in 1938 and then to New York on a scholarship from Paris. She kept Paris and New York as her home towns. She studied first in Olomouc, where she was honored with a retrospective exhibition in 2006.”

Jayanta Chakrabarty from India writes:

“Terry Haass was an incredible character who lived a meaningful life of 93 years fully devoted to her work without tiredness or fatigue. With her Czech roots at Cieszyn she had to flee her beloved country because of persecution of Jews. After studying art history in France she moved to the US. Working with great art luminaries like Spanish maestros Joan Miro and Pablo Picasso and French greats Andre Masson and Yves Tanguy largely broadened her horizon. A versatile artist herself she excelled in sculpting, painting, graphic art and costume design.

“Having a background in Mesopotamian archaeology enabled her to undertake major excavation expeditions to the Middle East. Some of her notable works of art include the ‘Chamber of Secrets’, ‘Jenufa’ and ‘White Body’. Art lovers can see these in the famous museums and galleries around the world including the Museum of Art in the Moravian city of Olomouc in the eastern Czech Republic which exhibited a retrospective of her famous works entitled: ‘Light-Space-Time’.”

And finally Mary Lou Krenek from USA sent us this answer:

“Haas began working at Stanley William Hayter's experimental workshop, Atelier 17, beginning in 1946 and directed the workshop in 1950 when Hayter returned to Paris. During this time she taught graphics at Brooklyn College and New York City College.

Terry Haass, photo: Czech Television

“For a number of years, in addition to art, Haass devoted her time to classical archeology. After receiving a degree in archeology from the Ecole du Lovre, she took part in archeology expeditions to Turkey, Lebenon, Israel, Iran, and Afghanistan. Experience from expeditions influenced her art and also her writing. Her 1961 book ‘Inanna’ is inspired by Sumerian poetry from the third millennium B. C. In the 1960's, her work was greatly influenced by Einstein's theories of time and space and she incorporated these ideas into her sculptures. She worked with the most important artists in the United States, France, and the world over.”

Thank you very much for your contributions and this time the lucky winner is Fachri Fachri from Indonesia. Congratulations and your prize is in the post. Meanwhile here’s another question for the coming month.

This month we would like to know the name of the Czech-American Abstract Expressionist painter, sculptor and interior designer who was born in 1924 in Prague and died in 2006 in Paris where she was mostly active. She studied and worked in Oxford, England; New York, Venice, Berlin, Santa Barbara in California and Paris, France.

Please send us your answers to the usual address [email protected] by May 18th. That is also the address for your question, comments and reception reports. You can also leave your comments on our Facebook page. Thanks for listening today and until next time, take care.