Mailbox
In Mailbox today: The Czech national anthem; the size of the Czech Republic’s population; transcripts of Radio Prague broadcasts; the Tatra company’s plans to revive its T87 model; discussion forums on RP’s website; the number of internet users in the Czech Republic. Listeners quoted: Aloisie Krasny, Rassem Ben Brahim, Aaron Barnes, Bob Boundy, Walter Knitl, Ashraful Islam.
In recent weeks a number of listeners reacted to Radio Prague’s reports on the Czech national anthem and its new recording as well as a proposed new version. Most recently it was Aloisie Krasny from Australia:
“I would like to comment on the Czech National Anthem and agree with your listener from Japan Christine Takaguchi-Coates – it is a beautiful anthem, it arouses emotion and pride and every Czech whether they live in the Czech Republic or abroad knows this anthem as do their children. Leave it the way it is. Some things you change and some things you don't and this is one of the things that you don't change. It is the symbol of a 'little big country'.”
And staying with the “little big country”, our regular listener Rassem Ben Brahim from Tunisia would like to know:
“How many people live in your country according to the latest census?”
The most recent census took place in 2001 and established that there were 10 230 060 inhabitants in the Czech Republic. The next census will be held in 2011.
Aaron Barnes from somewhere in cyberspace sent in this question:
There is no such thing as an archive of old radio scripts but Radio Prague started posting the transcripts of its broadcasts on the internet in June 2000. Since then, all current affairs reports and features are available on our website www.radio.cz. News bulletins go back even further, to January 1998. Otherwise, all broadcasts are available in sound in Czech Radio’s archives.
This e-mail came from our regular listener Bob Boundy from New Zealand:
“Reception down here of late has been terrible but this morning (13/10/08) it was outstanding and I nearly fell off my chair in shock. I was very interested in the programme about the book review about Hana Pravda. I have contacted our local library here about the book and hopefully they will buy some copies. I have a question: I saw on Czech TV via my computer that they are going to make the Tatra car again? Am I right – as when we visited the Czech Republic in 1995, the fire chief’s car at the coal mine at Duchcov was a Tatra.”
The Tatra company based in Kopřivnice in the east of the country still produces trucks but stopped manufacturing passenger cars some 11 years ago. As part of a plan to bring back some of its vintage cars, the company organized a public vote to determine which of its models should be revived. The winning car is the 1936 Tatra T87 and the company is now looking for a partner to manufacture the chassis and engine.
Walter Knitl who follows our broadcasts in Canada, sent us this suggestion:
“I tried to find on your web site a place where I could post a comment on particular stories. I could not find it. I recommend you implement a discussion forum for each story so that your listeners/readers can express their opinions and others can read it, rather than the general [email protected] email address.”
As a matter of fact, the new design of Radio Prague’s website which is under construction now, will include this feature. In the meantime, if you would like to address your comments directly to the English Section, you can write to our address [email protected].
“How many people use the internet in the Czech Republic? Please inform me with detailed statistics.”
According to the latest survey by the Median polling agency, 55 percent of Czechs use the internet. More than half of those have an internet connection at home and almost 75 percent of internet users are online every day or several days a week. A quarter of internet users say they use the World Wide Web at work and 13 percent at school.
And that’s all we can fit in today. We still have time, though, to repeat our competition question for October:
We would like to know the name of the architect who designed the Hiroshima Prefectural Industrial Promotion Hall, known today as the Hiroshima Peace Memorial or the Atomic Bomb Dome.
The address to write to is [email protected] or Radio Prague, 12099 Prague. Your answers should reach us by the end of the month. Thanks for tuning in today and Mailbox will be back same time next week. Take care.
