Mailbox

In Mailbox this week: translations of Czech place names in Radio Prague reports, the theme music of Magic Carpet and the name of the duo featured in the April 6 edition, author Jaroslav Rudiš, Radio Prague’s annual listeners’ contest. Listeners quoted: Peter Freemantle, Gerry Davidson, James Stafford.

Prague

Hello and welcome to Mailbox, Radio Prague’s weekly programme for your questions, views and comments.

First up, we have this complaint from Peter Freemantle from the Czech Republic:

“Please don’t patronize your listeners/readers by attempting to create new ‘translations’ of place names. What's the problem? Do you think that they are too stupid to remember the real names? There is no ‘Charles Square’ in Prague: it’s possible that you are thinking of Karlovo náměstí. There are a couple of English ‘versions’ of Prague place-names which have unfortunately fallen into common use – Wenceslas Square and Charles Bridge. However, this doesn’t mean that anybody who feels like it can invent their own. Are you going to try to translate London Bridge as ‘Londýnský most’? This is poor style. In addition, it is extremely confusing for people who aren’t familiar with Czech, and who aren’t able to work out what you were trying to say.”

Thank you for that comment. While it might seem like patronizing to someone residing in this country, the translation of place names may provide useful background information to someone who has never heard a word of Czech and English is not their first language either. It’s precisely because most of our listeners aren’t remotely familiar with this country and language that we supply translations of place names (or the names of political parties or company names, for that matter).

National Theatre in Prague

We intend to make clear whether that particular cluster of sound they just heard is a town, river, a neighbourhood of Prague, an embankment or a square. Just imagine this sentence: “The protesters marched from Petřín to Střelecký ostrov, along Most Legií and finally past Národní divadlo,” heard on shortwave in a distant country on a day when reception isn’t perfect. I suspect it would make little sense. We operate on the principle that a listener on the other side of the globe who has just tuned in to a Radio Prague broadcast for the first time should understand our reports.

This e-mail came from Gerry Davidson from Canada:

“Hello Radio Prague, I sure enjoy listening to your broadcasts as preparing for a day at work (morning shift at Ottawa Airport) ...yes at 3 am! Often I scribble notes or questions to forward but I’m not able to decipher the Czech spelling of names/book titles/etc...often dragging these scripts to work and seeking Czech speakers. They laugh at my attempts to pronounce them right! I have two questions for ‘Magic Carpet’ – what is the theme music... can it be purchased on a CD? Also, on the April 6 show you featured a female duo inspired by traveling in an old Škoda through fields of rye or wheat...maybe called ‘Dra’ or two... amazing vocals... Finally, one question for the book section... What is the name of the author who writes about Berlin and trains, Prague/Liberec and is quite a character: writer/singer/performer/etc....soon to have a child? The name sounds like Janislav Rudsic. Is his work translated yet into English? Thanks to all, excellent reporting and news. Really excellent radio!”

Jaroslav Rudiš

Thank you for listening to Radio Prague at that time of night and for taking the time to write to us. The theme music of Magic Carpet is a tune from a 1990 CD by a French artist Montanaro called Collage recorded in Prague. The duo is called Dva (Two in Czech) and they are a man and a woman. As to the author, his name is Jaroslav Rudiš, now a proud father of a baby girl. So far only his graphic novel trilogy “Bílý Potok / Alois Nebel A Story from the Borderlands” has been translated into English. We are sending you all the links to the respective websites by e-mail.

And finally, a question from James Stafford from the United Kingdom:

“I visit your website everyday and just came across your competition on Czech History. I would very much like to enter it and wondered if there were any guidelines on the length of submissions? Should it be a few hundred or a few thousand words? I very much look forward to hearing from you.”

There are no set criteria as to the length of the entries but a few hundred words is perfectly fine. You can take inspiration from last year’s winning entries featured on our website: http://www.radio.cz/en/article/105459 It is not elaborate details that we are looking for but rather a personal view and originality. Just a reminder, this year’s question can be found here: http://www.radio.cz/en/article/114863

And staying with history and competitions, here is this month’s quiz question:

In April we continue in the series of Moravian-born luminaries. Our April mystery man was born in 1856 in the town of Příbor and died in 1939 in London and his work revolutionised the field of psychology.

Please send us your answers to the usual address, [email protected] or Radio Prague, 12099 Prague, which are also the addresses for your comments, questions and reception reports. Until next Sunday, happy listening.