My 4-year-old is bilingual in Czech and English. Is it a good idea to give him lessons in a third language?
Multilingual children who acquire their languages (L1) from birth should not have any problems mastering all of their languages, so go for it.However, they may use one more than the others based on the social status of the language in their desire to fit in with the rest of their peers.They may show preference for the language/s that feels the most emotional to them and may not pay much attention to the rest, to the point of disregarding them.If they don't practice one language at all they may suffer from language attrition, although some researchers argue that first languages "create neural patterns that the unconscious brain retains years later" (Pierce et al., 2014).Related answers:How important is the pre-linguistic stage?What does critical period mean in second language acquisition?Is it advisable to talk to your baby a few hours per day in a foreign language in an uni-lingual family? SourcesPierce, L., Klein, D., Chen, J. K., Delcenserie, A., & Genesee, F. (2014). Mapping the unconscious maintenance of a lost first language. PNAS, 111(48), 17314-17319.
What are some of the most surreal places in Czech Republic?
Minaret in Lednice-Valtice Cultural LandscapePhoto by Jan Zídek, source: www.itras.czTrosky CastleSource: www.harrachov.comSedlec OssuaryPhoto by Marcin Szala, source: Wikimedia Commons
I bought an old rusty machete from a barn sale for a dollar...?
If it really said "MADE" in Czechoslovakia, then it would have been made for the English speaking market after WW2 - and it probably would have no real value. But Czechoslovakia always had a very fine weapons tradition - so they made nice stuff. Some of the best pistols I ever owned have been Czech. I think the Czechs were just very clever with metals - maybe even more so than the Germans.
What is this old Czech card game? Called "Thudaks" or something?
I'm trying to find out the "real" name of an old Czech/Bohemian card game that my dad used to play with his brothers. It had a special deck and was called "Thudaks" or something to that effect. I do not know how to spell it.
How bad is racism in the Czech Republic?
Okay, so racism is everywhere, right? But it's not AS bad. The racist tendencies in Czech Republic are focused mainly on the gypsy and vietnamese minorities, usually not on the black people That's because there are only few black people living in Czech Republic (Landlocked country so no colonies, no travelling by sea.. I think you can imagine the historical relevance to the number of inhabitants form Africa, Asia etc) That's also reason why some people "stare" at black people but that's not racist, that's just because it's still somewhat unusual outside of bigger cities. But now, since Prague is favored tourist destination and the Czech Republic joined the EU, the situation changed. Many people can speak at least basic English and they got used to the presence of different people. I've been several times to prague and as far as I can tell, nobody bothered black and asian people, hell nobody even cared. The closest thing to discrimination that I saw there was that some merchants tried to rip-of foreigners by tripling the prices. Just don't cause trouble, try to avoid deserted alleys etc during the night, be aware of pickpockets..the usual city safety tips. Nobody should have any reason to harass you. Maybe some people can be a bit suspicious, but if you make good impression on them, they should act normal towards you. Many young people today are really interested in getting to know people from all around the world, so your knowledge of czech language could be of great advantage for you. You said it yourself, you did a research but nothing striking... The most severe racist incident in recent years was when group of idiots threw a molotov in the window of a house inhabited by gypsy family. I think the culprits got sentenced for 18 to 22 years. Yeah, one more think came up to my mind. The situation about racism here is worse by the borders, especially by Northern borders. Prague should be relatively calm by this criteria. Ans considering what others said.. One is clearly joking or provoking, not sure which of these and the other one is talking about the "East" etc. Czech Republic is about as "East" as Austria and nobody is considering Austria to be this bad just because of the location. I'm not sure if he is really talking about Czech Republic or it is the typical "Everything that is to the East from France and Germany is Russia and they eat people"
Czech republic,poland,slovakia,hunga... and russia which is better to live in?
1) Czech Republic - highest quality of life and the highest living standard. Czech passport is one of the strongest in the world. Additionally, Czech Republic has much higher international integration and second lowest unemployment in EU. Drawback - corruption and Czechs are not very friendly people, it is very individualist society. 2) Slovakia - Euro, relative stable, but culturally conservative, bad job market, and highest cost of living in all four. Drawback - poor services, probably the worst in EU. 3) Hungary - better weather, internationally well recognized, good food and services, cosmopolitan Budapest, and relative healthy economy. Also the best looking women on the continent. Drawback - crime, corruption, unstable currency. 4) Poland - not very cosmopolitan, conservative, tough job market. Easy to do business, and Polish are nicer than Czechs, Slovaks, and Hungarians. Drawback - it is the coldest of Central European countries, and countryside is very underdeveloped. 5) Russia - regressive, oppressive, in economic recession. Now is rather isolated country and you would not get far with Russian passport. Average Russian makes 1/3 to 2/5 of salary you get in Central Europe. Bonus: big country, diverse culture.