Czech Republic - Germanic or Slavic? (school, live, vs.)

[MimzyMusic]

This is based on a conversation I had earlier here with a Czech guy, who said he thinks the Czech Republic is Central European like Austria, Germany, etc, but also not really German or Slavic like Poland. I always saw it as being western Slavic like Slovakia and Poland, but I'll take his word for it!

[internat]

The Czechs are West Slavs. We can of course speak of German influences. Ethnic Germans lived in Sudetenland. If you go back long enough in time the area was also under Celtic influence.

Slovaks probably have a stronger Slavic identity. The Slavs came from the east. Much more can of course be written on the subject.

[recycled]

My cubicle neighbor at work is Slovak and there is another Slovak and Czech in our office. Czech language is very similar to Slovak, because when my friends talk with each other one can speak Czech and the other Slovak, and they understand each other just fine. I speak Russian at a conversational level, and I am surprised at how many words in Russian are similar to Slovak. I speak fluent German, and there is almost nothing I have heard in Slovak that is similar to German. I have visited Praha / Prague, and I had to resort to Russian to communicate at times when somebody did not speak much English. Most people over age 35 or 40 were required to study Russian throughout their school years back during the pre-1990 Communist era, so basic Russian is helpful in CZ or Slovakia. Czech = Slavic language, no doubt about it.

[shreypete]

I've done some in-depth reading on the differences between Czech and Slovak and the Slovak language is much easier as it doesn't have as many ambiguous endings for nouns (in different cases). Also the Slovak pronunciation is much more easier and a bit more pleasant to ear. But in general, both the languages share a lot of similar characteristics (why wouldn't they??) and many Czechs that I've met have said that they don't really consider Slovaks to be foreigners.

[Rexor]

Alright, it seems like my posts might have confused you. There is no doubt Czech Republic is a Slavic country. I just wanted to point out that this "Eastern vs. Western Europe" way of thinking (which has its roots in times of the Cold War) is misleading, since it groups countries such as Czech Republic, Hungary etc. under the same "Eastern block" label and ignores the long history of relationship with Germanic countries these nations have had.
Hey, I think you are generalizing, generalizing, generalizing... to death . A famous Czech writer Karel Čapek once said that "the ability to generalize is the most immoral gift of human spirit". Czechs are Czechs, I'm not sure your attempts to label them as "more like Germans" or "more like Poles" are particularly useful. (Though I appreciate you are interested in these issuses, and I admit my previous posts have been somewhat confusing.)

[shreypete]

Geographically speaking, it's part of Central Europe but politically and socially, the country is sort of like a cross between German and Slavic as the country has gone through a lot of turmoil by both the nations.

[justinian]

Originally Posted by MimzyMusic

This is based on a conversation I had earlier here with a Czech guy, who said he thinks the Czech Republic is Central European like Austria, Germany, etc, but also not really German or Slavic like Poland. I always saw it as being western Slavic like Slovakia and Poland, but I'll take his word for it!

I will explain. The people of Czech Republic are West Slavs just like the Polish and Slovaks.

However like all other Slavic people, they have blood from other people as well, especially the Celts and Visigoths. However mongol or turkish blood is minimal, unlike the East or South Slavs and the other West Slav people I mentioned, since the Czechs managed to prevent them getting into the Czech lands.

As for them being "more German". This is false. Culturally speaking, they have combined Eastern and Western Culture. Most of all, their female population tends to be signficantly more beautiful than the female population in Germany just like other Slavic populations.

According to the United Nations, they are considered Eastern Europe, but the CIA puts them as Central Europe. However it is best to call them Central European, based on the Czechs I have spoken with.

[Geography Freak]

I'd say it's central European and Slavic, with German cultural and ethnic influences.

[Neutre]

Originally Posted by shreypete

many Czechs that I've met have said that they don't really consider Slovaks to be foreigners.

True.

To the original question:
The Czech Rep. is undoubtedly Slavic. Although Germans have had a strong influence there.
Before the WW II, a third of the population were Germans, and if it wasn't for the strong Czech identity which kept on being reinforced for centuries, many more Czechs would've been germanized prior to the 19th century.

[shreypete]

From a historical point of view, CR is Slavic and Germanic (austro-hungarian influence). But geographically speaking, it's part of Central Europe (and they say Poland and Hungary also belong to this category).