My favorite readings of the semester include Tribe Revives Language on Verge of Extinction and “Family Tree of Language Has Roots in Anatolia, Biologists Say”. I found the conversations and reading about dying languages extremely interesting after learning the number of languages across the globe and the number of languages losing more and more speakers each day. The intervention of linguistics and language speakers to rescue dying language is extremely interesting as they take inventory of the sounds and vocabulary of the target language. Independently of SDLC 105, I learned about the intervention by native Hawaiians to save their language from extinction, an effort that began in the 1990s. Their mission was/is to recategorize the language as a symbol of national pride and create/maintain Hawaiian language schools. Their efforts give me hope for the preservation of the Hawaiian languages and other languages at risk of going extinct. Additionally, I enjoyed the readings and conversations surrounding the origins of language. The history of language has always been a very interesting subject as it seems extraordinary that a multitude of different languages can come from the same source. I have also always enjoyed identifying cognates between languages and the subject of language origins seems to feed into that idea.

I mentioned this in my language learning podcast, but circumlocution and word processing were my two biggest challenges this semester. It’s a really strange experience to have well-developed skills in one language while operating at a beginner’s level in another language. As opposed to my previous experiences with learning my first language (English) and my second language (Spanish), I have a greater understanding of linguistics and a greater expectation for my language production. When I was first learning English and, sometimes Spanish, as well, I was still developing as a person and, therefore, all of my cognitive abilities were operating on the same level, including my language production and comprehension abilities. Sometimes, when I spoke, I felt like my thoughts developed much more quickly than the Slovak words that I could think and produce verbally. It became frustrating to know that I could produce complex sentences in English while I could only produce basic sentences in Slovak. In response to this frustration, I remind myself of my progress in my target language and compare it with my attempt to learn Danish, a language that I can barely remember even though I lived in Denmark for 6 months!

Despite my frustrations with my circumlocution and word processing abilities, I definitely feel a lot more confident with my pronunciation abilities in Slovak as compared to my abilities in Spanish or Danish. I think the emphasis on properly learning the phonetic inventory and then reinforcing it throughout the semester helped in ensuring proper pronunciation. With Spanish, after the first two or three years, my teachers seemed to correct us less and less on pronunciation and did not put much wait in reviewing the phonetic inventory. Essentially, I could get away with speaking in Spanish with a Midwest/Chicagoan phonetic inventory.

Lastly, this semester reinforced my preferred methods of learning: visually and through action. One of the most helpful strategies was either drawing out (freehand or on the computer) charts of grammatical concepts and lists of related vocabulary words. The practice of making these guides helped in actually looking over the information and understanding it while I made a resource for future review. In the end, I created two different PowerPoints: one separating vocabulary into separate categories and another mapping out grammatical concepts. They do not include everything covered this semester, but they became helpful resources as I reviewed the concepts and vocabulary while putting the new information into the most digestible form for my own learning strengths.

Ultimately, I am very grateful for this opportunity to learn Slovak from a native Slovak speaker and learn more about my ancestral roots. I am hopeful that I can continue to learn more of my target language through watching Slovak media, practicing on Mango, and referring back to my notes from this semester.

During my thirty-six hours in Bratislava, my friends and I visited Hrad Devín (Castle Devín), a castle on the edge of the city known for its important role throughout Slovak history. It also serves as an important monument to Slavic identity for Slovaks and Czechs. Hrad Devín is even featured on Slovak stamps and out of circulation coins. The castle is now considered a ruin and visitors must buy a ~five-euro ticket to enter the grounds. The ticket provides visitors access to views of the border between Slovakia and Austria and the convergence of the Danube River and the Morava River. Due to its location overlooking the river and elevated structure, it would become an important fortress and military base.  In my opinion, the views from Hrad Devín rival the views from atop the Eiffel Tower and the views across the Danube River at the Pest side of Budapest. The natural beauty of the view is something to behold.

Hrad Devín also holds a centuries-old role in European, Slavic, and Slovak history. Scholars believe that the first major settlement in the area dated to 5^th century B.C. The castle was originally named Dowina, derived from the word “girl” in the proto-Slavic language. Written records of the castle first appeared in 894 while under the control of the Great Moravian State. After the fall of Great Moravia, the Hungarians came in possession of the castle. It changed ownership multiple times but one of the castle’s most noteworthy owner is the Báthory Family of Hungary. They owned numerous castles throughout Slovakia with an infamous member of their family, Elizabeth Báthory, occupying much of her time in these castles. Elizabeth would eventually become notorious for torturing and killing 600 Slovak young women. In 1809, the Napoleonic Army blew up the castle, leaving it in its current state as ruins.

It would also become an important part of the Cold War and Soviet control over Slovakia. From 1948 to 1989, the Soviets patrolled the Iron Curtain separating Slovakia and other Soviet states from Western European countries. Part of the Iron Curtain ran along Hrad Devín’s grounds fence in an attempt to keep Slovaks under Soviet control and Western Europeans outside of Soviet territory. This fence was composed of barbed wire and charged to electrocute anyone looking to escape. The Iron Curtain fell in 1989 after the Velvet Revolution. Today, the Gate of Freedom Memorial honors the Slovaks and Czechs murdered while trying to cross from Soviet territory into free territory. The names of these victims are carved into a stone plaque. Due to the violence surrounding the Iron Curtain and its restriction in the freedom of Slovaks, the monument is a white gate riddled with bullets and broken iron bars to symbolize the eventual independence of Slavic states from the USSR. Visitors can walk the path of Soviet soldiers guarding the Iron Curtain. Additionally, along the path lining the river, there is artist Daniel Brunovský’s “The Heart of Europe” (2009), a sculptural heart made of barbed wire from the Iron Curtain. Brunovský created the sculpture to honor the 20^th anniversary of the Velvet Revolution, the successful uprising of Czechs and Slovaks against Soviet rule. However, the original version of Brunovský’s sculpture was created in 1989 to sit at Devín, later destroyed by flooding in 2002.

The grounds hold a mishmash of buildings, chapels and more spanning from the 4^th century to the 18^thcentury. Some of these structures include a monument dating to the Roman period, a 4^th century tomb, a 9^thcentury Great Moravian church, and a 15^th century Gothic Garay palace attached to a 16^th century Renaissance palace. The best views are seen from the Virgin (Maiden) Tower, a 13^th century guard tower (renovated in the 15^th century) connected to the rest of the castle by a bridge. Its name is inspired by tales of beautiful virgins jumping to their death off of the tower. This summary of Hrad Devín’s historical and cultural significance is extremely basic. It is barely scratching the surface of this castle’s complex history and importance in solidifying Slovak identity.

*all pictures are my own unless otherwise stated*

View of the Rivers from Devín Castle; The Danube River is the body of water with the boat on it, curving into the distance. The Morava River is the body of water in the lower right corner of the image.

View of the Hrad Devín Ruins 

Part of Gate of Freedom Memorial, Plaque commemorating the

victims of Soviet violence

Gate of Freedom Memorial

*not my picture

Daniel Brunovský’s

“The Heart of Europe” (2009)

https://www.slovakia.com/castles/devin-castle/

https://slovakia.travel/en/devin-castle

https://medievalheritage.eu/en/main-page/heritage/slovakia/devin-castle/

http://monuments-remembrance.eu/en/panstwa/slowacja-2/55-the-gate-of-freedom

https://spectator.sme.sk/c/20034558/barbed-wire-heart-of-europe-is-unveiled.html

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Elizabeth-Bathory  

Hi!

Attached is a link to a box folder containing my podcast with my iTalki tutor, Adriana. We have a small conversation in Slovak and later talk about my accomplishments and challenges in learning my target language. 

Enjoy!

https://richmond.box.com/s/dszho8vez29v9emhuu4z6g14ou69d5xz

I made a lot more progress in Slovak than expected especially when comparing my current language experience to my past experiences with Spanish and Danish. When I started learning Spanish, I was nine years old and a lot less familiar with any language, even English. I did not have a great grasp on the ideas of cognates, grammar, or speaking around unfamiliar topics. The first two years of Spanish were especially slow in introducing content as I only learned basic vocabulary and studied the present tense over and over. There was very little emphasis on proper pronunciation or practicing conversations and a lot of focus on memorization and workbook activities. When learning Danish during my junior year of college, I had the advantage of understanding linguistics and English at a fairly competent level. I knew the importance of identifying cognates, had experience with learning complex Spanish and English grammar, and understood the benefits of circumlocution. However, my Danish language professor fell back on a lot of traditional, systematic teaching methods. As previously mentioned in my past language learning posts, my Danish language learning experience mirrored the teaching methods of an early 20^th century schoolhouse. My professor typically spent the hour and a half instructing us to read long paragraphs aloud in unison and focused on activities that felt more like formulas than natural language production.

With my Slovak language experience, I absorbed so much more knowledge in a more meaningful and natural way. Adriana taught me three different declension cases (nominative, accusative, and instrumental), two different tenses (present tense and preterit), how to tell time, and numerous categories of vocabulary (travel, food, city living, etc.). Despite only learning Slovak for three(ish) months, I gained so much more knowledge and confidence than I expected. Though I still struggle with pronunciation, I really feel more confident in my Slovak skills. When listening or watching Slovak media, I can better pick out familiar words and understand the general meaning of the video or podcast.

However, this semester, my proudest accomplishment is actually dedicating myself to a lingual and cultural tradition that my family completely lost as they assimilated to the United States. Though it was out of my control, I always feel great regret and sadness over the loss of my familial culture and language (both on my German and my Slovak side). Their late 19th century immigration to the United States also meant the loss of cultural and linguistic identity for their descendants. Throughout my childhood and young adulthood, I struggled with the absence of a strong cultural connection and the absence of my paternal relatives. These two losses feel like they go hand-in-hand as I lost the ability to interact with the older generations on my paternal side and lost their connection to family lore and traditions. In taking this class, I connected with a part of my ancestry and family that was previously absent from my life. In learning the language, the culture, and the cuisine, I feel slightly closer to this lost ancestry and my lost paternal connection. My connection to my ancestors and the older generations seems stronger and more tangible as I share a small part of their primary language, their cultural practices, their religious rituals, and food traditions.

Ahoy!

Over the past two weeks, I cooked four different Slovak dishes to gain a cultural practice that I can take with me after the end of this course and analyze their window into Slovak culture and language. I made pirohy, palancinky, višňove koláče, and hemendex. With each of these recipes, I took their ingredients, origin, or name to better understand Slovak culture and language.  

Link to Video and Presentation: https://richmond.box.com/s/dszho8vez29v9emhuu4z6g14ou69d5xz 

(I am unable to attach my presentation and video on the Ning. However, attached is a link to a Box folder with both the presentation and the video).

Sources:

https://theculturetrip.com/europe/slovakia/articles/10-traditional-slovak-dishes-you-must-try/

https://www.internationalcuisine.com/about-food-and-culture-of-slovakia/

https://nomadparadise.com/slovakian-food/

http://englishmaninslovakia.co.uk/2017/02/20/spotlight-on-jarmila-hlavkova-author-of-the-first-slovak-recipe-book-to-be-published-in-the-english-language/

https://slovakia.travel/en/slovak-gastronomy

https://www.cheese.com/bryndza/

https://theculturetrip.com/europe/slovakia/articles/brief-history-bryndza-cheese/

https://profil..sk/en/gastronomy/

https://cookslovak.com/2018/03/14/sour-cherry-cakes/

https://cookslovak.com/2019/05/28/what-the-first-slovak-recipes-looked-like/  

Jeffery Cole‘s Ethnic Groups of Europe: An Encyclopedia

June Granatir Alexander‘s Gale Encyclopedia of Multicultural America

If I received a research grant, I would like to study the origins of Slovak morphology and how/why it broke off from other similar languages like Polish, Sorbian, and Czech. I would especially be interested in exploring the diversions between Czech and Slovak. One of the most difficult issues in conducting this research would be tracking Slovak back into history. Most records of written Slovak language only begin in the late 18^th century to the early 19^th century. Alternatively, records of written Czech language date as far back as the 12^th century. Luckily, these two languages (Slovak and Czech) first surfaced as the same language in the late Medieval period before splitting off from each other. Despite these difficulties, I would first want to gather data from different Slovak, Czech, Polish, and Sorbian speakers from different regions of the country. As this is a hypothetical situation, I would travel to several different cities in each country to account for different dialects. For example, Slovak has four major dialects to observe: Eastern, Western, Central, and Lowland. In each city, I would present a set of twenty common words to compare the differences and similarities for each language and each dialect. After collecting this data, I would want to access the earliest available written texts for each of these languages to check for similarities and differences. I will compare written text from roughly the late Medieval period to the current day with my survey results in order to understand the changes in Slovak morphology.

I have only written a little in my target language, mostly to complete an activity or write a short paragraph. I most definitely prefer to write free hand type due to spell check and the accents. When I have to type Slovak words on the computer, it is always a pain to find the correct accent marks because many of them are not readily available on Word or with a certain keystroke pattern. Additionally, almost every Slovak word that I type into the computer gets flagged as incorrect or autocorrects to an English word. For me, typing on the computer turns studying Slovak into a tedious task and takes away from my learning experience; I just feel frustrated and fail to retain any information or make any new connections.

Honestly, I have not written very much in Slovak and mostly spoken in Slovak which fits my language goals better than a writing-focused learning experience. However, my few experiences with writing in Slovak usually produce very simple sentences as I am still learning grammatical concepts such as tenses and declension. It’s a really strange experience to have a complex sentence made up in your head, but you cannot actually express it. Declension and the different cases are an especially difficult set of concepts for me; my lack of knowledge in declension completely limits my ability to properly express the correct form of a noun or ending of an adjective.

Šťastnú Veľkú noc! Happy Easter!

As a child, I attended Church every Palm Sunday and Easter Sunday, I tried to not eat meat on Fridays during Lent, and even gave up certain guilty pleasures like pop or the internet. Though my family raised me in the Presbyterian Church, I no longer subscribe to the beliefs of Christianity or regularly go to church. However, I always enjoy celebrating Easter for its colorful decorations, good food (particularly sweets), and its mark of the beginning of late Spring. This Easter, I have the added bonus of learning about Easter traditions in Slovakia (and they do Easter big). During my lesson today, Adriana spoke briefly about Easter Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday, Easter Sunday (Veľká noc), and Easter Monday especially the tradition of whipping and splashing women on Easter Monday. It has become very difficult to celebrate Easter in Slovakia due to the pandemic. Typically, there would be many church services, parties, and festivals. This Easter, the Slovak government encourages their citizens to stay home, attend virtual masses, and create Covid-safe traditions.

As previously mentioned in my past cultural blog post, 63% of Slovakia identifies as Roman Catholic and many of their holidays and traditions revolve around observing the Roman Catholic faith. Just as most other branches of Christianity, Slovak Roman Catholics honor Christ’s crucifixion and death on Good Friday and celebrate His resurrection on Easter Sunday. Christians finally get to break their forty-day fast (Lent ends) on Good Friday. Typically, people decorate eggs with several different methods: Batik, Waxing, Scratching, Pasting and Wiring. They also weave baskets and fill them with pastries, butter, cured meat, and horseradish for Easter Sunday. Before eating these baskets, the women take them to the church to be blessed.

Easter Monday may sound like a new addition to the Easter holiday (at least, it was something new for me). Two important traditions take place on Easter Monday: oblievačka and šibačka. Oblievačka is a Slovak tradition in which young men “sprinkle” (dump) water on the heads of their young female relatives, friends, and neighbors. A young man that partakes in this tradition is called “kupač”. The other tradition, šibačka, describes the Slovak tradition in which young men whip girls with willow branches; this type of branch/whip is known to Slovaks as “korbáč”. As the boys whip and/or dump water on the girls, they sing songs and accompanied by accordion players. After they finish with these two traditions, the girls are expected to gift the boys with candy, kraslica (decorated empty eggshells), a shot of vodka, even a full meal. Both of these traditions are meant to bless the girls with good health and beauty. They recognize juvenile tree branches as a symbol of rebirth and youth due to the new growth of trees in the Spring. Despite the good intentions behind the traditions, they seem to be fading from the typical celebrations of Easter Monday. It has always been unpopular among the girls and women getting splashed and whipped, perhaps a reason for its decline in popularity. As ethnographer Zuzana Beňušková explains, “Women hate Easter, men love it. But on the other hand, women brag the following day about the number of visits they had”.

Easter Monday Tradition of Oblievačka  

Easter Monday Tradition of šibačka

Wax Decorated Easter Egg

Batik Decorated Easter Egg (Above)

Scratched Easter Egg (Below) 

Etched Easter Egg (Above)

Pasted Easter Egg (Below)

Wire Decorated Easter Eggs (Below)

https://www.welcometobratislava.eu/traditional-easter-in-slovakia/

http://www.hereditas.club/2020/01/08/easter-traditions-in-slovakia-traditional-handcrafts/

https://kongres-magazine.eu/2019/04/celebrating-easter-in-slovakia/

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/apr/06/easter-monday-tradition-whipping-slovakia-girls-health

 http://www.travelpotpourri.net/en/2016/03/24/veselu-velku-noc-tradicne-slovenske-kraslice/ ;

Currently, my biggest task and challenge is learning different cases of Slovak declension. These cases change a noun, pronoun or adjective according to its grammatical case (nominative, accusative, etc.), gender, and number. The few examples of declension in English are unmatched to the many nuisances of Slovak declension. I find it pretty challenging to learn a grammatical concept that barely occurs in my first language. I never had to learn about declension during my Spanish education or my short experience with Danish. Like many people, I find grammar to be an entirely tedious subject and, often, dread any type of formal education revolving around this topic. For whatever reason, I’ve also do not understand grammar very well, especially in English. My one motivation in learning Slovak grammar, specifically declension, is knowing that observing these concepts will help both in my own reading/listening comprehension and my understandability to other Slovak speakers. If I truly want to carry a flowing, competent conversation, I have to dedicate myself to learning the rules of declension.

Adriana introduced two cases of declension to me: nominative and accusative. Nominative typically applies to quantities of 1-4 and looks to answer the questions “Who?” or “What?”. The declension of nominative cases in masculine nouns, pronouns and adjectives can get a little confusing. In the context of nominative declension, any masculine word must be categorized by its animation and its number. For example, “koleg” (colleague) gets sorted into the category of an animate, singular noun; “koleg” requires an “-a” at its end in order to match the nominative declension so “koleg” becomes “kolega”. However, “počítač” (desktop computer) gets sorted into the category of an inanimate, singular noun and requires no changes to match nominative declension. When the words “kolega” and “počítač” are made plural, they are again separated into their separate categories of animate and inanimate. In the animate, plural category of nominative declension, “kolega” becomes “kolegovia”; in the inanimate, plural category of nominative declension, “počítač” becomes “počítače”. These slight differences in nominative declension mean that I must pay extra attention to the small details and ask myself “what is the quantity of this noun?”, “is this noun inanimate or animate?”, and “what is the proper ending for this plural noun?”. Luckily, feminine and neuter words are a little less complicated than masculine words because with these two categories, the language learner does not have to worry about inanimate versus animate nouns.

Despite the difficulty of declension, I do feel a little more confident in my listening comprehension as I can better understand radio programs and better understand my tutor during our lessons. Adriana also recommended an excellent resource that helps with my goal of listening comprehension, a YouTube channel called “Slovenčina ako cudzí jazyk” (Slovak as a Foreign Language”. On this channel, a woman teaches Slovak by telling stories in a slow, clear manner while drawing relevant images on a whiteboard behind her. It definitely helps me pick out familiar words, learn new words, and find a little more confidence in my progress thus far.

Clearly, imperialism, white supremacy, and colonization of the past and the present are fully (rarely partially) responsible for the extinct or endangered status of many languages. At least within American history, white colonists subjugated Indigenous cultures and languages to justify the dehumanization and dissemination of these Indigenous populations. When a language becomes endangered or extinct, the world not only uses the grammatical structures and vocabulary of the language, but the world also loses the cultural nuisances and historical significance behind these structures and words. In other words, the historical, linguistic, and cultural identity of a population is almost completely wiped from the face of the earth. More importantly, as K. David Harrison says, “We don’t even know what we are losing”.

I recently listened to a podcast that reminded me of Johnson’s article and Molaro’s video. There is a great NPR Podcast called “Code Switch” that republished an episode on saving the language of Hawaii Natives. The hosts of the podcast visited the Big Island and toured the first Hawaiian-only school, founded in 1998. By Hawaiian-only, I mean that the students are taught in the Hawaiian language and only use English in specific English language classes. With the occupation of Hawaii by white Americans, the native population were frequently punished for speaking their first language, wearing traditional garb, and following their cultural traditions. This campaign against Hawaiian culture and language meant that many elders refused to teach their children and grandchildren Hawaiian because white Americans perpetuated the idea that you needed to speak English to be successful and respected in the new Hawaii. With the opening of Hawaiian-only schools, native Hawaiians actively reclaimed and reclaim their ancestors’ language and culture.

A language goes extinct when all of its speakers pass away, and no comprehensive records of the language are leftover to be studied by future generations. Computers/technology help in reviving dying languages. However, communities must encourage their youth to learn the language themselves and spend time learning from elders in the community, specifically those that speak the traditional language as their first language. In understanding the efforts of Hawaiian natives and Bud Lane, it becomes clear that rescuing a language from imminent death takes a lot of time, effort, and resources. It is a mission that a community member, linguist, etc. will likely spend the rest of their life pursuing.

Though I am still working on stringing words together, I feel relatively confident in my individual pronunciation/my understanding of the Slovak phonetic inventory. One of my major goals at the beginning of the semester was focusing on my pronunciation and accent. My continual practice of listening to the Slovak phonetic inventory while repeating each phone. I found an especially helpful YouTube Channel called Avimeto that focuses on basic skills such as proper pronunciation, common words, and letters unique to Slovak.

Slovakia Today, a podcast mainly in English helps both with my cultural and auditory comprehension. I try to listen to the podcast five days a week in order to truly understand the state of Slovakia, their reaction to the coronavirus, and important political changes. Additionally, the podcast channel will include special segments on Slovak culture and history. For example, I listened to an episode on the collaboration between Slovak and Australian Archeologists as they excavate a cave in the Carpathian mountain range to better understand the lives of Neanderthals from 40,000 years ago. The podcast also allows quotes of Slovak speakers to fully play out; this helps in my ability to recognize learned vocabulary and pick out new vocabulary used in a more formal, academic environment.

Though it may be a basic skill, I need to work more on my listening comprehension in order to improve my communicative competence. I must identify and understand the subtle nuisances within a conversation in order to comprehend the fulling meaning behind an interaction. It is especially necessary to build up my listening comprehension in the context of sociolinguistic competence because formality and hierarchy are very important in social situations. It would be a major faux pas to accidentally address someone’s grandmother with “Ako sa máš?” instead of “Ako sa mate?”. Addressing someone’s babka with “How’s it going?” instead of “How are you?” would not make a great first impression. With my intended use of Slovak, I want to focus on the sociolinguistic competence in order to maintain polite, kind interactions with strangers and new people.

Slovak is one of many Indo-European languages; more specifically, it developed out of proto-Slavic and is categorized as a West Slavic language like Czech, Polish, Silesian, Kashubian, and Sorbian. It is closely related to Czech, and speakers of both languages can generally understand each other. Polish and Lower/Upper Sorbian (languages of eastern Germany) are also related to Slovak. The language has an Eastern, a Western, a Central, and a Lowland Dialect. There are few examples of Slovak written language before the 17^th and 18^th centuries. It was not considered a literary language until the early 19^th century. According to Encyclopedia Britannica, “Slovak has been more conservative phonetically… Slovak has retained long syllabic l and r and a series of diphthongs”.

The relationship between the Czech and Slovak languages exemplifies their close cultural and historical roots but each country’s desire to establish their own identity. Though these countries may have many similarities, current-day Czech and Slovaks do not want to continually share their national or cultural identities. In regard to the status as a literary language, the Slovak languages short history as a literary language creates a challenge for tracking the linguistic origins and changes experienced during centuries pre-dating the 19^th century. However, one of the benefits in the similarities in Czech and Slovak is that the Czech language can offer some insight into the development of Slovak.

https://academic-eb-com.newman.richmond.edu/levels/collegiate/article/Slovak-language/68226

https://effectivelanguagelearning.com/language-guide/slovak-language/

https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slovak_language

Though I never had much exposure to Slovak culture, I did grow up in an area with a large Polish population. Chicago has the largest Polish population outside of Warsaw. In March, we would have a day off of school in honor of Casimir Pulaski, a Polish-born Revolutionary war hero. One of my favorite Polish traditions was when my mom would buy paczki (filled doughnuts) for Fat Tuesday (Mardi Gras). We do not closely observe Lent or other Christian traditions, but my family and I love to eat paczki each year. With the beginning of Lent and the passing of Fat Tuesday, I decided to further investigate Lent and Fat Tuesday in Slovakia.

As of 2017, 63% of Slovakia identified as Roman Catholic and were far more likely to regularly attend church than their largely non-religious, Czech counterparts. With their close adherence to Roman Catholic traditions, Slovaks observe Fašiangy (Winter Carnival), marking the season of celebrations and traditions performed after Traja králi (Three Kings Day) and before Popolcová streda (Ash Wednesday), the beginning of Lent. The term “Fašiangy” originates from ‘vast-shancc’, an old Germanic word, translated to “pouring of the fasting drink” (“Carnival, or Fašiangy, “Vilikovská). Slovaks refer to Lent as pôst or mjasopust (“letting go of a lot of meat”). Fašiangy represents a time of great celebrations, balls, parades, and folkdance events. Due to the dormancy of farming and the exuberance of the season, many young people get married, feasting and celebrating with their village and families for days on end. During Pôst, couples could not get married, feasts could not be hosted, and parties were strictly forbidden.

The final day of Fašiangy, called Tučný utorok, is the equivalent of Mardi Gras or Fat Tuesday, a day of great gluttony before a long period of piety and fasting. This time of year allowed pagan and early-Christian Slovaks to eat luxury foods as opposed to their typically high-calorie, average meals. To this day, Slovaks eat fánky (pastries filled with curd, jam, or walnuts), šišky (filled donuts), záviny (strudels) and other sweet treats. They drink whiskey, slivovica (liquor made from plums), wine, and beer. However, older generations also enjoyed medovina, alcohol made of fermented honey. Additionally, during Fašiangy, early Christian Slovaks would parade around in animal, ghost-like masks in order to rid their village of evil spirits. Other typical costumes are slameník (strawman), kurina baba (old lady), kostra (skeleton),turoň (ox), koza (goat) or vlk (wolf). The creation of a turoň is especially important as one young man sits on the shoulders of another covered with sheets and an ox head. With a procession of other people, the turoň would carry manure around to each house in order manifest a good harvest for each family. Pochovávanie Basy (burial of the double bass) marks the true end of the celebratory season as “…people dressed as priest, organ-player, gravedigger, the instrument on a hearse, and granny-weepers”. This procession functions as a transition from the jubilee of Fašiangy to the solemn nature of Pôst. 

Overall, Fašiangy represents a culturally rich season and a culmination of pagan, Christian, Slovak, German and other influences. Modern-day Fašiangy is only made possible by the centuries of Christian and Pagan celebration in Slovakia. The detailed nature of this celebration and its long history truly communicates the complexity of Slovak culture, something often overlooked during the observation of Lent by Western Europeans and Americans.

The Slovak version of paczki

A turoň and his entourage

Pochovávanie Basy (burial of the double bass)

https://spectator.sme.sk/c/20092675/carnival-or-fasiangy-symbolises-time-of-merriment-and-feasts.html

https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2019/01/02/once-the-same-nation-the-czech-republic-and-slovakia-look-very-different-religiously/  

https://www.fcsu.com/fasiangy-shrovetide-prelenten-carnival-time/ ;

During my trip to Bratislava, I remember turning on the television in my Airbnb and flipping through the channels. A program with a lush, mountainous background and dancing people in embroidered dress truly stuck out to me; it was a group of folk performers dancing and singing in the High Tatras. Throughout my short stay in Bratislava, folk culture was continually emphasized with gift shops boasting traditional folk wear and advertisements for different folk performances. Though folk culture is a defining part of Slovak identity and life, this part of Slovak culture was lost over the years of Communist rule. Dance houses (tanečny dom) represent one of the important establishments in the reclamation of Slovak folk culture. Scholar Joseph Feinberg explains that dance houses invite anyone and everyone to learn folk dance with no regard to skill level or ability: “there are only participants and instructors, the latter half whom are there to guide the participants, enabling them to learn the principles of traditional folk dance and to enjoy themselves just as the inhabitants of every Slovak village once did: dancing “for the pleasure of it” (pre vlastné potešenie, to use a phrase common in Slovak folkoloristics)”. Folk culture translates to language through its emphasis on informality and the avoidance of formal institutional structures. The desire to make folk culture available to all and avoid formal institutions indicates a potential for more casual style conversation. Focusing on folk culture calls for the ability to produce imaginative, interactional, and personal functions of language. As folk culture also focuses on personal pleasure and feeling, a person’s ability to command attention and autonomy becomes vital in order to experience folk culture on an individual level. If I want to learn more about Slovak folk culture, I will have to watch videos of performances, read the lyrics of folk songs (in English and in Slovak), read common folktales (also in English and in Slovak), further research the history of folk culture, and acquire vocabulary needed to engage in this type of culture. This type of vocabulary includes names for traditional folk wear, common phrases derived from folk stories, and different terms for learning dance and song.

On Friday, I had a less than competent moment in my tutoring session. Adriana introduced a list of questions that I had to answer on the spot. Some of the questions included “Hovoríš po Slovensky?” (Do you speak Slovak) or “Kde je Bratislava?” (Where is Bratislava), relatively simple questions. The question that really tripped me up was “Kto je Zuzana Čaputová?” (Who is Zuzana Čaputová). We went over some professions our last lesson like “učitelka” (teacher) and “doktor” (doctor). So, when I saw the name, “Zuzana Čaputová”, I immediately thought that I needed to focus on some of the new professional vocabulary from our last lesson. With that thought, I said “Zuzana Čaputová je farmár” (Zuzana Čaputová is a farmer). I knew that the response was completely wrong the moment I finished the sentence. Unfortunately, I had mistaken the first female (and the current) President of Slovakia for a farmer. Adriana was very kind about correcting me, but I was so embarrassed to completely mislabel President Čaputová. Despite listening to Slovak current events podcasts and reading about the President, my brain majorly lapsed as I confused one of the most accomplished Slovaks for a farmer. I am just glad that I made that mistake in front of Adriana and not among strangers.

Despite this unfortunate incident, I really enjoy my Slovak lessons and study sessions. The fast-paced, one-on-one style of my tutoring lessons helps keep me engaged and actively challenges me. Most of these lessons are based around on-the-spot verbal language production as Adriana continually asks me to form sentences and answer questions. This language production allows me to practice my accent with Adriana offering adjustments for any mispronunciation. I really enjoy that these lessons are so engaging and not too focused on lengthy lectures. One of the biggest detriments to my past language experiences was long theory or grammar lectures with the teacher talking the majority of the time. These types of lectures kept me from actually understanding the material and applying it to my language production. I hope to continue to focus on lessons with constant verbal language production and avoid any lessons with too much grammar or theory. 

One of my major tasks at the moment is learning numbers in Slovak. It is pretty humbling to dedicate my time to learning how to count, a task that I consider to be basic, almost child-like. Sometimes, I have to remind myself that I am starting from the very beginning with Slovak; I am currently operating at the approximate level of a toddler. Despite the intuitive nature of language, some skills and knowledge come with time and practice such as the ability to properly pronounce “ch” or understanding the complicated declension table. Even though these tasks can feel a little childlike, they are essential to properly speaking Slovak. Additionally, I have the advantage of identifying cognates between English and Slovak numbers while also understanding the relatively abstract concept of numbers, likely a challenging concept for toddlers to grasp.

In my previous language learning post, my goal was to focus on consuming Slovak media. I have mostly listened to two podcasts: “Slovakia Today, English Language Current Affairs Programme from Slovak Radio” and “Comprehensible Slovak”. “Slovakia Today” helps me stay informed with the current state of Slovakia (fulfilling my cultural competency goal) and gives me an opportunity to hear citizens speak Slovak with an immediate English translation. Additionally, “Comprehensible Slovak” helps me practice my listening comprehension with the podcast host speaking slowly and clearly. The podcast also comes with a transcript of the episode which helps in better deciphering the words. Listening comprehension is something that I have struggled with throughout my language learning experiences in Spanish, Danish, and Slovak. Due to my struggles with listening comprehension, my goal is to watch or listen to a program (15-30 minutes in length) twice a week in order to practice listening, focus on pronunciation and hopefully, pick up a few familiar words.

President Zuzana Čaputová (and not a farmer)

Spelling seems to be completely arbitrary in relation to the actual pronunciation of a word or a phrase. The letters used to make up a word can make different sounds depending on the language applied. For example, there is the word “auto” in English and in Slovak. In English, “auto” would be pronounced “ah-tow”. In contrast, a Slovak speaker would pronounce “auto” as “ow-tow” with a soft-sounding “t”. It is important to differentiate between spelling and sound in order to recognize the difference in written and spoken language. When a word is spelled incorrectly, the language speaker has a greater ability to determine the target word. However, when a word is pronounced incorrectly, the temporality of speech can make it difficult to determine the target word. Spelling is important but understanding the sounds of your target language will assist in both speech production and comprehension.

There are a lot of new, unfamiliar sounds in Slovak. I have little experience observing accents, tildes, and trills from my Spanish education, but there are also many sounds that prove challenging. There are long vowels/short vowels and long consonants/short consonants. The stress is always placed on the first syllable of the word. Only Slovaks in the East (populations near Poland) place stress on the penultimate syllable. There is a lot of variability between Eastern and Western dialects.

Additionally, Slovak has the largest Slavic and European alphabet with 46 letters. One of my biggest challenges is that the Slovak alphabet involves trills and taps with the letters “r” and “ŕ”. The “r” without an accent creates more of a light tongue tap on the soft palate. The other letter, “ŕ”, indicates additional stress on the soft palate, resulting in a trill. Additionally, the letter, “ch”, challenges my American accent as I imagine myself adopting a Scottish brogue. It’s like creating an “h” noise at the very back of the throat, it focuses more on the throat and less on the expulsion of air. For example, the Slovak word for fridge is “chladnička” (xl̩adnɪt͡ʃka). One of the biggest resources in better comprehending speech is listening to podcasts of Slovak speakers. They help me better observe typical pronunciations while also allowing me to pick out recognizable words. After listening, I try to find the transcript for the podcast episode to better understand its context. I plan on continuing to listen to these podcasts and ask for listening exercises during my tutoring sessions.

As a child, my first formal lessons in language started with phonetics specifically learning the sounds and written expressions of the alphabet. Obviously, there is some informal exposure to vocabulary, phonetics, and syntax before any formal education. This informal exposure allows for an unintentional interdisciplinary approach to language learning. By beginning to learn a language as an infant, there is an emphasis on natural, unproduced speech especially as babies pick up words from their caregivers. However, when approaching a new language later in life, some of that informal and natural exposure disappears as the language learner must rely on more formalized exposure to the language via classroom lessons or lengthy textbooks. My goal is to diagram the language learning exposure of babies and children in order to replicate its methods in my own learning process. Crystal’s method of working through semantics towards grammar seems to align with the language learning exposure of babies and children. Instead of learning conjugation or the purpose of adverbs, the learner can actually begin to acquire the building blocks for grammatical rules. By starting with semantics, the learner can take on a less formal learning process as they can focus on observing language production while not having worry about following grammatical formulas. Additionally, by first focusing on semantics, the learner may be able to inherently pick up certain grammatical rules such as feminine versus masculine words or the general rule for plural nouns. In favoring semantics first, I plan to continue to listen and watch Slovak media in order to note common words and phrases. (As an added bonus, I believe this strategy will also help in culturally competency.)

For my cultural posts, I decided to focus on Slovak art history as a way to connect my current studies with my Art History major. Throughout my art historical education, I have learned about everything from Tōdai-ji, the Buddhist temple complex in Nara, Japan, to the vivid frescoes of the Scrovegni Chapel in Padua, Italy. However, I have not had much exposure to Central or Eastern European art history. Additionally, it is important to note that like many other academic fields, art history still focuses on a largely westernized canon and viewpoint; the field of art history requires a further expansion into cultures throughout the world, not just frescoes from the Vatican or paintings by French masters. In observation of this lack of diversity in my art historical, I am choosing to study significant paintings, architecture, and other artistic media to Slovak culture.

My first focus is on Banskoštiavnická Kalvária, a 18th century Church compound. As I studied this architectural compound, I found that the naming among sources is very inconsistent. Some of its names include “The Calvary Church”, “The Baroque Calvary”, “Banská Štiavnica Calvary”, “Calvary in/of Banská Štiavnica”, “Banská Štiavnica Calvary Complex”, “Kalvária” and “Kalvária Banská Štiavnica”. For the sake of consistency, I will refer to the complex as “Kalvária”. The compound was erected in 1751 and sits on a hill in the Central Slovakian town of Banská Štiavnica (translated to “City of Silver”). Banská Štiavnica is known for their silver-mining boom in the 18^thcentury, becoming a major source of profit for the Kingdom of Hungary. The compound is especially notable for its Baroque style and its views overlooking the entire town of Banská Štiavnica. A Jesuit priest named Francis Perger convinced the town of Banská Štiavnica to erect a Calvary complex on Sharfenberg Hill (Sharp Hill) in the middle of the Štiavnica volcano. This church/calvary complex was specifically created to worship the Passions of Christ and enhance the emotional connection between a suffering Christ and Christian pilgrims. It was built and funded through donations from the Emperor, the poor, and everyone in between. The compound includes three churches, nineteen chapels, and a sculpture of the Virgin Mary. The Upper Church sits atop the highest point on the property, looking over Banská Štiavnica. Throughout the complex, there are intricate frescoes, paintings, and sculptures depicting important scenes and figures from the Bible. Kalvária became an important pilgrimage site as the complex boasted seventeen stations of the Cross rather than the traditional fourteen stations. The creator of the complex increased the number of stations by including stories from before Christ’s condemnation. Around 2007, advocates for Kalvária created the Calvary Fund and began to restore the Church after years of disrepair from the battles of WWII, neglect during Communist Rule, and a failed restoration attempt in the 1980s. Today, Kalvária continues to be a highly important pilgrimage and religious site as citizens of Banská Štiavnica use the complex for religious holidays and festivals.

Kalvária reminded me of some of the buildings I saw during my visit to Bratislava. Throughout the city, I saw Baroque-style buildings with bright colors, accentuated curves, and golden accents. The Holy Trinity Church in Bratislava really reminds me of Kalvária due to its pink coloring and prominent coat of arms above the church’s entrance.

360-degree views of Kalvária: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=72LwfAtHJh4 ;

Aerial photograph of the entire compound

Upper Church of Kalvária

The Holy Trinity Church: Shot during my trip to Bratislava, SK

Sources:

https://visitworldheritage.com/en/eu/calvary-church/55eebda8-789d-457f-a6cf-392e9b9dd126

https://www.kalvaria.org/zakladne-info/

https://www.wmf.org/project/banská-štiavnica-calvary-complex

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BV_2uL9eFo

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/calvary-of-banska-stiavnica

https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/calvary-of-banska-stiavnica

Figuring Foreigners Out focused on developing tools to measure differences in individualism, fatalism, nonverbal behaviors, conceptions of time, and directness of communication throughout cultures. Dr. Hofstede’s tools focused on measuring differences in equality, individualism, masculinity, tolerance for uncertainty, dedication to traditional values and behaviors in indulgence. Ultimately, both of these resources offer quantifiable tools to understand very abstract concepts such as culture, individualism and fatalism. However, I am curious about this quantifiability and its margin of error. Obviously, some of these measurements are easier to control than others especially Dr. Hofstede’s Power Distance Index. Scholars can easily look up numbers on wage inequality, wealth gaps, and much more to understand inequalities in wealth and power. But I would love to know a little bit more about these scholars’ research in determining the correct range for each country. What resources (word-of-mouth, scholarly texts, interviews from people of each culture, etc.) do they use to make these judgements? What are their margins of error? How often do they adjust for changes within specific cultures?

Curiously, during my last tutoring session, Adriana and I talked about the state of the Coronavirus in our native countries and its representation of typical cultural behavior. I asked Adriana if most Slovaks were following the rules by wearing their masks and adhering to stay-at-home orders. Adriana told me that most people closely follow the rules and usually do not deviate from collective behavior. She explained that hundreds of years of outside, authoritarian rule created a culture of collectivism and fervent adherence to the law. In contrast, I told Adriana about the almost toxic sense of American individualism and dedication to personal freedoms. Though individualism and personal freedoms can be very important values, they are detriments to public health efforts to slow the spread of the coronavirus in the United States. I mentioned that some Americans, especially white, middle-class Americans, view themselves as exceptions, as above wearing masks and staying at home. For better or worse, the United States’ resistance to observing pandemic rules perfectly demonstrates the problematic nature of American individualism and our failure to care for the greater good.

Ahoy!

My language plan revolves around achieving four main goals:

1. Pronunciation- ability to pronounce typical Slovak words without hesitancy
2. Understandability: ability for Slovak speakers to understand my speech production and pronunciation
3. Casual Conversation: ability to verbally produce language in a consistent manner without pausing
4. Cultural Competency: acquiring knowledge of Slovak culture to properly follow social conventions.

My language plan may seem a little ambitious but, I am ready to put in the time and effort to work towards these goals. My strategies for achieving these goals center on immersive strategies, playing to learning strengths, and improving confidence.

Immersive Strategies:

I will focus on mindfully consuming different types of Slovak media. At the moment, I have been enjoying the Comprehensible Slovak Podcast, music by Sima, Včielka Mája (Maya the Bee, a children’s cartoon) and Mesto Tieňvo (a CSI-esque Slovak crime show). Consuming Slovak media will help with proper pronunciation, processing/comprehending Slovak and learning more about Slovak culture (particularly pop culture). Additionally, I will read/listen to the top headlines in Slovak News three times a week in order to emphasis my cultural competency goal. I will start by reading/listening to the news in English and slowly, add in Slovak versions of the news.

Playing to Learning Strengths/Improving Confidence:

For 2 hours each week, I will meet with my italki tutor, Adriana. I also plan to study 5-6 hours of study per week. Typically, I retain more information by working in 1-hour increments or less. I will be sure to pay attention to the time and step away in order to avoid an “information overload”. These short study increments will assist in remaining confident in my language abilities and avoiding feelings of anxiety. Additionally, I find that I learn best through visual and auditory learning strategies. To complement my visual learning skills, I plan to organize my notes in a colorful, simple format and regularly rewrite my notes as I revise. To complement my auditory learning skills, I plan on talking to myself out loud as I am study/explaining topics and formulating sentences aloud. Talking to myself helps with my comprehension abilities and makes me feel less overwhelmed when studying.

Additionally, I plan to supplement my studies and tutoring sessions with instruction from Mango. I also would like to implement Amy’s idea of keeping a private journal documenting the language learning experiences. I think it would be helpful in voicing any frustrations that may hinder my language production or hinder my confidence levels.

Lessons thus far:

I have taken about four hours of Slovak lessons this semester. We have focused on basic greetings, common vocabulary words, and feminine/masculine/neuter endings/words. I also learned to conjugate byt’ (to be) and mat’ (to have) in the present tense. After learning these verbs, I started to form simple sentences using the vocabulary words. Additionally, we have worked a lot on proper pronunciation by going through the Slovak alphabet letter by letter to practice pronunciation and identifying letters not in the English alphabet. Throughout the lesson, I regularly read and produce language which helps Adriana correct any mispronunciations.

Exploring language through course:

The SDLAC program is an excellent way to learn a more uncommon language. My other attempts to learn Slovak were often shut down by expensive course materials or a lack of available resources. However, with the collection of course materials and financial assistance of the program, I finally can learn Slovak without having to pay a ridiculous amount of money. Additionally, I really enjoy learning about Slovakia through my italki tutor, Adriana. She gives me insight on culture and current events unlike programs like Rosetta Stone or Duolingo.

Now, for the most important question: Why Slovak?

I have four main reasons:

1. An opportunity to learn something completely new! I have never learned a Slavic language before or really explored the history and culture of Slovakia. The SDLAC program allows me to discover a different language, history and culture.
2. Fulbright English Teaching Assistant Opportunity (ETA)! This last October, I applied for a Fulbright ETA grant in Slovakia. The course allows me to prepare for this potential opportunity.
3. Study Abroad! I spent two nights in Bratislava during October of 2019. It was an incredible experience and I plan to talk about my travels more on my blog posts. I attached a picture of myself and my friend, Charlotte, at the Austria-Slovakia border and a picture of the KGB bar, a very interesting bar to have a beer.
4. Heritage! My last name (Hoholik) is Slovak. It is an important part of my identity due to its rarity and ability to confuse any substitute teacher. I have gotten all kinds of pronunciations from “o-o-leek” to “ha-ha-lick”. Apparently, my ancestors came from the High Tatras of Slovakia, a mountainous area of North Slovakia right near the border of Poland. According to family genealogy, the Hoholiks came from Leśnica, Slovakia (see the map attached) and immigrated to the United States in the mid to late 1800s. Unfortunately, my family and I are estranged from my paternal side of the family. My motivation for studying Slovak and applying for the Fulbright ETA grant is to reconnect and forge a sustainable connection with my paternal identity.

I look forward to tracking my language experiences and reporting back on my progress.  

 Ďakujem! Dovidenia!

Leśnica on the map 

Views from Leśnica

KGB Bar in Bratislava, SK

Charlotte and I at the Austria-Slovakia Border at Devín Castle