Re:Accents, Dialects, and Discrimination
by inglor_cz on Wednesday March 17, 2021 @04:56AM
(#26488200)
A comment from non-English language sphere.
A lot of Slovak people move to Czechia, especially to one of the university cities. This has been the case since the 1920s at least. Movement in the other direction is, these days, negligible.
Many Czechs can understand standard spoken Slovak (not so much the eastern dialects), but it is a high-friction interaction nowadays. My experience is that Slovaks tend to stand their ground for a year or two, then silently join a Czech language course and, within a few months, switch completely to Czech, just with slightly softer vowels that will indicate their origin, well, forever.
The friction thing is important. Even Austrians who move to Germany say the same.
A lot of Slovak people move to Czechia, especially to one of the university cities. This has been the case since the 1920s at least. Movement in the other direction is, these days, negligible.
Many Czechs can understand standard spoken Slovak (not so much the eastern dialects), but it is a high-friction interaction nowadays. My experience is that Slovaks tend to stand their ground for a year or two, then silently join a Czech language course and, within a few months, switch completely to Czech, just with slightly softer vowels that will indicate their origin, well, forever.
The friction thing is important. Even Austrians who move to Germany say the same.