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Introduction to Czech Phonology

Czech (čeština) is a West Slavic language known for its rich system of consonants and vowels. For learners, Czech phonology presents both challenges and simplifications compared to English.

Key Characteristics​

  1. Phonetic Consistency: Czech is largely a "read-as-you-write" language. Once you learn the rules, you can pronounce almost any word correctly just by reading it.
  2. Fixed Stress: The stress (accent) is almost always on the first syllable of the word.
  3. Vowel Length: Vowels can be short or long. Length is distinctive, meaning it can change the meaning of a word (e.g., byt = apartment vs. být = to be).
  4. Consonant Clusters: Czech is famous for allowing long sequences of consonants without vowels (e.g., zmrzlina - ice cream, čtvrtek - Thursday).
  5. The Letter Ř: A unique sound specific to Czech, often considered one of the most difficult sounds for foreigners to master.

Diacritics​

Czech uses three main diacritical marks:

  • Čárka (´): Indicates a long vowel (e.g., á, é, í, ó, ú, ý). It does not indicate stress.
  • Háček (ˇ): Indicates softening (palatalization) of a consonant (e.g., č, š, ž, ř, ň, ť, ď) or the vowel e (ě).
  • Kroužek (˚): Used only over u (ů) to indicate a long u sound that evolved historically.

In the following sections, we will explore the alphabet, vowels, consonants, and rules of stress in detail.