[WIA Languages Day 69/221] Czech – The Language of the Velvet Revolution, Echoing from the Heart of Bohemia

WIA Language Project

[Day 69/221]

Čeština

Czech | Čeština

“The language of the Velvet Revolution, echoing from the heart of Bohemia”

A quiet revolution: the digital record of 221 languages • We are not saving languages. We are recording eternity.

In the hills and valleys of Bohemia, at the heart of Europe, about 10.7 million people tell the stories of their lives in this language. Czech belongs to the West Slavic branch and has shone in European history as a language of religious reform, literature, music, science and democratic revolution. It is the very language in which Jan Hus reformed orthography, in which Kafka drew inspiration from the alleys of Prague, and in which Havel led the Velvet Revolution. Today we meet the soul of Czech (Čeština).

History: A Language of Reform and the Miracle of National Revival

The history of Czech goes back to the Great Moravian Empire of the 9th century. In 863, the Byzantine missionaries Cyril and Methodius brought the Slavic script and Christianity to the region. The medieval Czech kingdom (the Kingdom of Bohemia) was one of Europe’s cultural centers, and Prague University (Charles University), founded by Charles IV in 1348, was the first university in Central Europe.

In the early 15th century, Jan Hus changed the history of Czech forever. A religious reformer and rector of Prague University, Hus preached in Czech instead of Latin and reformed Czech orthography, introducing the system of the háček (ˇ) and the čárka (´). That system has influenced the orthography not only of Czech but of several other Slavic languages, including Slovak, Croatian and Slovenian, down to the present day. Hus was burned at the stake in 1415, but his linguistic legacy lived on.

After the Battle of White Mountain (Bílá Hora) in 1620, Czech fell into serious crisis under Habsburg rule. As German became the official language, Czech was reduced to the language of peasants and the lower classes. In the 19th century, however, the Czech National Revival (České národní obrození) brought the language back to life. The linguists Josef Dobrovský and Josef Jungmann systematized Czech grammar and compiled its dictionary, restoring a language on the verge of vanishing as a language of literature and scholarship.

Today: A European Cultural Language of 10.7 Million Speakers

As of 2025, Czech is the official language of the Czech Republic, with a population of about 10.7 million, and is one of the official languages of the EU. Czech-speaking communities also exist in Slovakia, Austria, Germany, the United States and elsewhere. Czech and Slovak are closely related and mutually intelligible, so people from the two countries can converse, each in their own language.

Czech literature holds a distinctive place in world literary history. Franz Kafka (who wrote in German but was from Prague), Milan Kundera, Václav Havel, Jaroslav Seifert (Nobel Prize in Literature) and Bohumil Hrabal are among its great figures. Czech film, animation and music also enjoy international renown.

In the digital age, Czech has a lively online ecosystem. Czech Wikipedia, social media, news outlets and educational platforms are plentiful, and Czech is used actively in the IT industry as well.

Jewels of the Language: The Háček and the Wisdom of Proverbs

One of the most distinctive features of Czech is the háček. This system, devised by Jan Hus, places a v-shaped mark over a letter to change its pronunciation, writing sounds such as č (ch), š (sh), ž (zh) and ř (a unique trilled sound). The ř in particular is a sound found in no other language in the world: trilling and friction of the tongue tip occur at the same time. It is one of the sounds foreigners find hardest to pronounce.

Czech proverbs carry the practical wisdom and humor of the Bohemians. “Bez práce nejsou koláče” [Be-seu Pra-che Ne-i-so-u Ko-la-che] — “Without work there are no koláče (pastries).” It is a teaching that stresses the value of labor. “Kdo jinému jámu kopá, sám do ní padá” [Geu-do I-ne-mu Ya-mu Ko-pa, Sam Do Ni Pa-da] — “He who digs a pit for another falls into it himself.” It is the wisdom that malicious acts come back on the one who commits them.

Czech has a complex inflectional system with seven cases (nominativ, genitiv, dativ, akuzativ, vokativ, lokál, instrumentál). It allows free word order, and words and sentences made up only of consonants, with no vowels, exist. The famous Czech tongue-twister “Strč prst skrz krk” (“Stick a finger through your throat”) is a complete sentence without a single vowel.

WIA’s Promise: Bohemian Literature and Music, Preserved Digitally for Eternity

WIA will digitally preserve for eternity the masterpieces of Czech literature, the musical legacy of Smetana and Dvořák, Czech oral folktales and Moravian folk songs. The melodies of Czech that once rang through the alleys of Prague will be passed on to future generations through a digital archive.

Just as the Velvet Revolution won freedom without a single shot, WIA’s digital archive preserves Czech forever, quietly but powerfully.

221 languages, a journey of 221 days. Today the voice of Czech travels along the Vltava River and resonates in your heart. From Jan Hus’s háček to Havel’s Velvet Revolution, the language of truth will ring out forever through the digital archive.

This journey, begun quietly, will move the hearts of millions and echo across generations.

Every voice is eternal.

WIA Language Institute

221 Languages – Recording Languages for Eternity

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