- Michael M.: Too much going on. Life in flux, etc..
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Ljubljana, Slovenia.
Maribor, Slovenia.
Portoroz, Slovenia.
• AlienMelon
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• Heck
• Izklop
• si.blogs
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• Natalija Verboten
| TO SAY… | In Slovene | In Slovak |
| Slovenia | Slovenija | Slovinsko |
| Slovakia | Slovaška | Slovensko |
| Slovene (language) | SlovenÅ¡Ä?ina | SlovinÄ?ina |
| Slovak (language) | SlovaÅ¡Ä?ina | SlovenÄ?ina |
| Male Slovene | Slovenec | Slovinec |
| Female Slovene | Slovenka | Slovinka |
| Male Slovak | Slovak | Slovak |
| Female Slovak | Slovakinja | Slovenka |
| Slovenian (adj.) | Slovenski | Slovinský |
| Slovakian (adj.) | Slovaški | Slovenský |
| Beer, please | Pivo, prosim | Pivo, prosÃm |
(In the likely event that I mixed something up, let me know)
And as an extra bonus, here’s WWU’s classic guide to the similarities between the two countries:
* Both countries became EU members in 2004.
* Both countries became independent in the early 1990s from larger, formerly Communist nations.
* Citizens of both countries felt that they were being ignored before independence.
* Citizens of both countries believed that their languages weren’t respected before independence.
* Citizens of both countries worship their mountains, which are a symbol of their nationhood.
* Both countries’ mountains have glacial lakes.
* Both countries have karst regions.
* Both countries have showcase national parks containing their most beautiful mountain scenery…and the initials of both are TNP.
* Both countries are predominantly Roman Catholic.
* Both countries are (surprise, surprise) Slavic.
* Both countries have Hungarian minorities.
* Hockey is popular in both countries (but Slovakia is far better at it).
* Skiing is popular in both countries, both among locals and foreign visitors.
* Both countries border Austria and consider it a role model of sorts.
* Citizens of both countries enjoy goulash and wienerschnitzel.
* Both countries have white-blue-and-red flags.
* Both flags have shield-shaped coats-of-arms.
* Both coats-of-arms feature hills/mountains with three peaks.
* Both countries were once a part of Austria-Hungary.
* Both countries joined multiethnic Slavic states after WWI.
* Both countries experienced transfers of territory after WWII (Slovakia lost some to Ukraine, while Slovenia gained some from Italy).
* Both countries were under communist rule, but not as independent states.
* A female resident of both countries is a “Slovenka� in her language.
* The adjective form in both countries, in their respective languages is “slovensk–“
* Therefore, you’ll find Slovenska Televizia in Slovakia and Slovenske Železnice in Slovenia. But it could easily be the other way around.
* Both countries also have growing wine industries.
* Budget airline EasyJet recently started flights to the capitals of both countries, which are emerging as popular city-break destinations.
*Both countries’ leading commercial television stations are, in part, owned by CME, an American company.
* Both countries get upset when they are confused with each other.
(Thanks WWU!)
Comments
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Yeah I guess it’s an understandable mix-up, not that anyone is fooling ME!
Erm, are YOU sure you’re in the country you originally planned moving to?
Thanks for clearing all this up, Michael. Now I’m not confused in the least.
Um, where am I again?
In my experience many people are now so aware of this mix-up that they started making fun out of it, trying to provoke anger from let’s say a Slovenian by referring to them as a Slovak.
Phew, I can’t imagine being a Slovak Slovenka is easy - after all, you need the following most of your life: a á ä b c Ä? d Ä? dz dž e é f g h ch i à j k l ĺ ľ m n ň o ó ô p q r Å• s Å¡ t Å¥ u ú v w x y ý z ž.
It’s much easier to do small talk for Slovenian Slovenkas, don’t you think so?
* Both countries are filled with good, white Christian folk.
Very interesting comparison - GREAT WORK. There is just one, let’s say not so minor mistake, I should point out: after WWII Slovenia LOST some important territories to both Italy and Austria. E.g. port and the city of Trieste, Karnten in Austria… Slovenia actually gained no territories after WWII although being part of the allied forces. Sad but true… probably had something to do with the fear of communism.
… und ich weiß trotzdem noch wo ich hin will.
OK, first off, can we somehow convince the Slovenians that CME is not an American company? It’s a Bermuda-based company, listed on NASDAQ, with mostly British managment. I think that rumour was started by the idiotocracy at National TV, who believe that POP TV is controlled by the Americans, when, in fact, I’m sure that not one American has ever had any influence on POP TV programming. By the way, these are the same idiots who believe that the tragedy of Sept. 11 was a controlled demolition committed by the U.S. government and big corporations, which, in their uneducated minds, surely includes CME and POP TV.
Also, more importantly, Slovakian slovenkas outrank Slovenian slovenkas in the very important category of oral sex.
Actually Slovenia gained quite some teritory after WW2. It gained almost all of its Primorska region, which was under Italian ocupation since the WW1. But we didn’t get KoroÅ¡ka since the major powers decided to restore Austria in its after WW1 borders. The Austrians were supposed to take care of the Slovenian minority there, but as you know we still have some problems with that.
Well Patrick, most Slovenian Slovenkas probabily suffer from Orthorexia (see Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthorexia).
AND: exceptions rule!
What are the odds…..
@Patrick: I guess it depends on past experience. Whatever makes you happy, man! But I wouldn’t want to strike a fatal blow to your ideas of geographically-dependant oral sex, so you’re welcome to stick to Slovakian Slovenkas. Leaving more Slovenian Slovenkas for the rest of us
Graphic descriptions on this issue will not be forthcoming.
It’s good to see that the most similar of phrases is “Pivo, prosim”. I’m sure after a few of these choice beverages, in whichever of the two countries I’m posing the request, I’ll be able to understand al languages, why even Inupiatun, because, as everyone knows, Hops is the international translational tool.
hawdy.
let mi only mention that we use only 3 extra characters - Ä?šž. and not half of page;)
but it is really fun being slovenec:D
Wow… thanks, Michael! I thought my blog counter was broken when I first noticed the flood of new visitors — then I noticed where they were coming from!
Two quick points…
Pete: One could say that Slovenia lost some ethnic territories that it should have gotten, but they were not in Slovenia (or, more accurately, Yugoslavia) before WWII either. However, Slovenia DID gain substantial territory after the war: Postojna, Koper, Piran, the Karst (Kras), the Soca Valley (including Kobard and Bovec), etc. were all in Italy between the world wars — as was, believe it or not, one half of Triglav.
Patrick: While I am not aware of CME’s current ownership structure, and you could very well be right, the company has traditionally been associated with its founder and majority owner, Ronald Lauder, an American, so it’s often referred to — not just in Slovenia — as an American company (based in Bermuda for tax reasons). And, yes, American consultants worked at POP TV when it was first launched.
I just noticed the banner. ;)Nice touch, Michael!
This makes things a lot easier, doesn’t it?
I think I’ll just stick to learning Slovene, for some reason…
Slovenia indeed gained some territory after WW2, the rest we just hoped to get but didn’t (or in the best case we weren’t allowed to keep some of the territory we occupied) - which wasn’t “occupied” by Italy but was perfectly legally a part of Italy.
* Both countries are filled with good, white Christian folk.
Do the Roma fit into this definition? Because there’s supposedly about 1/3 of them in Slovakia.
In one of the future post you can mention how Slavs and Slovenians are called in Slovenian, Croatian, and Serbian.
Just avoid speaking about Slovenia and Slovakia in the same topic. OK? Please? It can really mess you up.
“Slovakia lost some territory to Ukraine” is not fully correct. First, it was Czechoslovakia that lost the territory (and Carpathian Ruthenia was no way part of the Slovakia, it was one of the authonomical regions) and second, it was USSR, not Ukraine, to whom we lost it.