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Name of the Czech Republic

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The name of the Czech Republic derives from the Slavic tribe of Czechs (Czech: Češi). The Kingdom of Bohemia existed between 1085 and 1348, and from 1348 to 1918 it is referred to as the Lands of the Bohemian Crown. After the break-up of the Habsburg Empire, which the kingdom was part of since the seventeenth century, the new country Czechoslovakia was created by the union of the Czech lands and Slovakia.

After the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in the so-called "Velvet Divorce" of 1993, the name "the Czech Republic" (Czech: Česká republika) was created[1] as the official long-form name.[2][3][4] The official[2][3] short-form Czech name for the Czech lands (i.e. Bohemia, Moravia, Czech Silesia) is Česko.[2][5][6][7] While almost all languages adopted variants of Česko for the short-form name at this time, the English equivalent "Czechia"[2] /ˈtʃɛki.ə/, though attested as early as 1841,[8] is still quite rarely used in the English-speaking world,[9][10] however, its usage is increasing.[11][12]

Czech-language name

The country is named after the Czechs (Czech: Čechové), a Slavic tribe residing in central Bohemia that subdued the surrounding tribes in the late 9th century and created the Czech/Bohemian state. The origin of the name of the tribe itself is unknown. According to legend, it comes from their leader Čech, who brought them to Bohemia. Research regards Čech as a derivative of the root čel- (member of the people, kinsman).[13]

Several variants of the name have been used over the centuries, due to the evolution of the Czech language. The digraph "cž" was used from the time of the 16th-century Bible of Kralice until the reform of 1842, being eventually replaced by "č" (changing Cžechy to Čechy). In the late 19th century the suffix for the names of countries changed from -y to -sko (e.g. Rakousy-Rakousko for Austria, Uhry-Uhersko for Hungary). While the notion of Česko appears for the first time in 1704, it only came into official use in 1918 as the first part of the name of the newly independent Czechoslovakia (Česko-Slovensko or Československo) . Within that state, the Czech Socialist Republic (Česká socialistická republika, ČSR)[5] was created on 1 January 1969.[14] On 6 March 1990 the Czech Socialist Republic was renamed the Czech Republic (Česká republika, ČR).[1] When Czechoslovakia broke up in 1993, the Czech part of the name was intended to serve as the name of the Czech state. The decision started a dispute as many perceived the "new" word Česko, which before had been only rarely used alone, as harsh sounding or as a remnant of Československo.[15] The older term Čechy was rejected by many because it was primarily associated with Bohemia proper and to use it for the whole country was seen as inappropriate. This feeling was especially prominent among the inhabitants of Moravia.

The use of the word "Česko" within the country itself has increased in recent years.[16] During the 1990s, "Česko" was rarely used and viewed as controversial: some Czech politicians and public figures (e.g. media magnate Vladimír Železný) expressed concern about the non-use of Česko and Czechia; on the other side, individuals such as president Václav Havel and minister Alexandr Vondra have strongly opposed using these forms. In 1997, the Civic initiative Czechia was formed by linguists and geographers in Brno to promote the use of Czechia.[17] The following year, a conference of professionals aimed at encouraging the use of the name was held at Charles University in Prague. The Czech Senate held a session on the issue in 2004.[18][19]

English-language name

The historical English name of the country is Bohemia. This name derives from the Celtic tribe of Boii, which inhabited the area from the 4th century BC. Boiohaemum, as it was originally known in Latin, comes from the Germanic “Boi-haima,” meaning "home of the Boii." The name survived all the following migrations affecting the area, including the arrival of the Slavs and the creation of the Czech state. In the 9th century, the country became officially known as the Duchy of Bohemia, changing to the Kingdom of Bohemia in the 11th century, and the Crown of Bohemia in the 14th century. A number of other names for the country have been used, including Lands of the Bohemian Crown, Czech/Bohemian lands, Bohemian Crown, the lands of the Crown of Saint Wenceslas and others.[20][21] The Bohemian state included the three historical lands: Bohemia (Čechy) in narrower meaning, Moravia (Morava) and Silesia (Slezsko). From the 14th century until 1635 it also included Upper and Lower Lusatia. The higher hierarchical status of the Bohemian region led to that name being used for the larger country, with the people and language of this country being commonly referred to as Bohemian.

The words "Czechian", "Czechish" and later "Czech" (using antiquated Czech spelling[20]) have been appearing in English-language texts since the 17th century. During the 19th century national revival, the word "Czech" had also been used to distinguish between the Czech and German speaking peoples living in the country. The term "Czechia" is attested as early as 1569 in Latin[20] and 1841 in English (Poselkynie starych Przjbiehuw Czeskych - Messenger of the old Fates of Czechia).[20][8] Other early uses occurred in 1856[22] or in an 1866 report on the Austro-Prussian War.[23]

Shortly before the disintegration of the Austro-Hungarian empire and the proclamation of the new Republic of Czechoslovakia in 1918, there were proposals to use the traditional name Bohemia for the newly formed state[24]. Out of consideration for Slovak national aspiration however, the new names "Czecho-Slovakia" and later "Czechoslovakia" were coined and adopted instead. After the establishment of Czechoslovakia, the name Czechia appeared in English, alongside the official name, as a reference to all the Czech lands[25] and as a differentiation between the Czech and Slovak parts of the state. It was used at least as early as 4 January 1925; appearing in the article "Literary History of the Czechs", published by The New York Times.[26] The name was used in the Anglophone press before the German occupation of the Czech lands in 1939.[27][28][29]

Adoption of Czechia

With the dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993, the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports recommended the use of the name Czechia.[30] Other names proposed in the 1990s included Czechomoravia or Czechlands.[31] However, by 2000 a short name had still not been fully adopted by Czech authorities. At that time, the British secretary for press and politics Giles Portman showed a willingness to accept the name. Portman said: "Czechs still use the name Česká Republika rather than Česko, and the English equivalent, the Czech Republic, rather than Czechia. Were that pattern to change, we would have no problem at all with adapting accordingly. But we feel that the initiative for that change must come from the Czech side and not from us".[32]

In 2013, Czech president Miloš Zeman recommended the wider official use of Czechia,[33] and on 14 April 2016, the country's political leadership agreed to make Czechia the official short name. The new name was approved by the Czech cabinet on 2 May 2016[34] and was published in the United Nations UNTERM and UNGEGN country name databases on 5 July 2016.[35] On 23 September 2016, the Permanent Committee on Geographical Names began advising Britons to use the name Czechia.[36] On 26 September 2016, the International Organization for Standardization included the short name Czechia in the official ISO 3166 country codes list.[37] [38]

Six months after the name Czechia was adopted (October 2016), The Guardian reported that the new name is hardly in use, even on the official Czech government websites.[39]

Google replaced the Czech Republic with Czechia on Google Maps on 18 January 2017. The CIA World Factbook and U.S. State Department both now use Czechia instead of the Czech Republic as the short name of the country.[40][41]

On 22 May 2017 a Forbes contributor released an opinion blog saying that "Czechia has won the Czech Republic name debate" and that "If you’re feeling petulant, it’s the Czech Republic. If you want to be cool, it’s Czechia" in a reference to the significant progress that has been made for the short name in the recent year.[42]

The geographical department of the Faculty of Sciences, Charles University in Prague organised a special conference, assessing how successful the process of adopting the name Czechia has been so far on 1 June 2017.[43]

Other languages

The equivalent of the Czech short form "Česko" is in routine use by most other languages. In a few cases (for example Polish Czechy, Croatian Češka and Serbian Чешка/Češka) this form had historically been used for Bohemia. Other languages adopted new short-forms such as تشيكيا (Tšīk[i]yā) in Arabic, and 捷克 (Jiékè in Mandarin) in Chinese. In most cases, the new form has more or less completely replaced the formal name for most usages. However, usage in Spanish and French remains mixed, with the forms Chequia and Tchéquie being used alongside the longer, formal name.

German

In the German language, the term applicable to the Czech part of Czechoslovakia used to be Tschechei (comparable to Slowakei, the German name for Slovakia). However, the usage of that term began to have negative connotations in connection with the National Socialists, who used the term Rest-Tschechei (remaining Czechia) when they annexed the western parts of Czechoslovakia in early 1939. Since the restoration of Czechoslovakia and after the Second World War, the term Tschechien is in use instead – as suggested by the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs as well as German and Austrian linguists. Tschechien is a term from the 19th Century that was originally used for the Czech lands that were part of Austria-Hungary.[44] Nowadays, Tschechien is the frequently used short form whereas Tschechei has faded into obscurity.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b info@aion.cz, AION CS -. "53/1990 Sb. Ústavní zákon České národní rady o změně názvu České socialistické republiky". Zákony pro lidi. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d Pavel Boháč, Jaroslav Kolář (1993): Jména států a jejich územních částí = Names of states and their territorial parts. Český úřad zeměměřický a katastrální, Praha.
  3. ^ a b UNGEGN World Geographical Names
  4. ^ "Ústava České republiky". www.psp.cz. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  5. ^ a b naserec@ujc.cas.cz, redakce Naše řeč, ÚJČ AV ČR, v. v. i. -. "Naše řeč – Česko = Česká socialistická republika". nase-rec.ujc.cas.cz. Retrieved 10 May 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  6. ^ Česko (archivovaná verze z 9. března 2013), Na co se nás často ptáte, Jazyková poradna, Ústav pro jazyk český AV ČR, Středisko společných činností AV ČR, nedatováno
  7. ^ Česko, heslo v Internetové jazykové příručce, 2008–2014 Ústav pro jazyk český AV ČR, naposledy změněno 8. ledna 2012
  8. ^ a b Rose, Hugh James; Rose, Henry John; Wright, Thomas (1 January 1841). "A New General Biographical Dictionary Projected and Partly Arranged". Fellowes. Retrieved 10 May 2017 – via Google Books.
  9. ^ Fallows, James. 2016. A Scandal in Czechia. The Atlantic (April 22).
  10. ^ Bardsley, Daniel (October 16, 2013). "Czech out the proposed name". The Prague Post.
  11. ^ "GO CZECHIA". GO CZECHIA. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  12. ^ Tapon, Francis. "Czechia Has Won The Czech Republic Name Debate". Forbes. Retrieved 2017-05-29.
  13. ^ Spal, Jaromír (1953). "Původ jména Čech" [Origin of the name Čech]. Naše řeč (Our Speech) (in Czech). 36 (9–10). The Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic: 263–267. Retrieved 2012-10-11.
  14. ^ "Ústava 1968". www.psp.cz. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  15. ^ Looking for a name – Radio Prague Radio.cz (2011-01-21). Retrieved on 2011-01-27.
  16. ^ According to the official Czech list of country names (Jména států a jejich územních částí. Český úřad zeměměřický a katastralní, Praha 2009, ISBN 978-80-86918-57-0): Česko je kodifikovaný jednoslovný název státu, který se podle ústavy oficiálně nazývá Česká republika ("Česko is a standardized one-word name of the state, which is officially named Česká republika according to its constitution")
  17. ^ "Official pages". Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  18. ^ "Senát PČR: Náhled dokumentu". www.senat.cz. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  19. ^ "Senát PČR: Náhled dokumentu". www.senat.cz. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  20. ^ a b c d Šitler, Jiří (July 1, 2017). "Czechia si to bude muset protrpět". Lidové noviny (in Czech). Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  21. ^ see Moryson 1626; https://archive.org/stream/fynesmorysons04moryuoft/fynesmorysons04moryuoft_djvu.txt
  22. ^ Notes and Queries. Oxford University Press. 1856. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  23. ^ "LATEST FROM PRUSSIA. - (From The Times' own Correspondent.) BERLIN, May, 23rd. - The Mercury (Hobart, Tas. : 1860 - 1954) - 21 Jul 1866". Trove. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  24. ^ Beneš, Edvard (1917). Bohemia's case for independence. London: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 0-405-02734-6.
  25. ^ Munzar J., Drápela M.V.: Czechia = Bohemia + Moravia + Silesia (Moravian Geographical Report. Brno: Ústav Geoniky, 1999. s. 58-61. Moravian Geographical Report, sv. 7, č. 2.) [1], 1999
  26. ^ "New York Times: Literary history of Czechs (Jan.4, 1925)". Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  27. ^ "Soviet Note to Germany". 20 March 1939. Retrieved 10 May 2017 – via NYTimes.com.
  28. ^ "RUSSIA BETRAYED BY FROST". Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  29. ^ "Dr. Benes Broadcasts To His Countrymen - LONDON, March 15. - Barrier Miner (Broken Hill, NSW : 1888 - 1954) - 16 Mar 1940". Trove. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  30. ^ Recommendation of Ministry of Foreign Affairs to Czech embassies from 1998 [2] and Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport from 1999 [3]
  31. ^ Rocks, David. 1998. After 5 Years, Czech Republic Still Searching for a Short Name. Chicago Tribune (May 10), p. 4.
  32. ^ Horová E.: Record of Proceedings of the 7th Public Hearing of the Senate, May 11, 2004 (Czech) recording Portman's letter from April 4, 2000 from the British embassy in Prague
  33. ^ "What's in a name? Czech Republic mulls shock rebranding as Czechia". 11 October 2013. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  34. ^ "Vláda schválila doplnení jednoslovného názvu Cesko v cizích jazycích do databází OSN." Last modified May 5, 2016. http://www.mzv.cz/jnp/cz/udalosti_a_media/tiskove_zpravy/x_2016_05_02_vlada_schvalila_czechia.html.
  35. ^ "http://unstats.un.org/unsd/geoinfo/geonames/
  36. ^ "The Czech Republic isn't called the Czech Republic anymore". 22 September 2016. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
  37. ^ https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:code:3166:CZ
  38. ^ https://www.theguardian.com/weather/2016/apr/14/czech-republic-czechia-new-name.html The Guardian, April 14, 2016
  39. ^ Tait, Robert (25 October 2016). "'Nobody calls it Czechia': Czech Republic's new name fails to catch on". Retrieved 10 May 2017 – via The Guardian.
  40. ^ "CIA World Factbook - Czechia". Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  41. ^ "Czechia". Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  42. ^ Tapon, Francis. "Czechia Has Won The Czech Republic Name Debate". Forbes. Retrieved 2017-05-29.
  43. ^ http://www.radio.cz/en/section/panorama/czechia-mapping-progress-one-year-on}}
  44. ^ "Zum Begriff "Tschechei": Problematik und Sprachgebrauch". Czech Tourist (Germany). Retrieved 13 May 2017.
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