In this series of short programmes about the Czech language we aim to introduce you to some aspects of modern Czech. However this is not a language course. Instead we hope to give you some light-hearted insights into what makes the language special. In each episode we look at one feature of the language: for example different aspects of Czech slang. Did you know that Czechs call a million crowns a "melon" or that a "fiver" or "petka" means ten crowns? Why do Czechs greet one another with the seafarer's greeting "Ahoj", even though this is a landlocked country? And do you know why Czechs call Margaret Thatcher "Thatcherova" or Monica Lewinsky "Lewinska"? And how about foreign words in the Czech language? - a favourite Czech oath is "Himmelherrgott", a survival from the days of Austrian rule, and there's a new verb in the language "emailovat". You can probably guess what it means...
