#czech language literally exists

[sicheslavchyk]

If I'll see someone on this goddamn website describing Victor as "russian-sounding" one more time, I am going to scream very loudly

[dramatic-dolphin]

Oh man, I am waaay on the other side of the "pronounce names correctly" debate. Not because I don't think you should, in general, attempt to pronounce names correctly, I do. But I'm trying to get people to stop trying to pronounce my name correctly.

I happen to have a name that's (for foreigners) Hungarian on Hard Mode. I'm talking umlauts, digraphs with y, just all the good phonemes that don't exist in most other languages. I've spent a lot of time abroad with people from various parts of the world, and I can tell you from hard empirical data: nobody can say it. And I'm cool with it! I just tell them the English equivalent and it's fine.

Mostly. Some people, especially those who are trying to be culturally sensitive, have a Really Hard Time™️ accepting that a) they are not getting it right b) continue to not get it right despite asking me to demonstrate over and over. And I appreciated it at first! How thoughtful, this attempt to engage with my culture. Cue several months of unsuccessful attempts, at the end of which they were (mostly jokingly) accusing me of faking it. Almost verbatim: "if we recorded you saying your own name and played it back to you, you would say it's incorrect".

(I get it though, the pop sci explanation that I've never bothered to fact check is that as you grow up, you're more attuned to characteristic frequencies of your mother tongue, so when another language comes along with different frequencies, you are quite literally incapable of distinguishing them. So their attempts may sound the same to them, but it sure doesn't to me. I tell them I have this with "bet" and "bat", and that sometimes puts an end to it.)

So yeah, attempt to pronounce everyone's name correctly. Unless they have asked you multiple times not to.

YES YES YES. sometimes you don't want to hear your name butchered over and over and again. like it can be funny when the entertainment is the hungarian gyöngyi and the czech přemysl trying to pronounce each other's name (actual thing that happened at an event my mom was at, everyone thought it was hilarious), but like. at some point it gets TIRING.

god do i hate those people who are like "well at the introduction i wouldn't stop trying until i could pronounce their name correctly!!" newsflash you were not pronouncing it correctly unless you also did a deepdive into the phonology of the language right there. what actually happened was that scene went on for so long and got so awkward they said "haha yeah that's correct!" to stop you from trying again. PLEASE stop. it is very awkward.

the pop sci explanation is sorrrrt of right, you're not really ever incapable of distinguishing phonemes, or phonologists would be out of a job! but your brain does become attuned to the subtleties that are important in your language and discards other phoneme differences that aren't used in your language because who even needs that. it's possible to learn to speak a language like a native and understand all the subtle differences so deeply that they come as instinct. it just takes a LOT of work.

(but- learning your native language took even more work. you're at an 8yr old's level of umderstanding in the language you're learning? well, how long do you think it took the 8yr old?)

also, relatedly, if someone - usually someone who's chinese in my experience - tells you their name, and then adds "but you can call me [english name/name in another language]!" it tends to be because they LIKE being called that name and possibly even prefer it to you butchering their name. they understand that you will butcher their name, because the language - which may or may not be chinese - is notoriously hard for outsiders.

[minetteskvareninova]

As someone who had to study Czechoslovak relations before World War I in excrutiating detail (elective course, for the sweet, sweet credits), you can't even imagine my endless frustration with foreign history enthusiasts and their wonder at the whole idea of czechoslovakism.

Like. In the 19th century the idea that Czechs and Slovaks are one nation was THE NORM in Czech circles. Even within Slovak national movement, there were plenty of proponents of this idea - Kollár and Šafárik, for one. Slovak nation had no prior history of independence, zero nobility and very little in terms of elites (mostly minor clergy and urban intelligentsia, classes which prior to 18th century had almost no political power). Add to this the fact that since the Reformation, Slovak protestants (who were a minority, but still had a respectable literary culture post-emancipation by Joseph II.) used Biblical Czech, which was closer to Slovak than modern Czech, for religious purposes, and that at first there actually wasn't any commonly-accepted literary Slovak, only a cluster of dialects... And you can see that the idea that Slovaks are a distinct nations from Czechs was hardly obvious to a 19th century observer.

This is not to diminish the hard work of Slovak catholics and later Štúr's group (which included both catholics and younger protestants) at establishing a unified Slovak language and culture - especially since the victory of Štúr's Slovak was very much a result of organic growth untethered to any government mandate. The belief in an independent Slovak nation was very much just that popular within Slovak intelligentsia and was spread among the lower classes trough hard work; many modern leftists could marvel at the wide scope of activism that these 19th century nationalists engaged in. The idea of Slovak nation persisted despite extreme pressure from the Hungarian government to hungarize, which in and of itself is truly admirable. And yes it was incredibly ignorant of the Czech elites to dismiss Štúr's reform as "separatism". But. That doesn't change the fact that among Czechs, the idea of Slovaks as separate from them was only adopted very slowly. Heck, you had Czech people in the late 19th century being like "uhm, that's a nice language you have over there, very useful for common speech and literature and stuff, but can you please use Czech in your scientific works at least, because this new tongue honestly isn't well-developed enough for that..."

And yes czechoslovakism was very useful politically, which Masaryk, ahead of his time as he was, realized, and yes Masaryk's roots among Moravian Slovaks probably gave him a good view of the grey area between the two nations. But like. Can we just stop pretending it was some kind of novel idea, when a united Czechoslovak nation was in parts of both national movements the default from which the autonomous existence of Slovaks had to be established?!

Especially the whole "it was just a cynical ploy to outnumber Germans" thing. Yes, that's what partly motivated Czech politicians at that specific moment, but it's kinda unreal to reduce the idea of czechoslovak unity to that, when in the 1880's you literally had some Czech writers wax poetically how Slovaks are their brothers, how beautiful Slovakia is and how unfairly they are treated by Hungarians in the least cynical way possible.

[unnervinglyferal]

List of European countries and why I hate them, in alphabetical order:

Albania - I've never heard fucking anything about the people here, do you people even do anything save for having beef with everyone else in the Balkans. Fuck you.

Andorra - I don't think this place is even a real country. It's like the size of my dick. Fuck you.

Austria - You know what you did. Fuck you.

Belarus - Sucking Russia's dick just for the novelty of getting to be featured in their ongoing cringe compilation. An utter embarrassment. Fuck you.

Belgium - If there's two things I hate, it's colonialist brutality and the fucking smurfs. Fuck you.

Bosnia and Herzegovina - Despite all the rest of their shitshow, at least the rest of the Balkans can at least agree whether they're one country or two countries. Make up your minds. Fuck you.

Bulgaria - The best thing you've got going on is the yoghurt and even that isn't as good as the greek ones. Fuck you.

Croatia - Out of all the countries in Europe whose existence I had literally forgot about, this is the oldest and the largest. How do you trace your history back to the fucking antiquity and only barely seem to exist at all? Fuck you.

Cyprus - I actually had to google to check that Cyprus isn't just a part of Greece, but apparently you gained independence from the UK in 1960? How the fuck are you in Europe and get colonized by Europe. Fuck you.

Czech Republic - Your main export is utterly unpronounceable last names. There's a reason why you can't shouldn't be allowed to put five consonants in a row. Fuck you.

Denmark - Annoyingly smug golden retriever-ass mushy-faced fucks. If I pressed my open palm into a dane's face, it would ooze through my fingers because these mushy fucks don't have bones.

Estonia - The bitter, prettier and smarter sister to Finland who is passive-aggressively better at everything but still doesn't get the same attention. Finns show up to your shores to raid the booze stores, vomit on everything, and leave, and you just let them. Fuck you.

Finland - An entire nation of spoiled ivory tower whiners who just will not understand how good they have it. The entire country would die out by mass suicide if things ever got half as bad as they are in the rest of the world. Fuck you.

France - The only reason why the french aren't known as an equal mass of colonialist brutes as the brits are is the language barrier. They're just as stupid but you'll never know what they're thinking because they consider learning another language to be beneath them. Fuck you.

Georgia - The americans stole your name and put it on a state and you just fucking let them. Now we have to hear about their utter lack of understanding of geography every single time some shit happens at your borders. Fuck you.

Germany - I'm jewish. And looking at your involvement in Israel, I'm starting to think you people don't really even care that much whose side you're on, if there's a genocide happening anywhere, you just like to be included. Fuck you.

Greece - You have like 4000 years of recorded history verifying that you've spent that entire time thinking you're smarter and prettier than anyone else in the whole world. You specifically invented the word hubris to describe yourselves. Fuck you.

Hungary - I'm pretty sure that you guys are the reason why people think all of Europe is a backwards shithole. Fuck you.

Iceland - The only reason you people can dedicate all of your time in inbreeding ponies and people is because your climate is so miserable that nobody wants to move there. Fuck you.

Ireland - Your climate is just as wet and miserable as Iceland, but you still got colonized by the english. Fuck you.

Italy - I've never met an italian who was capable of doing anything in a punctual and organized way. Imagining a whole country being run by italians seems impossible. Like having 15 cats successfully operating a tank. Fuck you.

Kosovo - What the fuck even is the Balkans. You guys don't even have your own language. Fuck you.

Latvia - Like Estonia without any of the good parts. Fuck you.

Liechtenstein - This isn't even a real country, this is just the quarantine containment where Switzerland ships the people who are too annoying for Switzerland. Fuck you.

Lithuania - The most boring of the Baltics. Fuck you.

Luxembourg - There is no way this place is fucking real. The fuck do you mean your citizens are called luxembourgers. The fuck do you mean your official language is luxembourgish. What the fuck is any of this. Fuck you.

Malta - Same thing as Liechtenstein, but for all surrounding countries around the Mediterranean sea. Fuck you.

Moldova - How and why is there a tiny-ass country the size of my dick on the border of the Balkans. How does this exist. Fuck you.

Monaco - This isn't a real country, it's a french ploy for tax evasion. Fuck you.

Montenegro - Oh won't you look at that, another teeny tiny Balkan country. Montenegrin is the stupidest name I've ever heard for a language, that sounds like a comedy bit. Fuck you.

Netherlands - Fuck your weed and fuck your bicycles. Fuck you.

North Macedonia - This also feels like a country they just made up just to make the list of European countries longer. Fuck you.

Norway - Fuck your oil and fuck you.

Poland - Your main export is far right politics and porn-addicted communist furry femboys. Fuck you.

Portugal - Spain but a little bit to the left. The only way to tell the spanish and the portugese apart is by whether they get mad when you call them spanish. Fuck you.

Romania - Get your fucking shit together. Fuck you.

Russia - Fuck you.

San Marino - Italy has two stupid little city-states as pets. This one is the one I hate less because it only contains tax evaders.

Serbia - The only thing I know about Serbia is A Serbian Film. Fuck that film and fuck you for making me remember it.

Slovakia - The wettest, saddest slavs of all the slavs of Europe. Fuck you.

Slovenia - Slovene is the second-stupidest name I've ever heard for a language. Fuck you.

Spain - I have no idea how the fuck a people who are as disorganized as italians managed to also be as competent as france and britain at colonialism. Fuck you.

Sweden - As smug and mushy as danes and as inbred as icelanders. Fuck you.

Switzerland - You know what you did. And continue doing. Fuck you.

Ukraine - You wouldn't be in this fucking situation if you hadn't trusted Soviet Union's pinky promise to never invade. A russian's promise is not worth the oxygen it wastes. You guys are cool but nonetheless, fuck you.

United Kingdom - Fuck you smug bastards for everything.

Vatican City - Italy has two stupid little city-states as pets. This one is the one I hate more because it contains the pope. Fuck you.

[estonian-is-horrible]

Reblog and add your favorite estonian phrases that are impossible to translate, or don't have a good equivalent in other languages (that you know of)!

Here I'll start: ........I don't know any phrases besides ma ei viitsi really, but I'll tell you my favourite czech phrase:

Nějak bylo, nějak bude

Literally "somehow was, somehow will [be]". The spirit is similar to "this too shall pass", sort of a resigned but not giving up kind of a shrug, maybe even somehow optimistic that things will happen while they can, even if you don't know exactly what the future brings.

One of my favourite things about this is how vague it is - "nějak bylo" can both mean "people have existed in some form in the past, despite everything" but it can also mean "SOMEHOW, despite everything, things have existed in the past". Like. It surprises me too, but somehow, people lived.

Similarly, "nějak bude" is like. the czech parallel to estonians replying "normaalne" to a question how they're doing. If it's going to rain, you'd say "bude pršet". If nice weather is coming, you could say "bude hezky" (voice slightly raising at the end) or "hezky bude" (voice falling after "hez") - the latter option sounds almost commanding, or something you'd say to disagree with someone saying it's going to rain. Therefore, saying "nějak bude" has almost menacing determination, like. It's not up to a debate my dude. The existence will continue, and that is a threat. Or a treat. I don't know.

[kewpifinchi]

ahem. now presenting; bun when shy lets hyr anger consume hyr ! ( context is some musclehead called bun uneducated for saying people with intersex conditions aren't defective or broken, and neither are those who express themselves differently )

"You numbskulled mule. How dare you insult my intelligence in such a manner. I'm sorry that you think I am uneducated. But for you to tell me that for something as simple as a slight disagreement is absolutely deplorable. I don't mean to come off as rude, but I'm afraid I have to so I can get my point across. I think you are an intolerant, incompetent, wretched, vile, repugnant, and not to mention loquacious dolt and you deserve absolutely nothing. I'm sorry that I don't feel the need to bring down other individuals to boost myself. People who are lgbt, transgender or anything under that general range aren't broken. They're just different. But given that you're an insufferable coccydynia, I'm not surprised you don't know that. I mean honestly. You claim to be intelligent but then you go around saying the most bird-brained stuff imaginable. I know I shouldn't be wasting my precious time on an unsightly earthworm such as yourself, but I just can't take your ignorance any longer. Not only do you cloud the class atmosphere with hate and violence, but now you insult my intelligence for being conscious enough to know that people have feelings and opinions. And yes. I know "trans people are broken" is your opinion. But it is harmful and rooted in hate. So, therefore, I don't respect it. So, here's a recap. You are nothing. Scum on the bottom of people's shoes. Walking garbage. I seriously feel as if I'm wasting my time, but what you said was unforgivable. I know I'm smart. And just because you think I'm not, doesn't mean that you get to be a hunchback, knuckle dragging troglodyte about it. Have a nice day, you ghastly excuse of a scholar. Wait. No. Before I stop, allow me to call you stupid in ten different languages.

Spanish: estúpido

French: bête

Russian: тупой

German: dumm

Haitian Creole: estipid

Swedish: dum

Dutch: stom

Croatian: glupo

Czech: hloupý

Hungarian: hülye

Ok. one more.

French: cafard

that one doesn't mean stupid. You can figure that one out on your own!

kk now good bye."

yeaaaaaaaaa, bun still means every word but shy was very quick to anger . .

his response:

mwy response to his response:

"Look man. You're putting words in my mouth. I never said it was normal. But saying those people are 'broken' doesn't help. If you're going to be intelligent, you must first learn to use it in ways that can potentially help society. If you don't and only use knowledge as something to brag about and talk about things that are deep-rooted in hatred or propaganda, then you might as well be absolutely idiotic. Knowledge is no good without principle. While I do not doubt you being somewhat smart, it is hard to embrace your knowledge because you never use it for good. You've already expressed how you don't respect me, and how you hate me. I know this because of your threats, death threats, insults, and literally anything that involves me. You've also said it to my face. But at least I use the knowledge I have for good and use it to create platforms in which I can scale upwards. I'm not the smartest person in existence, but quite frankly, I don't want to be. But it's whatever. You be you and I'll be me. I got my point across. There is nothing more to say.

Sincerely,

[REAL NAME]

PS: You spelt thesaurus wrong. and if you're really in MENSA, And if you're really as smart as you claim, I doubt you'd be here in this school." (we were in a speciality school where a lot of kids were sent for improving academic success or because they had behavioral issues. or both.)

the rest is just boring back and forth, point is, don't let anger get the best of you! people that deserve it will never be worth the energy trust !

[hexite-nightmares]

‘ The comments are complaining and saying that changing viktors hc ethnicity and language from Czech to anything else in Eastern Europe is comparable to making canonically black characters white. ‘

It’s not about ‘god forbid one headcanons him anything other than Czech’. It’s specifically about not headcanoning him Russian. Like for gods sake pleaseee let other slavic ppl have him. Russian representation is everywhere, any character with a hint of eastern Europe in their voice automatically gets the ‘He’s russian!!’ treatment. The VA confirming that his inspiration behind the voice had nothing to do with Russia means a lot to us. Like please stop that, we literally welcome any other slavic Viktor headcanon but that one 🙏🏻🙏🏻 And ofc it’s not comparable to that but it’s still weird af because why are we claiming that a character whose people are literally oppressed is from this imperialistic ass country in modern aus 🙏🏻 Makes zero sense

I think you’re misinterpreting that post quite a bit because nowhere I’m saying that certain ethnicities can’t have him or that he’s only Russian. I’m not generalizing I am talking about a very specific video where people were complaining about the nickname “vitya” and other Slav ethnicity hcs in the comments too. You chose a weird part to quote bc the comment comparing it to racial issues was indeed there I didn’t make it up and it is not a comparable situation at all in my eyes.

Theres Arcane Viktor fan created content that’s been out for years. Stuff made before this discussion is being had is being touted as bad just because it has “vitya” in it. I’m not screaming he’s exclusively Russian ffs the country doesn’t exist in runeterra at all, but the nickname is not just in modern aus and it’s going to be in a lot of fics. He was also a Cold War caricature for more than a decade, people were going to use that for reference and a good bulk of the wikis are going to have that. Though like someone else pointed in my comments if we’re gonna go by the initial inspiration which was Nikola Tesla he could even be considered to be Serbian.

The accent being described as czech by Harry was awesome and it gave the character so much specificity, but tbh, him saying he changes it how he pleases and feels in the moment is an issue with Runeterra lore being extremely vague and generalized, which I’m not a fan of we deserve specificity I think.

I hope you don’t feel like I’m saying he can’t be Czech or that I only support Russian hc. it’s the animosity towards already existing fan creations and assumed malice that I’m not happy with.

[amourem]

a meta for fyodor on language and love language as well as one on immortality gogogo

FYODOR  (  on  language  )

given  his  age  and  apparently  prolific  presence  across  the  globe  -  fyodor  is  fluent  in...  a  staggering  amount  of  languages  and  intermediate  in  even  more.  obviously  -  russian  is  his  mother  tongue,  specifically  the  central  dialect,  though  he  can  occasionally  be  seen  slipping  into  the  southern  as  well.  he  is  fluent  in  all  prominent  slavic  languages,  though  spends  most  of  his  time  speaking  russian,  ukrainian,  polish,  and  czech.  on  occasion  -  he  will  slip  into  a  much  older  dialect/version  of  russian  (  referred  to  as  old  russian  /  old  east  slavic  ),  though  this  is  usually  when  he  doesn't  think  anyone  is  around,  etc.  

he  has  mastered  all  five  romance  languages  with  ease  (and  quite  enjoys  french  and  romanian  in  particular)  considering  he spent  a  good  chunk  of  his  life  reading  exclusively  latin.  english  is  another  widely  spoken  one,  alongside  farsi,  mandarin,  cantonese,  korean  and  finally:  japanese.  he  is,  however,  pretty  bad  at  writing  in  it.  his  knowledge  of  language  is  vast  -  but  he  is  by  no  means  an  expert  in  all,  and  still  speaks  most  of  them  with  a  bit  of  a  russian  lilt.  

FYODOR  (  on  love  language  )  -  aside  from  murder  and  manipulation.

i  spent  a  really  long  time  in  the  shower  thinking  about  this  one  and  i  have  decided  that  fyodor's  'love'  language  is  very  specific.  i  think  i  would  describe  it  as  a  combination  of  words  of  affirmation,  and  physical  touch.  HOWEVER  -  the  problem  is  with  a  man  like  fyodor,  he  simply  does  not  trust.  at  all.  anyone.  ever.  he  relies  solely  on  himself  and  has  thrived  that  way  for  quite  some  time.  you  say  a  kind  word  to  him,  and  his  nature  is  to  immediately  assume  an  ulterior  motive.  the  trick  is  to  get  him  to  listen  -  to  understand,  to  even  remotely  consider  the  words  being  said  to  him  are  not,  in  fact,  a  lie.  

the  biggest  one  though  is  physical  touch.  i  mean,  that's  if  he'll  even  LET  you  touch  him.  he's  killed  men  for  looking  wrong  or  brushing  against  him  in  a  grocery  store.  but  fyodor  is  gratuitously  touch  starved  and  he  has  no  idea  that  he  is  until  he  does.  while  not  particularly  tactile  -  i  do  think  that  even  he  can  find  that  literally  just  sitting  next  to  someone  he  likes  might  be  a  wild  experience.  

but  anytime  he  attempt  to  'engage'  one  of  fyodor's  love  languages  -  you  are  essentially  playing  roulette  on  whether  or  not  he  will  deign  to  accept  the  advance,  or  eat  you  alive.  

FYODOR  (  on  immortality  )

i  don't  want  to  go  TOO  in  depth  about  this  but  fyodor  has...  beef  with  his  immortality.  fyodor  is  driven  to  believe  that  ability  users  are  beings  of  sin  because  of  his  own  existence.  he  is  essentially  the  equivalent  of  having  lived  his  life  with  all  the  religious  dutifulness  of  a  saint,  looks  forward  to  going  to  heaven,  but  the  first  time  he  dies  he  just  discovers  that  god  spit  him  back  out  again  and  left  him  on  this  mortal  plane  to  rot.  each  death  warps  fyodor's  perception  a  little  further  -  until  he  comes  to  some  conclusions:

his  ability  makes  him  a  sinner,  as  he  cannot  commit  to  gods  natural  order  and  die.  it  is  also  possible  he  thinks  himself  a  sinner  due  to  some  events  in  his  past  (witch  burnings,  etc)  but  we  don't  know  yet.  additionally  -  because  god  keeps  spitting  him  back  out  again,  he  must  have  a  grand  plan  for  him.  very  well  then  -  he  will  use  his  immortality  for  good,  and  shepherd  the  people  to  a  sinless  existence  for  a  benevolent  god.  again  -  i  want  to  reiterate.  HUMAN  BEINGS  ARE  NOT  MEANT  TO  DIE  AND  COME  BACK  REPEATEDLY.  he  likely  has  not  always  been  this  warped  (but  he  is  now  evil  little  rat  man).  

anyways  -  'crime'  and  'punishment.'  the  crime?  killing  him.  the  punishment?  subsumed.  yet  fyodor's  immortality  has  brought  him  boundless  pain.  a  hundred  lifetimes  and  a  hundred  deaths  -  where  he  watched  humanity  be  it's  worst,  where  people  have  betrayed  him  ceaselessly  (how  could  he  trust  now),  where  he  has  been  miserable  but  fulfilling  his  duty  nonetheless,  no  matter  how  many  times  god  chooses  to  forsake  him.  

in  essence  -  fyodor  wishes  for  his  immortality  to  end,  but  he  has  work  to  finish  first.  

[axl-ul]

Names Meaning Tag

Thanks a lot to lovely @shellyscribbles <33

Rules: List the meanings of your OCs’ names.

I haven't created an intro post for everyone but for the sake of doing this tag properly (and also, I really enjoy researching the suitable names for my original characters and then talking for eons about them, hehe).

BTW, I will not include characters such as Wukong or Loki since 1) I haven't created them, they're based on/inspired by/alternative versions of already existing deities and folklore legends and 2) meaning of their names has already been explained or is still being speculated on (and you can research this in the libraries or on the Internet).

I'm including (open) tags right here in case somebody wants to avoid some spoilers which will be featured at the end of the post. So, here are my lovelies <33 (+ anyone who wants to join in - as I said, the tags are open^^): @toribookworm22 @dogmomwrites @faelanvance @frogqueenofmirkwood @aalinaaaaaa @aohendo @verba-writing @vanessaroades-author @emberlyric @toribookworm22 @arijensineink

I also include the animal companions and minor/side characters who play quite an important roles in short stories. Here we go:

Ulfrika - from the Old Norse 'úflr' = 'a wolf'

Márgerdra - from the Old Norse 'marr' ( 1) 'a sea', 'a ocean', 'a lake', 2) 'a horse') and 'garðr' ('enclosure', 'protection'), it was also a name of a giantess/sorceress in the saga of Hjálmþér and Olvir

Kogar - no meaning, a made up word, I went with a sound that seemed the most cool to me

Udra - from Lithuanian 'ūdra' = 'an otter'

Lešij - a name of a Slavic forest demon/entity, = 'a leshy'

Meluzína - from the Slovak 'meluzína' = 'a howling/wailing wind'

Krabat - a name of a Sorbian folk hero, there's also a novel version of Krabat where a boy of the same name becomes a disciple of a warlock and is capable of transforming into a raven

Tiru - a made up name, no meaning, though a name of a real doggo inspired it

The Merchant - well, that's it, he's literally a merchant. Or is he?

Faust - a name of an alchemist Johann Georg Faust who's (in)famous for making a deal with the Devil thus selling his soul

Ivan - a name common in Slavic languages (I've heard some people translate it as 'John' but it's not the same name, though the ethymology is quite similar => comes from the greek Ioannes)

Zmej Milošovič - zmej/zmij (English version 'zmei') is a type of a Slavic dragon/snake (or a hybrid of those two, depends on the story), Milošovič can be used either as a surname (not at all that common), but it can also be translated as 'a son of Miloš (Milosh)'

Barbora - a Slovak, Czech and Lithuanian version of Barbara, named after a witch who was said to ride a hellish dog (literal Satan) at midnight

Kmotra - from a Slovak 'kmotra' = 'godmother', a nickname for Death Ulfrika gave her when she was a child

Krcho - from a Czech word 'krchov' = 'churchyard, graveyard'

!!!SPOILER PART!!!

Ruta - Ulfrika's second/real name given to her by Kogar when he took her under his protection, from a Slovak, Czech, Lithuanian (also other languages) word for 'rue'

[bonesandthebees]

yeah, using expressions in in sign languages (its in czech sign language too) is so cool and definitely more easy for me to read, also the fact that sarcasm doesnt really exist or it has to be stated and isnt reliant on just a persons tone, it makes social interactions so much easier

and its helping me myself become more emotive in general which I could really use

oooo czech sign language that sounds so cool!! I always wish it was easier to get resources on other sign languages (trust me I've tried finding it before but when you're googling in english you literally only get asl and sometimes british sign language) because I'd be so fascinated to see what that looks like!

the sarcasm thing is very helpful for sure. and for me at least it's really fun to be very exaggerated in your facial expressions and emotions. that was the one thing I always got complimented on in my classes was how expressive I was

[notsofriendlyfriendlyreminder]

Thank you so much for sharing that story! The character dynamic is very interesting (so is the backstory!!!),I really like that Magic is something that manifests in some, but maybe not every incarnation - it seems that at a certain prolifity, you can control that? Because the others have had powerful magic in their past lives, but Morte can't do that (yet)? Your translation is very, very beautiful, I love the comparisons - and I'm sure it's even better in your original language. (what is your first language again?)

Whatever your plans for this story are, PLEASE keep writing it!!!

AAAAAAHHHH THANK YOU SO MUUUCHHHH My original language is czech and I feel like some of my explanations and names of things just sound a bit better LMAO

The issue with the core is that the magic reality and "our" reality lay in a sense on top of eachother but also the magic runs through them (for example teleportation is creating a flow or using an existing flow in that reality to move from one place to another) and when a person dies there are several possibilities what can happen

most common: the core gets destroyed in small parts and small, weak cores and your reincarnation is one of them

the core breaks BUT one piece stays bigger, it kinda sucks up the smaller piece floating around from already dead beings and your new core is stronger

the core stays nearly the same

the core sucks up even more magic (there is a chance that if two mages die in a duel, one of their reincarnation sucks up the other person core entirely, thus, they become REALLY strong)

THE ISSUE is the beings in this world don't really know how to work with this and aren't even sure about the reincarnation part, because a witch can tell you she nearly died and saw a goddess but not everyone is gonna believe you.

Morte's biggest problem is she gives herself explanations that she wants to hear. She goes on this journey to find answers of why is her core unstable, but deep down she wants to hear "Youre special! Youre the best witch ever! The chosen one!" but that's not what Iris, a literal goddess, tells her. Womp womp Morte.

[evsvolunteerstotem]

About (solo) trips, dance performances, first lessons, and much more ;)

27.10.2023

Hello again!;D

The time flies and it's literally so strange to already write about the month October, because it feels like I just uploaded my first blog post yesterday. The last weeks have been full of new places, new people, and new adventures and I'm sure you want to hear more about it. So let's get started with a little recap from the month of October.

But first, we have to go back to the end of September and my first solo trip EVER. I wanted to travel alone for a very long time and finally, I knew it was the perfect moment to make it happen. As the 28th was a national holiday and I also had some overtime hours to use for one day off I was able to enjoy a longer weekend of four days. So I booked myself a Bus ticket to Brno and a cute Airbnb for 3 nights and when I arrived in the city I knew it was the right decision. :D

I'd never been to Brno before and didn't know what to expect from it, but then I was welcomed by the city with sunny weather, many cute cafes, nice places to linger, and impressive architecture that I'd also seen like this in Plzeň and Praha before and that still thrilled me again.

Being a tourist I definitely had to visit the "Villa Tugendhat", the city centre with all its churches and cathedrals, the "Špilberk" and many other attractions. To be honest, when you travel alone and especially without your parents paying for every action, you have to think twice if you really want to visit this museum or go to that restaurant. ;D So I mostly cooked in my flat and tried to visit free locations like the botanical garden or the Planetarium - which were still definitely worth it- but also wanted to spend my money on good coffee, a nice book, and - my highlight of the trip- a visit to the "Janáčkovo divadlo". It was a very spontaneous decision to go to the last performance of "Bolero", a ballet about "Human relationships, basic questions of human existence, and question marks over one's own identity" and it was definitely a step out of my comfort zone but in the end, I didn't regret the costs or the decision itself because it was a wonderful and entertaining evening.

On Sunday, October 1st, I was a little bit sad to leave the city but also very happy traveling back to Plzeň, because honestly it already felt like a return home. I also got excited about all the upcoming events in and out of TOTEM.

The following Friday Maren and I went to the "Pilsner Fest" and I don't know if it was the free beer we got upon entering or the super fun DJ in one of the beer tents - probably a little of both – in any case, our mood that evening was extremely good. ;D

The next day I had a performance with my dance group Adeto at the "Třetí festival" in the "Kulturní dům JAS". All of us were a little bit nervous but when the music started we just showed our skills and had fun and definitely thrilled the audience. We were also celebrating Adeto's 10th anniversary, so the atmosphere was very good and exuberant and I clearly enjoyed every minute of the evening.

On Monday I then made my way to Praha and finally to the small town of Horoměřice, 15 minutes by bus from the capital of the Czech Republic. You might ask yourself, why I would go there of all places -well- because I spent the following days together with 19 other volunteers at our on-arrival seminar, which also included Maren and Pia, whom I already knew before. :) I think that I could write a single blog post about this week only, because the things I have experienced there, the people I've met, and the lessons I have learned are so numerous. But let me try to sum it up for you in a few sentences:

Our wonderful "leaders" Pavel and Filip not only held workshops on the topics "giving and receiving feedback, Czech language and history as well as our rights and possibilities in our journey as volunteers" but also inspired us on ways to reflect on our experiences and to plan our road ahead. I also had the opportunity to meet many new people, some of them my age others already in their 20s and I enjoyed every talk with one of them. As I listened to their stories and saw the similarities I had with some of them but also how different and unique everyone was, I realized once again that I should never try to compare my volunteer experiences to theirs and that we all have our own path on which we can decide how to proceed. I'm looking forward to meeting many of them at the mid-term seminar again, listening to their news, and telling them about my experiences in TOTEM. We even have a few trips planned, but more on that when the time comes. So stay tuned!;)

On Friday after leaving the hotel in the morning we drove back to Praha. Maren and I explored parts of the city we hadn't been to before, went to small bookstores, and expanded my collection of (really!) beautiful postcards from Praha before we met with Pia and Juli at the café "mamacoffee". The weather was so summery and warm again that we all had to drink a refreshing iced coffee before we continued strolling through the city, passing a few second-hand shops where each of us found a new beautiful piece. After a delicious dinner at Juli's apartment, we went back to the centre to watch the wonderful light constellations of the "Signal Festival" at places all over the city and then it was time to say goodbye to our friends before traveling back to Plzeň.

That week I not only met many lovely people but also received renewed motivation for my project. By visualizing all my goals and ideas about my volunteer service, I was able to get started straight away on Monday with everything I had planned.

Since I had my first German and English conversations the following week, I thought about topics, planned the lessons, and collected ideas for rituals and games that would make learning even more exciting. To be honest, I was very nervous when I walked into the room on Wednesday. All the expectant looks from the students and the questions in my head: "How will they like my lessons? Can I implement everything as intended? Will they get used to me?"

But what can I say? Although not everything went 100% as planned, I still had a good feeling after the first conversations in all 4 courses, which was probably also due to the positive feedback I received from some students. This made me even more motivated when planning my content for the following week and the tension before the lessons also subsided. Meanwhile, I have a feeling for every class and know how to prepare them individually. Every group has its own characteristics and so every lesson is different. It's not always easy, but developing the flexibility and learning to deal with each group in a way that suits everyone is a very valuable insight that will certainly help me further outside of TOTEM and after my voluntary social year.

This month has been a big lesson for me. I have learned to go out of my comfort zone, to try new things, not to judge people too quickly, and sometimes - even though it might seem a little bit scary at first- simply to get involved in things without knowing exactly how they will turn out.

Although my personality hasn't changed completely, I believe that all those experiences have shaped my personal self so far and have helped me to develop further while giving me the chance to grow personally - and I'm already extremely grateful for that!

Light-flooded passage to the “Špilberk” fortress

“pauza na pití” with my Nordic walking group on a sunny October day

The beautiful old town of Brno

Our free beer at the “Pilsner Fest”. Na zdraví!

Impressive images in the Planetarium of Brno

Me and my girls from Adeto at the "Třetí festival"

Romantic alley in Brno

On one of my autumn walks in “Petrovka”

Golden hour in Praha with my beautiful friends <3

Delicious Latte macchiato at café “Stan” in Plzeň

One of the many beautifully painted walls in Praha

During our swing performance in the "Kulturní dům JAS"

Thank you to everyone who accompanied me this month and will hopefully continue to be a part of my life in the future.

"Pěkný víkend" and see you again in November!

Laila:)

[alatismeni-theitsa]

Many people here (rightfully) wonder: "But if Hellenic is Greek , and it's used for national and ethnic identity in English, and we can't attach it to other words, then why it is acceptable to attach it to the word Polytheist?"

Clarification below:

First, back to the basics: Yes, “Hellenic” has the exact same meaning as Greek. “Greek” is the Latinized/Anglisized term for “Hellenic”. They are the same thing. So yes, “Greek witch” is the same as “Hellenic witch”. “Hellenic” is an adjective that shows ethnicity and national identity, and it’s odd to use it when an ethnic identification is not useful. That’s why “the Hellenic blade of grass” does not make sense.

As I wrote above, our country is called the Hellenic Republic or Hellas. In English, our post is the Hellenic Post, our trains are the Hellenic Trains, our Red Cross is the Hellenic Red Cross. Our culture is literally called Hellenismos, our diaspora is called Hellenismos. Our language is called the Hellenic language or simply “Hellenic”. If Hellenic as a word isn’t tied to the Hellenic ethnicity and national identity then… what other word is?

Now, it's odd to call "Hellenic" anything or anyone that uses elements of Greek/Hellenic culture. Example: If an Azerbaijani wears Hellenic traditional clothing to perform a Hellenic dance, that alone doesn’t make them Hellenic. They are not “Hellenic” just by having on them something that relates to the Hellenic culture.

Let’s move to some valid examples with “Hellenic” in the English language:

“The Hellenic athlete won the gold medal”

“The Hellenic Prime Minister spoke at the Europarliament”

“The Hellenic community of Westminster celebrates the bicentennial of the 1821 Hellenic Revolution”

“The Hellenic football team lost against the Moldovan team”

“The Hellenic herbalist recorded her medical advice in a book in her Czech village”

So “Hellenic” characterizes the ethnic ethnicity of a person and a group. By grammatical definition, “a Hellenic polytheist” and “a Hellenic witch” are on the same level as “a Hellenic student”, “a Hellenic letter”, “a Hellenic doctor”, “the Afro-Hellenic community”, and so on.

The only reason we don’t have as much of an issue with “Hellenic Polytheist” is simply because it doesn’t concern us too much. Why?

1) We haven’t found a more suitable English term so far, so we understand the reason this identification exists. And there is some wiggle room for the definition, given the context, so we are not that pressed about it.

2) You can define what a Hellenic Polytheist is. It’s a person who worships the Hellenic gods. At the same time, you can’t define what a Hellenic Witch is, because the Hellenic culture didn’t exactly have witches the way modern people practice witchcraft. This type of witchcraft has no relationship to any Greek/Hellenic practices. So if the witch is characterized as “Hellenic” in this case, our mind goes to the person’s ethnicity, not to the nature of their witchcraft.

Not to mention, foreigners sometimes attach “Hellenic” to everything they do, like Hellenic Florist, Hellenic Artist, Hellenic Fairy (just roll with it), Hellenic Redneck, Hellenic Jewish, and so on. Why am I to assume that they talk about religion when there are Hellenic florists, Hellenic meme-ists who want to have a Fairy persona online, Hellenic Jewish people, and Hellenes in the US who might also identify as rednecks? Why shouldn’t I assume they are not Hellenic in ethnicity?

And of course, there are Hellenic witches, aka Hellenic people who are witches, and Hellenic polytheists, aka Hellenic people who worship any pantheon.

As a Greek I can't practice English folk magic and call myself “an English witch” and then complain when people tell me “but you are not English! why do you call yourself that?” and then I tell them “nooo you got it backwards! "English” doesn’t necessarily show nationality or ethnicity you silly goose! Why would this inconvenience or confuse you??“

note: The Hellenic Polytheists in Hellenic would normally be called Hellenes Polytheists (Έλληνες Πολυθεϊστές) but it’s not used in English so far and I haven’t seen it as an identification from any Hellene. Hellenic witches also use "Elleneda” for example but that’s not an acceptable English term. So, in English, it's back to “Hellenic” for us.

3) “Hellenic Polytheist” is not a general Greek term we tend to use, so it doesn’t collide with other identities online. The people who are Hellenic (aka the Hellenes) and practice polytheism usually call themselves “Dodekatheists”. If our polytheist communities were known as Hellenic Polytheists, then I’d say this would also need some discussion in order to avoid misunderstanding between the native and foreign communities.

Thanks for reading this far! Feel free to reblog or repost the info. I don't care about the notes, I would just be happy if I managed to clarify some things regarding the word.

fooor the love of bougatsa please respect the language of the most ancient hymns of the Greek gods you worship and really take in that the word "Hellenic" is actually the Greek word for "Greek". Realize that Greeks use it and have been using it generations ago, and that you are probably - unintentionally - misusing it today.

You don't say "I am a Norse" if you are a "Norse pagan", or a "Norse polytheist". You don't say "my religion is Slavism" when you are taking the worship of ancient Slavic gods. So please make sure you are using the Greek word correctly and don't say that you are just "a Hellenic"? Ok so what, why am I talking about grammar all of a sudden?

The main reason I'm emphasizing this is: do you know what the "Hellenic community"/"Hellenism"/"Hellenismos" is literally used for? The Greek people. The Greek community. The Greek culture. That's how Greeks self-identify and characterize their culture consistently since the creation of our state, the Hellenic Republic.

I am not saying don't use the word "Hellenic". I am saying use it appropriately! But please don't use "Hellenismos"/"Hellenism" as a substitute for "Hellenic polytheism".

The ancient religion with the name "Hellenismos" is not the same as a generic worship of some Greek gods today. It referred to a specific ancient belief system that I haven't seen one Hellenic polytheist online use. (Maybe they exist but they are very rare)

It baffles and upsets many Greeks when they learn about how foreign polytheists are using the terms. The younger ones have a milder averse reaction but if I say it to my Greek aunt or parents? Ooof... It's going to blow their mind and not in a good way. Because for them/us the fact that's they miss you are very important words for "Greek" and "Greekness" while loving the ancient Greek culture and religion shows disrespect. It's disrespectful to the people who are on average the most exposed to the myths and Hellenic antiquity since birth, and safekeep the heritage and cultural riches of our country.

I know that "Hellenismos"* has been used wrong for some years now but can the foreign community slowly unlearn it? It's not a traditional Anglophone name, or so blended with the English language that such use is normalized in Anglophone societies. Its modern use is very recent and it started by misinformed individuals (who may or may not had viewed Greek culture in a fetishizing way) back when things were not very culturally sensitive, and we were viewed by the international community as not being capable enough to care for our Parthenon marbles.

*or it's English version, "Hellenism"

If many Greek scholars hadn't left for Central Europe after the fall of Constantinople, you wouldn't have so much material or interest about our antiquity today. We were never cut from the myths and the gods, even if it's not our ethnic religion, and we safekept many things in the face of danger (no exaggeration here). Apparently I need to state the obvious fact that the Greek people of all eras were an organic part of the process that lead you to learn about these gods.

Please respect our traditional identification terms as a nation. It's not much to ask.

* I already have some posts on this matter and I can link them for you if you ask, but that's the gist of it. As you understand I'm not going to hunt down anyone with a pitchfork. I am just taking the issue out there one more time.

[ohsalome]

And I am once again reminding you that for centuries, Ukraine wasn't given its own voice in the world discourse. Our history, politics, culture were written by the people who colonised us and benefited from convincing the world (and us!) of a distorted picture. A good majority of information in English language that exists about Ukraine, that you believe to be the default knowledge of the world, is such distorted information. Because that is how russian propaganda work. They take a snippet of truth and blow it out of proportion and add a bouquet of lies to it and repeat it many-many times until you think that it is just basic information about the world that everyone knows.

No, Ukraine is not run by nazi. Ukraine has a non-zero percent of nazi population that is marginalized out of politics because their rhetoric is not relatable to the majority of the electorate, which leans towards socialistic populism and anarchism.

No, ukraine is not "brotherly nation" with russia. Antropoligically we belong to the same slavic family of nations that includes many other eastern europeans like czechs, polish, moldovan etc. There is no reason to select russians, belorussians and ukrainians into a distinct category that isn't political. The idea of "three brotherly nations" was literally created by a theologist Theofan Prokopovych as a part of philosophical justification to russian imperialism in the 19th century meaning of the word.

No, DNR and LNR are not "people's republics". They were created by russian army, run by the russian army and following the orders from the kremlin. Russis spent decades trying to create a dissident movement in the eastern Ukraine but failed and stepped down to brute force. Everything you see in the southern Ukraine now has happened in the east in 2014. The only difference is that y'all swallowed russian lies back then.

No, Crimea didn't have a "referendum to join russia". Russian soldiers occupied the peninsula, forced the politicians under the gunpoint to announce the referendum, and made sure that the results would be the ones they like. The native population of the peninsula, crimean tatars, that had been twice genocided by the russians in the past, boycotted the referendum. Despite making up only ~12% of the population, crimean tatar rallies were much more numerous than those of the russians in Crimea. The people who "supported" the "return of Crimea" were russian nationals, who moved to the peninsula after the ethnic cleansing of the native population and proclaimed that "it has always been theirs".

No, Ukraine doesn't have a "government-run kill list". Myrotvorets is (1) run by the volunteers, not the government, (2) is a database of pro-russian propagandists, and (3) hardly anyone on that database has been killed so far. FFS, our current first lady used to be in this database.

No, Ukraine didn't ban russian language. Ukraine has implemented laws that would help ukrainian book, music, film industry survive the competition with russian industry that has for many years monopolised our market. Ukraine has implemented the law that our politicians need to know ukrainian language if they want to hold office (this will sound surreal, but many didn't. Can you imagine such scenario in any other country? A spanish minister that doesn't speak spanish?). Ukraine has implemented a law that websites, advertisements published in foreign languages need to have the information accessible in ukrainian as well Ukraine has implemented laws that state that ukrainian citizens have a right to governmental service in Ukrainian. And if you bothered to open the law you criticise at least ONCE, you would have seen that every article has a clarification "the communication can happen in any language as long as both parties consent, but if the consumer requests to be served in ukrainian, the provider is obligated to respond to them in ukrainian".

No, Ukraine doesn't use the war as an excuse to repress the political opposition. The only people that have been "repressed" are the ones who have been colluding with ruZzia and have helped in organising the invasion of Ukraine. FFS one of those "poor oppositioners" is literally putin's godfather, and another visits russian tv channels agitating russians to nuke Kyiv. The proof against them is overwhelming and well-documented, and ukrainian civil society has been pressuring our government to stop them for literal years. Even today, many russian agents remain in governmental structures.

No, Euromaidan was not a "coup". It was a response of civil society to the police brutality and usurpation of power. We do not need white saviours to tell us that being beat up at peaceful protests is bad. We have enough agency to understand this without external help.

It's almost a year of this war. It's high time for people to stop spreading russian propaganda, especially if they claim to support Ukraine. I am yet to see a "both sides are wrong" argument that wasn't based on russian propaganda.

[rayatii]

Raya Recounts: a brand-new series of overly-detailed opera summaries with unsolicited commentary!

I hope you’ll forgive the irregular time gaps between the episodes, I guess it depends on how much I like the opera I’m covering (or at least, how easy I find it to watch).

Episode 5: Prodaná nevěsta

Prodaná nevěsta (literally, “The Sold Bride”, but usually translated as “The Bartered Bride”) is a 3-act comic opera by Bedřich Smetana. Smetana is known as one of the most internationally famous Czech composers in classical music, if not the most famous after Antonín Dvořák. He is well-known for developing a style of music that contains a genuine Czech characteristic, which of course made him quite associated with Czech nationalism.

Smetana’s most famous piece by far is the symphonic poem Vltava (better known as Moldau) from his symphonic suite Má vlast. You will recognize the melody, especially if you grew up with either Baby Einstein or Little Einsteins. (Also, he composed this piece when he had gone completely deaf, much like what happened to Beethoven. So yeah, double praise.)

The libretto for Prodaná nevěsta was written by Karel Sabina, who also wrote the libretto for Smetana’s previous (and first) work Braniboři v Čechách. This time, it seems to be an entirely original story created by Sabina for the opera itself. This work actually exists in 4 versions; it was revised 3 times, and the final version, which replaced all previously-present spoken dialogue with recitatives, is the one that is usually performed nowadays.

While it has a rocky history, this opera is one of Smetana’s better-known works, and his best-known opera, and it remains often performed worldwide. Because Czech was not a widely spoken language back in the days, international performances at the time were often sung in German instead, under the title Die verkaufte Braut (meaning the same thing as above, obviously), and with all the character names Germanized. This German version is still often performed nowadays, especially in German-speaking countries (no shit!). In general, the opera is often performed in translation, including the Met’s 1978 production which was sung in English.

This opera is also well-known for having 3 orchestral dances based on Czech folk dances, one in each act, which are well-known enough to be performed on their own in concert settings.

This is dedicated to @notyouraveragejulie, for suggesting the title. This is one of my absolute favorite operas ever, so I’m really, really excited to publish this and convince other operablr regulars to join me in the cult of loving this opera.

As usual, solo characters’ named bolded and potentially bad translations for the important numbers. This is my first time tackling a non-Italian opera, and this presents itself as twice as much of a challenge, since whereas I know quite a bit of Italian from learning it in Conservatory and from listening to a lot of operas the way you would pick up Japanese from watching a lot of anime (and also knowing French and Spanish), I do not speak a word of Czech, so just a (major) heads up. At least Wikipedia literally lists all the numbers this time.

Apologies to all Czech speakers.

Spoilers, of course!

We first get a super-energetic overture in F major which, much like the overture for Episode 3′s selection, I would like to classify as being in sonata form, and is well-known enough to be often performed on its own in concert settings (and Mahler very briefly quotes it in the last movement of his Symphony No. 1).

The curtain then opens on Act 1, at a village square somewhere in Bohemia (a region in modern-day Czechia), probably around the time the opera was written (so the 19th century at the very least). There is a fair going on, and the villagers are singing all about enjoying life while it lasts because marriage supposedly leads to strife and unhappiness (Chorus: Proč bychom se netěšili; usually translated to “Let’s rejoice [and/let’s] be merry”, but it seems to more directly translate to “Why wouldn’t we enjoy” or something like that).

As the theme of the chorus takes a minor key, we zoom in on one young couple among the villagers; the guy, Jeník, a tenor, asks Mařenka, his soprano girlfriend, why she looks so gloomy. She explains that her mother told her that the guy she is betrothed to is coming to the village to visit her. Jeník tells her not to worry, to trust him (Jeník) and to keep her will strong. The chorus of villagers tells her to stop lamenting because her faithful love for Jeník will definitely end up earning a blessing, then sings a reprise of the opening chorus before going off to party a little more.

Once they are left alone, Mařenka remains pessimistic, and Jeník asks what happened exactly. Mařenka tells him that the farmer (as in, landowner) Mícha and his son are coming to the village to ask for her hand in marriage. Jeník asks what her answer will be, but Mařenka despairs because it would be difficult for her to say that she is already in love with another, since this is a promise that her father is bound to fulfill.

She then remarks on his reserved attitude, and tells him to assure her that he doesn’t have another lover somewhere or something like that, and he affirms that he absolutely doesn’t. Mařenka tells him that should she ever find out something like that about him, she would get really angry (Aria: Kdybych se co takového; “If I ever learn”). She asks him why he left his home and his entire former life behind, and remarks on how his whole past is shrouded in mystery, which her father has mentioned to her several times.

Jeník tells her about his Tragic Past™: he is the son of a pretty well-to-do father, but after his mother died, his father married a woman who ended up kicking him (Jeník) out. So he basically set out into the world and supported himself by entering the service of other people. He and Mařenka go on about how a stepmother’s hate can really be hurtful, but that committed love like theirs cannot be hurt by pains from the past, and they promise to love each other forever, and they are usually just being the most cutie-patootie thing ever, depending on the production (Duet: Jako matka požehnáním... Věrné milování; “As a mother’s blessing... Faithful love”).

After that, Mařenka hears her parents coming, looking for her. Jeník, not wanting them to see him, bids her a heartfelt goodbye, before they each exit the stage separately. Now enter Krušina, a baritone peasant, and Ludmila, a soprano, both Mařenka’s parents, along with Kecal, a bass and a marriage broker who is very much a businessman in terms of attitude. Kecal is in the midst of discussing the whole arranged marriage business; he assures Krušina that it’s all gonna go smoothly thanks to his sharp skills, and that should Mařenka object and stuff, he will make sure that she does what she is told (Trio: Jak vám pravím, pane kmotře; usually translated to “As I’m saying, dear fellow”, but it contains the word “kmotr”, meaning “godfather”).

While Krušina expresses satisfaction with this arrangement, Ludmila says it’d be better to take the time to discuss this with the bride-to-be. But Kecal remains very confident that their firmness and his wit alone will win over any objections the bride-to-be has over this marriage. Ludmila says that it depends on what the bridegroom himself is like, but Kecal continues to dismiss this.

We then learn through Krušina that Tobiáš Mícha is a childhood friend of his, and that he has two sons: one Jeník by his first wife (wait, that same Jeník we met minutes ago??? We’ll just have to wait and see...), and one Vašek by his second wife, but he (Krušina) doesn’t know either son. Despite that, he promised years ago that he would give his daughter’s hand in marriage to Mícha’s son. Ludmila asks which son Kecal is talking about, he replies that Mícha technically only has one son: Vašek. He dismisses the other one as a vagrant and a rascal, and says that no one knows about him (rude).

Krušina inquires about what kind of boy Vašek is like, and asks why Kecal didn’t bring him with him right now. Kecal starts rattling off all of Vašek’s virtues (Trio: Mladík slušný; “A decent young man”): he is a young man quiet as a lamb, he supposedly has no faults or flaws, he has a lovable soul, he is neither too much this nor too much that either physically or mentally, is in good health, and especially, he is set to inherit a farm worth thirty thousand (the currency is not stated here, but later in the libretto, it’s shown to be guilders). What can anyone want more from a perfect bridegroom like him??? Krušina and Ludmila believe his words to be true, and all three repeat their lines for a few more measures.

Then Mařenka comes back in, and asks her parents why they were looking for her (Quartet: Tu ji máme; “Here we have her” or something like that). Kecal says that he was asking her parents if she has someone she is in love with, and tells her that if she doesn’t, he has a young man to introduce her to. Krušina and Ludmila assure her that she will meet him first, and if she doesn’t like him, she can turn him down. Kecal announces that a deal has been reached, and that everything will be settled once Mařenka says yes. Mařenka objects that this can’t be settled as quickly as he says, and that he doesn’t even suspect that there is a hitch in this whole thing. But Kecal doesn’t care, claiming that he never quits whatever he puts his mind to.

Mařenka finally admits that she is already in love with another. Kecal tells her to dump him and let him seek his fortune elsewhere. Mařenka retorts that she has already given him her word, that she has already signed a contract for this. Kecal replies that he gives zero fucks, that they can tear up the contract, and then it’s just a whole back-and-forth argument between them. Kecal says to trust the absolute wonders of his wit, and everything will work out no matter what, because his mind is apparently just so amazing that it can succeed where no one else can (damn, that bloated ego gives me a lot of miscellaneous déjà-vu).

Mařenka claims she knows that Jeník won’t give her up, and is ready to stake her life on this (Recitative: Jeník neupustí; “Jeník won’t let go”). Krušina says that whether or not Jeník would give her up doesn’t really matter, because he has made a promise to Tobiáš Mícha in front of witnesses. At Ludmila’s inquiry, Kecal pulls out a contract, which he shows to have been signed by Mícha, Krušina and witnesses. Mařenka says it doesn’t matter, since she and Jeník didn’t know anything about that contract and that they still won’t give each other up, then she leaves.

Kecal gets briefly frustrated at how twisted the world is (uhm, because a girl actually knows her rights as an individual person??), and Krušina asks him where Mícha and his son the Perfect Bridegroom™ actually are right now, as it would be nice for him to actually talk to Mařenka. Kecal agrees, but explains that the boy is not used to talking to women, he is incredibly shy. Krušina briefly remarks on how hard this will make the wooing process. Kecal suggests that Krušina try to meet Mícha elsewhere “by chance”, as the square is about to get noisy now that the villagers are getting ready to dance (man, the people in this village love to dance and party!). This is indicated by the beginning of a polka (a type of Bohemian (as in, from the region of Bohemia) folk dance with a 2/4 time signature) in the orchestra. Meanwhile, he (Kecal) resolves to find Jeník and try to talk to him. Both leave.

The villagers come back onstage as the polka starts picking up. This is the first orchestral dance interlude; many productions will bring in actual dancers to show off what they’ve got, and also sometimes to excuse choristers who can’t dance very well... Anyway, the chorus sings all about the bounciness of the polka, and the curtain falls as everyone present is having a great time (Finale: Polka... Pojď sem, holka, toč se, holka; “Come here, girl, spin, girl”. You might recognize it if you’re familiar with Baby Einstein. The orchestral version linked is without chorus, tho).

Act 2 opens inside an inn in the village. Jeník and a male chorus of peasants are seated at a table drinking beer. The chorus sings the obligatory opera drinking song all about the wonders of beer, all the typical stuff about how it’s a gift from heaven, it reduces troubles to nothing and it gives strength and courage (Chorus: To pivečko; “That [little] beer”).

Jeník, ever the tenor, claims that love is better than either wine or beer, as it’s the only lasting source of happiness. The chorus tenors acknowledge that he’s currently head over heels in love, and the basses point out Kecal, who is sitting somewhere in the background, and they warn him (Jeník) not to let that old dude spoil his happiness in love. Kecal finally speaks up, claiming that good advice and money are the only two important things in life, and that whoever uses them sensibly will be well-anchored. As the other men sing a reprise of the beer chorus, Kecal and Jeník continue arguing the merits of either money or love over beer and honestly everything else respectively.

Then the orchestra starts playing a furiant (another Bohemian folk dance, of a particular fast and fiery character, with the time signature either alternating between 2/4 and 3/4 or, as in this case, in 3/4 with lots of accents) (Dance: Furiant. It’s less well-known than the other orchestral dances in this opera, but do listen to it here). A lot of productions will showcase male dancers jumping and spinning energetically, and I’m so here for it. After that, everyone probably either shrinks to the background or leaves altogether, for the sake of the next scenes.

A new arrival shows up slowly onstage; it’s none other than Vašek himself! A stuttery, big baby tenor, he is indeed as shy as we have been told he was, if not so much more. In a stuttering song well emphasized by accents in the orchestra, he muses about how his mother told him that he should be getting married, and he adds that if he doesn’t, he will become the laughingstock of the village (Aria: Ma-ma-ma-matička; “Mo-mo-mo-mother”). (Yes, I know making fun of stuttering hasn’t aged well. But.)

Then, Mařenka shows up (interesting note: in the score, it says that they bump into each other and burst into laughter, but I don’t think I ever saw this in a production). She recognizes Vašek but pretends to be someone else (Recitative: Vy jste zajisté ženich Krušinovy Mařenky?; “Surely you are the groom of Mařenka Krušinova?”). When he asks how she knew who he is, she points out his outfit, which should logically be ridiculously tacky clothes typical of a sheltered rich kid about to get married. She also adds that the entire village is talking about him and pitying him.

He asks why, and she says that “Mařenka” already has someone else in her life, and that she is planning on deceiving him (Vašek) and making his life hell in order to make him die soon. The simple-minded Vašek is confused at first and then terrified, as his mother told him that he has to get married. Mařenka points out that he can still get married, since there are plenty of girls around here for him to choose from.

When he expresses enthusiastic interest, she tells him about a girl she knows who supposedly has been madly love for him for a long time now (Duet: Známť já jednu dívčinu; “I know a girl”). Reassuring all his worries about “Mařenka” and his mother, she describes that girl as pretty and young just like “Mařenka”, and also adds that should he refuse her (that girl), she would get so upset that she would probably try to kill herself. She adds in some (probably fake) crying, and the ensuing conversation between her and Vašek leads to her easily tricking him into falling for her charms, seemingly framing the whole thing as that girl being none other than herself (not smart, Mařenka, not smart).

She continues wooing him, telling him she would love him like a baby in diapers or something (I mean, he IS a big baby after all), and makes him swear to never marry “Mařenka”. While Vašek refuses at first, she manages to make him tearfully agree by threatening bad things happening to whoever courts “Mařenka”, and she makes him swear to never want anything to do with her, to never want to see her or hear of her. And after a recapitulation of the initial theme of the duet (the bit with Mařenka telling Vašek about a girl who is in love with him), they both leave.

Then, Jeník and Kecal return to the foreground, the latter in the midst of trying to negotiate a deal with Jeník, to get him to give up Mařenka in exchange for a rich wife, with very little regard for literally anything else (Recitative: Jak pravím, hezká je; “As I’m saying, she is pretty”). Of course, Jeník remains absolutely firm on his refusing to give up Mařenka, but Kecal chides his sentimentality, telling him that money is more important. They have a whole back-and-forth about this whole business, with Kecal especially stressing that marrying a girl only brings benefits if she has money, because apparently wives always cheat on their husbands at some point, and them having money at least leaves them with something (se-xist, se-xist) (Duet: Nuže, milý chasníku; “Now, my dear gentleman” or something like that). (We also learn that Jeník comes from far away, someplace at the Moravian borders, but that detail is not important for now.) Kecal continues to try and persuade Jeník to give up Mařenka, in exchange for a rich girl who owns/is set to inherit a cottage, some animals, a piece of field and a new cupboard (because yes, Kecal, as @notyouraveragejulie so kindly pointed out long ago, a new cupboard will totally seal the deal), and most importantly, MONEY!

And if Jeník accepts to give up Mařenka, he will receive a hundred guilders (Recitative: Odřeknešli se Mařenky; “If you give up Mařenka”). Jeník refuses, claiming that it’s too little money for such love. Kecal increases the amount to two hundred, but Jeník still claims it to be too little. When Kecal increases the amount to three hundred, he says that should Jeník continue to refuse, he will use all his ressources to drive him out of here. Jeník initially refuses when he hears that Kecal will be the one giving him the money, since he wouldn’t sell Mařenka to him for anything, but Kecal clarifies that he’s not the one who wants her, since he already has a wife (wait, what?!! How did I not know that??? Anyway, I pity her, whoever that woman is), and he’s actually negotiating on behalf of the son of Tobiáš Mícha.

This time, Jeník (HMMMMMMMM????? Has Jeník realized something????????) seems to accept the deal, but adds in a condition that no one but the son of Tobiáš Mícha can get Mařenka, and insists on making it an actual clause in the contract. Kecal accepts the deal, and starts going to call in witnesses, but Jeník also asks to add in a condition that as soon as Mařenka and Mícha’s son have consented to the marriage, Krušina’s debt to Mícha shall be entirely cancelled. Kecal agrees, and leaves.

Jeník is left alone, and to make sure that the audience fully understands what is happening in case the production and/or the singer didn’t make the earlier realization very clear the moment the name “Tobiáš Mícha” was uttered, he gloats over his successful manipulation of Kecal’s deal. Then he sings sentimentally about how could anyone ever believe that he would actually sell his darling Mařenka, his angel, for literally any amount of money; there is no one else in the world like her and he would do anything for her, he just loves her so much (Aria: Až uzříš... Jak možná věřit; “When you see... How could you believe”).

Then, as the orchestra plays the first theme of the overture, Kecal comes back in, calling a chorus of villagers, including Krušina, to come in and witness the signing of the contract (Finale: Pojďte, lidičky; “Come, people”). Jeník publicly reads out the terms of the contract, in which he officially agrees to give up his girlfriend to no one but the son of Tobiáš Mícha, IF he (the son) truly loves her and agrees, in front of witnesses, by his own free will, to marry her. The chorus and Krušina are in awe at Jeník’s willingness to make such a selfless sacrifice.

BUT THEN, Kecal clarifies that Jeník is receiving three hundred guilders from this deal, meaning that he basically sold Mařenka in exchange for this money. This time, the mood completely changes, with the villagers and Krušina calling Jeník a scoundrel for doing something as shameful as selling his girlfriend like this. When Kecal tells Jeník and then the witnesses to sign the contract, Jeník signs it as “Jeník Horák” (often translated as “Jeník of the mountain[s]”). As Krušina signs, he (Krušina) declares being glad to have finally known his true nature, and the curtain falls as the chorus continues to shame Jeník for selling his sweetheart. (In the 2019 Garsington production, which happens to be the first one I ever watched (I needed subs) and which updates the setting to the 1950s, someone even splashes Jeník in the face with beer!! Just mentioning it because I love this detail.)

Act 3 takes us back to the village square as in Act 1. Vašek is all alone onstage, pondering out loud in an equally stuttering second aria, absolutely terrified of the possibility of “Mařenka“ poisoning him and stripping him of everything (Aria: To-to mi v hlavě le-leží; “It-it’s in my head” or something like that).

But his musings are interrupted by the approaching sounds of a trumpet, a piccolo and some percussions playing a march. Other villagers probably also come to see what’s going on. It’s a traveling troupe of performers! (The original Czech refers to the performers as “comedians”, but it does have many characteristics of a traveling circus.)

The leader of the troupe (the original Czech refers to him as the “principal comedian” and Wikipedia calls him the “Ringmaster”, but I’ll just call him “the leader”), a character tenor who doesn’t need a lot of singing skills because his part, at least in this recitative, mostly consists of repeated notes, announces that they will be putting on a supposedly never-seen-before show later today, consisting of one Esmeralda Salamanca performing various acrobatic feats, a Native American from the faraway Tahiti islands swallowing forks and knives (yes, this did NOT age well), and most importantly, a real tamed American bear who will be dancing a French Cancan with Esmeralda (Recitative: Ohlašujeme slavnému publikum; “We announce to the [famous] audience” or something).

The leader gives everyone who is watching a quick preview of the upcoming show, during which the performers, who in many productions are played by actual circus performers, get a chance to show off their skills (or lack thereof, probably for the sake of foreshadowing some later revelations about the shadiness of the troupe, as in the 1982 Vienna production) as the orchestra plays a skočná (yet another Slavic folk dance, this one being of a particularly rapid characteristic and usually with a 2/4 time signature. I noticed the name “skočná” resembles the Czech “skočit”, which means “jump”, but I’m not sure if they are connected) (Dance: Skočná, often better-known as the “Dance of the Comedians”. Listen to it here, conducted by the famous Herbert von Karajan. It’s mostly well-known for being used extensively in the Road Runner cartoons).

After the dance is finished, Vašek expresses excitement about the upcoming show (and also ogles Esmeralda’s legs) (Recitative: Je-je-je-je! To bude hezké!; “Oh-oh-oh-oh! It’s going to be lovely” or something like that). Esmeralda, a soprano, approaches him and asks if he will be attending the show. He answers that he will, and that he is looking forward to seeing her tightrope walking.

But then the “Native American”, a bass (who by the way speaks fully fluent Czech with zero written-in accent, making me strongly believe that he’s an in-universe redface character or something like that), comes in running, telling the leader that the guy who was supposed to do the dancing bear number got so drunk that he can hardly stand on his feet. The desperate leader considers using some boy from the village as a replacement, but the Native American points out that word might get out and the troupe will be laughed at, and besides, they have to find someone who can fit properly inside the bear suit, and there is barely any time left before the show anyway. Meanwhile, Vašek is becoming more attracted to Esmeralda. The men notice that the bear suit might fit Vašek quite well. The leader sends the Native American and the other performers (except Esmeralda) away while he talks to Vašek, and the rest of the troupe exists as a reprise of the march plays.

Now that the three are left alone, the leader and Esmeralda use Vašek’s very obvious infatuation to persuade him to join the troupe, with Esmeralda’s love as a reward. The leader in particular tells him all about the life of a performer, including plenty of debts money, freedom and a highly regarded status. Of course, they do the thing of not pressuring him, telling him to only try it once today, and Esmeralda demonstrates the Cancan part that he is supposed to perform. At first, Vašek fears what his mother will think, but the leader and Esmeralda assure him that she won’t recognize him because he will be fully dressed in an animal suit (Duettino (Italian diminutive for duet, i.e., “little duet”): Milostné zvířátko uděláme z vás; “We will make a lovely little animal out of you”). Then the two leave.

Vašek is left alone for a short while, trying to process all that has been going on, between the marriage and the performers’ troupe (Recitative: Oh, já ne-nešťastný!; “Oh, unhappy me!”). In come Vašek’s father, Mícha himself, a bass, and mother, Háta, a mezzo, accompanied by Kecal. Háta asks Vašek why he looks so sad. He says he is afraid. She asks why, and tells him to get married because apparently everything will be alright once he gets a wife. Kecal and Mícha try to get him to sign the contract to marry Mařenka, but Vašek says he doesn’t want to, to the great confusion of the other three (Quartet: Aj! Jakže, jakže?; “Ay! How, how?”). Vašek claims that Mařenka would poison him, and the others ask him where he got that silly idea. He says that some pretty girl who likes him told him that today. When they ask him if he knows her, he admits that he doesn’t, before leaving. Kecal, Háta and Mícha suspect that there’s something fishy in there, and Kecal decides to get to the bottom of this whole thing.

At this moment, Mařenka comes in with Krušina and Ludmila. Mařenka has been told about how Jeník basically sold her, and she is in complete, desperate denial about this whole thing (Ensemble: Ne! Ne, tomu nevěřím; “No! No, I don’t believe it”, with a few more no’s that I was too lazy to add). Kecal proves it by showing her the contract that Jeník signed to give her up in exchange for three hundred guilders. Mařenka is completely upset at this supposed betrayal, especially since Jeník swore that he would basically sacrifice the world for her. Krušina tries to reassure her that at least she know knows his true character. Kecal tries to get her to sign the contract to marry Vašek, but she refuses, claiming to prefer living alone forever without breaking her promise. Kecal and the two pairs of parents tell her that there is no way around that.

Kecal calls Vašek over, and he (Vašek) immediately recognizes Mařenka as the girl who told him all these scary things, and who also told him that she would love him (uh oh, uh oh. Mařenka, this is why I told you your scheme was not very smart!!!!). All the adults introduce her as his future wife. Vašek (who seriously has, as the French say, un cœur d’artichaut (“an artichoke heart”), meaning he falls in love wayyyyyy too easily) still claims to like her. Kecal tries to get them to sign the contract, but a weepy Mařenka claims to need a moment to think it over. Kecal and the two pairs of parents urge Mařenka to think very carefully about the choice she is about to make, and not to let her stubbornness get in the way because her happiness literally depends on this choice (Sextet: Rozmysli si, Mařenko; “Think about it, Mařenka”). Mařenka says she will think about it, and everyone but her leaves.

All alone, Mařenka expresses her extreme sorrow at Jeník’s betrayal and her crushed dream of love in one of ye long typical soprano aria of despair, even though it seems at some point that she still doesn’t entirely believe the whole betrayal thing, considering that maybe Jeník himself doesn’t even know about it (Aria: Oh, jaký žal!... Ten lásky sen; “Oh, what grief!... That dream of love”. Ngl, this moment really made me think of the stages of grief. We already have denial, bargaining and depression in there).

Jeník comes in running, calling Mařenka the star of his life and asking her how is their cause currently standing. Mařenka angrily rebuffs him (ah, there’s the anger!), asking how he could stoop so low as to literally sell her heart, and she asks whether he did actually do it, telling him to only answer either yes or no, nothing else. Jeník begs her to let him explain, but Mařenka refuses to hear his excuses and asks if he did sign that contract to sell her.

When he confirms it, she warns him to never come near her ever again, and declares that she will marry Vašek. Jeník bursts out laughing upon hearing this, which further angers Mařenka. Jeník again begs her to just let him explain his side of the situation, but she still refuses to listen. Jeník remarks on her stubbornness and asks if he could really look into her face if he really were guilty, to no avail. Ye typical operatic back-and-forth ensues (Duet: Mařenko má!... Tak tvrdošíjná; “Mařenka mine!... Are you so stubborn”. It’s actually my favorite musical bit in this entire opera. Listen to it here, sung by Peter Dvorský and Gabriela Beňačková; I used this specific recording in my 5th Opera(s) as Vines video. Mařenka sings two high C’s).

Kecal returns and tells Jeník that he will soon be getting his money, much to Mařenka’s disgust, and he asks Mařenka if she will marry Mícha’s son. Jeník replies that she will and that he swears that no one else is to have her. Kecal praises his sensibility and Mařenka calls him (Jeník) a scoundrel and a liar, and absolutely refuses to marry. Jeník asks Kecal what he would give him if he managed to persuade her, to Mařenka’s absolute anger and despair. Jeník gently tells her to trust him because Mícha’s son loves her so fucking much and there’s luck and happiness in store for her within this marriage, Mařenka continues despairing, and Kecal praises the wisdom of Jeník’s words and is seemingly just amused by the whole thing, and then they all agree that it is now time to bring in the parents and witnesses to put an end to this whole fuckery (Trio: Utiš se, dívko; “Calm down, my dear”).

Kecal leaves, and Jeník and Mařenka are very briefly left alone; he asks her if she still doesn’t understand what is really going on. She rebuffs him again and he steps aside. Then Krušina, Ludmila, Mícha, Háta and the chorus of villagers all come in. The chorus urges Mařenka to tell them her final decision (Ensemble: Jak jsi se, Mařenko, rozmyslila?; “How have you changed your mind, Mařenka?” or something like that). Aside, Mařenka looks forward to trick Jeník and get revenge on him by doing what he probably is not expecting. Then, she announces that she will do as she is asked (i.e., marry Mícha’s son). The chorus praises her decision and proclaims that the fuckery is now ended, and the wedding shall now take place.

Jeník steps forward, proclaiming that yes, the wedding shall now take place and that everyone will rejoice. The surprised Mícha and Háta immediately recognize him and ask where did he come from. Jeník addresses Mícha as “father” and muses that he has lived in a foreign place for a long time and that he suspects it is high time for him to come back home. Kecal is absolutely speechless upon hearing that this simple, poor boy is in fact Mícha’s eldest son, as he thought he was a soldier (I have no idea where that point came from). Jeník confirms again that he is indeed Mícha’s son, and clarifies that while he is no soldier, he did have to fight many personal battles with fate during his wandering days.

Háta retorts that he certainly had plenty of time for all the wandering around he did, and Jeník replies that he is all too aware that she had kicked him out, as he previously mentioned in Act 1. But he brushes it aside as no big deal, preferring to focus on his claim for Mařenka’s hand in marriage, which he says he is entitled to as a son of Mícha. He makes it clear that he actually tweaked the deal in his favor, and that there are technically two eligible sons for Mařenka to choose from. Mařenka finally understands where he is coming from, proclaims herself as belonging to him and joyfully throws herself in his arms.

Kecal completely despairs at his defeat by Jeník’s cunning trick, which apparently destroyed his reputation and honor. Everyone starts laughing at him, going on about how that wisdom of his which he has boasted so much about throughout the opera seems to have left him, and that what happened to him was pretty stupid (yes, Kecal, serves you right for being a pompous asshole who only cares about money) (note: it’s never indicated exactly, but because he is never mentioned after this scene either in the libretto or the score, one could assume that he leaves).

But these jolly happenings are interrupted by shouting noises backstage, followed by two boys running onstage, screaming in lines spoken rather than sung, about how the performing troupe’s bear has escaped and is running in this direction. Said bear comes onstage, and reveals itself to be Vašek in costume, telling everyone not to worry, as it’s only him. Everyone laughs. Háta scolds Vašek, calling him a fool, and then drags him offstage. Krušina tells Mícha that hopefully he will recognize that Vašek is still a bit young of mind, not ready for marriage yet. He and Ludmila encourage Mícha to make peace with his son Jeník, with whom he is finally reunited after such a long time.

Mícha blesses the couple (in the 1998 London production, he blesses them but also Vašek and Esmeralda, which I find kinda weird), and everyone present sings a happy chorus about faithful love saving the day, just as predicted in Act 1, and looking forward to the upcoming wedding (Finale: Pomněte, kmotře... Dobrá věc se podařila; “Remember, [neighbor]... A good cause has succeeded” or something like that). There is probably a lot of dancing going on, given the overall nature of this opera. The curtain falls on this celebration of love, and everyone lives happily ever after as far as we know.

The end! ❤❤❤ This has been an overly-detailed opera summary with unsolicited commentary, I hope you enjoyed ;)

- Raya / rayatii

(PS: I wanna give a quick shoutout to @notyouraveragejulie‘s liveblog of this opera, in particular that famous Czech TV movie from 1982 (no subs, unfortunately, which is a shame because it’s one of the absolute best productions available online), which influenced quite a bit of the commentary in this post. Yes, I know I’m the one who suggested it to you, but I didn’t have anyone to scream about this opera with!! This reminds me, I should rewatch this production sometime.)

(PPS: the score that I have, which is downloaded from IMSLP, actually contains an annex with a short duet between the leader of the performers’ troupe and Esmeralda, which is only one among the handful of numbers that were in early version(s) of the opera and that were discarded during revisions. This one is set at the exact moment where the leader is telling Vašek all about the abilities of a performer. I ran the lyrics through Google Translate, but I barely understood what they were all about, but they did have something to do with performing.)

(PPPS: I think I saw in at least one source something saying that Esmeralda is the leader’s daughter (which makes sense imo), but in all the links I have used while writing this post, I have never seen anything mentioning that, and I don’t know if I just hallucinated it or something?????)

[dysphoric-culture-is]

dysphoric culture is not having neutral pronouns in your language and feeling eeehbsnv(€!#hjwns=n when people use your deadname/female pronouns :,)

Dysphoric culture is!

Also, that sucks. Although having no common gender-neutral pronouns in your language is not an excuse for people to deadname you.

Plus: mod guarantees that there are gender-neutral neopronouns (newer, less common pronouns) in your language. Because almost as long as languages have been gendered, people (especially women and nonbinary people) have been trying to get around this.

More info below the cut along with links to gender-neutral neopronouns in other languages-

For example, German is a very gendered language (the only gender-neutral pronoun in German is it/its ['es'] which most people aren't comfortable with) so people have made neopronouns to compensate. The most well developed neopronoun is currently 'xier' (they/them) which is a combo of 'er' (he/him) and 'sie' (she/her). They also have others like sh'he (she/he combo for multigender people) and er*sie (they/them).

Another example is that Spanish (a much easier language but still very gendered) has no gender neutral pronouns so people have made their own. They combined 'él' (he/him) and 'ella' (she/her) to create 'elle' (they/them), the most common neopronoun. They also have other pronouns like 'ól' (for agender people) and 'ellx' (also they/them). To create gender-neutral endings they change the ending '-o' (masc.) and '-a' (fem.) to '-e' (neu.), '-@' (mix of a and o, for writing only), or '-ex' (neu.).

People literally just create new language and hope it catches on. You can create new gender-neutral language too if you want, just make sure to follow the templates of existing pronouns and adjective/noun endings.

Some people don't even make new stuff, they just borrow gender-neutral language from other languages. For example German non-binary people took English they/them and created dey/deyren (easier to pronounce since there's no true 'th' sound in German). Other German non-binary people just use they/them in conversation as if it were a German pronoun.

A bunch of non-English gender neutral pronoun examples can be found on the nonbinary wiki in (direct links to the article sections because it's a rather lengthy page): Arabic, Bulgarian, Chinese, Czech, Danish, Dutch, Esperanto, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Hebrew, Icelandic, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, and West Frisian.

A less detailed list with more languages (+ Russian, Farsi, Turkish, Welsh, Tagalog, Slovenian, Irish/Gaelic, Latvian, Lithuanian, Ilocano, Greek, Georgian) is here. A list for Esperanto is here.

Good luck anon! Mod hopes you find a good pronoun, and that you can convince people to use it for you.