Are Czechs Slavs?

The Czech Republic and Slovakia are Eastern European countries with a significant Slavic population. Still, when you look at their history and culture, it’s hard to say whether they can be considered Slavic countries or not. Are Czechs Slavs? Can the same be said about Slovakia? Let’s look closer at the countries themselves to answer these questions.

Introduction

The very word Czech comes from Czechia, which means the land of Bohemia. Other languages, such as Turkish and Polish, derive their names for Bohemia (and its people) from Czechia. This, in addition to linguistic similarities between Czech and other Slavic languages, has led some historians to classify them together. But how does one determine whether a language is related to another? And what are these linguistic similarities that we speak of? Let’s take a look at a few examples. First off, it should be noted that all Slavic languages share certain features, including:

Vowel harmony – all vowels in words must agree with each other. For example, if there is an o sound in a word, every vowel after it will also have an o sound.

Consonant gradation – when words end in consonants, they often change depending on grammatical context or meaning. For example, if a word ends with a hard consonant (such as to ask), it may become soft (such as g), followed by another word that begins with a vowel sound.

Stress accent – all words have one syllable that is stressed more than others; usually, it’s either at the beginning of a term or right before a suffix is added to a word.

Feminine and masculine nouns – many Slavic languages distinguish between feminine and masculine nouns. For example, in Russian, there are separate endings for these two types of nouns.

The History of the Term

The word Slav goes back to ancient times when it was used to name numerous tribes who occupied parts of Central and Eastern Europe.  The stone ovens found in the corners of the buildings are a characteristic still used in Eastern European homes today. The Romans called them Sclavi, while they referred to themselves with names like Wends or Venedi.

Later, with Carolingian expansion eastward, new denominations such as Antes and Sclaveni were used by Charlemagne’s chroniclers to describe various peoples. In modern usage, Slav refers to three distinct groups: South Slavs (including Bulgarians, Serbs, and Bosniaks), East Slavs (including Russians and Ukrainians), and West Slavs (including Poles). These groups are further subdivided into smaller ethnicities. Slav is an umbrella term that encompasses many different cultures—and can be challenging to define precisely in some cases.

What does it mean to be Slavic today?

Being a member of one of Europe’s large Slavic groups—or speaking any one of dozens of Slavic languages—is to identify with an ethnic group with a rich, often-bloody history. But what does it mean to be a Slav today, after centuries of intermarriage and assimilation have made most modern-day citizens bilingual? For some scholars and activists, there is still much work before that identity can be declared whole again.  While many people in Eastern Europe are proud of their heritage, others may feel conflicted about their place in a region where nationalistic fervor has led to violence and war. And yet other Slavs might not care about ethnicity or nationality at all.

Cultural Commonalities

Czech culture, for example, has more in common with German and Austrian cultures than it does with Russian or Ukrainian cultures. This can be attributed to centuries of Austrian rule and influence. Also, Czech cuisine is said to have originated from a mixture of central European traditions, some influenced by Jewish communities that resided in Bohemia and Moravia. The most notable culinary contribution was probably goulash. It’s still served today as one of the national dishes. Another cultural difference between Czechs and Slavic peoples is religion. While many Slavic countries are predominantly orthodox Christian, only about 1/3 of all Czechs are affiliated with organized religion. Most others identify as agnostic or atheist.

Czech Ancestry

Czechs are a Slavic ethnic group native to the Czech Republic and Slovakia. They have been present in the territory of modern-day Czechoslovakia since at least the 6th century when they settled there from the area that is now Poland. The first written record of the name “Slovak” dates from 907 AD. Today, the majority of Czechs are Roman Catholics. Some also practice Protestantism, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Shintoism, and Confucianism.

Slavic Origins

The Slavs are believed to have arrived in the Carpathian Basin around 500 BC. Their ancestors migrated south through Ukraine and Russia until reaching the lower Danube River basin. There, they established several kingdoms, including Pannonia, Dacia, Moesia, and Illyria. By the 4th century AD, the Slavs had expanded westward across the Balkans, settling in Thrace, Macedonia, Greece, Albania, Bosnia, Serbia, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Belarus, and Lithuania. By the end of the 8th century, Slavs’ population expanded, and the groups began to extend to other regions. In the 19th century, Pan-Slavism developed as a movement among intellectuals, scholars, and poets, but it rarely influenced practical politics.

Slavic Language

The Slavic languages include Polish, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Rusyn (Ukrainian), Ruthenian, Sorbian, and Old Church Slavonic.

In addition to the above, there are also numerous dialects spoken throughout the former Yugoslavia, including Albanian, Arbanasi, Aromanian, Bashkir, Bektashi Turkish, Berber, Bosniak, Bulgar, Chakavian, Chechen, Chuvash, Crimean Tatar, Criote, Cyrillic, Greek, Hausa, Hebrew, Hungarian, Istro-Romanian, Italian, Kajkavian, Kalmyk, Khanty, Kirgiz, Kumyk, Ladino, Latvian, Lezgian, Limburgish, Lombard, Mansi, Marwari, Megleno-Romanian, Mongolian, Mordvin.

Czech Language

The Czech language () is a Slavic language native to the Czech Republic and Slovakia. It belongs to the East Slavic group of languages within the Indo-European family. The Czech language has been spoken in Bohemia since at least the 10th century. In the 13th century, the Kingdom of Bohemia became part of the Holy Roman Empire. During this time, the Czech language spread throughout much of Central Europe. After World War II, Czechoslovakia split into two separate states – the Czech Republic and Slovakia – maintaining their official languages. Know here about What languages are spoken in Slovakia?

Czech People

Czechs are ethnically related to other Slavic nations such as Poles, Russians, Ukrainians, Slovaks, Serbs, Croats, Slovenes, and Bosnians. However, they are not considered a subgroup of any of these groups. According to the 2011 census, 8,847,967 Czechs lived in the Czech Republic and 2,737,065 in Slovakia.

Czech Culture 

Conclusion

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