Slovak isn't the Hardest Language to Learn, But is Difficult to Master

[@milanpetr972]

Bro your image at 3:30 is wrong, cause Where? is actually Kde? and How much? should be Koľko?

[@nicksterba]

@@milanpetr972 Thanks for noticing, that is a graphic I found online. For anyone reading, this comment is correct ☝️

[@stanleyyyyyyyyyyy]

I just wanted to make a comment about the same thing :D Although... "De" is actually also being used, in some dialects, like the one spoken in the area where I was raised (Gemer). Anyway, this video is very well put together...

[@margarita1776.]

Very helpful and well-made video! I'm glad to hear about your experiences as a fellow American living in Bratislava. I also highly recommend Learn Stories with Slovak, Pauli is such a great teacher.

[@gxguys]

The image at 3:30 also shows excuse me as prepáčte(im not including the other mistakes because i saw you already noticed someone mentioning it so im just trying to tell better version of that transalation) but in most scenarios you would want to use “Ospravedlňte ma”because in a sentence like Excuse me for a moment you wouldnt normally say “Prepáčte ma na moment” it actually might not be unuseable but i think “Ospravldeníte ma” its diffent because its declensioneted(sorry if this wrongly used) and the part about declensioning words in slovak there is another form called vokatív which is like calling someone lets say a teacher would want to bring a student to the board and she says “Ján poď k tabuli” its same as Nominative but used in diffent scenario and when learning these declensuions i reccomend learning the base form for those genders “vzory” and then trying to identify which “vzor” is the word and memorize how its declensioned and just make it simmilar to its base form

[@ersencelep]

hey I just wanted to tell you that I am very grateful for your video, I came across one of your videos today and found resources to learn the Slovak language. I tried to find resources but I couldn't find any because the Slovak language isn't really wel known. My mom is from Slovakia but growing up I didn't get to learn the language because I grew up in Holland. I could never talk to my grandmother and that is one of the main reasons why I want to learn the language. Thankyou for sharing your journey and I wish you the best of luck in life!

[@nicksterba]

Hey I'm glad I could help with some resources! I appreciate your kind words and hope you can be able to speak with your Slovak family if you choose to learn the language. I'm glad to share my experience here, and I wish you the best as well 🤙

[@xbrudnak]

Thanks for the videos! American here working towards dual citizenship with Slovakia (should have SLA soon 🤞)

[@nicksterba]

Of course, recording some things when I can. And congrats on nearly getting dual citizenship! It can be quite the process.

[@xbrudnak]

Finally have my SLA card 🎉🎉🎉 Looking forward to more of your videos, thanks for making videos about Slovakia, it's a great window into the country. Can't wait to come see it for myself soon

[@nicksterba]

Hey that's great! I've been a little snagged with time lately and have been working on a big video here and there...I'm going through growing pains making it lol...anyway I'm stoked for you to see Slovakia, you will enjoy the food, culture, nature, and the people! Trying to get a post out in within the next 7 days.

[@marieconte5544]

This is awesome!! 😊 🎉

[@tzacks_]

the best way to learn slovak: 1. learn pronunciation 2. learn the basic language principles as mentioned in the video (dont go full hardcore) 2. build decent vocabulary 3. read a few books (you'll get many of the really difficult grammar principles without realising)

[@margaretavanekova4808]

If I can give you an advice of leraning Slovak (I have 2 small kids which are actually learning how to speak) try mostly pronunciation in neutral. Just basic words.. (that's how it works with children) Chcem piť, Mám mokré.... just use the most important words from the subject which is most important and show the rest with your hands.. and by time add new words in neutral (as small kids do) now my son is 5yo and he learned lot of phrases and also understood feminine/musculine/neutral genders, but he still makes gramatical mistakes here and there, but it is easily understandable what he wants... just ending of the word isn't musculine lot of times, he reffers to himself as she (he learns mostly from me, which confuses him when I'm talking about myself and my needs as she). What is most difficult is understand the words id they aren't pronunced corectly, that confuses Slovaks the most, not grammatics, but pronunciation, just say important words correctly, they don't have to be put in the sentence in the correct order, but try to work on telling important words as best as you can... I have most problems with my kids that they don't know how to pronounce especially R, CH, F, S, also Slovak infamous Ľ, is great difficult... anyways good luck with your study, and belive in yourself that you'll nail it... for lot of Slovaks english language is also difficult, so we're on the same ship :) (can't write in english, I'm really bad at it.. I'm person who learns languages by hearing and can't learn any grammar)

[@nicksterba]

Interesting anecdote to read! I think your approach makes sense, I used to get very tripped up thinking that I need to put so much focus on grammar, but I'm realizing that overall pronunciation and vocabulary and comprehension are more important when starting out. Pronunciation is pretty easy to me at this point, I think I get most words accurate when I want to...nevertheless, getting everything correct is a challenge, but it's a slow learning process. Thanks for sharing!

[@pradrev]

Thanks for the reply.:)

[@Martinela]

Máte pravdu, slovenčina ma tri rody, mužský, ženský a stredný, vy ste tomu hovorili neutrálny. Každý z týchto rodov má 4 vzory a podstatné mená sa vyslovujú a skloňujú podľa týchto vzorov. Toto by mohol byť kľúč k lepšiemu pochopeniu. Myslím, že v angličtine sa podstatné meno viaže len na predložku, ako napríklad u tej spomínanej knihy Jozefa Mistríka, v angličtine by Jozef Mistrík.

[@ucimesaslovencinu]

Thank you so much for the video. It is great to hear from foreigner, that Slovak is not so difficult language. Yeah, it is true and the right mindset. If you are at least at level A2, you can try to learn Slovak in Slovak by watching my short videos on KZbin channel: kzbin.info

[@nicksterba]

Thanks for the comment, will definitely check out your channel 👌

[@jrjrjrjrjrjrjr]

Only a person having never seen a normal grammar book in its live or a generally very simple person can say that Mistrik's tiny book (which is btw a well-written book) is a detailed book. It is the direct opposite of that - very superficial and short.

[@nicksterba]

Are you learning Slovak, and if so, what's your experience been like? I forgot to mention in the video, that lately I've been meeting with two Slovak tutors, three times a week. It's for a mix of theory and conversation. In between lesson days, I try to do flash cards, watch YT videos from the two channels I mentioned in the video, listen to that podcast, and read from the grammar textbook. It can be difficult to be consistent with learning but if you stick to a routine you can learn quicker than you think. I'm still trying to perfect my routine ;)

[@SekundovaMaria]

Ja sa ucim slovencinu uz 40 rokov a stale ju neviem. 🤣

[@nicksterba]

@@SekundovaMaria It's a never ending journey hah

[@nicholasrando3146]

Hi! I am a teacher from the US, also learning Slovak here in Slovakia (I’m in Trnava) my biggest tip is to watch programs/movies you are already familiar with, dubbed in Slovak. This is really helpful for a few reasons. First, we learn language in context, with lots of repetition. If your brain is doing way less work trying to figure out what is happening, it can focus more on the language element. You can watch a ton of childhood favorites on Disney plus. Or, you can just re watch a series youve seen in English, in Slovak. Also, dubbed series are recorded in a studio so the volume is often way clearer and its easier to decipher what theyre saying. If youre watching a series, the same terms come up again and again. Also, carrying around a notebook is very helpful. You can write phrases you hear or things you see, and youll be amazed how many repeat. You can also take a pic of vocab words and send them to yourself in a whatsapp. You can also screenshot the dictionary definition and send it to yourself before adding it to your notebook. I also really suggest reading newspapers and magazines. Listening to the radio often helps too. Practice, practice, practice.

[@tenzinworld2610]

Goodmorning sir i live in Bratislava and iam looking for new job please guide i have been following your channel since year.😢

[@nicksterba]

Hello, my best advice is to either -become an English language tutor -work for food delivery like Bolt, Wolt or others, or -check out the first link in the description of this video, and once on the IOM UN Immigration website, look under the "work" tab. I currently work online, haven't worked in a Slovak business for a little while. Best of luck!

[@songandwind72]

One Slovak tutor that I had a trial lesson with told me that I shouldn't even bother learning Slovak because Slovaks are hard on each other in regard to language use. So where does that leave us foreigners? LOL

[@MissSlovakia2]

Nooo, that's not true. We are very small country with a big bunch of dialects. Many people use the dialectal words everyday. So sometimes we might not even understand each other. We appreciate when foreigners try to speak our language. I work with foreigners and the other day one of my German colleagues responded to me in Slovak. Turns out she is Polish. It was so sweet 😍 .

[@songandwind72]

@@MissSlovakia2 I'm both a foreigner and Slovak.

[@MissSlovakia2]

@@songandwind72 how come? If it's not personal.

[@songandwind72]

@@MissSlovakia2 I was born in a Slovak family that came to the US many years ago. Everyone was speaking Slovak for many years, members of the Sokol, etc. I have many Slovak friends, both living in SK and the US.

[@MissSlovakia2]

@@songandwind72 waw, thats nice, that Slovak keeps running in the family. I have heard stories people stopped speaking Slovak, so the descendants have a very brief memory of the language their ancestors.

[@DoDoBoBo4]

kedy ochutaš gulaš xd

[@polyspastos]

although ive lived in Bratislava for 1.5 years, and enjoyed it very much because of its calmness, and for the fact that it made sense for me both professionally and for my private life, what ultimately made me not embark on a deeper journey with the language than Krížom-krážom was the utter lack of cultural depth at least as compared to the other countries and places ive lived in, ive experienced. maybe i was looking at the wrong places, maybe im just too different from the people ive met and developed relationships there with, but this is my 0.02 usd. im hungarian from Hungary btw if that helps, ehrm, color it a bit

[@patrikvavro1611]

I see what you mean about the lack of cultural depth. That's because historically, it was a language spoken mainly by rural people, and it's written standard only became standardised in the 19th century, so its literary culture is not as rich and old as that of Polish or Czech, for example. At least Slovak is slightly less difficult to learn than those other two West Slavic languages, due to its simpler and more regular grammar, as well as easier pronunciation.

[@polyspastos]

@@patrikvavro1611 i agree, but its sadly also the sign of the times, not an issue about any specific culture, just the fact that lives are being lived online more and more, leaving less space for actual collaboration and experiences together with others, all of this contributing to a lesser sense of community

[@nicksterba]

I can understand what you mean to an extent. I can share more little nuances that I'm learning here and there through the lessons that I'm getting, but yeah if you're seeking some deeper literature, or poetry, something similar, then I'm not sure where you'd go or who to talk to. There may be groups online that you can find, but again, I'm not sure. I'm still just learning the language from the ground up here 😁

[@polyspastos]

@@nicksterba i dont just mean communicating in Slovak. for instance when i wanted to do a stand up performance ive approached a couple of the clubs and it had turned out that there is only so little interest in such that even a biweekly performance would not bring in enough people, in a city of 400k+ ive found that surprising. another example, just to understand it better, ive seldom had intellectual conversations on the state of the world, philosophy or the like with Slovaks. even in the language of the specific technological niche theyve occupied they were at times lax. i could keep going, but i think you get the jist of it: my experience had been that they lack interest in larger than life things

[@jrjrjrjrjrjrjr]

Current Slovaks are mostly stupid (and poor). Yes. A perfect match for most US Americans in terms of IQ and culture. But Hungarians, being genetically to a great extent just magyarized ancient Slovaks (with admixtures from the region to the south of the Ural and from Ottoman Turkey), are not much better in this respect. Also, you cannot compare cities with 1, 2 or more million inhabitants with a 400 ths. "village".