top of page

Francis Tapon: The Czech Republic should be called Czechia

"Many countries have long, flamboyant names. One the worst offenders is The United States of America. What a mouthful! Fortunately, we have shorter versions (USA or America). Other countries with long-winded names have a short alternative: The People’s Republic of China (China or PRC), The Russian Federation (Russia), and The Republic of Moldova (Moldova). Unfortunately, the Czech Republic hasn’t popularized a catchy word to call itself. In an effort to promote one, we’ll use the best candidate: Czechia. That way, when someone asks, “Where are you going?” or “What country makes the best beer?” you can say, Czechia, instead of the Czech Republic."

The fragment from the book "The Hidden Europe: What Eastern Europeans Can Teach Us" by the traveler and writer Francis Tapon, where the author describes his personal insights and views of East European countries, which are usually hidden for common visitors, going deeper inside society and historical connotations without stopping to be - with natural American ease - entertaining and humorous. No surprise, he takes a note and comments also Czech "original" nonsensical preference of the use of denomination of their country by formal political name, joyfully discovering and recommending "Czechia" as a natural and informal name of the country. 

 

 

For more see: Francis Tapon - The Hidden Europe

http://francistapon.com/Travels/Eastern-Europe/Czechia

bottom of page