Vít Zvánovec wrote:
Dear colleague, now it is more clear.
Jan. = "led." Feb. = "ún." Mar. = "břez." Apr. = "dub." May = "květ." Jun. = "červ." Jul. = "červen." Aug. = "srp." Sep. = "září" Oct. = "říj." Nov. = "list." Dec. = "pros." Yes, this is possible, because in theory you can shorten every word. It may be a little bit confusing since July is "červen." and červen (June) is "červ.". (červ is in Czech a "worm").
It's amusing to hear that my idea is full of worms. :-)
All begin with lower case letters as shown.
In Czech language the month names are always written like that. Only first word of a sentence is natural exception: "Červen je šestý měsíc.".
Of the 28 languages in the place where I found the list only 7 capitalize the month names.
My personal preference remains to have the ISO standard format for dates (YYYY-MM-DD) but I have no illusion about this idea finding acceptance from most English speakers.
It is possible for storing dates, but for viewing we use only 2 systems: a) 1. února 2004 (month is in genitiv, therefore ended with -a) b) 1. 2. 2004
What has been the effect of joining the European Union?
and in the former Czechoslovakia numbers would have avoided any requirements to choose between different Czech and Slovak forms.
Czech and Slovak are two different languages. It something like English and French in Canada (if you don't care that Czech and Slovak are very close to each other which is not the case of English and French). Therefore the difference in month names in Czechoslovakia was the one of many more important differences.
Of course they're different, but in a bilingual country when texts must be issued in both languages, it is good to have a neutral standard. All government documents in Canada now use the ISO format, 2004-08-06. The abbreviated form for August is the same in English and French except that it uses a capital "A" in English and a small "a" in French. That's enough to make people argue
For you the abbreviations might be most useful in dealing with confused expatriates who are now living in the United States. :-)
In which sense?
A Czech who may have emigrated to the United States after the 1967 problems would now be more familiar with the American system. He may have taught the Czech language to his children who are more familiar with the American system of dates. These would be the confused people.
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