Hyphen War
Encyclopedia
The Hyphen War was the tongue-in-cheek
name given to the conflict over what to call
Czechoslovakia
after the fall of the Communist government
.
system in Czechoslovakia fell in November 1989. But in 1990, the official name of the country was still the "Czechoslovak Socialist Republic" (in Czech and in Slovak Československá socialistická republika, or ČSSR). President Václav Havel
proposed merely dropping the word "Socialist
" from the name, but Slovak
politicians wanted a second change. They demanded that the country's name be spelled with a hyphen
(e.g. "Republic of Czecho-Slovakia" or "Federation of Czecho-Slovakia"), as it was spelled from Czechoslovak independence in 1918 until 1920, and again in 1938 and 1939. President Havel then changed his proposal to "Republic of Czecho-Slovakia".
(Československá federativní republika) and with a hyphen in Slovak
(Česko-slovenská federatívna republika).
This solution was found to be unsatisfactory, and less than a month later, on 20 April 1990, the parliament changed the name again, to the "Czech and Slovak Federative Republic" (Czech: Česká a Slovenská Federativní Republika, Slovak: Česká a Slovenská Federatívna Republika, or ČSFR).
The compromise required even more linguistic wrangling than first appears. Generally, only the first word of country names is capitalized
in Czech and Slovak. Capitalizing all of the words eliminated the problem of whether to capitalize "Slovenská".
Although the Slovaks were demanding a hyphen
(Czech, Slovak: spojovník), the Czechs called it a dash
(Czech, Slovak: pomlčka). Although there is a clear difference between a hyphen and a dash in Czech and Slovak spelling (a hyphen is used to mark a connection between two words, while a dash is used in other cases), Czechs usually use the term pomlčka for both; Slovaks differentiate them. Nonetheless, English language
media generally refer to the conflict as the "Hyphen War".
While the Hyphen War was not really deserving of the name, it demonstrated that there were serious differences between Czechs and Slovaks regarding the identity of their shared country. Over the following two years, more substantial disputes arose between the two halves of the federation. In 1992, Czech and Slovak politicians agreed to split the country into the two states of the Czech Republic
and Slovakia
—the so-called Velvet Divorce—which became effective on 1 January 1993.
Tongue-in-cheek
Tongue-in-cheek is a phrase used as a figure of speech to imply that a statement or other production is humorously intended and it should not be taken at face value. The facial expression typically indicates that one is joking or making a mental effort. In the past, it may also have indicated...
name given to the conflict over what to call
Geographical renaming
Geographical renaming is the changing of the name of a geographical feature or area. This can range from the uncontroversial change of a street name to a highly disputed change to the name of a country. Some names are changed locally but the new names are not recognised by other countries,...
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia
Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia was a sovereign state in Central Europe which existed from October 1918, when it declared its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire, until 1992...
after the fall of the Communist government
Velvet Revolution
The Velvet Revolution or Gentle Revolution was a non-violent revolution in Czechoslovakia that took place from November 17 – December 29, 1989...
.
Background
The CommunistCommunism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
system in Czechoslovakia fell in November 1989. But in 1990, the official name of the country was still the "Czechoslovak Socialist Republic" (in Czech and in Slovak Československá socialistická republika, or ČSSR). President Václav Havel
Václav Havel
Václav Havel is a Czech playwright, essayist, poet, dissident and politician. He was the tenth and last President of Czechoslovakia and the first President of the Czech Republic . He has written over twenty plays and numerous non-fiction works, translated internationally...
proposed merely dropping the word "Socialist
Socialism
Socialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
" from the name, but Slovak
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
politicians wanted a second change. They demanded that the country's name be spelled with a hyphen
Hyphen
The hyphen is a punctuation mark used to join words and to separate syllables of a single word. The use of hyphens is called hyphenation. The hyphen should not be confused with dashes , which are longer and have different uses, or with the minus sign which is also longer...
(e.g. "Republic of Czecho-Slovakia" or "Federation of Czecho-Slovakia"), as it was spelled from Czechoslovak independence in 1918 until 1920, and again in 1938 and 1939. President Havel then changed his proposal to "Republic of Czecho-Slovakia".
Resolution
However, on March 29, 1990, the Czechoslovak parliament resolved that the country's long name was to be spelled without a hyphen in CzechCzech language
Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
(Československá federativní republika) and with a hyphen in Slovak
Slovak language
Slovak , is an Indo-European language that belongs to the West Slavic languages .Slovak is the official language of Slovakia, where it is spoken by 5 million people...
(Česko-slovenská federatívna republika).
This solution was found to be unsatisfactory, and less than a month later, on 20 April 1990, the parliament changed the name again, to the "Czech and Slovak Federative Republic" (Czech: Česká a Slovenská Federativní Republika, Slovak: Česká a Slovenská Federatívna Republika, or ČSFR).
The compromise required even more linguistic wrangling than first appears. Generally, only the first word of country names is capitalized
Capitalization
Capitalization is writing a word with its first letter as a majuscule and the remaining letters in minuscules . This of course only applies to those writing systems which have a case distinction...
in Czech and Slovak. Capitalizing all of the words eliminated the problem of whether to capitalize "Slovenská".
Although the Slovaks were demanding a hyphen
Hyphen
The hyphen is a punctuation mark used to join words and to separate syllables of a single word. The use of hyphens is called hyphenation. The hyphen should not be confused with dashes , which are longer and have different uses, or with the minus sign which is also longer...
(Czech, Slovak: spojovník), the Czechs called it a dash
Dash
A dash is one of several kinds of punctuation mark. Dashes appear similar to hyphens, but differ from them primarily in length, and serve different functions. The most common versions of the dash are the en dash and the em dash .-Common dashes:...
(Czech, Slovak: pomlčka). Although there is a clear difference between a hyphen and a dash in Czech and Slovak spelling (a hyphen is used to mark a connection between two words, while a dash is used in other cases), Czechs usually use the term pomlčka for both; Slovaks differentiate them. Nonetheless, English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
media generally refer to the conflict as the "Hyphen War".
While the Hyphen War was not really deserving of the name, it demonstrated that there were serious differences between Czechs and Slovaks regarding the identity of their shared country. Over the following two years, more substantial disputes arose between the two halves of the federation. In 1992, Czech and Slovak politicians agreed to split the country into the two states of the Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
and Slovakia
Slovakia
The Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
—the so-called Velvet Divorce—which became effective on 1 January 1993.