PROJECT MY COUNTRY Authors students of SERŠ Maribor (Secondary School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Maribor, Slovenia) Edited and designed by: M. Košir May 2008 2. bg 2. cg Jernej B. Tadej G. David J. Tadej K. Martin K. Michael L. Timotej M. Simon M.K. Marko O. Jan P. Boris R. Matej R. Jernej S. Domen Š. Urban Š. Mitja Š. Matej T. Uroš Ž. Andrej B. Blaž B. Boštjan B. Matjaž Č. Benjamin G. Tilen G. Matej K. Daniel K. Tadej P. Marko P. Rok R. Žiga T. Maruša Z.
Our country is Slovenia. Sources: http://www.carantha.net/ http://www.en-klik.com/lepote_slovenije.html http://www.bohinj-info.com/ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/slovenia http://www.postojnska-jama.si/ http://www.postojna-cave.com/ http://www.tnp.si/national_park/ http://www.vinoteran.com/ http://dragonja.mbss.org/ http://www.sloveniaholidays.com/en/ http://www.gradovi.net/ http://www.burger.si/ http://www.slovenia.info/?lng=2 http://www.ukom.gov.si/eng/slovenia/ http://vodnik.kras-carso.com/ http://maribor.uni-mb.si/vodnik/angles/ http://www.blejskiotok.si/predstavitev_e.html http://www.impel-bohinj.si/general_information.htm 2 / 2
Slovenia is a rather small country in Central Europe. It has some really beautiful places you can visit. Especially beautiful are the natural wonders of Slovenia, like the Soča river, Lake Cerknica, Triglav, and so on... I think that the best way of really getting in touch with Slovenia is to travel around, meet the people and see what wonder is waiting for you behind the next river, forest, town. Slovenia has quite some regions, I personally think there are too many of them, so I won't discuss them here, go and see (& feel) them yourself :). But don't think that Slovenians aren t educated and smart people; in fact, we're one of the leading nations in computer knowledge and thread awareness. If you would like to enjoy the sunrise in the morning, ski at noon and swim in the evening, visit us. Slovenia is a country which is situated in Central Europe. It has about 2 million inhabitants. That country has four border countries. These are Italy, Austria, Hungary and Croatia. In Slovenia there are three different types of climate: Alpine, Sub Mediterranean and Continental. The highest peak is the Triglav and the longest river is the Sava. Slovenia is known by its treasures. These are: beautiful nature, underground caves, waterfalls and rivers, salt flats, the eldest grape vine and Slovenian food (potica, cviček, smoked ham pršut, cabbage and grilled sausage). Slovenia has these geographical regions: Alpine, Pannonian, Dinaric and Mediterranean, and the following administrative divisions: Upper Carniola, Styria, Prekmurje, Carinthia, Inner Carniola, Lower Carniola, Goriška, Slovenian Istria. My country, my home. I live in Slovenia. It is a very small country near Italy, Hungary, Croatia and Austria. But it is very beautiful; green forests cover more than a half of Slovenia. The highest mountain is the Triglav (2864m) and the most important river here is the Sava. We have many treasures in our nature; proteus can only be found in our caves. My and also our country is almost unknown. Our language is also very difficult to learn. People in America, Asia, Africa do not know that Slovenia even exists. This is really sad, but things are going better. 3 / 3
Slovenia is a very interesting country, because it has many sights. Slovenia is the most forested country in Europe. The highest mountain in Slovenia is the Triglav and the biggest lake is the Bohinj lake. I like Slovenia because it safer than the United States, England and so on. It`s a very beautiful country with many lakes, mountains, forests, rivers The most popular sight in Slovenia is the Postojna cave. Many tourists from different countries visit it. Slovenia is one of the smallest countries in the world. Our population is around 2 million people. We have 12 different regions. Each one is something special. Our political system is parliamentary republic and our official name is the Republic of Slovenia. The area of Slovenia is 20,273km 2. Our border countries are Austria, Italy, Hungary and Croatia. Our language is Slovene. We are one of EU countries. We are a member in NATO, too. We have some typically Slovenian holidays, that is, for example, Slovene cultural day on February 8. We have some traditional food too, for example potica. On January 1 in 2007 our currency became Euro, before Euro we had Slovenian Tolar. The human fish It is also called proteus or olm. The Slovenian historian Janez Vajkard Valvasor also knew the human fish. 300 years ago he called it baby dragon. The human fish lives in the Postojna cave system and it is a symbol of Slovenian natural heritage. It is named human because of its skin, which is similar to the skin of a human but without skin pigmentation. Proteus has short legs. With gills it can breathe in water. Thus it has to be near water. It grows to a length of 30 centimetres, without eating anything. 4 / 4
Slovenia, officially the Republic of Slovenia is a country in southern Central Europe bordering Italy to the west, the Adriatic Sea to the southwest, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north. The capital of Slovenia is Ljubljana. Some of Slovenia's greatest literates were the poets France Prešeren (19 th century), Srečko Kosovel, Edvard Kocbek and Dane Zajc, as well as the writers Ivan Cankar (1876-1918) and Vladimir Bartol. Drago Jančar, Boris Pahor, Tomaž Šalamun and Aleš Debeljak are the leading names of contemporary Slovenian literature, while Aleš Šteger is one of the most noticeable names among newcomers. Slovenia is a homeland of numerous musicians and composers, including the Renaissance composer Jacobus Gallus (16 th century), who greatly influenced Central European classical music, and the violin virtuoso Giuseppe Tartini. I am not sure where to start, because there are so many things that should be mentioned. Slovenia is just a lovely country no matter it is so small; there are many things to see and experience. For the start if you like sports there are many places you should visit, for example you can ride a bike in a former mine and I think that is a unique experience, than there are many mountains you can climb and places to go. We also have some rivers appropriate for rafting. If you are more a nature lover and you like the work of nature, Slovenia is definitely the place you should visit. Here there are four different landscapes sticking together, you can see the Postojna cave, the National park of Triglav is just awesome, then also the Logarska valley and the waterfall Rinka. We also have some sea, with cliffs and some areas that are protected as Krajinski park. We also have something for people who like history. There are many old churches, castles with museums in them and old monuments. This is just a bit of everything you can see in our country, but I think everything wouldn t be interesting for people who don t know at least a bit of our history. Slovenia is one of the smallest countries in the world, there are about 50 smaller countries, but the differences are not so big compared to larger countries. It is on the crossing of important European traffic ways. Its beach is only 46 km long, but it has some specialties. About 58% of our country is covered with trees; we are in the 3 rd position behind Sweden and Finland. Some of primeval forests are: Šumik on the Pohorje, the Donačka gora, but most of them are in the area of Kočevje. 5 / 5
Slovenia is a small country but worth visiting. You need three days to see the most interesting sites. You have to taste life in the old city of Ljubljana, the capital of Slovenia. For sure you ll be highly satisfied with Slovenian culinary art and wines, especially in Prekmurje, and with the natural monuments as Bled, Postojna, too. Slovenia is a small country which has only about 2 million people; nevertheless it has many natural treasures. The most famous in Slovenia are the Postojna cave, mount Triglav and lake Bohinj because they have a rich history. Slovenia has different climates; it has continental climate with hot summers and cold winters (in the plateaus and valleys) and Mediterranean climate on the coast. It borders with Croatia, Italy, Hungary, Austria and the Adriatic sea. Slovenia is a country in southern Central Europe bordering Italy to the west, the Adriatic Sea to the southwest, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north. It has got more than 2 million inhabitants. The capital town of Slovenia is Ljubljana. It is also the largest town with 250.000 inhabitants. The official languages are Slovenian, Hungarian and Italian. Its climate is Submediterranean on the coast, Alpine in the mountains and continental with mild to hot summers and cold winters in the plateaus and valleys to the east. Slovenia can be divided into regions in many different ways. One of them is the following division into eight regions. These are Gorenjska (UpperCarniola), Štajerska (Styria), Prekmurje, Koroška (Carinthia), Notranjska (Inner Carniola), Dolenjska (Lower Carniola), Goriška, Primorje (Slovenian Istra). We have many cultural and natural sights. All are very important for tourists. The highest mountain is Mount Triglav (2864m). The longest river is the Sava (343m). The biggest lake is the Cerknica Lake, but it is an intermittent lake. The oldest town is Ptuj. Typical for our country is special traditional food. Prekmurska gibanica is typical of Prekmurje. Potica can be found everywhere in Slovenia, but every region has its different recipes to prepare it. Our grandmothers know very well how to bake it. 6 / 6
Well the most interesting thing about our country, Slovenia, is in my opinion the fact that it has only 2 million inhabitants, but it s still a very variable country. We have a variety of landscapes, from the Alps to the Mediterranean Sea. We also have a lot of parts, as in political regions. Slovenia has also 8% of the entire region represented by national parks, the biggest one is the Triglav national park which has many different plants, flowers In Slovenia also live people who don t speak Slovenian as their mother tongue, we have 4 national minorities from all of the neighbouring countries. I shall finish as I started, the most fabulous thing about Slovenia is the fact that we are small but very variable! Slovenia is in the middle of Europe, among Croatia, Hungary, Italy and Austria. In Slovenia live 2,000,000 inhabitants and they speak Slovenian language. Slovenian weather is very different between summer and winter and the temperatures are also very different. The longest river in Slovenia is the Sava. The highest peak in Slovenia is Mount Triglav. Slovenia has regions Štajerska, Dolenjska, Primorska and Gorenjska. The biggest lake in Slovenia is Lake Bohinj. In Slovenia we have many sports like skiing, rowing, climbing, basketball, football, ski jumping and many other sports. People must visit Slovenia because it is very beautiful! 7 / 7
Slovenia is a very small and beautiful country in Europe. Many people don t know where Slovenia is. Some people think Slovenia is something to eat or something to drink. Some other people think Slovenia = Slovakia. That s because we have very similar flags. On sports events it often happens that moderators say our sportsmen are from Slovakia. But now we are in the EU and this is not happening so often anymore. Many people don t know much about Slovenia, but if they visit it they always say our country is very peaceful and beautiful. Our country is small, but we have everything what people want. In one day you can go to our seaside, go to the mountains and see our woods. Our capital city is Ljubljana. In Ljubljana you can see many nice things, like the Three Bridges (tromostovje), the statue of France Prešeren and many other things. Maribor is our second biggest town. Maribor has some very nice things to see as well, like the 400 years old vine, Kužno znamenje, in January the Golden Fox (ski event) and much more. If you want to see all these things and much more, you must come to Slovenia. Slovenia has 2,000,000 inhabitants. We have many lake: the Bled, Krn, Bohinj and Triglav lakes. The highest mountain in Slovenia is the Triglav. We know many regions: Pomurska, Podravska, Koroška, Savinjska, Zasavska, Spodnjeposavska, Osrednjeslovenska, Gorenjska, Goriška and obalna region. Slovenia has 4 neighbours: Croatia, Hungary, Italy and Austria. We have the longest frontier with Croatia. Slovenia is small. It only has 20,000 km 2. It is small but this is the country where I live and where I am happy. 8 / 8
I would like to write about Pohorje. Pohorje is a nice, big hill, almost the whole of it overgrown with trees. For summer days there are nice walking paths through the forest, if you re too tired to go down by foot you can take the cable lift. From it you can see almost the whole town of Maribor; it is really a nice view. There are also a mountain bike tracks. We must not forget winter sports. Pohorje is a big skiing place, where the ski event named the Golden Fox takes place. Pohorje is a nice place through all year. If you want some recreation and fresh air, Pohorje is the best decision! Slovenia is in central Europe. It has four neighbouring countries: in the north Austria, in the west Italy, in the south, southeast and east Croatia and in the northeast Hungary. Slovenia has 2 million people and it is 20,256 km 2 large. We know that Slovenia is one of the 10 smallest countries in Europe, as for its size and as well for its population. The Slovenian flag is similar to the Russian but it has our coat-of-arms on the left upper side. Slovenia has the shape of a chicken. I think that we must be happy that we live in Slovenia, because we have nature and in such a little place so many different types of the world. Slovenia is a central European and non-oceanic country. Its population is about 2 million on 20,256 square kilometres. Although it is a small country, it has many treasures. It has four neighbours Croatia, Hungary, Italy and Austria. The official language is Slovene. Slovenia is a part of the European Union. In Slovenia there are 12 statistical regions and 6 national regions. The highest mountain is Mount Triglav, which is in the Triglav National Park. In the whole world, only in the Postojna cave lives Proteus. Slovenia is a much forested country. 9 / 9
Slovenia lies in central Europe. It has 20,256 square kilometers and 2 million people. Slovenia is a beautiful country because it is small and it has a wide variety of unique habitats. Because of that also the climate is very different. Climate in Slovenia is Alpine with cold winters and lots of snow, sub Mediterranean with warm winters and hot summers and continental weather with cold winters, hot summers and lots of rain. Slovenia has many natural wonders. The most famous is human fish which is a unique type of fish with legs and it lives only in the Postojna cave. I could say that the nature itself in Slovenia is a wonder because it is so clean, preserved and beautiful. The best example is the Alpine part of Slovenia with high snowy mountains and green valleys with lakes such as lake Bled, hidden treasure in the Alps. But the treasures are not just the nature but there are also the treasures made by humans such as NUK (National University library) which is a wonder of architecture. Slovenia is one of the countries with most beautiful and rare treasures. I like my country. Although it is so small, it has so many different and interesting things. From the mountains to the forests, from the fields to the sea, Slovenia has it all, and this variety of things makes my country so special. Slovenia is known for the fact that you can ski in the morning swim in the sea in the afternoon and then drive back home in the late evening hours. It really is small, but we can be proud because we are one of the few countries where this is possible and it is a great commercial for our tourism. I personally like the mountains best, which I think are the best place to rest and do sports. Cycling, climbing, hiking, swimming in the crystal water of our lakes and skiing in the winter. In the peaceful valleys of our Alps you can also find some secret and untouched places to rest and recover from busy everyday life. From the cultural view, it is a country known for carnivals and traditions, which take place in cities like Ptuj and Cerknica. If I am going to move when I m old, I m not sure. But I can say I will always like this place and be happy whenever I come back here. 10 / 10
Slovenia is a small country located in Central Europe and a diversity to discover. Although Slovenia is small, it s one of the most interesting countries on our planet. Slovenia consists of mountains, caves, seaside and the Pannonian plain which you can visit all in a single day. I think we should promote this to attract many tourists from around the world. Especially beautiful are the natural wonders of Slovenia, like the Soča river, Triglav and others. Our country is also known for its traditional dishes, f. ex. potica, kranjska klobasa, gibanica but they still aren t as famous as dishes from Mexico or Italy. Although Slovenia has only about 2 million inhabitants, it has quite some world known sportsmen. In my opinion, Slovenia has a bright future and we can be proud to live in a country like that. Slovenia is a really small country, one of the smallest countries of the world but it is very special. Slovenia's first book was printed by the Protestant reformer Primož Trubar (16 th c.). The most important Slovenian painters include Anton Ažbe, Ivana Kobilca, Rihard Jakopič, Avgust Černigoj and Zoran Mušič. The most famed Slovenian architects are Jože Plečnik and Max Fabiani. Slovenia is a homeland of numerous musicians and composers, Although Slovenia is a small country, there is an exceptionally wide variety of habitats. In the north of Slovenia are the Alps. There is also a small area of the Pannonian plain and a Littoral Region. Much of southwestern Slovenia is characterized by Classical Karst, a very rich, often unexplored underground habitat containing diverse flora and fauna. More than half of the country (about 58%) is covered by forests. These forests are an important natural resource, but they are also valuable for the preservation of natural diversity. They enrich the soil and cleanse the water and air. The forests also lend their natural beauty to the Slovenian landscape. The predominant trees are oaks and beeches. In the mountains, spruce, fir, and pine are more common. During World War I, after the Italian attack on Austria-Hungary in 1915, the Italian front opened, and some of the most important battles (the Battles of the Isonzo) were fought along the river Soča and on the Kras Plateau in the Slovene Littoral. In April 1941, Yugoslavia was invaded by the Axis Powers. Slovenia was divided between Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany and Horthy's Hungary. Soon, a liberation movement emerged. I think that Slovenia is a very special country because it has many things to show. I do not regret living in a country like that and speaking its language. 11 / 11
Slovenia is a beautiful country. Slovenia has around 2 million inhabitants. It has many lakes, castles, rivers, peaks and we have some sea. Slovenia is the most beautiful country in Europe. This is the opinion of many people who don t live in Slovenia. The largest town in Slovenia is Ljubljana which is the capital of Slovenia. The largest peak is the Triglav; on it there are also seven Triglav lakes. The longest river is the Sava. We are proud to be Slovene. Slovenia is a country in the central Europe, bordering on Italy, Austria, Hungary and Croatia. The capital and also the biggest city is Ljubljana, which lies in the country s almost exact center. The climate on the coast is Mediterranean and continental in the rest. The official language is Slovenian, but on the border brinks to Italy, Italian and to the Hungary, Hungarian. Slovenia is divided into 8 regions Carniola, Prekmurje, Styria, Goriška, Slovenian Istra, Carinthia, Inner Carniola and Lower Carniola. The country has approximately 2 million inhabitants who mainly reside in bigger cities. It is one of the most forested countries in Europe as over half of its landscape is covered with forests. Slovenia is most known by its natural, animal and plant wonders like the Postojna cave, the Karst, the Triglav, Cerknica, the Bled lake and andezit (rock found only around Pohorje and Smrekovec), Proteus, the Carniolan bee, the Triglav flower, and so on. Slovenia is, in a way, a world in small. Here come together all European geographic regions (Alps, Mediterranean, Dinarsko-Kraški svet and Pononian basin, but they extend themselves on Slovenian area only with their brinks. It s a small country and that makes it so beautiful, because you can travel for a few hours and you re in a completely different area. 12 / 12
Slovenia is a relatively small country in south/central Europe. It has about 2 million inhabitants. The official language is Slovene. Slovenia s boarder countries are Austria, Croatia, Italy and Hungary. Slovenia is also a very diverse country, if we take a look at the natural relief. The biggest mountain in Slovenia is the Triglav, then we have the Postojna cave, we have a piece of the sea, many rivers, the longest is the river Sava, many lakes, the biggest lake is the Cerknica lake. Slovenia is well known for the Kranjska sausage, the Prekmurska gibanica and Savinjski stomach, so if you re on holidays in Slovenia, you shouldn t miss the Slovenian food. Also Slovenia is known for good music; Slavko Avsenik is the most known Slovenian musician and harmonica the famous instrument. In the end I d like to say that I really like my country. I am going to introduce you my second best thing about Slovenia, forests. Well, Slovenia is the third most forested country in Europe. That gives many opportunities for different sports, but not just usual sports, I m talking about extreme sports. Paintball, motocross, downhill are just some of the sports being executed in the forests of Slovenia. The strait places in woods give the perfect place to meet with friends and pop some paintball rounds into each other. You can just go to a random forest or you can go to a paintball field. But on the other hand, the hilly sections of the forests are perfect for motocross and downhill. There are many naturally made jumps and drops, but there are also many man built ones. The man built ones are made mostly out of woods, so they are not an ecological problem. 13 / 13
Slovenia is a country in southern Central Europe bordering Italy to the west and Adriatic Sea to the southwest, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast and Austria to the north. The capital of Slovenia is Ljubljana. Slovenia has been part of vast empires like the Roman and Byzantine empire, the republic of Venice, northern parts of Slovenia were part of Carantania, too, we went through the Habsburg monarchy (Austrian empire, later known as Austria-Hungary). In 20th century it was in the State of Slovenes, Croats and Serbs, which was renamed in 1929 to the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. After WWII Slovenia was a part of a federal republic until its independence in 1991. Today, Slovenia is the only former Communist-bloc country to be at the same time a member of the European Union (currently holding its presidency), the Eurozone, Schengen area, the organization for security and Co-Operation in Europe, the Council of Europe and NATO. I m glad that I live in Slovenia, in my opinion it s one of the prettiest countries in the world. I FEEL slovenia I live in the beautiful country named Slovenia. It is very small but proud. I have always lived here and I like it very much. Our country has been independent since 1991, and it is one of the former countries of Yugoslavia. It is the third most forested country in Europe, and it is very beautiful. It has many specialties, but sadly it is not as known in the world as it should be. We can boast of things like the kozolec, mountains like the Triglav, our own sea, primeval forests of Kočevje, special food like potica, prekmurska gibanica or krajnska sausage, and we also have very good wines such as Refošk. My opinion is that we also have good bars and pubs, and very nice waitresses. But it is not a fairytale land; there are also some things I dislike. I must mention our politicians, and sports, which should have more support, emotional and financial. I also can mention the rising of prices since we joined the EU. We should do more about those things and we will live in a fairytale. I think Slovenia has some disadvantages but at the end we can be very happy to live in such a beautiful land, not poisoned and walled by big cities and factories but rather by green forests and chicken-shaped land which has friendly and nice inhabitants. I like my country and I know why it has inside of its name the word LOVE. I live in S-LOVE-nia and I LOVE it. 14 / 14
In this text I write about Slovenia, my country. Slovenia (the Republic of Slovenia) is the most popular country in north Europe. Slovenia has 2.026.655 inhabitants and measures 20.273 km². Of many mountains in Slovenia Mount Triglav is the highest, 2864 m high. The Postojna cave is famous for its human fish which lives only in Slovenia; this animal is very interesting for many people who travel through Slovenia. Many people stay for at least one day in the capital town of Slovenia, which is Ljubljana. Ljubljana has 258,873 inhabitants and measures 275 km². Slovenia got independent on 25 June 1991. I am proud to be Slovenian. Slovenia is a very beautiful country. It lies in middle Europe and it is shaped like a chicken. Its neighbours are: Croatia, Austria, Hungary and Italy. Slovenia has approximately 2 million residents and its size is 20,273 km². It is one of the smallest countries on Earth. At the moment it is divided into eight regions: Upper Carniola (Gorenjska), Styria (Štajerska), Prekmurje (Prekmurje), Carinthia (Koroška), Inner Carniola (Notranjska), Lower Carniola (Dolenjska), Goriška (Goriška) and Slovenian Istria (Slovenska Istra). But it is very possible that this will change soon. I come from the 2 nd biggest town in Slovenia, Maribor. It lies in Styria, next to Pohorje. Pohorje is a hill known for the Alpine Skiing World Cup also known as Zlata Lisica that literally means The Golden Fox. 15 / 15
Slovenia is a small country in middle Europe. It has 2 million inhabitants and it's bordering on 4 countries, Italy, Austria, Hungary and Croatia. It is known for many things. Its food, sportsmen and natural beauty. Probably the most famous food coming from Slovenia is potica. They eat it all around the world. I have even traced that they eat it in America with ham and eggs. The second speciality is Karst pršut, named after the region they make it in. Pršut is pork meat, dried in the air and salted. The Karst pršut is a bit drier and less hard than other pršuts made in this region of Europe. Our sportsmen are known around the world. We do not excel in sports like basketball, football/soccer and sports alike. But we are known for winter sports, we are an alpine country, water sports, like swimming, and gymnastics. We were second in the European handball cup, beaten by Germany in the finals. We did qualify for the football world cup 2002. If you look at the fact that Slovenia has only a couple of millions of inhabitants and we are competing with countries whose cities have more inhabitants than our whole country. Slovenian beauty starts in our Alps, with their rivers, valleys, lakes and icy mountain peaks, it's a thing you must see, if you come to Slovenia. You can do many sports there. Hiking, biking, canoeing, parachuting etc. or you can just drive around by your car and enjoy the view. Slovenian beauty is also in our old towns. With old architecture towns are beautiful and always full of tourists. There are many cultural monuments you can see in Slovenia, so you can't miss that part of Slovenia either. Slovenia hasn t been much known in the world for the past years. But now that this part of the world is opening and people have started coming here again, our tourism is getting back on its feet. 16 / 16
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One of the best, though not very serious, illustrations of the characteristics of our language, Slovenian, can be found in The Slovenia Times: The Mother Hen and Me: Slovenian 07. 12. 2007 By Victor Irving Slovenian is one of the most complicated languages on earth. Take this joke from students who were struggling with the language: - Let s order two coffee. - All right, coffee is kava en two is dva, so dva kava? - No, it s dva kavo 4th case because it s the object of the sentence: (I d like) dva kavo. - But hey, adjective and noun should match, so shouldn t it be: dvo kavo? - Not really, because with two it s an exception: dve kavo - All right, the dualism - Oh yeah, two has a separate ending! Ena kava, dve kavi, tri kave. - So it should be Dve kavi, prosim, - Don t forget it s still the 4th case. - Same as the 1st for dual, female gender words. - But I d like my coffee with whipped cream: z smetan. - That s the instrumental case. Z smetano. - No, I think it s s smetano because of the pronunciation. - Screw this: Two beer please. Another situation: Guys sees a girl walk by and wants to invite her for a coffee. He is about to say: Zdravo! Gremo na kava? Then he remembers: Oh wait, we re going somewhere, so fourth case: gremo na kavo. No wait, with gremo she ll think it s for three or more persons, so: greva na kavo? Then he realises it s more polite to ask if she would like to go: Bi rad da greva na kavo? But since he s talking to a girl he has to say: Bi rada da greva na kavo? - Zdravo! Bi ra The girl has passed by a minute ago. Even more interesting is the way Slovenian bends city-names. The city is called Ljubljana, but you are from Ljubljane. The a changes into an e, however, if a city-name does not end with an a you add one. For instance, I am from Amsterdama. But if you go to the city, it becomes Ljubljano. And if you say you live there, you say in Ljubljani, or in case there is no a to change into an i, you say you live in Londonu. The same with names: You are at Victorju (Victor s), the belch came out of Victorja and you re crying about an impossible grammatical system with Victorjem and you know about Victorjevega mačka and haven t understood Victorjevega teksta. Let s take a moment now to fully appreciate that six cases, three genders and singular, dual and plural endings lead to 54 options, and with adjectives that may differ from nouns, about 108 options. For newcomers, creating a sentence may take some time. Most interesting, however, is that there are a few words that are the same in every case. Roza (pink) never changes, and neither does a name like Karen. Great. How about something similar for all words in Slovenian? People may still be able to understand each other; in English or Dutch coffee is coffee whether you drink it, see it, don t have it, order it or throw with it. Moreover, these days national identity is no longer dependant on a language s complexity. Slovenia is a real country, so the language can develop as all other languages: get easier. Maybe then foreigners can devote some brain capacity to what they want to say instead of how they have to say it. Victor Irving lives in Ljubljani and is desperately trying to learn Slovensko. 18 / 18