Czechia (pronunciation?)

[Douglas G. Wilson]

> > Is the second consonant cluster pronounced as an affricate or stop?  If
> > the former it may be dangerously close to Chechnya, mightn't it?
>
>'ch' is an affricate.

In Czech it's /x/, I think (like "ch" in German, or in Scots "loch"). But
what is it in English? "Czechia" is not a Czech word or name but rather an
'English' word/name promulgated by the Czech government and some other
bodies for use in English.

I would guess that the "ch" in "Czechia" is probably intended/assumed to be
/k/. Like in "Czechoslovakia"; like in "Wallachia". I can't find this
explicitly addressed on the Web. Perhaps it's assumed that /x/ can be used
instead of /k/ by nonconformist, 'cosmopolitan', 'fussy', and/or Scottish
persons.

>The equivalent would be along the lines of Cesko.

Which is the current Czech name (with initial hacek of course) equivalent
to English Czechia. Not all Czechs approve of this, apparently, but I guess
many do.

Here is a discussion (from the 'pro' side):

http://www.p.lodz.pl/I35/personal/jw37/EUROPE/cesko2.htm

Note that in languages without /x/ the second consonant is more or less /k/
... in fact in Spanish it's "Chequía" (not "Chejía").

-- Doug Wilson