Talk:Karel Čapek

Origin of word Robot
Could anyone give here sources about origin of the word Robot? I think that this word comes from Slovak language. If you understand Slovak, please read this article for further info: --Ondrejk 10:46, 15 October 2005 (UTC)
 * Robota was also a comon czech word. Now comon in some czech dialects. - Multimotyl
 * The linked reference is inaccurate. According to the article at Karel Čapek website (Czech, English), quoting Karel Čapek's article in Lidové noviny, the original word is NOT "dělňas" (I have never heard of it in relation with the origin of the word "robot"). He intended to call the artificial creatures "laboři" (sing. "labor"), however, he considered the word too artificial, so his brother Josef suggested "roboti" (sing. "robot"). Indeed, in Slovak "robota" is a generic word for "work". In Czech, it usually refers to feudal labour, which is quite fitting - as far as I remember, in RUR the robots were used for forced labour and eventually they rebelled, killing most of the humanity. - Mike Rosoft 19:57, 2 April 2007 (UTC)
 * The article also disproves the claim (made for example here) that Josef Čapek had previously used the word "robot" in his short story Opilec (Drunkard). The story uses "automat", and the authors of the website have gone as far as to scan the the entire story and put it online as evidence. - Mike Rosoft 08:40, 4 April 2007 (UTC)

What "Karel Capek rocks Apps Advanced at Brebeuf Jesuit." means?? I guess the text should be moved to some lower section of the page or deleted JanSuchy Oct 2005

Another book can be added to the list of works. I found in a secondhand bookshop a copy of Letters from England by Karel Capek, translated by Paul Selver, and published in 1925 by Geoffrey Bles of Suffolk St., Pall Mall, London. It is a charming, amusing account of a trip through the British Isles, with little pen and ink cartoons and sketches, including his visit to the British Empire Exhibition (no date given) held at Wembley, and to Liverpool. Filfla 10:49, 15 March 2007 (UTC) 86.167.186.207 (talk) 21:25, 11 January 2014 (UTC)

People from the Czech Republic
Should Čapek be included in this category? I mean he was Czech, but when he was born, it was all under the Austro-Hungarian control and when he died, it was Czechoslovakia. Shouldn't the group be "People from Czechoslovakia"? Norum 05:00, 9 November 2007 (UTC)

The Insect Play- Modern Adaption
I fear that a high school performance does not qualify for inclusion, under our notability guidelines. There are thousands of performances taking place in thousands of high schools, why do you think this is particularly significant? Salvio ( Let's talk 'bout it!) 14:17, 30 May 2010 (UTC)
 * I requested page protection at about 15:50. The editor was actually blocked 3 hours for wp:3RR violation, which expires around 21:10 30 May 2010. --220.101.28.25 (talk) 19:46, 30 May 2010 (UTC)

A quick edit
We edit the article to talk about the tradition of leaving robots toys in Capek's grave Soon pics and references. This has big importance in Prague's popular culture, please don't erase. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 95.18.136.173 (talk) 17:10, 5 December 2010 (UTC)

Presumed Klima’s Analysis
The third paragraph of Biography contains, as of now, what I believe to be serious general inaccuracies, presumably attributed to Klíma, whose book I do not have available. (And there is no “look inside” on this one on Amazon.)

I have discovered in the article history that it’s been The Interior who believes the following claims can be sourced from Klíma… [And I have now pruned from my original introduction the more heated bits… though leaving intact the points below. 21:33, 18 November 2011 (UTC)]

Nonsense: “In late 1800s, Czech was not a literary language.” Correction: By the time Karel Čapek was born, Czech had been fully re-established as both literary and official language. A possible source of correction: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/149059/Czech-literature/284423/The-18th-and-19th-centuries
 * Correct, not accurate, removed. The Interior  (Talk) 00:08, 20 November 2011 (UTC)

Nonsense: “As part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, all official dealings and newspapers in Czechoslovakia were in German.” Correction: Czechoslovakia is a name of a state established in 1918, and dissolved at last in 1992. Czechoslovakia is obviously mutually exclusive with Austro-Hungarian Empire.

By the time Karel Čapek was born, Czech language enjoyed official status in the kingdom of Bohemia, alongside with the German language. It was promoted to equality with German in 1880 for “inner service”. That implies it had been official for dealings with the population even prior to that. (I believe Prague City Hall switched to Czech in 1861 when Czech parties gained majority in it.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_Lands_of_the_Bohemian_Crown_%281867%E2%80%931918%29
 * Will remove this. The Interior  (Talk) 00:26, 20 November 2011 (UTC)

There were numerous newspapers published in Czech when Karel Čapek was born, such as Národní politika: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C3%A1rodn%C3%AD_politika or Národní listy http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/N%C3%A1rodn%C3%AD_listy

Nonsense: “Many Czech writers at the time, like Franz Kafka, chose to use German.” Any attempt to search for “Czech literature 19th century” would reveal otherwise. It is weird to refer to Franz Kafka as a “Czech writer” altogether. He was of German-speaking Jewish family. He could also speak Czech, but he was educated in German. Writing in German was hardly an unobvious choice for him then… The above reference to Kafka is largely nonsensical in the context.
 * Klima does make a point of comparing Kafka and Capek, who were writing contemporaneously. In his first chapter, "Three Geniuses" Klima focuses on Capek, Kafka, and Hasek, and their place in evolution of written Czech. I think, as you point out, that the German influence is important here - Czech writers had to combat its influence.  Whether Kafka was truly a "Czech" writer, I'm not sure.  But Klima seems to be.  The Interior  (Talk) 00:25, 20 November 2011 (UTC)

Nonsense: “Čapek’s decision to use the vernacular was part of revival in written Czech…” Correction: Czech had been fully revived by the time of Čapek’s birth. That can be verified by any research into “19th century Czech literature”. He didn’t have to use a “vernacular”. He used a fully re-established standard language (actually differing substantially from the vernacular of his day).
 * This needs to be re-written. Klima holds that this revival was flagging by the time of Capeks birth. He does credit Capek, along with Hasek, for a revival. "It is thanks to Capek that the written Czech language grew closer to the language people actually spoke". (p.18, para 3)  The Interior  (Talk) 00:25, 20 November 2011 (UTC)

Please do not block removal of the above-mentioned errors. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Marcvs (talk • contribs) 13:01, 18 November 2011 (UTC)
 * I've removed some of the contested info. I added a paragraph in the writing section that hopefully accurately describes Klima's assertions on Capek (without my erroneous generalizations about Czech history ;)).  Thanks for pointing out these problems,  The Interior  (Talk) 00:46, 20 November 2011 (UTC)
 * Now, maybe some help on drafting a lead paragraph for the article? That template's gotta go. The Interior  (Talk) 00:48, 20 November 2011 (UTC)

Can we have the last name in English please?
Čapek is not English. There is no such letter as Č in English alphabet. If there is an established policy to handle this kind of situations, kindly refer me to it please. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.127.162.179 (talk) 16:32, 24 May 2015 (UTC)
 * it is said like chap in English. Wikipedia gives the phonetic version and you can listen to it.Chemical Engineer (talk) 12:15, 26 May 2015 (UTC)
 * Well that's the name that appears on the front of my English translations of his books. A free English translation would be "Carl Stork", but no one would have a clue what you're on about. – filelakeshoe (t / c) &#xF0F6;  12:30, 26 May 2015 (UTC)
 * The redirect exists. Si Trew (talk) 03:49, 11 December 2016 (UTC)

OK, well known name in English is [Karel Capek]. That you can find in the congress library. Some people know it. I met a guy in San Diego; he told me all the books he found from Capek in local library. Reading between the lines, somebody from Czech translated the text to English using internet robots. Second, the wording in the text is WRONG. The word "robot" or "orbot" means hard work. The word slave sounds different, sounds "otrok". Now you understand the bias and nonsense of particular author. But be careful. The word otrok in different Slavic languages has different meaning. In Slovenian language, otrok means children. If you write here something without a clue, close to the meaning of "Arbeit macht frei", you will be erased. Thanks — Preceding unsigned comment added by Tarsan2 (talk • contribs) 16:46, 19 November 2019 (UTC)

External links modified
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External links modified
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Please take your head with you
Who can understand the special symbols and special characters? Maybe 10-15 million of people and that's it. Take your head with you to your work place.

Why do you use Czech-English? Nejen vypadate jako blbci a nikdo vam nerozumi. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Tarsan2 (talk • contribs) 17:00, 19 November 2019 (UTC)

Missing book
Capek also wrote the book How a Play is Produced, published in 1928 with UK edition by Geoffrey Bles. Translated at P. Beaumont Wadsworth. I'm not adding it myself because I do not know if this work was first published in the UK in English or if this was a translation of an earlier publication. 23skidoo (talk) 19:08, 10 June 2024 (UTC)