Hyphen War

The Hyphen war (Pomlčková válka, Pomlčková vojna) was the tongue-in-cheek name given to the conflict over what to call Czechoslovakia after the fall of the Communist government.

The Hyphen War of 1990 – Czechoslovakia or Czecho-Slovakia

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" (Česká a Slovenská Federativní Republika, Česká a Slovenská Federatívna Republika, or ČSFR).

This was met with general disapproval and another round of haggling, dubbed "the hyphen war" (pomlčková válka/vojna) after Slovaks' wish to insert a hyphen into the name (Česko-Slovensko).

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.

However, Slovak national aspirations strengthened (see Hyphen War) and on 1 January 1993, the country peacefully split into the independent Czech Republic and Slovakia.

However, Slovak politicians felt this diminished Slovakia's equal stature, and demanded that the country's name be spelled with a hyphen (i.e. "Czecho-Slovak Republic"), as it was spelled from Czechoslovak independence in 1918 until 1920, and again in 1938 and 1939. Although the Slovaks were demanding a hyphen (Czech, Slovak: spojovník), the Czechs called it a dash (Czech, Slovak: pomlčka).

Hyphen War

Name of the Czech Republic

Hyphen War

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.

Hyphen War

The Hyphen war (Pomlčková válka, Pomlčková vojna) was the tongue-in-cheek name given to the conflict over what to call Czechoslovakia after the fall of the Communist government.

The Hyphen war (Pomlčková válka, Pomlčková vojna) was the tongue-in-cheek name given to the conflict over what to call Czechoslovakia after the fall of the Communist government.

The Hyphen war (Pomlčková válka, Pomlčková vojna) was the tongue-in-cheek name given to the conflict over what to call Czechoslovakia after the fall of the Communist government. The official name of the country during the last 30 years of Communist rule was "Czechoslovak Socialist Republic" (in Czech and in Slovak Československá socialistická republika, or ČSSR). In December 1989—a month after the Velvet Revolution—President Václav Havel announced that the word "Socialist" would be dropped from the country's official name.

The official name of the country during the last 30 years of Communist rule was "Czechoslovak Socialist Republic" (in Czech and in Slovak Československá socialistická republika, or ČSSR). In December 1989—a month after the Velvet Revolution—President Václav Havel announced that the word "Socialist" would be dropped from the country's official name.

The official name of the country during the last 30 years of Communist rule was "Czechoslovak Socialist Republic" (in Czech and in Slovak Československá socialistická republika, or ČSSR). In December 1989—a month after the Velvet Revolution—President Václav Havel announced that the word "Socialist" would be dropped from the country's official name.

The official name of the country during the last 30 years of Communist rule was "Czechoslovak Socialist Republic" (in Czech and in Slovak Československá socialistická republika, or ČSSR). In December 1989—a month after the Velvet Revolution—President Václav Havel announced that the word "Socialist" would be dropped from the country's official name.

The official name of the country during the last 30 years of Communist rule was "Czechoslovak Socialist Republic" (in Czech and in Slovak Československá socialistická republika, or ČSSR). In December 1989—a month after the Velvet Revolution—President Václav Havel announced that the word "Socialist" would be dropped from the country's official name.

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. However, Slovak politicians felt this diminished Slovakia's equal stature, and demanded that the country's name be spelled with a hyphen (i.e. "Czecho-Slovak Republic"), 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"—a proposal that did not sit well with Czech politicians who saw reminders of the 1938 Munich Agreement, in which NaziGermany annexed a part of that territory.

Generally, only the first word of a country's name is capitalized in Czech and Slovak.

Although the Slovaks were demanding a hyphen (Czech, Slovak: spojovník), the Czechs called it a dash (Czech, Slovak: pomlčka).

Nonetheless, English language media generally refer to the conflict as the "Hyphen War".

conjunction by hyphenation. While English-speakers are relaxed about using a hyphen or not, this punctuation once caused controversy between Czechs and Slovaks

1990 – The Czechoslovak parliament is unable to reach an agreement on what to call the country after the fall of Communism, sparking the so-called Hyphen War.

Czechoslovakia, History of Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovak Legion, First Czechoslovak Republic, Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk, Little Entente, Sudetenland, Munich Agreement, Second Czechoslovak Republic, German occupation of Czechoslovakia, Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia, Czechoslovak government-in-exile, Operation Anthropoid, Beneš decrees, 1948 Czechoslovak coup d'état, Prague Spring, Warsaw Pact invasion of Czechoslovakia, Charter 77, Velvet revolution, Hyphen War, Dissolution of Czechoslovakia

Hyphen War

However, in course of 1990-1992 the initial consensus was getting increasingly fragile; its first sign was a so-called “hyphen war”, when parliamentarians debated whether the country should be named “Czechoslovak”, “Czecho-Slovak” or “Czech and Slovak” Republic.

Moreover, there were intense debates on renaming the country, with various hyphened versions of Czechoslovakia (this conflict was called the Hyphen War).