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INTRODUCTION

The rich culture and language of Central and Eastem Europę are unique, intricate and subtle, steeped in tradition by hundreds of years of history. Yet, sińce the Eastem European countries remained cssentially closed societies for over 40 years under communist nile, little is known about them.

With the fali of the Iron Curtain, a flurry of activity is being spuired throughout Eastem Europę by the desire to establish democratic institutions and free market cconomies. Firms from the West are exploring business opportunities and expansion into these virtually untapped markets. A fresh and beautiful land together with the rich and exciting cultural heritage of its people has opened up for tourists to explore.

EUROLINGUA was started in September 1990 to meet the growing demand for Central and Eastem European languages and cross-cultural instruction. Our goal is to primarily serve tourists and business people who deal in intemational trade.

Insight into the people and customs of a country is vital to the enjoyment of a trip for most consummate travelers. Simiłarly, successful intemational transactions necessitate knowledge of local rules of conduct in various business situations. But most importantly, basie information about the geography, history and politics of the country to be visited, along with rudimentary language knowledge will make anyone feel morę at home.

It is the above considerations that have brought about this book, in the hope that it will become your friend and guide during your trip. The knowledge of customs, manners and some basics of language should help you enjoy your visit to the fullest, while helping you make friends and contacts among the locals.

The book has two parts. The first gives you information about the country (geography, history, economy, culture, customs and manners), while the second part consists of language lessons.

The language lessons are designed for a traveler or a non-specialist amateur. You will leam useful phrases and words for special situations as well as basie grammar hints. The lessons will not cover all grammatical problems, nor will they give a rich vocabulary for

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