Marija Ott Franolić

The current issue of Osteuropa highlights voices from Czechia, the guest of honour at this year’s Frankfurt Book Fair. All of the contributions are conversations between a Czech and a German writer, scholar or professional. Books and readers Author Martin Vopěnka and editor Katharina Raabe and explore the changes in the publishing industries and reading habits in their respective countries.

Time present and time past Are both perhaps present in time future, And time future contained in time past. T.S. Eliot1 Imagine using the same word for “yesterday” and “tomorrow”. Difficult? Strange? Not for speakers of Hindi, in which “kal” (कल) means both yesterday and tomorrow. Only the verb form can clarify what is meant.

On 27 June 2024, the Valencian courts passed Law 1/2024, an act ‘regulating educational freedom’ that gives families greater choice between Valencian and Castilian as the base language of instruction in schools. Though presented using the rhetoric of freedom of choice, many have seen the act as ‘an offensive against Valencian, the territory’s own language’, explains Rafael Castelló Cogollos in L’Espill.