Foreign Catalogs, A Complaint

Most catalogs published in other countries where English is not used as often as here will include a short glossary of terms, translating from the country's language to English, Spanish and French, usually.

Porfis, the primary catalog for collectors of Czech issues does not. You are on your own to figure out the listings.

Anyone know of a Czech-English philatelic glossary to assist someone speaking English in using it?

Here is a catolog on line in Tcheque.You can use google translate...
Just click on the stamp for more info.
I found out that nezoubkovaná is imperf.!
https://www.filaso.cz/katalog-znamk...sicke-vydani
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Stamps 1962 Glossary you want
http://www.japhila.cz/zakladni_vyrazyBB.htm

Many thanks for the links. I've already used them and they are more helpful than the Porfis catalog, at least to an English speaker.

The SCP (Society for Czechoslovak Philately) sells Porfis catalogs on their website and appears to promote their use. They really need to come up with a guide for using them. Czech is a fine language, it is not however generally known outside of their country. The Fischer catalog for Poland has several pages in various languages explaining their listings. Can't these publishers do this? I did drop them an email some time ago and never heard back.

Maybe they couldn't read it.

What is needed is an on line philatelic translator.
Google, Babylon and other sites just are not capable of translating philatelic terms

I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for any online translator that can effectively deal with a specialized activity, or vocabulary.

Google Translate is the best Czech-English online translator I've found. SCP also sells a Czech-English and English-Czech Glossary of Philatelic Terms that is quite helpful.

The most recent Pofis catalog I have (2013 for the Protektorat) includes German and English translations for abbreviations and signs. My Pofis catalogs from the mid-2000s do not include this. I do not know if such a translation table is included in other more recent Pofis catalogs or when such a table was added.

I have a Porfis 1945-92, I think it's a 2015 edition. No glossary, nothing. Lot of pretty pictures and text I cannot read.
I just don't get it. Is this some sort of misplaced national pride? Do they think everyone ought to be able to understand Czech? It's a difficult language to outsiders. Maybe they just underestimate the audience of non Czech speakers.

Do we think everybody ought to speak English?

Peter

My main collecting specialty is Portugal & colonies. I have invested in both a phrasebook and a Portuguese-English dictionary. It's a rare Portuguese word that I can't find.

No I don't for one minute think everybody ought to speak English. These days however if you put out a product you expect people to use outside your own country you should least provide a basic amount of information so that they can get some sense out of it.