Hantec (ˈɦan.tɛts) is a unique slang

Slang

Slang is the use of informal words and expressions that are not considered standard in the speaker's language or dialect but are considered more acceptable when used socially. Slang is often to be found in areas of the lexicon that refer to things considered taboo...

 previously spoken among lower classes in Brno

Brno

Brno by population and area is the second largest city in the Czech Republic, the largest Moravian city, and the historical capital city of the Margraviate of Moravia. Brno is the administrative centre of the South Moravian Region where it forms a separate district Brno-City District...

, Czech Republic

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

 during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It developed from the mixing of the Czech language

Czech language

Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...

 as spoken in Moravia

Moravia

Moravia is a historical region in Central Europe in the east of the Czech Republic, and one of the former Czech lands, together with Bohemia and Silesia. It takes its name from the Morava River which rises in the northwest of the region...

 with the languages of other residents of Brno, including Germans and Jews. Today Hantec exists in its original form only among some elderly people, but many words and expressions have become a part of Czech spoken in Brno.

Examples

The Czech word for 'sun' is slunce; in Hantec it is zóncna or oskar. The Czech word for 'tram' is tramvaj; in Hantec it is šalina (this is a corrupted form of the German

German language

German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....

"elektrische Linie" for electric line – in contrast with the former horse-pulled wagons). The Czech word for 'leg' is noha; in Hantec it is habrůvka.