I have been learning Slovak for over a year. The language itself, let’s just say, is not globally popular. I’m not sure of its ranking, but it didn’t make the top twenty list. In fact, this is one of the reasons I started Tatra Tales this year, because I consistently find it difficult to find resources in Slovak, especially in the US. However, I have discovered that learning Slovak is very rewarding and has already been helpful, especially when I visited a Slovak village.
But there are some hidden secrets out there, and I want to share some with you. In this post, I’m going to share two video resources. The first is Disney+. Without using a VPN, Disney+ by far seems to have the best support for Slovak dubbing and Slovak subtitles. The only problem is, well, it’s Disney+ so it’s not going to have the latest viral series you want to watch. However, the new series are well supported. For example, I watched all of 'Andor' and the second season of 'Loki' with Slovak dubbing and English subtitles.
Another benefit of Disney+ is that you probably already know the story, especially if you have kids. I’ve seen 'Encanto' many times, often not by choice. I can quote the dialogue. 'We Don’t Talk About Bruno' is still very catchy in Slovak. So, basically, you already know the translation.
But that’s not the best show on Disney+. In fact, the best show, which was the second most-watched show streamed in the United States, is 'Bluey'. And starting with season 3, 'Bluey' has Slovak dubbing (but not subtitles). 'Bluey' is one of the few kids' shows that I’ll watch without my kids around. In fact, judging by its popularity, it just may be better classified as a kid-friendly show for parents. At first, I thought Slovak wasn’t supported because, well, it’s not for the first 2 seasons. But if you jump to Season three, it will work. So, until they go back and translate the first two seasons, you’ll have to wait to see how they translated 'it’s called a tactical wee' in Slovak 😊.