In 1978, the Ministerstvo školství, mládeže a tělovýchovy (MŠMT), or Ministry of Education, Youth and Sports, of the erstwhile Czechoslovakia ratified improvements to the Zjednodušená psací latinka, or Simplified Latin script, which was originally published in 1933. This is the latest iteration of this teaching model, and it contains many modifications made by Dr. Václav Penc, a professor of pedagogy as well as author and publisher of reading primers.
Even though it was never officially digitised, many local private publishers in the Czech Republic and Slovakia have created their own typefaces based on it for use in their workbooks.
It is usually taught between Grades 1 and 4 (6–10 years old), starting with cursive lowercase letters followed by the uppercase, but variations exist across both countries.
This approach follows a cursive, fully-joined style with letters that are squarish, very narrow and written with a slight slant and diagonal out-strokes. Uppercase letters are somewhat decorative, while lowercase ones feature looped ascenders. The lowercase “t” is distinctive, and its construction has strong similarities to its counterpart in German Sütterlinschrift. The uppercase “Q” is also notable due to its unique open shape. Instead of the caron, which is common today, the letters “t” and “d” use a reversed circumflex.
