‘We’ll Have Saint Wenceslas Illuminated from Below Like Prague Castle’: Non-standard Language in Hrabal’s Early Short-story Collections Cover Image

„Svatej Václav bude vosvětlenej zespoda jak Hradčana“ Využití nespisovnosti v prvních povídkových sbírkách Bohumila Hrabala
‘We’ll Have Saint Wenceslas Illuminated from Below Like Prague Castle’: Non-standard Language in Hrabal’s Early Short-story Collections

Author(s): Petr Mareš
Subject(s): Language and Literature Studies
Published by: Památník národního písemnictví
Keywords: use of non-standard language; common Czech; orality stylization; language editing of the text

Summary/Abstract: The article considers the occurrence and use of non-standard language, mainly spoken Czech, in Bohumil Hrabal’s first two collections of short stories, Perlička na dně (Little pearl in the deep, 1963), and Pábitelé (Natterers, 1964). The striking application of non-standard language corresponds to a tendency to evoke spontaneous spoken, dialogical communication, but the spoken language also becomes part of the special artistic structure, leading to a productive interaction between the orientation to authenticity and stylization. The article also compares Hrabal’s published fiction and its original versions from the 1950s. Even though the form of non-standard language varied from one edition to the next, no fundamental change was made to its role in the works as a whole.

  • Issue Year: 2014
  • Issue No: 46
  • Page Range: 59-64
  • Page Count: 6
  • Language: Czech