Not Only Common Czech. From Common Things to The Silesian Novel Cover Image

Nejen obecná čeština. Od Obyčejných věcí k Slezskému románu
Not Only Common Czech. From Common Things to The Silesian Novel

Author(s): Petr Mareš
Subject(s): Language studies, Language and Literature Studies, Applied Linguistics, Western Slavic Languages, Stylistics
Published by: AV ČR - Akademie věd České republiky - Ústav pro jazyk český
Keywords: non-standard language; language varieties; Common Czech; Moravian dialects; Silesian dialects; literary text

Summary/Abstract: The non-standard language has become, in the course of the twentieth century, an im-portant and legitimate component of Czech literary texts, but the most widely used non-standard variety, the so-called common Czech, prevails. The Moravian (or Silesian) vari-eties appear much less. This article analyses the language of two prosaic works which operate to a significant extent with Silesian dialects, Obyčejné věci (Common Things) by Jan Vrak (1998) and Slezský román (The Silesian Novel) by Petr Čichoň (2011). The use of dialects is, in both pieces of prose, supported by the localization of some parts of the storyline to the territory of Silesia. The intricately composed experimental prose by Jan Vrak confronts the typically Silesian elements with the elements of other varieties and presents the emphasized language diversity as a part of the main character’s search for his personal and family identity. Slezský román works with language in an easier way and highlights primarily the language specificity of the Hlučínsko region, affected also by the influence of German.

  • Issue Year: 2012
  • Issue No: 5
  • Page Range: 72-83
  • Page Count: 12
  • Language: Czech