Psaní velkých písmen u toponym v češtině: polemický pohled
Capitalisation in toponyms in Czech: a polemical view

Summary/Abstract: The article points out the most striking problems of the Czech codification of capitalisationin toponyms in which disagreement with onomastic theory is displayed.The first part of the paper focuses on capitalisation in prepositional toponyms, mostlystreet names. According to the new codification, valid since 1993, in prepositionaltoponyms the word following the preposition should be always written with a capitalletter. This rule has not been respected by some local authorities (including the Praguemunicipal authority) or by the Czech Office for Surveying, Mapping and Cadastre.The second part, forming the core of the paper, argues against the theory of the so-calledgeneric and proper-name component of a naming unit which is used for explainingthe principles of codification of proper names’ capitalisation. According to the author,this theory is in contradiction with onomastic principles. The last (and shortest) partdeals with capitalisation in toponyms containing two subsequent adjectives. The characterof the paper is polemical; it points at the inconsistency of the current codificationof proper names’ capitalisation in Czech, as well as recent treatises on this topic.The aim of the paper is not to provoke an instant and impetuous codification change,but to stimulate a discussion on this topic.

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