During my last visit to Czechoslovakia in the summer of 1987, I was Struck by the increasing use ... more During my last visit to Czechoslovakia in the summer of 1987, I was Struck by the increasing use of Common Czech in mass-media and other areas previously dominated by Standard Czech. This prompted me to investigate the present status of Common Czech in relation to Standard Czech. Czech holds a unique position among languages by its internal stratification, called by some linguists diglossia and by others codeswitching 1. Instead of having one underlying code, it has two, Standard or Literary Czech, and Common Czech, the predominant spoken form of the Czech lands. Although other languages, including French and German, exhibit multiple codes, only in Czech do the two codes share such a central position in the language. Not surprisingly, this duality has for centuries created a dilemma in many areas of language usage,includingteaching, the arts, the mass-media, and even informal communication. Curiously, the unusual stratification and usage have been traditionally studied by foreigners rather than native linguists. While holding the standard literary language in high acclaim, native Czech linguists often view the spoken language as substandard and unworthy of serious research. This study will probe the origins of this academie disdain and examine the current status and usage of the two codes. Following Bohuslav Havranek's Classification (which is aeeepted by most linguists although interpreted differently), I will distinguish between two basic codes, that of Standard Czech and Common Czech. Standard Czech, sometimes referred to as Lit erary Czech or spisovná čeština, is the basic norm of the Czech language; it represents its one and only codification. It is taught as the Literary Standard Czech code in schools. It is no longer true that it is the only acceptable language of mass-media and written communication and thus cannot be defined as the written form of Czech. Common Czech or obecná čeština is an interdialect 2 unifying a larger area in which there are also other dialects. At present, many of the dialects have been abolished and Common Czech is the vernacular of the major part of Bohemia. Nevertheless, it is not codified or taught, is never used in textbooks for Czech natives or foreigners, 1
This paper examines annual reports (ARs) of multinational mining companies Glencore, Rio Tinto an... more This paper examines annual reports (ARs) of multinational mining companies Glencore, Rio Tinto and BHP framed by the challenge of COVID-19 in 2020. We apply a linguistic analysis to screening the letters of chairmen and CEOs that encapsulate an ideology of mining, prioritize the message of sustained and prospective financial success, and display commitment to employees and communities. Using critical discourse analysis, we explore how corporations involved in destructive activities managed to mask the nature of their conduct and promote positive PR when expected to document an on-the-ground involvement with employees and local communities due to the global pandemic. We accounted for the ideology of mining natural resources, the central message foregrounded in the reports, the selection and distribution of key topics and keywords, and relexicalization of critical concepts and descriptions. The CDA revealed “smart management” of COVID-19 aimed to hide facts related to the destruction ...
The lasting traces of Czech immigration to Texas and the once prominent immigrant community lead ... more The lasting traces of Czech immigration to Texas and the once prominent immigrant community lead to the cemeteries. The purpose of this study is to show how to read Czech cemetery data in Texas from the 1860s to the 1950s in order to understand the immigrants’ integration and contact with their German neighbors and the dominant Anglo-American society. To immigrants in the middle of the 19th century, Texas offered land and freedom of movement. But the reasons to return home outweighed those to stay for some of the earliest immigrants who were unable to align themselves with networks established by the German immigrants who preceded them. Those who followed the pioneers lived within interethnic social structures that they gradually abandoned in favor of the ethnocentric Czech community. Language choices, the interplay of Czech and English, and the endurance of the Czech language in tombstone inscriptions yield synchronic and diachronic data whose analysis and interpretation reveal soc...
이 논문은 사례연구와 야외연구의 결과를 바탕으로 각기 다른 문화에서 온 이주자와 이민자들의 융합의 도전에 대해서 말한다. 오늘날의 중부유럽에 초점을 두고, 세계적인 현상인 이... more 이 논문은 사례연구와 야외연구의 결과를 바탕으로 각기 다른 문화에서 온 이주자와 이민자들의 융합의 도전에 대해서 말한다. 오늘날의 중부유럽에 초점을 두고, 세계적인 현상인 이주를 다루고 고국의 이미지를 형상화하는 동안 이주자들에 의해 공유되어지는 요소를 알아본다. 특히, 저자는 19세기 중반과 20세기 후반, 서로 다른 두 시기의 체코, 독일, 슬로바키아...
This article draws attention to the role one's language plays in socialization and explains the m... more This article draws attention to the role one's language plays in socialization and explains the misunderstandings and conflicts over integration of the Roma in the Czech Republic. Recognizing the role of home language leads to successful socialization. By not demanding that schools account for home language in the process of teaching, the Roma have implicitly agreed that Czech is the natural way through which children of diverse cultural backgrounds access education and adapt. Children of minorities and namely, the Roma, have been disadvantaged by cultural assumptions enabling teachers, curricula, and textbooks to construct the profile of a Czech student in a way that precludes his or her multicultural origin. To compare, the study provides insight into the conflict between Standard American English and Afro-American English and highlights its factors, legal resolutions, and contemporary situation. The article also reviews research on bilingual classrooms and learning in the United States and suggests that it is relevant to the contentious interrelationship of standard Czech and Romani at schools.
International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 2016
The study was prompted by the question of whether Romani, the language of the dominant and tradit... more The study was prompted by the question of whether Romani, the language of the dominant and traditional minority, is acceptable as a language in the profile of a bilingual living in the Czech Republic. It outlines the situation of Romani in the Czech sociolinguistic space and argues for its rehabilitation so that it could be studied, taught, maintained in a community, and used to represent its speakers. This is necessary in order to raise its prestige, positively affect its speakers’ identity and in turn stimulate an attitudinal shift and social change. Obstacles to Romani rehabilitation are related to it being framed by Czech culture, which is driven by a standard language ideology rendering Romani a stigmatized language. Romani speakers distance themselves from Romani dialects and the ethnolect as expressions of social and economic disadvantage. Recent research has established that Romani has shown signs of language shift.
Perilous Voyages exemplifies the fact that one can learn much about immigration by focusing on sp... more Perilous Voyages exemplifies the fact that one can learn much about immigration by focusing on specific journeys. As Konecny and Machann show, this focus enables readers to view immigration as a set of complex decisions of troubled individuals rather than as a movement of masses. The authors have unearthed critical historical materials that shed new light on Texas immigration. The book communicates not only valuable facts but also excitement over discovering previously unpublished materials of narrative interest and historical power: Texas travel adventure in the diary of William Wright (April-May 1879), oral history about the voyage of thirty-six Moravians (1873), and Kingsbury\u27s pamphlet glorifying Texas
Odborna kniha je výsledkem prace kolektivu 191 autorů vedených editory Petrem Karlikem, Markem Ne... more Odborna kniha je výsledkem prace kolektivu 191 autorů vedených editory Petrem Karlikem, Markem Nekulou a Janou Pleskalovou. Publikace navazuje na Encyklopedický slovnik cestiny (NLN, 2002) a cile, ktere si kladl. Rozsahem, obsahem a formou jednotlivých hesel i slovniku jako celku jej vsak výrazně přesahuje. Oběma slovnikům je nepochybně spolecne to, že se pokousi shrnout a vyložit nejdůležitějsi otazky struktury, fungovani a vývoje cestiny i jejiho popisu a vsimaji si přitom jak jeji mluvene a psane podoby, tak siře jejich variet. Nový encyklopedický slovnik cestiny tematicky pokrýva vsechny hlavni discipliny jazykovědne bohemistiky, ať už zavedene nebo nově se formujici. Vychazi přitom z teoretických koncepci, ktere nasly ohlas v ceske i zahranicni bohemistice a slavistice, obraci se vsak nejen na bohemisty, ale na filology obecně a otevira se i jiným disciplinam tam, kde se věnuje fenomenům obecným nebo přechodovým, resp. kde v interdisciplinarnim přesahu tvůrcim způsobem rozviji ...
The study was prompted by the question of whether Romani, the language of the dominant and tradit... more The study was prompted by the question of whether Romani, the language of the dominant and traditional minority, is acceptable as a language in the profile of a bilingual living in the Czech Republic. It outlines the situation of Romani in the Czech sociolinguistic space and argues for its rehabilitation so that it could be studied, taught, maintained in a community, and used to represent its speakers. This is necessary in order to raise its prestige, positively affect its speakers' identity and in turn stimulate an attitudinal shift and social change. Obstacles to Romani rehabilitation are related to it being framed by Czech culture, which is driven by a standard language ideology rendering Romani a stigmatized language. Romani speakers distance themselves from Romani dialects and the ethnolect as expressions of social and economic disadvantage. Recent research has established that Romani has shown signs of language shift.
During my last visit to Czechoslovakia in the summer of 1987, I was Struck by the increasing use ... more During my last visit to Czechoslovakia in the summer of 1987, I was Struck by the increasing use of Common Czech in mass-media and other areas previously dominated by Standard Czech. This prompted me to investigate the present status of Common Czech in relation to Standard Czech. Czech holds a unique position among languages by its internal stratification, called by some linguists diglossia and by others codeswitching 1. Instead of having one underlying code, it has two, Standard or Literary Czech, and Common Czech, the predominant spoken form of the Czech lands. Although other languages, including French and German, exhibit multiple codes, only in Czech do the two codes share such a central position in the language. Not surprisingly, this duality has for centuries created a dilemma in many areas of language usage,includingteaching, the arts, the mass-media, and even informal communication. Curiously, the unusual stratification and usage have been traditionally studied by foreigners rather than native linguists. While holding the standard literary language in high acclaim, native Czech linguists often view the spoken language as substandard and unworthy of serious research. This study will probe the origins of this academie disdain and examine the current status and usage of the two codes. Following Bohuslav Havranek's Classification (which is aeeepted by most linguists although interpreted differently), I will distinguish between two basic codes, that of Standard Czech and Common Czech. Standard Czech, sometimes referred to as Lit erary Czech or spisovná čeština, is the basic norm of the Czech language; it represents its one and only codification. It is taught as the Literary Standard Czech code in schools. It is no longer true that it is the only acceptable language of mass-media and written communication and thus cannot be defined as the written form of Czech. Common Czech or obecná čeština is an interdialect 2 unifying a larger area in which there are also other dialects. At present, many of the dialects have been abolished and Common Czech is the vernacular of the major part of Bohemia. Nevertheless, it is not codified or taught, is never used in textbooks for Czech natives or foreigners, 1
This paper examines annual reports (ARs) of multinational mining companies Glencore, Rio Tinto an... more This paper examines annual reports (ARs) of multinational mining companies Glencore, Rio Tinto and BHP framed by the challenge of COVID-19 in 2020. We apply a linguistic analysis to screening the letters of chairmen and CEOs that encapsulate an ideology of mining, prioritize the message of sustained and prospective financial success, and display commitment to employees and communities. Using critical discourse analysis, we explore how corporations involved in destructive activities managed to mask the nature of their conduct and promote positive PR when expected to document an on-the-ground involvement with employees and local communities due to the global pandemic. We accounted for the ideology of mining natural resources, the central message foregrounded in the reports, the selection and distribution of key topics and keywords, and relexicalization of critical concepts and descriptions. The CDA revealed “smart management” of COVID-19 aimed to hide facts related to the destruction ...
The lasting traces of Czech immigration to Texas and the once prominent immigrant community lead ... more The lasting traces of Czech immigration to Texas and the once prominent immigrant community lead to the cemeteries. The purpose of this study is to show how to read Czech cemetery data in Texas from the 1860s to the 1950s in order to understand the immigrants’ integration and contact with their German neighbors and the dominant Anglo-American society. To immigrants in the middle of the 19th century, Texas offered land and freedom of movement. But the reasons to return home outweighed those to stay for some of the earliest immigrants who were unable to align themselves with networks established by the German immigrants who preceded them. Those who followed the pioneers lived within interethnic social structures that they gradually abandoned in favor of the ethnocentric Czech community. Language choices, the interplay of Czech and English, and the endurance of the Czech language in tombstone inscriptions yield synchronic and diachronic data whose analysis and interpretation reveal soc...
이 논문은 사례연구와 야외연구의 결과를 바탕으로 각기 다른 문화에서 온 이주자와 이민자들의 융합의 도전에 대해서 말한다. 오늘날의 중부유럽에 초점을 두고, 세계적인 현상인 이... more 이 논문은 사례연구와 야외연구의 결과를 바탕으로 각기 다른 문화에서 온 이주자와 이민자들의 융합의 도전에 대해서 말한다. 오늘날의 중부유럽에 초점을 두고, 세계적인 현상인 이주를 다루고 고국의 이미지를 형상화하는 동안 이주자들에 의해 공유되어지는 요소를 알아본다. 특히, 저자는 19세기 중반과 20세기 후반, 서로 다른 두 시기의 체코, 독일, 슬로바키아...
This article draws attention to the role one's language plays in socialization and explains the m... more This article draws attention to the role one's language plays in socialization and explains the misunderstandings and conflicts over integration of the Roma in the Czech Republic. Recognizing the role of home language leads to successful socialization. By not demanding that schools account for home language in the process of teaching, the Roma have implicitly agreed that Czech is the natural way through which children of diverse cultural backgrounds access education and adapt. Children of minorities and namely, the Roma, have been disadvantaged by cultural assumptions enabling teachers, curricula, and textbooks to construct the profile of a Czech student in a way that precludes his or her multicultural origin. To compare, the study provides insight into the conflict between Standard American English and Afro-American English and highlights its factors, legal resolutions, and contemporary situation. The article also reviews research on bilingual classrooms and learning in the United States and suggests that it is relevant to the contentious interrelationship of standard Czech and Romani at schools.
International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 2016
The study was prompted by the question of whether Romani, the language of the dominant and tradit... more The study was prompted by the question of whether Romani, the language of the dominant and traditional minority, is acceptable as a language in the profile of a bilingual living in the Czech Republic. It outlines the situation of Romani in the Czech sociolinguistic space and argues for its rehabilitation so that it could be studied, taught, maintained in a community, and used to represent its speakers. This is necessary in order to raise its prestige, positively affect its speakers’ identity and in turn stimulate an attitudinal shift and social change. Obstacles to Romani rehabilitation are related to it being framed by Czech culture, which is driven by a standard language ideology rendering Romani a stigmatized language. Romani speakers distance themselves from Romani dialects and the ethnolect as expressions of social and economic disadvantage. Recent research has established that Romani has shown signs of language shift.
Perilous Voyages exemplifies the fact that one can learn much about immigration by focusing on sp... more Perilous Voyages exemplifies the fact that one can learn much about immigration by focusing on specific journeys. As Konecny and Machann show, this focus enables readers to view immigration as a set of complex decisions of troubled individuals rather than as a movement of masses. The authors have unearthed critical historical materials that shed new light on Texas immigration. The book communicates not only valuable facts but also excitement over discovering previously unpublished materials of narrative interest and historical power: Texas travel adventure in the diary of William Wright (April-May 1879), oral history about the voyage of thirty-six Moravians (1873), and Kingsbury\u27s pamphlet glorifying Texas
Odborna kniha je výsledkem prace kolektivu 191 autorů vedených editory Petrem Karlikem, Markem Ne... more Odborna kniha je výsledkem prace kolektivu 191 autorů vedených editory Petrem Karlikem, Markem Nekulou a Janou Pleskalovou. Publikace navazuje na Encyklopedický slovnik cestiny (NLN, 2002) a cile, ktere si kladl. Rozsahem, obsahem a formou jednotlivých hesel i slovniku jako celku jej vsak výrazně přesahuje. Oběma slovnikům je nepochybně spolecne to, že se pokousi shrnout a vyložit nejdůležitějsi otazky struktury, fungovani a vývoje cestiny i jejiho popisu a vsimaji si přitom jak jeji mluvene a psane podoby, tak siře jejich variet. Nový encyklopedický slovnik cestiny tematicky pokrýva vsechny hlavni discipliny jazykovědne bohemistiky, ať už zavedene nebo nově se formujici. Vychazi přitom z teoretických koncepci, ktere nasly ohlas v ceske i zahranicni bohemistice a slavistice, obraci se vsak nejen na bohemisty, ale na filology obecně a otevira se i jiným disciplinam tam, kde se věnuje fenomenům obecným nebo přechodovým, resp. kde v interdisciplinarnim přesahu tvůrcim způsobem rozviji ...
The study was prompted by the question of whether Romani, the language of the dominant and tradit... more The study was prompted by the question of whether Romani, the language of the dominant and traditional minority, is acceptable as a language in the profile of a bilingual living in the Czech Republic. It outlines the situation of Romani in the Czech sociolinguistic space and argues for its rehabilitation so that it could be studied, taught, maintained in a community, and used to represent its speakers. This is necessary in order to raise its prestige, positively affect its speakers' identity and in turn stimulate an attitudinal shift and social change. Obstacles to Romani rehabilitation are related to it being framed by Czech culture, which is driven by a standard language ideology rendering Romani a stigmatized language. Romani speakers distance themselves from Romani dialects and the ethnolect as expressions of social and economic disadvantage. Recent research has established that Romani has shown signs of language shift.
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