Buch, Englisch, Band 13, 220 Seiten
Buch, Englisch, Band 13, 220 Seiten
Reihe: LINCOM Studies in Slavic Linguistics
ISBN: 978-3-89586-612-8
Verlag: LINCOM
The study makes use of an original 30,000-word coded corpus to examine a problematic area along the varietal faultline —- dialogue in belletristic texts -- and suggests that, contrary to received wisdom, the strict lines drawn between Czech’s 'standard' and 'common' varieties are no longer as relevant as they were. Data from contemporary Czech testifies instead to the gradual crumbling of diglossia and the development of these two varieties into a single code with graduated features showing formality and informality and having some discourse functions. The received view of Czech -- and of language varieties overall -- is shown in this instance to hinder our understanding, rather than facilitating it.
This research supports other recent reevaluations of the received view in language contact and bilingualism studies, and shows how they can be applied to quasi-diglossic situations like the Czech one.