No abstract

The article introduces the latest Czech version of the Multilingual Assessment Instrument for Narratives (MAIN). The first Czech version of MAIN was published in 2020 and was piloted in 2020–2021. Subsequently, a revised Czech version of MAIN was created. This article introduces this latest version of MAIN, describes minor changes to the manual caused by typological features of Czech and a specific cultural context, and presents sample analyses of the pilot data collected from typically-developing and hearing-impaired children. The results from the pilot study indicate that MAIN functions properly in the Czech context, in particular for preschool children. The results show that MAIN can be fruitfully applied to assess speech and language skills in hearing-impaired children in the Czech context.

Czech is a flective Slavic language that traditionally expresses gender in female surnames by suffixation. The formation of female surnames of Czech citizens is regulated by Czech law. The surnames and the related law repeatedly attract the attention of non-linguists and are discussed in the public arena. The study analyses metaphors and metonymies used in these discussions involving non-linguists. The data for the analysis are collected from public discourse, especially from newspapers and magazines. Although the main topic of the public discussions is “linguistic”, the material reveals much about Czech speakers’ understanding of other, non-linguistic topics, such as the role of the state, state legislation, and personal freedom of choice. The discussions show parts of the folk theory of language as well. The repertoire of metaphors and metonymies used in the discussions is rich and it concerns three main target domains (language; law and the state; discussion and argumentation). Many non-linguists who participate in this type of public discussion today tend to see individual freedom as more important than any linguistic tradition.

Artykuł dotyczy relacji między formą konstrukcji, w której pojawiają się rzeczowniki oznaczające emocje, a konceptualizacją metaforyczną tych emocji w języku czeskim. Koncentruję się na wybranych rzeczownikach oznaczających emocje negatywne (vztek ‘wściekłość’, zlost ‘złość’, hněv ‘gniew’, amok ‘amok’, strach ‘strach’, úzkost ‘niepokój’, panika ‘panika’, nelibost ‘uraza’, nechuť ‘niechęć’) oraz na czasownikach, z którymi mogą być łączone w funkcji podmiotu lub dopełnienia (oraz marginalnie i innych typów). Zostały zidentyfikowane zgodności w preferowanych typach konstrukcji dla danych emocji, w repertuarze używanych czasowników oraz w metaforach powiązanych. Jednak wyniki można wyjaśnić za pomocą procesów metaforycznych lub czynników semantycznych, takich jak intensywność lub „aktywność” emocji tylko częściowo. Artykuł łączy teorię walencyjną z kognitywnym podejściem do języka i jest oparty na danych z synchronicznego korpusu pisanego języka czeskiego SYN2015.

Developmental stylistics, a sub-discipline of stylistics, studies the development of and changes in stylistic competence during a speaker’s life. This developmental perspective is under-used in stylistic research. The article summarises current definitions of developmental stylistics and proposes a set of new and complex parameters for a discipline that studies stylistic competence at all stages of life, in both production and reception, and in typical and less typical contexts. It discusses the main factors which make ‘developmental’ research within stylistics problematic, and which may contribute to the fragmented nature of the discipline. The wide range of topics within developmental research often calls for an interdisciplinary approach. The great variability in the way speakers communicate and interact with one another, the limited capacity to make generalisations from the research, and the analysis of various types of ‘imperfect’ language all present significant methodological challenges.