„Jméno to působilo na mne odjakživa zvláštním kouzlem“ – metajazykový pohled na propria v publicistice čtyř českých spisovatelů
“The name has always had a special charm for me” – A meta-linguistic view of proper names in newspaper texts of four Czech writers

Summary/Abstract: The study focuses on the use of proper names in the articles of four Czech writers: Jan Neruda (1834–1891), Svatopluk Čech (1846–1908), Karel Čapek (1890–1938), and Karel Poláček (1892–1945), who reflected not only Czech culture and society, but also the Czech language. Given their avid interest in linguistics, the aim of this paper is to analyze the authors’ linguistic takes on proper names as reflected in their art journalism (essays, feuilletons, and columns). The present analysis focuses on their opinions of, for instance, naming of public spaces, personal names (and whether they use them stereotypically), misuse of proper names in politics, and naming in adver¬tising. Their attitudes towards the naming strategy (seen as a linguistic strategy) are always examined in the context of the dominating linguistic views of the given period (the views on the language norms in particular), from approximately the 1850s until the 1930s. This approach, combined with a literary-cultural one, allows us to cover the issue comprehensively. The study is based on the chapter of the forthcoming dissertation Language and linguistic issues and their reflection in the works of selected Czech writers.

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