| Popis: |
The studies gathered in this collection concentrate, as do those of the author's earlier monograph “Also: nazdar!” Aspekty textové vícejazyčnosti (“Also: Hello!” Aspects of Textual Multilingualism, Prague 2003), on the issues of the relationship Czech has with different foreign languages used in selected works of modern Czech literature. The first text concerns itself with the use of German and Slovak in the prosaic literature of Božena Němcová. Both languages appear as a means of expressing actual communication among members of different nations while, at the same time, their use contributes to the opposition of “foreign” – “close”. The study of multilingualism in the poetry of Vladimír Holan shows how the individual elements of the many foreign languages used play a role not only in the semantic openness but also in the enigmatic nature of many of this author's poems. A great deal of attention is paid to Czech prose of the second half of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century. Vladimír Körner and Ladislav Fuks represent writers who integrate foreign languages into epically structured works as a means of characterization, as well as bearers of distinctive values. The author of this collection points out, using the work of four Czech writers (Jáchym Topol, Jan Vrak, Petra Hůlová, Bára Gregorová), the original ways currently being used of handling multilingualism in contemporary prosaic writing influenced by postmodernism. These texts are characterized by the frequent occurrence of unusual combinations of fragments of various languages, where play with language and spontaneous associations come to the fore, and they also reflect the situation of people in a multilingual and multicultural world. The final part of the collection includes notes delineating the so‑called simulation of foreign languages and an overview of international as well as Czech research into multilingualism in literature. |
