O písmenku c a o písmenech a hláskách vůbec

• Authors: František Daneš

Title variants

EN

Remarks on the status of the grapheme c in Czech and the “sound - letter“ relationship in general

• Languages of publication: CS

Abstracts

EN

The most considerable deviation from the phonological principle applied in Czech orthography is the existence of two graphemes, i and y (called “soft” and “hard”, respectively) standing for one and the same phoneme /i/. The distribution of the two graphemes is controlled by certain rules, which, in turn, bring forth some spelling problems on the level of morphology. One of these follows from the fact that the grapheme c has been traditionally (and problematically) classed among “soft (palatal) graphemes” (sic!). The author analyzes the situation in some detail and evaluates different possibilities for solving the problems, discusses the overall position of the grapheme y in the whole vocabulary of contemporary Czech, and suggests some adjustments for contemporary usage. Two background assumptions are highlighted: first, that the basic distinction phonemegrapheme should be consequently maintained in all cases, and second, that the high complexity of natural languages entails certain weak points and irregularities in spelling systems.

Keywords

CS

český pravopis; písmena c a i/y; písmeno versus hláska; slabá místa pravopisných systémů

EN

Czech spelling; graphemes c and i/y; weak points in spelling systems

• Publisher: Institute of the Czech Language, Czech Academy of Sciences
• Journal: Naše řeč (Our Speech)
• Year: 2008
• Volume: 69
• Issue: 3
• Pages: 127-134
• Document type: ARTICLE

Contributors

author

František Daneš

• Ústav pro jazyk český AV ČR, v. v. i., Letenská 123/4, 118 51 Praha 1, Czech Republic