Czech, English and Dutch colour adjectives are examined on the basis of InterCorp and other data to establish their equivalence where the very different numbers representing the three languages readily point to some major overlap in interlingual relations. The most conspicuous cases are discussed against the background of the typological features of these languages. There exist some familiar differences, such as the Czech červený-rudý corresponding to a single English equivalent, red, or the Dutch rood, although other, less familiar discrepancies may be found as well, such as the Dutch roos-roze for pink, růžový, occurring mostly in compounds. Out of the three basic sentence functions of adjectives which may be (1) attributiva tantum, (2) predicativa tantum, or have (3) non-specialized function, it is the last use (3) that is chosen for a further examination based on the available corpus data, as colour terms occur in all standard syntactic positions. However, only the predicative use of these colour adjectives is focused on as it appears to be special and not much research interest has been paid to it in general. Overall, the research did not produce a sufficient number of examples to allow detailed conclusions.
Vladimir Skalicka (1909–1991) was professor of general linguistics at the Faculty of Arts, Charles University, and a member of the second generation of the Prague Linguistic Circle, specifically a typologist and a Finno-Ugric scholar. Having originally studied Latin in Prague, he showed an early interest in Finno-Ugric languages and Turkish, but also many other languages. Having no predecessors, he was largely self-taught, though he acknowledged Vilem Mathesius as a major source of influence (apart from Ferdinand de Saussure), i.e. within the general framework of the Prague Circle. Gradually his scope of interest grew broader, covering hundreds of languages in all imaginable aspects. The two years spent in Finland predetermined his primary preoccupation with Finnish so much so that he founded a fullyfledged study of Finno-Ugric languages at Charles University in the 1960s. In addition to his translations from Finnish and Hungarian he published over 200 articles and eight books on various linguistic topics. Skalicka is probably best-known as the author of an original linguistic typology which had been his life-long concern.
On the basis of sample analysis of a Czech adjective, a definition based on the data drawn from the Czech National Corpus (cf. Čermák and Schmiedtová 2003) is gradually compiled and finally offered, pointing at the drawbacks of definitions found in traditional dictionaries. Steps undertaken here are then generalized and used, in an ordered sequence (similar to a work-flow ordering), as topics, briefly discussed in the second part to which lexicographers of monolingual dictionaries should pay attention. These are supplemented by additional remarks and caveats useful in the compilation of a dictionary. Thus, a brief survey of some of the major steps of dictionary compilation is presented here, supplemented by the original Czech data, analyzed in their raw, though semiotically classified form
Ferdinand de Saussure died 100 years ago (22. 2. 1913) leaving a memorable legacy of primary importance for modern linguistics. This brief review outlines his life, family, studies and cultural background in his native Geneva that were formative for his career and then offers a short account of his major thoughts that have largely shaped the course of modern linguistics. The notes are related thematically to the nature of language and linguistics in the human community, moving to the language system (langue) and text (parole). Some of his important observations are included at the end together with an extensive list of quotes illustrating Ferdinand de Saussure’s well‑known, lesser‑known and unknown views, all of which are of special importance and still provide intellectual stimulation for linguists today.
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