In his letters, the writer Karel Havlíček Borovský (1821–1856) used word order changes common for Standard Czech of the 19th century: different attribute placement in relation to the determined noun, transgressives and infinitives in final position in semiclauses, finite verbs in final position in clauses, infinitive – modal verb inversion. These changes occur especially in passages in which the writer strove for esthetically impressive expression or a higher bookish style. In neutral communication, the usual word order based on topic-focus articulation is employed. The archaic type and markedness of Havlíček’s word order was confirmed by a survey in which most respondents modified the period word order in accordance with contemporary usage.
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