Spatial relations are an important element of communication. They are expressed using prepositional (Jeli podél řeky. ‘They drove alongside the river.’) as well as nonprepositional phrases (Prošli hlubokým lesem. ‘They crossed a deep forest.’), locative adverbs (Všichni sešli dolů. ‘They all came downstairs.’) and subordinate clauses (Došli až tam, kde cesta končila. ‘They arrived to the place where the path ended.’). ADV Loc phrases assume secondary meaning in communication (Je úplně na dně. ‘He has hit bottom.’ — he is in a critical situation). Originally, local relations played a fundamental role in the formation of other meanings: the meanings of purpose, effect, and cause evolved in the dynamic component while the meanings of condition, aspect, manner, etc. developed in the static component. Local relations receive due attention in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages as well as in the reference level descriptions for Czech (A1–B1). The same applies to selected textbooks of Czech for foreigners. There is, however, room for improvement which could be achieved by: a) applying the onomasiological approach (grouping prepositions based on semantic units) instead of the semasiological one; the obstacle to this is the horizontal description of Czech declension (a step-by-step presentation of grammatical cases rather than entire paradigms), b) taking advantage of the knowledge of the use of primary prepositions (linguo-didactic instructions) and c) taking advantage of other aspects, e.g. the presentation of the preposition na ‘for’ as a preposition of purpose and not place (Jde na oběd. ‘He is going for lunch.’ — not “where”, but “why”); paying more attention to differences (z Brna vs. od Brna ‘from Brno’ vs. ‘from around Brno’); synonymy (podle/podél řeky ‘along/alongside the river’); and the competition between prepositions (za mlhy / v mlze = ‘during the fog / in the fog’).
This paper aims to commemorate, on the seven hundredth anniversary of the birth of Emperor Charles IV, significant milestones in the history of Czech language, to point toward the usage of Czech in the present day and to recognize the yet underutilized possibilities of onomasiological description of the spoken system of Czech as it relates to non-native speakers. This work would contribute to more effective teaching of Czech as a foreign language, especially for non-Slavic speakers. This paper is focused on (a) the presentation of significant language rules related to Czech and the role of Czech in communication (reminiscent of the Golden Bull of Charles IV, which established Czech as one of the official languages in the Holy Roman Empire). Next the paper examines (b) types of grammatical description (the synchronic and diachronic approach, as well as comparative, descriptive, prescriptive, or semasiological grammar) with emphasis on both general and specific qualities of pedagogical grammar (reduction and simplification of curriculum, the cyclical nature of grammatical interpretation, efforts toward understandability and learnability, application of curriculum, and pragmatism). Attention is then dedicated to (c) problematic explanations of Czech grammar in textbooks of Czech for foreigners (formalism, disproportionate attention to morphology and syntax, and similar issues). The paper concludes by considering (d) the advantages and possibilities of onomasiological description of the grammatical system of Czech, beginning with what languages have in common (the semantic dimension) and ending with how they differ (formal representation of meaning and the functions of communication). Onomasiology allows for the introduction of competing ways to express grammatical categories (varied frequency, stylistic connotation, among others). This method contributes to the effective interpretation of grammatical categories that do not have a parallel between the source and target languages. In regard to the methodology of this text, the analysis of scientific literature and textbook material is used, and the benefit of the onomasiological approach is hypothesized.
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