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Localisation of Version D of "The Poema Morale" based on "The Linguistic Atlas of Early Middle English"
Vaňková, Marie ; Čermák, Jan (advisor) ; Tichý, Ondřej (referee)
The present MA thesis presents an analysis of version D of the Early Middle English verse sermon known as the Poema Morale. The objectives of the study were to verify the present localisation of D in Western Kent and clarify its relations to two more copies of the same text (T and M). The research consistsed in analysing the language of the text it terms of its dialect and distinguishing between different layers of copying, where possible. The analysis was performed using the electronic tool Linguistic Atlas of Early Middle English, specific procedures included mainly analyses of maps showing the distribution of dialectal features found in D, which were complemented by discussions of forms which D shares with other Kentish texts or versions T and M. The aim of these discussions was the identification of words coming from the exemplar. Evidence supporting the localisation of D in Kent as well as forms presumably taken from the archetype were presented and put in the context of the results of previous studies.
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A comparative study of the Czech lexeme "aby" and its English translations in parallel Czech-English texts
Vašková, Petra ; Klégr, Aleš (advisor) ; Tichý, Ondřej (referee)
The present study focuses on functions and English translation counterparts of the Czech lexeme aby. It is a relatively frequent word in the Czech language which is described as a subordinating conjunction expressing purpose, effect, manner, and also as a particle with a number of discourse functions. The current description, however, does not seem complete and this study therefore aims to analyse its use in more detail. Lexicographic and grammatical sources served as a basis for the classification of aby as a conjunction and as a particle. After an analysis of 200 examples it soon became evident that this listing is not complete and the use of aby is more complex than originally expected. The present paper thus treats all the functions of aby and also exemplifies each of them using extracted corpus data. In the study, aby in its conjunction and particle use is firstly treated separately to analyse each of them in more depth. This analysis, consequently, provides basis to point out their common features as well as their differences. The English translational counterparts are another point of interest in the study, in particular, their adequacy, regularity, and lexicalization.
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The Washback Effect of the Czech 'Maturita' Exam: the Students' Perspective
Rösslerová, Eva ; Gráf, Tomáš (advisor) ; Tichý, Ondřej (referee)
The aim of this thesis is to ascertain whether and to what extent English language lessons at Czech secondary schools are affected by the so-called washback effect related to the final leaving examination ("maturita"), and to attempt to define how this potential negative impact may be minimized. The washback effect phenomenon occurs when a (language) course is concluded by a final examination, and describes how such an examination influences the actual curriculum, the instruction as such, and all the participants. Applied linguistics offers a number of both theoretical and empirical studies conducted worldwide which focus on the particular aspects of the washback effect occurring during language examinations. This thesis strives to follow up on the findings of these empirical studies and apply them to the current centralised Czech form of the English "maturita" examination. The thesis was initially inspired by students' observations during English lessons at a Czech grammar school, which were a part of pedagogical education at the Faculty of Arts of the Charles University. After establishing the focus of the paper, preliminary research in the form of semi- structured interviews with four students in the final grades at Prague grammar schools was conducted. While this pre-research study allowed only...
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Analysing Early Middle English online: Construction and Use of a LAEME Based Spelling Database
Vaňková, Marie ; Tichý, Ondřej (advisor) ; Osolsobě, Klára (referee) ; Berg, Kristian (referee)
The present thesis deals with the construction and testing of a web-based tool for analysis of Early Middle English texts, created from the data available in the Linguistic Atlas of Early Middle English (LAEME). The introductory theoretical overview of research into Middle English texts focuses on dialectology and the relation between spoken & written language and it serves as a springboard for the development of the tool. The thesis further presents a detailed explanation of the methodology behind the tool. It describes the structure of the database containing the transformed data from LAEME and then it moves on to the semi-automatic data processing and types of output data. This processing consists mainly in the segmentation of LAEME spelling variants into smaller units and in determining which segments in a group of variants correspond to one another. The thesis also describes the individual functions available within the tool and tests their use on short sample analyses. Although more extensive testing and modifications of the tool are required, it has so far revealed no crucial errors and the tool can be described as useable. The project succeeded in opening new possibilities of faster access to LAEME data. Furthermore, the tool is prepared for future upgrades, including the addition of data...
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Collocations and representation of gender in the Chronicles of Narnia series
Ocelík, Dana ; Brůhová, Gabriela (advisor) ; Tichý, Ondřej (referee)
This diploma thesis deals with the representation of gender in children's literature, namely in the book series The Chronicles of Narnia. The theoretical part discusses gender linguistics, characterizes children's literature and discusses the issue of gender stereotypes in this type of literature. The analytical part of the paper focuses on the collocations of proper names of the four main characters (two female, two male) and the pronouns he/she/I referring to them. Attention will also be paid to common names related to gender: girl(s), boy(s). The material consists of 300 examples. The thesis examines both left-side and right-side collocates (mainly adjectives and verbs) of these nouns and pronouns and their semantics. The thesis determines the semantic types of collocates the words under study are associated with and examines the differences between the depiction of male and female characters, i.e. how the characters are described, what characteristics are typically attributed to them, what actions they perform and so on. The thesis provides an analysis of gender-related collocational patterns in children's literature and hopes to contribute to a greater understanding of gender-based language in general, as well as possible stereotyping effects on the child reader. keywords: gender, gender...
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Abbreviated verbal forms and the category of emergent modal verbs in the corpora of present-day spoken English
Savčenko, Tomáš ; Tichý, Ondřej (advisor) ; Fúsik, Ondřej (referee)
The assumption of this work is that the shortened verbal form gonna is undergoing a process of grammaticalization. The aim of this work is to test and describe this process by comparing gonna with its parent phrase be going to. The theoretical part introduces modality and its general structure and the English modal system with a focus on modal verbs from synchronic and diachronic perspective. The category of 'emergent modals' that includes gonna and similar verbs (wanna, gotta, etc). is introduced followed by the introduction of the grammaticalization theory. The thesis that the practical part is testing is that there is a functional divergence between be going to and gonna as a result of a grammaticalization process. This divergence is thought to gather future functions in be going to and modal meanings in gonna as is assumed by its participation in 'emergent modals'. The practical part includes quantitative corpus analysis that showed a growing frequency of gonna through the 1990's, 2000's and 2010's, which supports its grammaticalization process, and unclear frequency trend for be going to, which suggests these phrases are not competing with each other functionally. Qualitative part presents the distribution of future and modal meanings of gonna on a sample of 200 concordance lines from the 90's...
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Corpus based analysis of selected idiomatic phrases and their development in time
Menhartová, Kateřina ; Tichý, Ondřej (advisor) ; Čermák, Jan (referee)
The present thesis examines the historical development of selected idiomatic phrases, namely, keep one's word, speak one's mind, lend a hand, bury the hatchet, rock the boat, and toe the line. The study is based on data from the English Historical Book Collection, Parsed Corpus of Early English Correspondence, Corpus of Historical American English, and Hansard Corpus. The research focuses on the idioms' first occurrence in the corpora, development of construction, frequency, and possible passivization and internal modification instances. Additionally, the results on the expressions' syntactic flexibility are compared to the existing hypotheses of linguists, and its possible reasons and rules are investigated. It was found that some of the idioms had various forms, which alternated for a time before the norm was established. Some appear in different constructions in the 20th century still. Further, the syntactic flexibility seems to be greater than stated in the cited theoretical works. It is concluded that the idiom's ability to passivize or be internally modified might depend on its type, which is connected to its meaning and the meaning of its constituents, pragmatics, and even their age and established place in language, as some idioms show a growing flexibility. Key words: diachronic corpus...
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Development of modal verb "shall" in legal English
Kirakosyanová, Natali ; Tichý, Ondřej (advisor) ; Čermák, Jan (referee)
and key words This BA thesis focuses on examining the development of the use of the modal verb SHALL in legal documents in the English language. The modal verb SHALL still has its place in legal English and, as the manuals indicate, it can point to the precision of legal language. However, ambiguity is a rather undesirable phenomenon in legal language, and due to the growing number of legal documents and drafters, the meanings of modal verbs expanded over time, reducing the level of precision and opening the door to ambiguity. The BA thesis aims to analyse the development of the use of SHALL in court decisions in given time periods, further classify the samples based on semantics, as described by dictionaries of legal English, and point out the gradual growth in the use of certain meanings of the modal verb SHALL, possibly causing ambiguity in legal documents. To compare the development, and especially the frequency of use, the same method is used within the common language, which is analysed using non-legal corpora. Keywords: modal verbs, modality, shall, legal English, language change
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Potential Radioactive Hot Spots Induced by Radiation Accident Being Underway of Atypical Low Wind Meteorological Episodes
Pecha, Petr ; Tichý, Ondřej ; Pechová, E.
Hypothetical radioactivity release with potentially high variability of the source strength is examined. The interactions of the radioactive cloud with surface and atmospheric precipitation are studied and possible adverse consequences on the environment are estimated. The worst-case scenario is devised in two stages starting with a calm meteorological situation succeeded by wind. At the first stage, the discharges of radionuclides into the motionless ambient atmosphere are assumed. During several hours of this calm meteorological situation, a relatively significant level of radioactivity can be accumulated around the source. At the second stage, the calm is assumed to terminate and convective movement of the air immediately starts. The pack of accumulated radioactivity in the form of multiple Gaussian puffs is drifted by wind and pollution is disseminated over the terrain. The results demonstrate the significant transport of radioactivity even behind the protective zone of a nuclear facility (up to between 15 and 20 km). In the case of rain, the aerosols are heavily washed out and dangerous hot spots of the deposited radioactivity can surprisingly emerge even far from the original source of the pollution.
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