Preposition Vocalization in Czech
Jeffrey
Holdeman
Preposition vocalization in Czech (v >
ve, s > se, pod >
pode, etc.) is a complex matter which is
drastically over-simplified in most Czech and foreign textbooks,
grammars, and dictionaries (cf. Slovník spisovné
&chachekcz;e&shachek;tiny pro &shachek;kolu a
ve&rhachek;ejnost, Filipec et al., 1994; Mluvnice
&chachekcz;e&shachek;tiny, Dokulil et al., 1987; Chcete
mluvit &chachek;esky, &Chachek;echová et al.,
1997). Very few grammars have attempted to put forth a systematic
description—a clear exception being Travni&chachekcz;ek's 1951
Mluvnice spisovne &chachekcz;estiny. In his work,
Travni&chachekcz;ek gives an extensive description of the conditions
under which preposition vocalization always, usually, occasionally,
and never occurs in literary Czech (and to a lesser extent in
non-standard variants of Czech), and provides phonetic and historical
reasons for some of these.
In the half century since the publication of Travni&chachekcz;ek's
grammar, some of these norms have changed and are exhibiting more
predictable patterns. In my analysis, I will discuss the major trends
of change, the instances in which variation exists, as well as
discussing more elaborate articulatory, phonological, and historical
reasons for the modern situation. Because of the numerous
complications associated with analysis of the variants of spoken
Czech, I have limited my study to various forms of printed materials.
As a summary, I will make comparisons to other Slavic languages and
will posit topics for further research and their implications to
various subfields in Czech and Slavic linguistics.