Substandard Czech¶
General information¶
Although standard Czech is presented as the default in this guide, it is useful to highlight differences between standard and substandard language for study purposes.
By substandard, we mean a range of phonological, lexical, and stylistic elements that are observed mainly (but not exclusively) in spoken language. In this guide, the term includes both hovorová čeština (colloquial/spoken Czech) and obecná čeština (Common Czech). While hovorová čeština refers to informal spoken usage in general, obecná čeština is a specific interdialectal variety used primarily in Bohemia, including Prague.
The difference between colloquial and Common Czech is the subject of ongoing study and controversy, as different approaches classify them differently. For those interested in linguistics, we recommend consulting specialized literature. 1 2 3 Please note that regional variants (dialects) are not covered here; however, some online resources are available. 4 5
In the following overview, the table contains the standard form, a description of the grammatical context, the substandard form, and examples.
Phonology¶
| Standard | Category | Substandard | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| -ý adjectival ending |
adj Ma Mi | -ej | Petr je dobrý student. Petr je dobrej student. |
| -ý- in word stem |
nn, vb | -ej- | rýže, být rejže, bejt |
| -é adjectival ending |
adj N | -ý | Petr koupil nové auto. Petr koupil nový auto. |
| -é- in word stem |
nn | -í- | polévka, mléko polívka, mlíko |
| o- in the beginning of a word |
nn, adj, prn, num, vb, adv | vo- | olej, odvážný, ona, osm, otevřít, opatrně volej, vodvážný, vona, vosum, votevřít, vopatrně |
| -eji/-ěji adverbial comparative and superlative |
adv | -ejc/ějc | rychleji, levněji rychlejc, levnějc |
| -e in 1st PL of verbs of Group -E |
vb | missing -e | budeme, pracujeme budem, pracujem |
| -l in the masculine past tense before another consonant |
vb | missing -l | Petr mi to neřekl. Petr mi to neřek. |
| long vowel | - | shortening of some vowels -í- → -i -ý- → -i- |
On mi to říkal. → On mi to řikal. Bydlím v novém domě. → Bydlim v novym domě. |
Morphology¶
| Standard | Category | Substandard | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| -í, -é, -á endings unification in plural of adjectives |
adj PL | -ý | mladí studenti, mladé studentky, mladá města mladý studenti, mladý studentky, mladý města |
| endings unification in the instrumental plural (observable in all genders) | nn, adj, prn, num | -(a)ma | s těmi čtyřmi mladými studenty s těma čtyřma mladejma studentama |
| VOC → NOM for masculine surnames | nn | NOM | pane Nováku! pane Novák |
Lexicology¶
| Type | Example (substandard) |
|---|---|
| univerbisation adj + nn → nn |
cestovní kancelář → cestovka občanský průkaz → občanka spací pytel → spacák Moravské náměstí → Moravák |
| individual words | káva → kafe ano → jo pít (alkohol i jiné nápoje) → chlastat and many other words |
| relative pronoun/conjunction který → co |
To je kniha, kterou jsem četl. To je ta kniha, co jsem četl. |
Syntax¶
| Type | Example (substandard) |
|---|---|
| Missing auxiliary verb in the past tense for 1st SG / PL Note: The subject pronoun já or my must be present in the sentence. |
Já jsem tam byl. → Já tam byl. My jsme tam byli. → My tam byli. |