Encyklopedicky Slovnik Cestiny (review)

This encyclopedic dictionary of the Czech language is a unique publication. Its aim is to deal with the broadest range of questions concerning the structure and functioning of Czech, and it is addressed not only to Slavicists but also to all who have an interest in the Czech language.

The book has over 1,000 entries. Some are fairly short, a number of them run for several double-column pages of small print, and the wordcount of an average entry ranges between 500 and 1000. Entries have been contributed by 65 authors, each covering topics of his or her special interest. Because the editors have wisely decided not to limit the perspective of the entries to any particular methodological approach or school, some entries offer several views of the topics discussed.

Users of this dictionary will find everything they may look for and more—from the description of the phonology, morphology, and lexicon of no less than nine developmental stages of the language, to the relationship of Czech to Proto-Indo-European and Proto-Slavic, to the numerous stylistic varieties of Czech (twenty-four different styles are listed and discussed), and then some. Furthermore, the dictionary is not limited to strictly linguistic and stylistic matters; it also includes entries taking an anthropological or sociological view of Czech, for instance those dealing with ethnography of communication, sociolinguistics, the use of gestures (kinesics), language origins, diglossia, and forms of greeting. Where appropriate, the text is supplemented with tables.

The dictionary has been meticulously edited and printed and abounds with examples; each entry is followed by a selective bibliography that includes works of both domestic and foreign authors. An exhaustive index of close to 4,000 items enables the reader to make easy use of this rich source of information. This dictionary is the most useful and authoritative work on the Czech language published in decades.