Conclusions
Conclusions
As I have shown by including the works of some Czech linguists, Czech has been undergoing unprecedented changes both in terms of its lexicon and its syntax. This has been largely due to the increasing popularity and influence of English on social media platforms. While some experts consider this process troublesome, others argue that there is actually nothing wrong with change and that Czech is not deteriorating as a result of the transformations it has been undergoing.
In my own research, I focused on how actual users of social media do or do not accept the growing popularity of English and the changes to Czech it brought about.
In terms of politics, those who want to be seen as open to the outside world, who support the EU, immigration, and globalization, tend to use English expressions or loanwords much more than those who believe in the opposite. Far-right politicians and their followers who criticize the EU, immigration, and globalization, use almost exclusively Czech (and often the prescriptively correct version) in their posts to show their support for nationalism. As such, their posts usually have a strong traditional Czech feel, whereas the content posted by their opponents often has a much more international feel.
In terms of geography, I found that people from each of the regions I studied use English and anglicisms in their social media posts, even if only in hashtags. However, people living in Prague use English far more than those who live in other parts of the country, namely the Moravian region and Karlovy Vary. I believe that the most important factors at play here are identity, community-building, and belonging. This is because those who live in the Moravian region or in Karlovy Vary, where there are significant minorities, tend to use Czech to differentiate themselves from the “other.” At the same time, however, given the unique characteristics of Prague as a cosmopolitan city, those who want to belong in its society need to speak at least some English to be fully included. This, of course, reminds us of William Labov’s study of Martha’s Vineyard which came to similar conclusions regarding language and identity.13
As such, we see that language is a fundamental instrument that helps people form their identities, feel included in their communities, and express themselves politically. Studying language use and language change can help shed light on the state of globalization, how people have reacted to it, and how it has influenced them. Language and language change thus shape in important ways the discourse on topics such as identity formation, political participation, international cooperation, cultural interconnectedness, and immigration.