UNIVERZITA PALACKÉHO V OLOMOUCI PRÝ SEEN THROUGH ITS ENGLISH EQUIVALENTS

UNIVERZITA PALACKÉHO V OLOMOUCI Filozofická fakulta Katedra anglistiky a amerikanistiky

PRÝ SEEN THROUGH ITS ENGLISH EQUIVALENTS bakalářská práce

Autor:

Anna Raszková, APLEKO

Vedoucí práce:

Mgr. Michaela Martinková, PhD.

Olomouc 2013

Prohlašuji, ţe jsem tuto bakalářskou práci vypracovala samostatně a uvedla úplný seznam citované a pouţité literatury.

V Olomouci dne 26. 4. 2013

………………………

Poděkování Ráda bych poděkovala paní Mgr. Michaele Martinkové, PhD. za její cenné rady, trpělivost a pomoc při vedení této práce.

Table of Contents 1. Introduction ........................................................................................ 5 2. Defining the Czech particle prý ......................................................... 7 2.1.

The particle prý ............................................................................................. 7

2.2.

Definition of prý in the Czech dictionaries and grammar books................... 7

2.3.

Disambiguating the meaning of prý ............................................................ 11

3. ―Prý‖ seen through the English equivalents ..................................... 16 3.1.

Methods ....................................................................................................... 16

3.1.1.

The corpus used.................................................................................... 16

3.1.2.

The query ............................................................................................. 16

3.2.

Data analysis ................................................................................................ 18

3.3.

The source of the information is known ...................................................... 21

3.4.

The source of the information is unknown .................................................. 28

3.5.

Prý without an English equivalent in the English original text ................... 34

4. Conclusions ...................................................................................... 39 5. Czech summary ................................................................................ 42 6. Works cited ...................................................................................... 45

1. Introduction The Czech particle prý has either the meaning of doubt or uncertainty that arises from paraphrasing somebody else‘s speech or it serves as a signal of introducing somebody else‘s direct speech (Červená 1994, 320). As Johansson argues, ―in monolingual corpora we can easily study forms and formal patterns, but meanings are less accessible. One of the most fascinating aspects of multilingual corpora is that they can make meanings visible through translation‖ (2007, 57). This thesis aims to address the following question: Can the meaning of the particle prý be seen through its English equivalents? More specifically, what is it in the English original that leads the translator to use the word prý in the translation? To achieve this goal, the multilingual corpus InterCorp is used. The first part of the thesis reviews what the origin of the particle prý is and how it is defined in the Czech dictionaries. The dictionaries introduce two basic meanings of the particle prý. Firstly, the word prý is defined by Slovník spisovné češtiny pro školu a veřejnost as a modal particle expressing doubt or uncertainty that rise from the fact that we do not know the source of the information (Červená 1994, 320). Slovník spisovného jazyka českého further differentiates between the source of the information that is known (in that case prý is used in an utterance that is reproduced directly with doubt or irony) or unknown (again, prý expresses doubt or uncertainty) (1989, 516). Secondly, prý is used to introduce somebody else‘s direct speech. Karlík et al. (2002, 375) argue that prý also functions as a means of introducing somebody else‘s direct or indirect speech and serves only as a signal of such a reproduction of speech. Hoffmanová and Kolářová state that the particle prý is used in order to avoid the repetition of Czech equivalents of verbs such as say, tell, hear, read or of other verbs of giving information or receiving information (2007, 97-98). Since the examined texts are random extracts from English fiction, it is expected that the translators will use the particle prý in this way. The second part of the thesis describes the methods that were used to extract the relevant data from the corpus. The source texts for the research are the English original texts of fiction that are translated into Czech. The source text and the Czech translated text in which the particle prý is used are compared. 5

The third part of the thesis deals with the analysis of the data. Firstly, each one of the English original sentences is examined and it is decided whether the source of the information is known or unknown, i.e. whether we are able to identify the source of the information in the text. When the source of the information is known, it is assumed that the particle prý in the Czech translation is used to introduce somebody else‘s direct or indirect speech. When the source of the information is unknown, it is assumed that the particle prý in the Czech translation expresses the main meaning suggested by the Czech dictionaries, i. e. the meaning of doubt or uncertainty, which expresses the distance between the speaker and the reported message.

6

2. Defining the Czech particle prý 2.1.

The particle prý

According to the Czech etymological dictionaries, the particle prý originally had full inflectional and derivational morphology. Etymologický slovník jazyka českého states that prý developed from the third person singular of the Czech verb pravit/praviti (―Z 3. sg. praes. praví resp. aoristu pravi vzniklo adv. signalisující cizí výrok prai > praj > prej >, z toho hyperkorektní spisovné prý‖1) (Machek 1997, 481). In other words, the original form of this particle was praví se [say3SG REFL]. This form lost its morphology and it developed in the particle prý which signals somebody else‘s utterance (Machek 1997, 481). Prý is thus a member of a closed-class category of particles. According to Mluvnice češtiny 2, particles express the relationship of the speaker either to the hearer or to the subject of the utterance. They are not related to the sentence members but to the whole sentence. In a not-syntagmatic way, particles may relate to verbs, adverbs, adjectives or even nouns (Petr 1986, 228) In Czech, particles are classified into several categories and subcategories. Prý belongs to the category of evaluative particles and its subcategory of modal particles (Petr 1986, 232-233).

2.2.

Definition of prý in the Czech dictionaries and grammar books

The Czech dictionaries provide general information regarding the particle prý. Slovník spisovné češtiny pro školu a veřejnost states two meanings of prý. Here the original dictionary entry is included:

prý

část.

1.

modál.

s význ. nejistoty, nezaručenosti, pochybnosti, plynoucí z

toho, že jde o přejaté sdělení: padaly p. kroupy; je p. nemocen; měl p. mu říci, ţe to nechce 2. navaz. hovor. uvádí cizí přímou řeč: Přišel k nám Jan. P. dělej, jdeme do kina, řekl

1

In this thesis, the word prej will not be examined.

7

Firstly, prý is defined as a modal particle that is used as a means of expressing doubt or uncertainty that arises from the fact that the utterance is reproduced. Secondly, prý is defined as a colloquial expression that introduces somebody else’s direct speech (Červená 1994, 320). Slovník spisovného jazyka českého defines prý differently and states that the particle has actually three meanings. The dictionary entry is included again: prý (ob. téţ prej) část. 1. naznačuje, že jde o sdělení přejaté z neurč. pramene, zprav. nezaručeného n. podceňovaného: má prý velký plat; uţ je prý zase zdráv; je prý to hodný chlapec; slyšela jsem, ţe vy prý nechcete jít; prý se u nich nyní ani neukáţe 2. naznačuje, že jde o sdělení přímo přejaté, ale reprodukované s pochybností, s ironií n. s přehlížením: domlouvají mi, ať prý to nedělám; máte prý jít domů vzkazují vám, ţe...; tvrdila mi, ţe prý o tom nic nevěděla; pospíchal, aby prý na něho nemusili čekat 3. uvádí cizí přímou řeč: přijde za mnou maminka. Prý dělej, dělej, musíme na procházku (Pujm.); ptali jsme se, nebude-li jim to vadit — prý ne Since this third meaning (and the second meaning in Slovník spisovné češtiny pro školu a veřejnost), in which prý introduces somebody else‘s speech, is less complicated than its first and second meaning, I will discuss it first. Karlík et al. (2002, 375) state that utterances may be reproduced in three ways:2  by using the quotation marks – introducing direct speech (uvozená řeč přímá)  by using the particle prý  by paraphrasing the utterance – introducing indirect speech (uvozená řeč nepřímá) Karlík et al. then go on to say that when the utterance is reproduced by using the particle prý, its form is usually the same as the form of the original utterance (2002, 375). In this case, prý functions as the quotation marks (1):

(1)

Prý otevři okno.

[Karlík et al. 2002, 375]

2

Karlík zde hovoří o reprodukci prvotních výpovědí. Výpovědi realizované v nějaké prvotní komunikační situaci jako tzv. přímá řeč, …, mohou být v jiné (druhotné) situaci reprodukovány v podstatě třemi způsoby: (1) formou uvozené řeči přímé …, (2) formou výpovědního útvaru s částicí prý …, (3) formou uvozené řeči nepřímé … (Karlík et al. 2002, 375).

8

However, the form of the original utterance may change as well (2). This way of reproducing somebody else‘s speech is then getting closer to the indirect speech (2002, 375):

(2)

Ţe prý abych otevřel okno.

[Karlík et al. 2002, 375]

Hoffmanová and Kolářová (2007, 93) suggest that ―prý takes part in textual transitions between direct and indirect speech‖. On the basis of this statement, the thesis will differentiate between the usage of prý as a signal of introducing direct or indirect speech. Now the first and the second meaning of prý listed in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého have to be discussed. Both meanings express some kind of distance of the speaker towards the content of the utterance. Firstly, this dictionary defines prý as a particle which suggests that the source of the reproduced utterance is uncertain, unsubstantiated or underestimated. Secondly, prý suggests that the particular utterance is reproduced directly with doubt or irony, i.e. the speaker is aware of the source of the utterance (1989, 516). In other words, the speaker knows who said what and he or she paraphrases it. The first two meanings thus differ with respect to the question whether the source of an utterance is known or unknown. Those two meanings, however, correspond to the meaning of the word prý that is called modal in Slovník spisovné češtiny pro školu a veřejnost. To support this statement, Grepl and Karlík claim that the communicative function of an utterance often expresses a certain attitude of the speaker to the utterance or to the hearer. They go on to define four types of attitude, one of which is the attitude of epistemic modality, which, according to them, can also be expressed by the particle prý.3 The attitude of epistemic modality shows the speaker‘s amount of certainty about the truth value of an utterance (1998, 479-483). In Příruční mluvnice češtiny, Grepl claims that prý expresses somebody else‘s opinion. The speaker is able, by using the particle prý, to 3

Modální částice se někdy nazývají „větná příslovce―. To je zdůvodněno především funkčně, zčásti I historicky. Nejsou větným členem, nevstupují do syntaktických vztahů s jinými větnými členy, mají povahu vsuvek. Některé jsou skutečně svým původem „pokleslé― vloţené věty, např. možná, prý, pravědpodobně. Nejednou se lexikální výrazy jistotní modality chovají syntakticky buď jako predikátory, pojí se tedy s vedlejší větou, nebo jako funkční modální částice. (Grepl and Karlík 1998, 483).

9

express some kind of distance in case he/she doubts the validity of the utterance and to express that what he says is reproduced – that he read or heard about it somewhere (2012, 626). This attitude of distance is a kind of expression of epistemic modality, too.4 With respect to epistemic modality, the concept of evidentiality, on which there has been an increasing amount of literature in recent years, has to be mentioned. Aikhenvald (2004, 1) defines evidentiality as a ―grammatical category, whose primary meaning is information source.‖ She then states that: ―in about a quarter of the world‘s languages, every statement must specify the type of source on which it is based – for example, whether the speaker saw it or heard it, or inferred it from indirect evidence, or learnt it from someone else. … Marking one‘s information source indicates how one learnt something‖ (Aikhenvald 2004, 1). The category of evidentiality is absent in most major European languages (Aikhenvald 2004, 7) and with respect to this fact, Hirschová, in her presentation (2012), admits that evidentiality is not a grammatical category in Czech. It can only be expressed by using other means of expressing evidentiality, either lexical (3) or syntactic (4). Those expressions are called evidential markers (Hirschová, 2012).

(3)

Adverbs (viditelně, slyšitelně, zdánlivě, údajně), adverbial case forms (podle mně, podle předpovědi), particles (prý), verbs (zdá se, vypadá to, jeví se) [Hirschová]

(4)

Vidím/viděl jsem, slyším, soudím, domnívám se, ţe …

[Hirschová]

The particle prý is here considered to be a lexical evidential marker. Hirschová differentiates between epistemic modality and evidentiality in this way: ―Evidentials specify the source, the knowledge of which authorizes the speaker to assert something, (gives the speaker grounding to present some information). Epistemic modality expresses evaluation, (momentary, 4

Mluvčí se můţe distancovat od záruk o pravdivosti sdělovaného, tvrzeného …(o) tak, ţe to, co říká, má „z druhé ruky―, tj. ţe to od někoho slyšel, někde četl apod. Slouţí k tomu zvl.:  Slovesa s významem „předávání informace― (říkat, šuškat, psát).  Slovesa s významem „získávání informace― (slyšet, dovědět se, zjistit).  Částice prý, snad, údajně. Prý (snad, údajně) bude dražší nájemné.  Modální sloveso mít: Má být dražší nájemné. (Grepl et al. 2012, 626-627).

10

subjective) conviction, belief of the speaker towards the truthfulness of his/her assertion. In the speech of native speakers, these two domains overlap and, many of the expressions pertaining both to evidentials and to epistemic modality can be considered ambiguous (modal verbs muset, moci, mít)‖ (Hirschová, 2012). However, since prý is clearly defined as an expression of epistemic modality in the Czech grammar books (as mentioned above) and evidentiality is not a grammatical category in Czech, this thesis will not operate with the category of evidentiality. As far as I can tell, the contemporary Czech literature does not mention the concept of evidentiality. It seems that some linguists try to apply this category to various languages in which evidentiality is not a part of the grammar, i.e. it is not compulsory and it is not realized by special morphemes. This effort is then inconsistent with the already accepted categories like epistemic modality and it leads to the overlapping categories.

2.3.

Disambiguating the meaning of prý

On the basis of what the dictionaries state, it seems that the modal meaning of prý is the main meaning of this word. The dictionaries state this meaning at the first place and the Czech grammar (Grepl 2012, Grepl and Karlík 1998) mentions the particle prý mainly in connection with epistemic modality. It seems that the meaning of prý as a signal of quoting is only marginal. The usage of prý as a means of introducing indirect speech is not a part of the dictionary entries. Nevertheless, it is important for the purpose of this thesis which examines English literary texts. Hoffmanová and Kolářová argue that the particle prý is often used in order to make the reproduction of a dialogue lively and dynamic (5) and the Czech fiction authors use prý in this way (2007, 98).

(5)

―Včera mi telefonoval,‖ pravil V. ―Jak se má ?‖ ―Říkal, ţe uţ začíná pracovat.‖

11

―Řekl jsem, ţe T. bude mít padesát roků, tak aby třeba o něm něco napsal. Nečetl prý jeho poslední věci a nemá je. Já mu je půjčím. (L. Vaculík, Český snář).

[Hoffmanová and Kolářová 2002, 98]

As far as I can tell, the only study focused on the particle prý is a corpus based study by Hoffmanová and Kolářová (2007). According to Hoffmanová and Kolářová, it deals with ―the possibilities for functional and semantic differentiation of the Czech word prý‖ (2007, 93) in SYN20005, which consists of various texts. Rather unsystematically, Hoffmanová and Kolářová examine how the word prý combines with different words or phrases, e.g. jak, údajně, možná, pravděpodobně, the verba dicendi, the verbs of giving or receiving information. In some examples, the question whether the source of the information is known or unknown is taken into consideration, thus concentrating on the question whether the particle prý has a modal meaning or whether it serves as a means of introducing somebody else‘s speech. Since the criteria used in this article are quite heterogeneous, I decided to introduce some examples that seem relevant to this thesis. For example, Hoffmanová and Kolářová state that in some cases, ―prý may be considered to be a neutral and rather technical signal of reproducing (paraphrasing or quoting) somebody else‘s speech‖ (2007, 93).6 They list three examples that are supposed to demonstrate this phenomenon. In (6), prý functions as a means of paraphrasing somebody else‘s speech. In (6a) and (6b), it is indicated whose speech is paraphrased.

(6) a. Starostové protestují proti likvidaci autobusových spojů, poněvadţ prý desítkám občanů hrozí ztráta kontaktů se světem. [Hoffmanová and Kolářová 2007, 94]

5

Corpus SYN2000 is a large Czech synchronic corpus which consists of various types of texts. From 60 % it consists of journalistic texts, 25 % are texts from technical literature and from 15 % it consists of fiction texts. 6 V některých případech můţeme prý pokládat za poměrně neutrální, spíše „technický― signál reprodukování (citování, parafrázování) (Hoffmanová and Kolářová 2007, 93).

12

b. Bosenský prezident pohrozil, ţe se jeho ministr schůzky nezúčastní, protoţe prý srbská strana neplní své závazky. [Hoffmanová and Kolářová 2007, 94]

On the other hand, in (7), it is not indicated whose speech is paraphrased. This example thus should not be considered to be a signal of reproducing somebody else‘s speech, on the basis of the fact that we do not know the source of the information. Prý has a modal meaning because the information is uncertain and its source is unknown:

(7)

M. Albrightová nemá pověst právě nejbystřejšího diplomata, proto jí prý přezdívají Halfbright, tedy Polobystrá. [Hoffmanová and Kolářová 2007, 94]

When the examples in (6) are closely examined, it is found that even their interpretation is not clear. The source of the information is known (starostové, bosenský president) and the verbs to protest, to threaten (protestovat, pohrozit) suggest the reproduction of somebody else‘s speech. On the other hand, it can be argued that the word starostové is not the source of the information and the clause with prý has a modal meaning because the source in this clause is unknown. Prý may also suggest the speaker‘s doubt about what the first sentence communicates and this interpretation leads to the modal meaning, too. In a Czech sentence, the meaning of the particle prý is thus not always clear. When the source of the information is present in a Czech sentence, the main difficulty lies in deciding whether prý serves as a signal of reproducing somebody else‘s speech or whether it carries what linguists (Grepl 2012, Grepl and Karlík 1998) call a modal meaning. The use of a specific intonation or the presence of the extra-linguistic signs (like the movement of the eyebrows) may be helpful in the process of deciding on the meaning of the particle prý but this is not something to be found and studied in written texts. A great deal of attention is paid to the collocability of the word prý. Again, Hoffmanová and Kolářová emphasize the importance of the differentiation between the known and the unknown source. The source is often expressed in the

13

constructions with jak; the adverb jak can refer either to a very concrete source and the use of the particle prý then signals the reproduction of the speech (8) (2007, 96).

(8)

Jak uvádí Mladá fronta, M. prý nebyl přítomen. [Hoffmanová and Kolářová 2002, 96]

The other possibility is that jak refers to a source that is doubtful, uncertain or unknown (9) (2007, 96) and prý then carries the modal meaning.

(9)

Jak se říká, prý …

[Hoffmanová and Kolářová 2002, 96]

Hoffmanová and Kolářová (2007, 97) go on to say that prý occurs with verbs of giving or receiving information. Not only verba dicendi belong here, but also verbs such as read, overhear and others. (10) and (11) thus do not bring any new information that could shed some light on the difference between the meanings of prý; Hoffmanová and Kolářová only use them to demonstrate the fact that prý occurs in connection with the verba dicendi and they differentiate between the known and the unknown source. In (10), it is the case of a reproduction of a dialog where the source is known. (10) Řekl jim, ţe leţí, prý jí není dobře.

[Hoffmanová and Kolářová 2002, 97]

In (11), the source of the utterance is unknown and prý has a modal meaning. (11) Říkalo se, ţe se prý bojí o svůj ţivot [Hoffmanová and Kolářová 2002, 97] Although the article by Hoffmanová and Kolářová provides us with a great number of examples of prý that occur in SYN2000, it does not state what usage of prý is more dominant. We are not able to compare the usage of prý with a modal meaning and the usage of prý that serves as a way of reproducing somebody else‘s speech. This thesis will focus on a specific type of texts, to be more concrete, it will examine only the English fiction. I will try to decide what usage of the particle prý is typical in the translation from English to Czech. In the decision-making process, the 14

answer to the question whether the source of the information is known or unknown serves as the main criterion in defining the meaning of prý. It is expected that the use of the particle prý will be a sign of a dialogue reproduction, i. e. prý introduces a reproduction of somebody else‘s speech. Prý in such cases plays the role of a functional word and does not carry any modal meaning.

15

3. “Prý” seen through the English equivalents 3.1.

Methods

This part of the thesis focuses on the methods that were used during the research. It describes the corpus used and the queries that were created to extract the data. It also describes the methods used to sort out the data. 3.1.1. The corpus used The corpus-based study was conducted by the means of the online corpus InterCorp, a large parallel translation corpus covering 27 languages, with Czech as a pivot language, i.e. Czech is either the source or the target language. I used the Park interface and worked with parallel English and Czech texts. Since this thesis focuses on the English equivalents, only translations of texts of English fiction from English to Czech (49 texts, 7,226,876 words) were considered. The data were downloaded before the 8th of April when the old version was upgraded to the 6th version. 3.1.2. The query Before the query could be created at all, the settings in the Intercorp had to be adjusted. Since there are 27 languages that can be compared with Czech, the right language of the source texts had to be chosen. This thesis focuses on the English to Czech translation and for this reason, Czech and English were the languages of the source texts (see Figure 1).

16

Figure 1: The choice of the corpora according to the source language

The next step was to go through the texts that were either Czech or English fiction. This adjustment had to be done manually.7 Since the aim is to examine the translation from English to Czech, i.e. the thesis examines the expressions in the English original that lead the translator to use the particle prý in the translation, the Czech originals had to be excluded as well as non-fiction texts and translation from a third language (see Figure 2). Figure 2: The Czech originals and the non-fiction texts are excluded

7

When the choice of the text is done automatically, some mistakes may occur. For example, when we filter the texts according to the source language and we choose English, Intercorp does not include Chevalier‘s book Dívka s perlou, even though it is an English original text.

17

The last step was to create the query itself. Since the particle prý has no morphology, the final query was very simple. The particle prý had to be searched in the Czech part of the parallel corpus. It was searched as a ―word‖ (slovní tvar) (see Figure 3), with both the upper-case and the lower-case initial letter. Figure 3: The query used to search prý

3.2.

Data analysis

When the query shown above was applied, 322 tokens of prý in the Czech translation were obtained, i. e. 322 sentences that contained the particle prý. The most complicated part of the research was to state the criteria according to which I would sort the data. The dictionaries say that firstly, prý is used in Czech in the utterances that generally express doubt or uncertainty. In an utterance, the source of information is either unknown (the doubt or uncertainty rises from the fact that the source is anonymous) or known, in which case the speaker expresses some kind of irony or doubt about what is stated in the utterance. Secondly, prý is used to introduce direct speech. For the sake of the clarity, Table 1 brings a summary of how the dictionaries define prý.8 Table 1: Prý as defined by the dictionaries

Prý expresses doubt or uncertainty

Source of information is unknown – doubt or uncertainty rises from the fact that

the

source

anonymous

8

Dictionary definitions are listed and analyzed in more detail in section 2.

18

of

information

is

Source of information is known – the speaker expresses irony or doubt about what is said Prý used to introduce direct speech

The data (322 tokens of prý) had to be sorted manually. Irony and doubt soon turned out to be difficult to use as a criterion for sorting. A more concrete criterion had to be adopted. I differentiated between the known and the unknown source of the information. When the source of the utterance is known, the English equivalent of the particle prý introduces either direct or the indirect speech. When the source of the information is unknown, it is expected that the English equivalent of prý expresses doubt or uncertainty. In some examples, this differentiation could not be used because the English equivalent of the particle prý could not be identified (Table 2). Table 2: The criteria used for sorting

1. Prý – the source is known 2. Prý – the source is unknown 3. Prý – the English equivalent not found

The data downloaded from Intercorp usually show only a small part of the English original text and since the source of the information can be found also in the preceding sentences, these had to be taken into account. I used the Park interface which enabled me to see a wider context in order identify the source of the information. For further research, I copied the additional sentences into a table I created for this purpose (see Figure 4).

19

Figure 4: An excerpt from the table used for sorting the data

Figure 4 also shows how I proceeded in order to divide the data according to the criteria. There are 4 columns; in the first column, I used colour-coding; each coloured cell was aligned to a single token. The blue colour was used for the known source of the information, the red colour was used for the unknown source of the information and the purple colour was used for the tokens which had no equivalent of prý in the English original. The second column presents the Czech translation, the third column presents the English source text. In the fourth column, a wider context is introduced, if needed. Figure 5: Data sorted by the source of the information (known/unknown)

20

It follows from Figure 5 that the number of tokens where the source of the information is known in the English original (193 tokens, blue colour) is about 2 times bigger than in cases where the source is unknown (105 tokens, red colour). In 24 cases, the English equivalent of the particle prý was not identified.

3.3.

The source of the information is known

The blue column in Figure 5 (193 tokens) shows the number of cases where the source of the information in the English original sentence was known. Such a high number suggests that when the source of the information is known, prý serves as a means of introducing somebody else‘s speech. In Czech, prý may introduce direct speech (see Section 2.2). Only 1 such sentence was found in Intercorp (12).

(12) a. He tried to remain calm. ―What can I do for you, Officer?‖ ―Where's Jack?‖ Cal's heart stopped and sweat popped through his skin. ―Jack who?‖ Jack who. Byrd glanced over his shoulder and smiled at his partner. The uniformed cops had surrounded the car. ―Jack Nance. Your good friend. Where is he?‖ ―I haven't seen him.‖ ―Well, what a coincidence. [GJC] b. „Prý jaký Jack.―

[GJC]

In two tokens, the source of the information is in English introduced by the preposition according to, as in (13, 14).

(13) a. He wasn‘t going anywhere for a while, according to his attorney. [GJC] b. Teď prý chvíli nikam nepůjde, tvrdila jeho advokátka. [GJC] (14) a. According at least to Noriko‘s account of things, he was still in the midst of his story when I interrupted by turning to young Mitsuo Saito and saying: [IKA] 21

b. Podle Noričina tvrzení jsem ho prý ani nenechal domluvit. [IKA] Table 3 shows the frequency of the English equivalents of the particle prý where the source of the information is introduced in the subject of an English reporting clause or in a phrase equivalent to prý: Table 3: The English equivalents of the particle prý when the source is known Number of tokens ACCORDING TO Verbs in an English reporting clause SAY TELL CALL EXPLAIN INSIST, DEMAND, CLAIM TALK APOLOGIZE, BE SORRY ASK WRITE ACCUSE ADD CHAT FIND MENTION THINK REPLY OTHER TOTAL

% 2

1,04

86 27 9 5 5 5 4 3 3 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 30 193

44,55 13,99 4,66 2,59 2,59 2,59 2,07 1,55 1,55 1,04 1,04 1,04 1,04 1,04 1,04 1,04 15,54 100,00

The most frequent verb in the reporting clause equivalent to prý is the verb say (84 tokens), e.g. (15, 16, 17, 18 and 19). The subject of the reporting clause is either nominal or pronominal. However, pronominal subjects predominate; antecedents for the anaphoric use of the pronouns could always be identified in the text:

(15) a. He had fallen on his feet in Buenos Ayres, he said, and had come over to the old country just for holidays.

[JJD] 22

b. Prý se mu podařilo uchytit se v Buenos Aires a vrátil se do rodné země jen na dovolenou.

[JJD]

(16) a. He tried to blackmail me, and said he‘s going to tell Sir Winston. [SDS] b. Snaţil se mě vydírat, ţe prý všechno prozradí Siru Winstonovi. [SDS] (17) a. She came back early, said she had an appointment. [SARH] b. Vrátila se z té vycházky dřív, protoţe prý měla nějakou schůzku. [SARH] (18) a. He said he forgives me for the intrusion.

[SDS]

b. Prý mi odpouští, ţe jsem sem tak vtrhl.

[SDS]

(19) a. ―She‘s fine, sends her love, says nobody‘s stalking her yet, and asked me to deliver this.‖

[GJP]

b. ―Je v pořádku, moc tě pozdravuje, prý ji ještě nikdo nesleduje a poţádala mne, abych ti předal tohle.‖

[GJP]

In (20), (21) and (22) prý is equivalent to a reporting clause introducing direct speech in English.

(20) a. He‘d scoffed and said some really nasty things that boiled down to “one time doesn’t make babies.”

[LJL]

b. Vysmíval se mi a říkal odporné věci, ţe prý se z jedné noci děti nerodí. [LJL] (21) a. He said he was related to Princess Galitzine but explained, perhaps taking a swipe at his less prepossessing rival Dolgorouki, “that he does not wish to use his own title because he considers it a ridiculous affectation some 23

Russian aristocrats tend to indulge in, especially here in Paris.” [RAV] b. Říkal, ţe je příbuzný s kněţnou Galicynou, ale vysvětloval, snad aby zasadil ránu svému méně úspěšnému rivalovi Dolgorukému, „ţe nechce uţívat svého šlechtického titulu; pokládá prý za směšnou afektovanost, kdyţ si v tom někteří ruští aristokraté libují, zejména tady v Paříţi.―

[RAV]

(22) a. She looked away. ―The library's always the nicest room in the house, ―she quoted, and ran her eyes along the books. “The mirror of the soul” books were. The Faerie Queene and Kinglake's Crimea; Keats and the Kreutzer Sonata. There they were, reflecting. What? What remedy was there for her at her age-the age of the century, thirty-nine-in books?

[WVB]

b. „Zrcadlo duše,― prý jsou knihy. Královna víl, Kinglakův Krym; Keats a Kreutzerova sonáta. Tady stojí a zrcadlí.

[WVB]

The second most common English equivalent of prý is the reporting clause with the verb tell (27 tokens), e. g. (23).

(23) a. Noriko told me she was extremely puzzled by Father's behaviour that night. [IKA] b. Noriko prý vůbec nevěděla, co si má o tatínkově chování myslet. [IKA]

In (24a), the English equivalent seems to be the reporting clause with the verb tell and with the subject housekeeper. However, the verb tell is translated into Czech (řekla) as well (24b).

(24) a. But after the king was gone off, the housekeeper sent for Gobborn and Jack, and told them that she had watched for a chance to warn them, for the king was so afraid they should carry their art away and build some other king as fine a castle, he meant to take their lives on the morrow. [AEF] 24

b. Sotva král odejel, zavolala posluhovačka na tesaře a na Jeníka a řekla jim, ţe uţ nějakou dobu je chce varovat. Král se prý tolik obává, ţe aţ odejdou, vezmou si s sebou své umění a jinému králi potom zámek zrovna tak krásný postaví, ţe je nazítří o ţivot chce připravit.

[AEF]

What happened was that the translator divided the English original sentence into two sentences in Czech, in one of which the particle prý was used as an equivalent of the reporting clause in the English original. The two clauses are divided either by a full stop or by a comma in the Czech sentence. This is also the case in (25, 26, 27, 28, 29 and 30).

(25) a. She said they adore the boy, that they‗re completely different when they‗re around him, like nice people.

[LJL]

b. Říkala, ţe chlapce milují, ţe jsou úplně jiní, kdyţ jsou s ním. V té chvíli jsou prý z nich velmi příjemní lidé.

[LJL]

(26) a. The Tortoise repeated this plea two or three times over, while his tormentors persisted with their abuse, accusing him of laziness and of relying on the rest of us to do his share of the work.

[IKA]

b. Ţelva svou prosbu dvakrát či třikrát opakoval, ale ti trapiči ho dál vinili z lenosti. Prý spoléhá, ţe ostatní udělají práci za něj.

[IKA]

(27) a. Nevertheless, he welcomed Giustiniana and her siblings ―like a father‖ (he was cooler toward Mrs. Anna) and announced that his wife, Lady Mary, would be back from the country the following month and would introduce them to society. He would personally make sure they were soon presented to Court as well. Until then, it would be good form if Giustiniana, Bettina, and Tonnina stayed mostly around the house.

[RAV]

b. Nicméně uvítal Giustinianu i její sourozence „jako otec― (k paní Anně byl chladnější) a oznámil jim, ţe jeho ţena, lady Mary, se příští měsíc vrátí z venkova a uvede je do společnosti .On sám prý zajistí, aby byli brzy představeni také u dvora.

[RAV] 25

(28) a. He ended by asserting that I must not escape punishment for taking the file. It was an egregious breach of duty owed to the client, RiverOaks. I was not a criminal, and they had no difficulty in forgetting the grand larceny charge. [GJS] b. Skončil prohlášením, ţe bych neměl ujít trestu za to, ţe jsem spis odnesl. Bylo to do nebe volající nedodrţení slibu daného klientovi, v tomto případě RiverOaks. Nejsem prý kriminálník a jim nedělá potíţe zapomenout na obvinění z trestného činu krádeţe.

[GJS]

(29) a. One of them was a big red-headed detective-sergeant named Norgard who said he owed me twenty-five dollars but had had to use it to buy a new suit when he got his job back.

[CRM]

b. Jednou z nich byl vysoký zrzavý serţant jménem Norgard , který prohlásil, ţe mi dluţí pětadvacet dolarů, ale musel je prý pouţít na zakoupení nového obleku, kdyţ ho znovu přijali do sluţby.

[CRM]

(30) a. He didn‘t even reach it, so he blamed the stones, saying they were too light. [RAV] b. Ani ho nezasáhl, tvrdil tedy, ţe za to mohou ty kameny: prý byly moc lehké.

[RAV]

In Intercorp, there were tokens which appeared only once (30 tokens). Such a high number of tokens with frequency of just 1 suggests a great diversity of verbs in reporting clauses or verbs/nouns in phrases whose function is to introduce somebody else‘s speech in English: e.g. shout, chide, answer, beg, learn from, read, her report was, announce, complain, acknowledge, believe, assure, sign, invite, discuss, have great news, suppose, speak, assert, boast. Let me mention here three examples (31), (32) and (33).

(31) a. (… but he eluded the skill of them all; and they were at last obliged to accept the secondhand intelligence of their neighbour, Lady Lucas. Her 26

report was highly favourable. Sir William had been delighted with him.) He was quite young, wonderfully handsome, extremely agreeable, and, to crown the whole, he meant to be at the next assembly with a large party. Nothing could be more delightful!

[AJP]

b. Je prý docela mladý, okouzlujícího zevnějšku, nesmírně přívětivý, a nadto se hodlá zúčastnit příštího společenského večírku i s četnými přáteli. [AJP] (32) a. „Anyway, the last time I saw him, he was boasting about this great guy he‗d just met, and how this man was taking him under his wing, how everything was gonna be different, and … ―

[FJP]

b. „Ale kdyţ jsme se viděli naposledy, básnil přede mnou o nějakém úţasném chlapíkovi, který se prý o něj postará, jak se všechno změní, a … ― [FJP] (33) a. … she accused Denise of having had unfair outside help in choosing her balanced academic diet of English, history, philosophy, and biology. [FJC] b. A napadla Denisu, ţe si se svou vyváţenou dietou angličtiny, dějin, filozofie a biologie nechala poradit od někoho zvenčí, coţ prý je nefér.

[FJC]

In (34b), the English equivalent of prý seems to be the phrase signed Jay Gatsby and the particle prý in Czech is used in order to report what Gatsby wrote. However, the particle prý precedes the verb podepsat. In this case, it is more likely that the particle prý was added in the Czech translation. (34) a. He had seen me several times, and had intended to call on me long before, but a peculiar combination of circumstances had prevented it - signed Jay Gatsby, in a majestic hand.

[FFSG]

b. Viděl prý mě několikrát a chtěl mě uţ dávno navštívit, ale zvláštní shoda okolností tomu zabránila - podepsáno Jay Gatsby, majestátním rukopisem. [FFSG]

27

There were also three cases of the verb write (35) in the English equivalents of prý. In (35a), the clause she wrote is found in the first sentence; in Czech, however, prý is used in the second sentence (35b).

(35) a. She was deeply grateful to him and to his lady friend, she wrote. She had found peace at the convent and the abbess was very kind.

[RAV]

b. Psala, jak je hluboce vděčná jemu i jeho přítelkyním. V klášteře prý našla klid a abatyše je nesmírně laskavá.

[RAV]

Examples (36) and (37) are introduced in order to show some of the verbs in the reporting clauses that appeared with the frequency of 2 in Intercorp. In (36), it is the verb suppose and in (37), it is the verb mention.

(36) a. He supposed he forgot to, that‘s all.

[FFSG]

b. Asi prý zapomněl, to je všechno.

[FFSG]

(37) a. She‗d gone to bed, according to Warren. This early? She’d mentioned a headache, which made Jeremy feel like the worst cad, for having forgotten …

[LJL]

b. Prý ji bolela hlava.

3.4.

[LJL]

The source of the information is unknown

Table 5 shows the frequency of the English equivalents of the particle prý which were found in the sentences where the source of the information was not identified. The attitude of doubt or uncertainty is always found in these English original sentences. Table 4: The English equivalents of the particle prý when the source is unknown Adverbs as English equivalents of prý

Number of tokens

%

PRESUMABLY

2

1,90

SUPPOSEDLY

1

0,95

Verbs in an English reporting clause

28

SAY

38

36,14

HEAR

21

20,00

RUMOUR

9

8,57

SUPPOSE

7

6,69

TELL

7

6,69

A WORD + BE

4

3,80

SEEM

3

2,89

UNDERSTAND

2

1,90

OTHER

11

10,47

TOTAL

100

100,00

In (38) and (39), the English equivalent of prý is an adverb (3 tokens).

(38) a. She had a debut after the armistice, and in February she was presumably engaged to a man from New Orleans.

[FFSG]

b. Po příměří ji po prvé uvedli do společnosti a v únoru se prý zasnoubila s nějakým člověkem z New Orleansu.

[FFSG]

(39) a. They seemed to possess some kind of instinct which told them several seconds in advance when a rocket was coming, although the rockets supposedly travelled faster than sound.

[OG]

b. Jako by měli šestý smysl, který je upozornil několik sekund předtím, neţ přiletěla raketa, ačkoliv se prý rakety pohybovaly rychleji neţ zvuk. [OG] In most cases, again, the English equivalent of prý is a reporting clause with various verbs. However, unlike in examples mentioned in section 3.3, the subject of the reporting clause is always general. This is the case of the phrase (so) they say (40) and (41) or so they tell me (42). Again, a reporting clause with the verb say is the most common English equivalent of prý (38 tokens).

(40) a. They say older people sleep less than we do, but from our experience this seems quite incorrect.

[IKA]

b. Starší lidé prý spí méně neţ my, ale podle všeho to tak nebude. [IKA] 29

(41) a. Think of the marvelous inventions they say we‘ll soon enjoy: electricity in every house, the motorized car.

[FML]

b. Pomyslete na ty úţasné vynálezy, z nichţ se prý budeme brzy všichni těšit: v kaţdém domě elektřina, motorová vozidla.

[FML]

(42) a. But I was saying: can the Christian faith adapt itself? In times like these … At Larting no one goes to church … There‗s the dogs, there‗s the pictures … It‗s odd that science, so they tell me, is making things (so to speak) more spiritual …

[WVB]

b. Psí dostihy, biograf … To je zvláštní, věda prý takřka oduševňuje svět … [WVB] The source is missing also in reporting clauses in which only addressee is mentioned, such as I/we hear (43), (44). A reporting clause with hear is the second most frequent English equivalent of prý (21 tokens) in the group of tokens where the source of the information is unknown.

(43) a. I hear that Dubrovnik is the most beautiful city in the world, she wrote in her dark, angular letters, on the paper with the raised lined grids that she used. I wish you'd come be my eyes.

[SARH]

b. Dubrovník je prý nejkrásnější město na světě, psala tlustým tmavým hranatým písmem na papíře s vyraţenou mříţkou. Byla bych moc ráda, kdybyste přijeli a byli mýma očima.

[SARH]

(44) a. ―We hear you‘re fond of playing the piano, Miss Noriko,‖ I remember Mrs Saito remarking at one point.

[IKA]

b. ―Prý hrajete ráda na piano, slečno Noriko,‖ podotkla paní Saitová. [IKA] Prý is also equivalent to a reporting clause with the verb in the passive form. There is no reference to any concrete source (45, 46, 47 and 48).

30

(45) a. There were twelve men, so it was said, in the village of Fish, twelve sombre and inexplicable souls who sucked a lean milk from the almost literally bare rock upon which a mysterious populatory force had begotten them. [FFSD] b. Bylo prý dvanáct muţů ve vesnici Fish, dvanáct podmračených a nevysvětlitelných duší, které sály hubené mléko ze skály téměř doslovně holé, na níţ je zplodila záhadná rodící síla.

[FFSD]

(46) a. Shortly after Patrick disappeared, he learned that Pepper Scarboro was rumored to have been lost in the fire.

[GJP]

b. Krátce po svém zmizení se Patrick dozvěděl, ţe Pepper Scarboro prý zahynul při poţáru jeho auta.

[GJP]

(47) a. His affections were understood to be deep.

[WVM]

b. Jeho oddanost prý byla hluboká.

[WVM]

a. I’m told that the initial tests have gone very well.

[KJAF]

b. Klinické testy prý zatím probíhají velice dobře.

[KJAF]

(48)

In some cases, the verb in the reporting clause is translated into Czech and simultaneously, the particle prý is used (49, 50, 51, and 52). The translator divides the English original sentence into two parts, the second of which is introduced by the particle prý.9

(49) a. They say all surgeons are on the way to becoming extinct, that in a few years we‘ll be as out-of-date as the dodo and the witch doctor.

[HAF]

b. Říká se, ţe chirurgové jsou na vymření – za pár let prý budeme tak nemoderní jako dodo a šamani.

[HAF]

(50) 9

The same phenomenon could be observed in (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29 and 30) when the source of the information was known.

31

a. No one knows why, or how, but they’re saying that when he couldn‘t kill Harry Potter, Voldemort‘s power somehow broke -- and that‘s why he‘s gone.

[RJKH]

b. Nikdo neví proč ani jak, ale říkají, ţe Voldemortova moc se nějak zhroutila, kdyţ nedokázal zabít Harryho Pottera – a proto prý zmizel.

[RJKH]

(51) a. ―I did hear, too, that there was a time, when sermon-making was not so palatable to you as it seems to be at present; that you actually declared your resolution of never taking orders, and that the business had been compromised accordingly.‖

[AJP]

b. ―A rovněţ jsem se doslechla, ţe v jisté době se vám kazatelské poslání nezdálo tak lákavé jako nyní – prý jste sám prohlásil, ţe farářem nikdy nebudete, a tak se ta záleţitost rozhodla podle toho.‖

[AJP]

(52) a. Amanda quickly scans the woman‘s face for signs of her rumored brow lift. [FJP] b. Amanda rychle zapátrala na jejím čele po údajném liftingu, který si prý nechala udělat.

[FJP]

The English equivalent of prý is also found in the form of the noun phrase, e.g. the/a word is (53) and (54), the rumours of (55). Again, the translator divides the English original sentence into two parts (by a full stop or a comma). The noun phrase is translated in the first part, the particle prý is used in the second part.

(53) a. ―Word at the center is that he was killed in a hit-and-run accident somewhere near here.‖

[KJAF]

b. „V ústavu se povídá, ţe ho nějaký bezohledný řidič srazil a ujel. Prý tady někde.‖

[KJAF]

(54)

32

a. Word was that only poor Lady Coventry was still at home, slowly dying of lead poisoning from using too much whitening powder on her delicate skin. [RAV] b. Říkalo se, ţe doma je jen chudák lady Coventryová; prý pomalu umírá na otravu olovem, kterou si způsobila tím, ţe si na svou jemnou pokoţku nanesla příliš mnoho bělicího pudru.

[RAV]

(55) a. If questioned concerning his early arrival, he could say, I suppose, that he had come to tell Dr. Sarton of rumors of a Medievalist attack on Spacetown, urge him to take secret precautions to avoid open trouble between Spacers and Earthmen.

[AIC]

b. Kdyby se ho někdo ptal, proč přijel tak brzy, předpokládám, ţe by byl řekl, ţe přišel upozornit dr. Sartona na pověsti o středověkářích, kteří se prý chystají zaútočit na Vesmírné Město, a poţádal ho o tajná opatření, aby se zabránilo otevřené sráţce mezi Vesmířany a Pozemšťany.

[AIC]

There were also three tokens of the phrase it seems (3 tokens) as an English equivalent of prý (56, 57 and 58).

(56) a. ―So when Willem began hitting Catharina it seems Tanneke got in between them to protect her.‖

[CTG]

b. „Takţe kdyţ Willem začal Catharinu mlátit, Tanneke prý vběhla mezi ně, aby ji chránila.

[CTG]

(57) a. They are gone down to Newcastle, a place quite northward, it seems, and there they are to stay I do not know how long.

[AJP]

b. Odstěhovali se do Newcastlu, to je prý aţ někde daleko na severu, a zůstanou tam pánbůhví jak dlouho.

[AJP]

(58) a. It seems van Ruijven wanted one of his kitchen maids to sit for a painting with him.

[CTG]

33

b. Van Ruijven prý chtěl, aby jedna ze sluţek z jeho kuchyně pózovala pro obraz spolu s ním.

[CTG]

In (59), the phrase the rumor is (59a) is translated as tvrdí se in Czech (59b). The noun rumour is defined as ―a piece of information or a story that people talk about, but that may not be true‖ in the Oxford Advanced Learner‘s Dictionary (Hornby 2006, 1281). On the other hand, the verb tvrditi is defined as ―říkat, prohlašovat s jistotou, ubezpečovat‖ (speak with certainty, assure) in Slovník spisovné češtiny pro školu a veřejnost (Červená 1994, 461). Those definitions seem to be opposites. However, the absence of the source of the information in (59b) seems to be strong enough to express doubt or uncertainty, even though the verb tvrdit is used.

(59) a. The rumor is that Lily and James Potter are -- are -- that they're -- dead. [RJKH] b. A tvrdí se, ţe Lily a James Potterovi jsou jsou - ţe prý jsou mrtví. [RJKH]

3.5.

Prý without an English equivalent in the English original text

There are 24 examples in Intercorp where the particle prý is used in the Czech translation, even though no direct English equivalent could be identified in the English original sentence. The particle prý is added by the translator. In (60a), the reader is only informed about the fact that the boy needed some money. No attitude of doubt or uncertainty is expressed in the original sentence. Similar examples are introduced in (60, 61, 62, 63, 64 and 65).

(60) a. (It was imperceptible to anyone else, but Ned would know if the mail was checked. He had a letter in there, in a bright red envelope, one he‘d mailed three days earlier from Cincinnati, then raced south.) In it he’d sent Percy a check for $1, 000, money the boy needed for a set of artist’s supplies.

34

(In an earlier letter, Ned had revealed that he had once owned a modern art gallery in Greenwich Village.)

[GJB]

b. Posílal v něm Percymu šek na jeden tisíc dolarů, které prý chlapec potřebuje na nákup výtvarnických potřeb.

[GJB]

(61) a. (―The sous-chef had to leave, and since I was the nearest volunteer who wasn‘t busy at the moment, I was pressed into duty.) While Mordecai made sandwiches, I chopped celery, carrots, and onions for an hour, all under the careful eye of Miss Dolly, one of the founding members of the church, who’d been in charge of feeding the homeless for eleven years now.

[GJS]

b. Zatímco Mordecai mazal sendviče, já asi hodinu krájel celer, mrkev a cibuli, to vše pod bedlivým dozorem slečny Dolly, jedné ze zakládajících členek církve. Slečna Dolly se prý věnuje krmení bezdomovců uţ jedenáctý rok. [GJS] (62) a. (He‘d been a friend for seven years, close at times. More often than not, though, we‘d been too busy for friendship. ―Why are they pointing at me?‖ ―The file has something to do with Mister.) You went to Braden Chance and demanded to see it. (You were seen near his office the night it disappeared. There is evidence someone gave you some keys that perhaps you shouldn‘t have had.‖ ―Is that all?‖ ) b. Prý jsi šel k Bradenu Chanceovi a chtěl spis vidět.

[GJS] [GJS]

(63) a. (―Chuck,‖ said Alfred, startled. ―Hello.‖ ―Planning a conquest.) The husband’s out of town forever.” (Alfred laughed because there was nothing else for it. He and Chuck met in the street often, the engineer standing at attention, the banker relaxing at the wheel.) b. … Manţel prý nadobro utekl z města.‖

[FJC] [FJC]

(64) a. (And now, for a certain time, he was to be away from home. That respect for a New England education which is the bane of all provincial places, which drains them yearly of their most promising young men, had seized 35

upon his parents.) Nothing would suit them but that he should go to St Midas‘ School near Boston- Hades was too small to hold their darling and gifted son.

[FFSD]

b. Nedali jinak, musí prý do školy sv. Midase u Bostonu - Hades je příliš malý na to, aby stačil jejich milovanému a nadanému synáčkovi.

[FFSD]

(65) a. Outside the white tent, the usual crowd of anarchists, eyed warily by a police detail that was later criticized as having been too small, openly carried banners and placards and privately, in the pockets of their cargo pants, carried powerful bar magnets with which they hoped, amid the cakeeating and punch-drinking and confusion, to erase much data from the center‗s new Global Desktops.

[GJS]

b. Před bílým stanem se shromáţdila obvyklá skupinka anarchistů, jejichţ počínání unaveně sledovali členové policejní jednotky, jeţ byla později kritizovaná za to, ţe prý byla příliš malá. Anarchisté otevřeně třímali transparenty a nápisy a skrytě, v kapsách pytlovitých kalhot si nesli silné tyčové magnety, jelikoţ doufali, ţe aţ propukne všeobecné pojídání koláčků a popíjení punče, podaří se jim v nastalém zmatku z nových počítačů vymazat veškerá data.

[GJS]

In (66, 67, and 68), the particle prý was not only added in the translation, but the meaning of the English original sentence is significantly changed due to the translation. Those examples show the translations that are at least problematic. In (66), prý translates a modal verb in its epistemic use:

(66) a. … Robots have dreamed up a new one, by the way. A multiple robot.‖ ―A what?‖ ―What I said. There‘s a big contract for it. It must be just the thing for asteroid mining. You have a master robot with six sub-robots under it. -- Like your fingers.‖

[AIR]

b. Prý je to jedinečná věc pro těţbu nerostů na asteroidech.

36

[AIR]

Similarly, in (68a), the phrase … would doubtless be hailed is translated with the particle prý. The conditional originally present in the English sentence is lost in the Czech translation (68b). In (68c) I list an alternative translation of this phrase.

(67) a. The inhabitants have been so long out of the world that, though they make a show of keeping up to date in dress and manners and literature, they depend to a great extent on hearsay, and a function that in Hades would be considered elaborate would doubtless be hailed by a Chicago beef-princess as ―perhaps a little tacky.―

[FFSD]

b. Obyvatelé tam uţ tak dlouho ţijí odříznuti od světa, ţe ačkoliv velmi okázale drţí krok s módou v oblékání, ve vybraných způsobech a v literatuře, musí do značné míry spoléhat jen na to, co se kde doslechnou, a o záleţitosti, kterou by v Hadesu povaţovali za vybranou, vyjádřila prý se chicagská dobytkářská princezna, ţe „je snad trochu šmírácká―. [FFSD] c. Obyvatelé tam uţ tak dlouho ţijí odříznuti od světa, ţe ačkoliv velmi okázale drţí krok s módou v oblékání, ve vybraných způsobech a v literatuře, musí do značné míry spoléhat jen na to, co se kde doslechnou, a o záleţitosti, kterou by v Hadesu povaţovali za vybranou, by se chicagská dobytkářská princezna nepochybně vyjádřila, ţe „je snad trochu šmírácká―. In (69b), the translator added some information (že prý ji vycvičí) that is not mentioned in the English original sentence (69a) at all.

(68) a. (… orphaned triplets from Vermont, arrived two days later. Healthier physically, that is, for their story was very sad. The mother was shot out of season, apparently so the shooter could give the cubs to his uncle as pets, all very illegal.) The uncle then took one of the female cubs to work to show off, and one of his coworkers turned him in. (The story then hit the newspapers and television in Vermont.)

37

[KBGE]

b. Strýc se pak jednou ze samiček chlubil, že prý ji vycvičí a jeho spolupracovník ho udal.

[KBGE]

38

4. Conclusions The aim of this thesis was to answer the question if it is possible to see the meaning of the Czech particle prý through its English equivalents. Since the equivalents of prý were examined in the English original sentence, the main criterion used for sorting was to differentiate between the known and the unknown source of the information. During the research, there were found tokens which did not match any of the criteria, i. e. the English equivalent was not found. Table 5 summarizes the results of the research. Table 5: Data sorted by the source of the information (known/unknown)

Criterion

Number of tokens

Prý – the source is known

193

Prý – the source is unknown

105

Prý – added in the translation

24

Total

322 The results of the research are rather unexpected and surprising, with respect

to what the Czech dictionaries say about prý (i.e. it is defined as a particle mainly referring to the source that is unknown, doubtful or uncertain, see Section 2.2). However, there were 193 tokens of the particle prý where the source of the information was known in the English original sentence, almost twice as many as those where the source of the information was unknown (105). In the former cases (193 tokens), the particle prý plays the role of a functional word and does not carry any modal meaning that would suggest doubt or uncertainty. The source of the information can be introduced in a phrase such as according to, her report was, but in most cases, the source of the information is introduced by a reporting clause with various verbs. The subject of the reporting clause is either nominal or pronominal – its anaphoric antecedents can always be identified in the English original text. The most frequent reporting verbs are say (86), tell (27) and call (9) but there are also other verbs such as accuse, mention, suppose, add, explain which suggests there is a great variety in the equivalents of prý. In 30 tokens, the English

39

equivalent appeared only once; in 8 tokens, the frequency of the English equivalent was only 2.

The research has shown that the translator uses the particle prý in order to translate a complicated and often long English sentence. In an English sentence, the source of the information is present as well as a reporting clause or a phrase equivalent to the particle prý. The translator divides the original sentence into two parts by a full stop or by a comma. The equivalent to the reporting clause or to the phrase is literally translated in Czech, usually in the first sentence. The second sentence is introduced by the particle prý. The same phenomenon (dividing complicated composite sentences into two simple sentences) was observable also in the cases where the source of the information was unknown. In comparison with the known source, the group of the English equivalents of prý that expresses doubt or uncertainty is less diverse and their usage seems to be more stable. Here, the particle prý expresses the meaning that was defined by the Czech dictionaries. Again, the English equivalents are in the form of reporting clauses. However, the subject of such a reporting clause is always general and impersonal, usually in the form of the phrase (so) they say (again, the most common equivalent of prý) or (so) they tell me. The source of the information is not present in reporting clauses in which only addressee is mentioned, such as I/we hear (second most common equivalent of prý – 21 tokens). The passive forms of verbs are widely used, thus somehow expressing the distance from what is communicated (are supposed, is said, were understood, the rumour is). In 3 tokens, the English equivalent is expressed by an adverb (presumably, supposedly). In 24 cases, the English equivalent was not present in the original sentence. The particle prý was added in the translation or the translation from English to Czech was in some cases problematic10. Generally, the research has shown that the usage of the particle prý as a means of introducing direct or indirect speech is much more common than it was expected, at least on the basis of what the Czech dictionaries say about this particle. 10

See examples (66, 67 and 68).

40

When the source of the information is known, prý loses the meaning of doubt or uncertainty and becomes, as was mentioned before, a functional word that signals somebody else‘s speech. A very important question for a further research arises: What meanings of the particle prý are seen through English equivalents when the translation from Czech to English is considered? It would be possible to compare the results and to find out whether the distribution of the English equivalents of prý will be similar or different.

41

5. Czech summary Tato bakalářská práce se zabývá otázkou, zda je význam slova prý moţno vidět skrz jeho anglické ekvivalenty v anglických zdrojových textech, konkrétněji tedy otázkou, co vedlo českého překladatele k tomu, aby v překladu pouţil slovo prý. Jako zdrojová data jsou pouţity texty anglické beletrie a jejich český překlad v korpusu Intercorp. V teoretické části se práce zabývá etymologickým původem slova prý a jeho definicí v českých slovnících (Slovník spisovné češtiny pro školu a veřejnost 1994, Slovník spisovného jazyka českého 1989), kde má částice prý tyto významy: 1.

Pochybnost, nejistota, která plyne z toho, ţe je zdroj informace neznámý a ţe jde o přejaté sdělení.

2.

Sdělení je přímo přejaté, ale reprodukované s pochybností nebo s ironií.

3.

Uvádí cizí přímou řeč. Dále se práce opírá o informace získané z literatury zaměřené na českou

gramatiku, kde je prý definováno jako prostředek vyjádření jistotní modality, jeţ vyjadřuje distanc mluvčího k obsahu sdělení. České mluvnice dále uvádějí, ţe částice prý také uvádí cizí nepřímou řeč. Značná pozornost je věnována studii, která zkoumá slovo prý v monolingválním korpusu SYN2000. Praktická část práce se zabývá samotným výzkumem. K analýze byla pouţita data z paralelního korpusu Intercorp. Při sestavování samotného dotazu bylo nejdříve nutné zajistit, aby zkoumané texty byly pouze anglické originály, tzn., aby se ve výsledcích objevoval v české části překlad slova prý z angličtiny do češtiny. K výzkumu bylo pouţito celkem 49 textů anglické beletrie. Poté byl sestaven samotný dotaz. Slovo prý bylo hledáno v české části korpusu jako slovní tvar, jak s velkým, tak s malým počátečním písmenem. Pomocí korpusu Intercorp bylo nalezeno 322 výskytů slova prý. Pro třídění dat musela být stanovena kritéria. Pochybnost nebo ironie, které uvádí české slovníky, se jako kritéria ukázaly být málo konkrétní, a proto bylo nutné stanovit formálnější pravidla pro třídění. Jako nosné kritérium bylo pouţito rozlišení mezi známým a neznámým zdrojem informace. V obou případech byl dohledatelný anglický ekvivalent slova prý. Data byla tedy ručně roztříděna na základě tohoto kritéria. Během třídění se objevily také případy, kde nebylo moţno rozlišit, zda je 42

zdroj informace známý nebo neznámý. Byla proto vytvořena třetí kategorie pro třídění dat, do níţ byly přiřazeny případy, u nichţ nebyl dohledán anglický ekvivalent slova prý. Celkové výsledky výzkumu byly značně překvapivé, vzhledem k tomu, ţe slovníky uvádějí jako hlavní význam slova prý význam nejistoty nebo pochybnosti, která plyne z toho, ţe je zdroj informace neznámý. Celkem ve 193 případech byl zdroj informace v anglickém originále známý, coţ je dvakrát více neţ případů, kde byl zdroj informace neznámý (105 případů). Ve 24 případech nebylo moţné určit anglický ekvivalent slova prý. Zdroj informace známý. Výsledky ukazují, ţe při překladu z angličtiny do češtiny je slovo prý pouţito jako prostředek pro uvádění cizí přímé nebo nepřímé řeči, přičemţ byl nalezen pouze jeden případ, kdy bylo slovo prý pouţito k uvození řeči přímé. Dále byla práce zaměřena na zkoumání samotných anglických ekvivalentů. Bylo zjištěno, ţe nejčastějším ekvivalentem částice prý je hlavní věta s verbem dicendi, v jejímţ podmětu je uveden zdroj informace. Podmět je vţdy nominální nebo pronominální. Nejčastějšími slovesy jsou slovesa say (86 případů), tell (27 případů) a call (9 případů). Škála sloves, která mohou být pouţita, je ale mnohem širší, jelikoţ bylo nalezeno mnoho sloves, která se objevují pouze s frekvencí 2 či 1. Bylo také zjištěno, ţe anglickým ekvivalentem mohou být i některá slovní spojení s podstatnými jmény nebo předloţkové vazby (acccording to). Průzkum dále ukázal, ţe v případě dlouhého a komplikovaného souvětí v anglickém originále je zde tendence při překladu rozdělit toto souvětí na dvě části. Tyto části jsou v češtině odděleny tečkou nebo čárkou, přičemţ v první části je zpravidla přeloţena hlavní věta s verbem dicenci a druhá část je uvozena částicí prý. Zdroj informace neznámý. Ve 105 případech byla v anglické větě vyjádřena pochybnost nebo nejistota vyplývající z toho, ţe zdroj informace nebyl dohledán. Anglickým ekvivalentem je opět nejčastěji hlavní věta s verbem dicendi. Podmět je ale vţdy pouze obecný a neosobní, vyjadřuje tak distanc mluvčího ke sdělovanému tvrzení (they say, they tell me). Zdroj informace není také uveden v případě slovního spojení I/we hear, kde je zmíněn pouze příjemce sdělení. Nejčastějšími slovesy jsou say (38 případů), hear (21 případů), rumour (9 případů). Dále můţe být anglickým ekvivalentem hlavní věta s verbem dicendi, která je v pasivu (it is said, he was rumoured, they were understood), nebo příslovce jako presumably, supposedly(3 43

případy). Znovu se také objevuje tendence rozdělovat sloţitá anglická souvětí, jako tomu bylo u známého zdroje. Třetí kategorií, která vznikla při třídění dat, jsou příklady, kdy anglický ekvivalent nebyl v původní anglické větě dohledatelný (24 případů). V těchto případech byla částice prý přidána samotným překladatelem. Objevily se také případy, kdy byla částice prý nejen přidána, ale samotný překlad byl přinejmenším sporný (fráze it must be přeloţena pomocí prý). Celkově výzkum ukázal, ţe uţití částice prý jako prostředku uvození přímé či nepřímé řeči je mnohem častější, neţ se předpokládalo, přinejmenším s ohledem na to, jak je tato částice definována v českých slovnících (Slovník spisovné češtiny pro školu a veřejnost 1994, Slovník spisovného jazyka českého 1989). Při tomto uţití ztrácí částice prý svůj význam nejistoty nebo pochybnosti o sdělovaném tvrzení a slouţí pouze jako funkční slovo, které uvozuje cizí řeč. Ukázalo se, ţe toto téma je značně široké a nabízí podněty pro případný další výzkum v budoucnosti. Bylo by moţné zaměřit se na zkoumání překladu částice prý z češtiny do angličtiny, tedy postupovat opačným směrem, neţ tomu bylo činěno doposud v této práci. Bylo by moţné porovnat výsledky a zjistit, zda je distribuce anglických ekvivalentů slova prý podobná nebo rozdílná.

44

6. Works cited Aikhenvald, Alexandra Y. 2004. Evidentiality. New York: Oxford University Press. Červená, Vlasta. 1994. Slovník spisovné češtiny pro školu a veřejnost. Edited by Mejstřík, Vladimír, František Daneš, Jaroslav Machač, and Josef Filipec. Praha: Academia. Hornby, A. S. 2006. Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Current English. 7th edition. Edited by Wehmeier, Sally, Colin McIntosh, Joanna Turnbull, and Michael Ashby. New York: Oxford University Press. Grepl, Miroslav. 2012. Příruční mluvnice češtiny. Edited by Karlík, Petr, Marek Nekula, and Zdenka Rusínová. Praha: Nakladatelství Lidové noviny. Grepl, Miroslav, Petr Karlík. 1998. Skladba češtiny. Olomouc: Votobia. Hoffmanová, Jana and Ivana, Kolářová. 2007. ―Slovo prý/prej: moţnosti jeho funkční a sémantické diferenciace.‖ In Gramatika a korpus/ Grammar & Corpora, edited by Štícha, F., and Šimandl, J., 93–102. Praha: ÚJČ AV. Johansson, Stig. 2007. ―Seeing through multilingual corpora.‖ In Corpus Linguistics 25 Years on, edited by Roberta Facchinetti, 51–73. New York: Rodopi. Karlík, Petr, Marek Nekula, and Jana Pleskalová, eds. 2002. Encyklopedický slovník češtiny. Praha: Nakladatelství Lidové noviny. Machek, Václav. 1997. Etymologický slovník jazyka českého. Praha: Lidové noviny. Petr, Jan. 1986. Mluvnice češtiny. [Díl] 2, Tvarosloví. Edited by Veselková, Jarmila, Miroslav Komárek, and Jan Kořenský. Praha: Academia. Slovník spisovného jazyka českého. IV, P-Q. 1989. Praha: Academia. Czech National Corpus - InterCorp. Institute of the Czech National Corpus FF UK, Praha. Accessible at WWW: http://ucnk.ff.cuni.cz/intercorp/ Hirschová, Milada. 2012. ―Presentation on Evidential markers, modificators, sentence adverbs, predicates – another interface of syntax, semantics and pragmatics wihtin syntax.‖ Presented on the 29th of October in Olomouc.

The examples used in this thesis come from those English fiction texts:

[AEF]

anonym. English Fairy Tales

[AIC]

Asimov, Isaac. The Caves of Steel 45

[AIR]

Asimov, Isaac. Reason

[AJP]

Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice

[CRM]

Chandler, Raymond. The Man Who Liked Dogs

[CTG]

Chevalier, Tracy. Girl with Pearl Earring

[FFSD]

Fitzgerald, Francis Scott. The Diamond as Big as Ritz

[FFSG]

Fitzgerald, Francis Scott. The Great Gatsby

[FJP]

Fieldingová, Joy. Puppet

[FJC]

Franzen, Jonathan. The Corrections

[FML]

Frost, Mark. The List of Seven

[GJK]

Grisham, John. Client

[GJP]

Grisham, John. The Partner

[HAF]

Hailey, Arthur. The Final Diagnosis

[IKA]

Ishiguro, Kazuo. An Artist of the Floating World

[JJD]

Joyce, James. The Dubliners

[KJAF]

Krentz, Jayne Ann. Falling Awake

[KBGE]

Kilham, Benjamin, Gray. Ed,Among the Bears

[LJL]

Lindsey, Johanna. A Loving Scoundrel

[OG]

Orwell, George. 1984

[RAV]

Di Robilant, Andrea. A Venetian Affair

[RJKH]

Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone

[SARH]

Siddons, Anne Rivers. Hill Towns

[SDS]

Steel, Danielle. Second Chance

[WVB]

Woolf, Virginia. Between the Acts

46