Dialect in contact – dialect in conflict

http://doi.org/10.26485/RKJ/2017/64/16

Abstract

The article is concerned with the communicative function of a local dialect in the past and at present, i.e. in the rural reality after civilizational, social and cultural changes. The special emphasis is laid on the dialect assessment and how it functions in the awareness of its users and other inhabitants of the region as well as on creating social bonds of both integrative and disintegrative nature. When identifying the status of a local dialect in the modern rural reality we notice its clear ambivalence – from complete negation and associating it exclusively with the past to full acceptance. A local dialect can be an unnecessary burden but also an element of legacy, identity and a means of social and cultural remembrance.