In the name of scientific precision: Václav Havel's Ptydepe
The result's identifiers
Result code in IS VaVaI
<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00216208%3A11210%2F20%3A10419693" target="_blank" >RIV/00216208:11210/20:10419693 - isvavai.cz</a>
Result on the web
<a href="https://verso.is.cuni.cz/pub/verso.fpl?fname=obd_publikace_handle&handle=rsv-XfHBkZ" target="_blank" >https://verso.is.cuni.cz/pub/verso.fpl?fname=obd_publikace_handle&handle=rsv-XfHBkZ</a>
DOI - Digital Object Identifier
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Alternative languages
Result language
angličtina
Original language name
In the name of scientific precision: Václav Havel's Ptydepe
Original language description
In Vyrozumění (Memorandum) Václav Havel introduces Ptydepe, an artificial language. In this play, Ptydepe is conceived as a much more "precise" language than natural languages - its grammar is "maximally rational" and its words tend to be long and numerous because they are maximally (redundantly) differentiated from one another. Ptydepe lacks not only homonyms, but also words that are minimally differentiated. Use of this language leads to increasingly long texts and becomes thus unusable. Finally, it is replaced by Chorukor, another artificial language built on similarity, which leads to extreme ambiguity. This study examines functions of Ptydepe in the play from several angles: direct observation of the Ptydepe texts, the metalinguistic description of the language, the discourse features of the characters' first language (L1), and a comparison between Ptydepe and socialist political speeches. The quantitative analysis of Ptydepe empirically demonstrates the degree to which Ptydepe departs from a natural language. Both qualitative and quantitative data show the mechanism by which language can be manipulated to the point of sheer automation. Ptydepe exposes the extreme essence of the socialist language, which in turn reveals features of a more subtle manipulative language found elsewhere, including in a democratic political system.
Czech name
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Czech description
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Classification
Type
J<sub>imp</sub> - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database
CEP classification
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OECD FORD branch
60203 - Linguistics
Result continuities
Project
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Continuities
I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace
Others
Publication year
2020
Confidentiality
S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů
Data specific for result type
Name of the periodical
Slavic and East European Journal
ISSN
0037-6752
e-ISSN
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Volume of the periodical
64
Issue of the periodical within the volume
2
Country of publishing house
US - UNITED STATES
Number of pages
24
Pages from-to
260-283
UT code for WoS article
000565304600015
EID of the result in the Scopus database
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