The spa ial dimension in he eaching o Czech
o o eigne s (pa icula ly in p eposi ional ph ases
wi h he loca i e meaning ADV Loc)1
milan H dlička
ABSTRACT:
Spa ial ela ions a e an impo an elemen o communica ion. They a e exp essed using p eposi-
ional (Jeli podél řeky. ‘They d o e alongside he i e .’) as well as nonp eposi ional ph ases (P ošli
hlubokým lesem. ‘They c ossed adeep o es .’), loca i e ad e bs (Všichni sešli dolů. ‘They all came
downs ai s.’) and subo dina e clauses (Došli až am, kde ces a končila. ‘They a i ed o he place whe e
he pa h ended.’). ADV Loc ph ases assume seconda y meaning in communica ion (Je úplně na dně.
‘He has hi bo om.’— he is in ac i ical si ua ion). O iginally, local ela ions played a undamen al
ole in he o ma ion o o he meanings: he meanings o pu pose, e ec , and cause e ol ed in he
dynamic componen while he meanings o condi ion, aspec , manne , e c. de eloped in he s a ic
componen . Local ela ions ecei e due a en ion in he Common Eu opean F amewo k o Re e ence
o Languages as well as in he e e ence le el desc ip ions o Czech (A1–B1). The same applies o se-
lec ed ex books o Czech o o eigne s. The e is, howe e , oom o imp o emen which could be
achie ed by: a) applying he onomasiological app oach (g ouping p eposi ions based on seman ic
uni s) ins ead o he semasiological one; he obs acle o his is he ho izon al desc ip ion o Czech
declension (as ep-by-s ep p esen a ion o g amma ical cases a he han en i e pa adigms), b) ak-
ing ad an age o he knowledge o he use o p ima y p eposi ions (linguo-didac ic ins uc ions)
and c) aking ad an age o o he aspec s, e.g. he p esen a ion o he p eposi ion na ‘ o ’ as ap epo-
si ion o pu pose and no place (Jde na oběd. ‘He is going o lunch.’— no “whe e”, bu “why”); pay-
ing mo e a en ion o di e ences (zB na s. od B na ‘ om B no’ s. ‘ om a ound B no’); synonymy
(podle/podél řeky ‘along/alongside he i e ’); and he compe i ion be ween p eposi ions (za mlhy
/ mlze = ‘du ing he og / in he og’).
KLÍČOVÁ SLOVA / KEY WORDS:
češ ina p o cizince, ling odidak ická ins ukce, p os o o á dimenze, předložka, séman ický celek
Czech o o eigne s, linguodidac ic ins uc ion, spa ial dimension, p eposi ion, seman ic uni
1 INTRODUCTION
1.1 ON THE OLE OF THE LOcAL DImENSION
IN LANGUAGE cOmmUNIcATION
Exp essing spa ial meanings and local ela ions in he b oad sense na u ally ep e-
sen s a e y impo an aspec o language communica ion, and a guably he mos
impo an one ( oge he wi h o he undamen al ela ions, such as empo al, causal,
1 This pape was suppo ed om he Cha les Uni e si y p ojec P og es Q10, Jazyk
p oměnách času, mís a, kul u y [Language ac oss Time, Space and Cul u e].
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mILAN H DLIčKA 113
inal, quan i a i e, e c.). This is alogical consequence o he p ominen posi ion he
spa ial (o spa io- empo al) dimension holds in he li es o indi iduals and he en-
i e language communi y. The abili y o p o ide asuccinc , adequa e desc ip ion o
his dimension in aclea and unde s andable o m is he e o e one o he key aspec s
o linguodidac ics in gene al, including he eaching o Czech as a o eign language.
The ways o exp essing spa ial meanings and ela ions in Czech, jus like in all
o he languages, a e qui e a ied. These include: a) a ious p eposi ional ph ases
wi h he loca i e meaning ADV Loc (Jeli podél řeky.), which ha e he mos de ailed
s uc u e o all he p eposi ional ela ions, he mos ho ough sys em and he mos
equen dis ibu ion (highligh ing hei special posi ion); b) non-p eposi ional con-
s uc ions (P ošli hlubokým lesem.); c) loca i e ad e bs (Všichni sešli dolů.); and, las bu
no leas , d) compound sen ences (Došli až am, kde ces a končila.).
In e ms o he loca i e dimension, i is in e es ing o no e ha some ph ases wi h
p ima ily spa ial meanings can also gain o he , seconda y meanings in communica-
ion: compa e Je úplně na dně. (in a e y di icul , c i ical si ua ion, “down”); Je na koni.
(in asecu e, dominan posi ion, con iden , “up”), e c. Spa ial ela ionships we e ab-
solu ely c ucial in he de elopmen o many o he (pa icula ly ad e bial) meanings
(see K oupo á, 1985; Bla ná, 2006).
Fo mula ing asuccinc , adequa e and unde s andable encapsula ion and exp es-
sion o he spa ial dimension is asigni ican challenge o na i e speake s o o he
languages (pa icula ly i hey a e genealogically and ypologically dis an ) and
he e o e an impo an ask when eaching Czech as a o eign language.
1.2 ST UcTU E OF THIS PAPE AND ITS ObJEcTIVES
This pape will discuss he ollowing in e linked and closely ela ed aspec s o hese
opics:
1) The ole o he spa ial dimension (and speci ically one selec ed componen ,
namely p eposi ional ph ases wi h aloca i e meaning, ADV Loc) in Czech g am-
ma and i s ole in exp essing o he meanings. This pa will also highligh some
p oblema ic a eas in he use o hese p eposi ional ph ases in con empo a y lan-
guage which may be use ul o eaching p ac ice (see Sec ion 2).
2) The concep ualisa ion and linguodidac ic p esen a ion o loca i e ela ions in
he Common Eu opean F amewo k o Re e ence o Languages (he eina e
he CEFRL) and he e e ence le el desc ip ions o Czech as a o eign language
(A1–B1) ha a e used (o should be used) as suppo and ame hodological guide-
line o au ho s o eaching ma e ials (see Sec ion 3).
3) An explo a o y p obe o selec ed eaching ma e ials o Czech o o eigne s (again
a he analogical le els o communica ional compe ence o speake s o o he lan-
guages) wi h a ocus on he linguodidac ic concep ualisa ion o loca i e meanings
and ela ions (see Sec ion 4).
4) The linguodidac ic exp ession o spa ial ela ions, whe e he p ima y ocus will be
on he segmen in which he concep ualisa ion and language exp ession a e pa -
icula ly ele an , i.e. selec ed ad e bial ph ases wi h loca i e meaning. The aim
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114 STUDIE ZAPLIKOVANÉ LINGVISTIKY 
will be o de e mine o wha ex en and in wha ways he concep o he co e-
sponding pa s o a ious eaching ma e ials con ibu e o he desi ed mas e y o
Czech as a a ge language ( om he pe spec i e o he communica ion me hod),
pa icula ly o speake s whose i s language is no Indo-Eu opean. The pape
will also, and his is i s main objec i e, y o ou line he sho comings in he cu -
en “ ex book” concep ualisa ion o he loca i e dimension, unde u ilised oppo -
uni ies and p oblema ic aspec s (see Sec ion 5).
2 PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES (PARTICULARLY WITH THE ADV LOC
MEANING) FROM THE LINGUODIDACTIC PERSPECTIVE
Conce ning he use o p eposi ional ph ases wi h he loca i e meaning in speech, we
should i s no e some o he ele an momen s when we need o pay special a en-
ion o he desc ip ion and linguodidac ic p esen a ion o Czech o speake s o o he
languages (na u ally, espec ing hei communica ion compe ences in Czech).
Fi s , he e a e he a he complex and no always espec ed ules o hei dis-
ibu ion in speech, and second, he conside able a ia ions in eal use by he na-
i e speake s o Czech. A esea ch p obe among s uden s o Czech S udies shows
ha in he loca i e dynamic di ec ional meaning (mo emen somewhe e) in con-
nec ion wi h he lexemes An a k ida ‘An a c ica’ and poušť ‘dese ’, he p eposi ion
na+Acc is used mo e o en (na An a k idu was men ioned 17 imes, na poušť 18 imes)
han he al e na i e do+Gen (do An a k idy was used 10 imes, do pouš ě 9 imes). Su -
p isingly, he a ious combina ions a e no equally ep esen ed: nine esponden s
used na+Acc in bo h cases (i.e. jedu na An a k idu, na poušť) and only one used do+Gen
wice (i.e. jedu do An a k idy, do pouš ě). Eigh esponden s p e e ed he combina ion
na+Acc— do+Gen (jedu na An a k idu, do pouš ě) and nine chose he e e se combina-
ion, do+Gen— na+Acc (jedu do An a k idy, na poušť); o mo e de ails, see H dlička
(2019).
The dominance o he p eposi ion na+Acc can be explained by i s expansi e cha -
ac e and he ac ha he s uden s p obably pe cei ed An a c ica as an island a he
han acon inen (in which case he do+Gen p eposi ion would be used— e.g. do Asie,
do E opy, e c.). In he case o he lexeme poušť, he ela i e posi ion (dis ance) o he
speake om he place i sel may play a ole. I he dese is seen as a emo e des-
ina ion a he end o ajou ney, i usually combines wi h he p eposi ion na; i he
speake s ands on he edge o he dese , he p eposi ion do may be used o indica e
pene a ing in o he dese , deep inside i s in e io (c . he analogous O íkendu si
pojedeme zalyžo a na ho y. × Expedice y azila na několikadenní ú u do ho .), see also
H dlička (2000).
One o he s onges ends in he use o p eposi ions in con empo a y Czech is
he s eadily g owing dis ibu ion o he p eposi ion na (Čecho á, 1981). This p epo-
si ion o en sys ema ically eplaces o he p eposi ions: c . he now common jde na
pokoj, na ho el, na uby o nu, na ecepci, na á nici, e c. E en ea lie (Daneš, 1964),
some linguis s ha e poin ed ou ha in he case o objec s in which we do no di -
e en ia e be ween he su ace and he inside (o do no need o), he na+Acc o
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mILAN H DLIčKA 115
na+Loc p eposi ions we e s a ing o domina e (H dlička, 2000). Today he p epo-
si ion na also appea s in o he con ex s, c . Mám na ás do az. (no k ám), Klíč ám
ydám jen na podpis. (no p o i podpisu), Blížíme se na s anici. (no ke s anici), Doma
na o nemáme mís o. (no p o o), Ten mladý ú očník je silný na puku. (no při hře / e
hře spukem), e c.
In e ms o loca i e meanings, mo e ad anced s uden s o Czech may ind i in-
e es ing o conside he ole played by cus oma y usage pa e ns (c . jedu na Kladno,
na Mělník, na Dobříš, commonly used in Cen al Bohemia ins ead o do+Gen) o some
special cases bo de ing on language poli ics. Qui e ecen ly, o icials o he young
Uk ainian Republic eques ed language use s o e lec on he change in s a us o
he e i o y by using jede do Uk ajiny, žije Uk ajině ins ead o he adi ional jede
na Uk ajinu, žije na Uk ajině. In con empo a y Czech, he p eposi ion na+Acc (mo e-
men owa ds) and na+Loc (posi ion) is used wi h e i o ies ha do no ha e aclea
adminis a i e bounda y and a e somewha ague; c . jede na Břecla sko, na Hanou, na
Vysočinu, na Flo idu compa ed o jede do ok esu Břecla ,2 do Olomouckého k aje, do K aje
Vysočina, do s á u Flo ida (c . in below).
The use o he p eposi ion na in he cases o Mo a a, Slo ensko and Uk ajina may
e lec he ac ha hese lands we e pa o la ge s a es in which hei exac bound-
a ies we e somewha imp ecise. To emphasise hei poli ical (adminis a i e) delin-
ea ion, speake s sys ema ically use do+Gen ( +Loc): jedu na (jižní) Mo a u, jsem na
(jižní) Mo a ě × jedu do Jihomo a ského k aje, jsem Jihomo a ském k aji; jede na Slo en-
sko, je na Slo ensku × jede do Slo enské epubliky, je e Slo enské epublice (see H dlička,
2000, 2015, 2019).
3 THE LOCATIVE DIMENSION IN THE COMMON
EUROPEAN FRAMEWORK OF REFERENCE FOR LANGUAGES
AND IN REFERENCE LEVEL DESCRIPTIONS OF CZECH
AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE (LEVELS A1–B1)
3.1 cOmmUNIcATION APP OAcH TO LANGUAGE TEAcHING
IN THE cEF L AND THE OLE OF SPAcE DImENSION HE EIN
I is gene ally acknowledged ha he p ocess o lea ning a o eign (second) language,
ei he h ough eaching o acquisi ion, de elops o e abackg ound o p e iously
in e nalised language knowledge, no only o he i s language, bu possibly also
o o he language codes as well (c . he issues o posi i e ans e and plu ilingual-
ism, CEFRL, 2002, p.4 e seq.). Na i e speake s o o he languages, pa icula ly hose
ha a e ypologically and genealogically emo e (such as he agglu ina i e Ko ean
o polysyn he ic Chinese), lea ning ahighly in lec ed language such as Czech may
be g appling wi h se e e sys emic di e ences and conside able issues wi h in e -
e ence. Besides s uc u al peculia i ies, hese may be also caused by po en ial (and
2 As aconsequence o he a o emen ioned expansion o he p eposi ion na, howe e , na i e
speake s commonly use jede na ok es Břecla e en oday.
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116 STUDIE ZAPLIKOVANÉ LINGVISTIKY 
some imes s ong) di e ences in he language concep ualisa ion o objec i e eali y
(“s a e o he wo ld”).3
The CEFRL (ibid., p.13 e seq.) conside s language eaching in i s socio-cul u al
con ex and app oaches i om as ongly communica i e pe spec i e wi h awa e-
ness o ab oad spec um o ac o s. I uses he e m communica i e language com-
pe ence4 (see p.101 e seq.), which consis s o a) alinguis ic componen (including
lexical, phonological and g amma ical knowledge and skills, and o he dimensions
o language unde s ood as asys em), b) asocio-linguis ic componen ( ela ed o he
sociocul u al con ex s o language use, including e ique e, e c.) and c) ap agma ic
componen which e e s o he unc ional use o language means ( ealisa ion o
speech, cohe ence and cohesion, di e en ia ing be ween ex s o a ious ypes and
o ms, e c.).
The CEFRL emphasises an ac i e and p agma ically o ien ed p ocess o language
acquisi ion (i.e. lea ning alanguage, no lea ning abou alanguage) and unde s ands
languages as ools o social communica ion and in e ac ion. “The app oach adop ed
he e, gene ally speaking, is an ac ion-o ien ed one in so a as i iews use s and
lea ne s o alanguage p ima ily as ‘social agen s’, i.e. membe s o socie y who ha e
asks (no exclusi ely language- ela ed) o accomplish in agi en se o ci cum-
s ances.” (ibid., p.9). The concep o eg ounds he need o ob ain communica i e
language compe ences “which empowe ape son o ac using speci ically linguis ic
means” (ibid.).
The CEFRL can be conside ed an app op ia e s a ing poin and use ul suppo o
he mode n eaching, lea ning and es ing o o eign languages.
Pa icula ly ele an o he pu poses o his a icle a e he discussions o he
loca i e dimension in he sec ions Domains (ibid., p.45 e seq.)5 and Communica ion
Themes (ibid., p.51 e seq.)6. In ou opinion, he CEFRL emphasises he impo ance o
he spa ial dimension o an adequa e deg ee.
3 To gi e asimple example, Czechs would say ha some hing is “on” apic u e (Na o og a ii
je dům.), whe eas he English would say ha i is “in” he pic u e (In he pic u e he e is
ahouse.).
4 The Czech ansla ion o he CEFRL (2002) is a he inconsis en , equen ly in e chang-
ing he e ms komunikační and komunika i ní, jazyko ý and řečo ý; ins ead o jazyko é
unkce, i would be ad isable o use komunikační unkce ýpo ědi.
5 The CEFRL (2002, p.45) conside s ou dimensions: pe sonal, public, occupa ional and
educa ional. A able i led “Ex e nal Con ex o Use” (p.50 e seq.) speci ies hem in mo e
de ail.
6 The e a e ou een basic hemes and mos o hem s ongly in ol e he spa ial dimen-
sion— see heme 2 (House and Home, En i onmen ), heme 3 (Daily Li e), heme 4 (F ee
Time, En e ainmen ), heme 5 (T a el), heme 12 (Places).
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mILAN H DLIčKA 117
3.2 ON THE INcLUSION OF THE SPATIAL DImENSION
IN SELEcTED DESc IPTIONS OF THE A1–b1 LEVELS
OF cZEcH AS AFO EIGN LANGUAGE
Desc ibing he le els o he indi idual na ional languages o he Eu opean Union
membe s a es also plays an impo an ole in con empo a y o eign language each-
ing and he es ing o he communica ion compe ences o speake s o o he lan-
guages.
The essen ially ag amma ical e e ence le el desc ip ion o A1 Czech (Hádko á e
al., 2005) pays amos ly adequa e amoun o a en ion o he loca i e dimension, in
pa icula he s a ic meaning (Kde?), he dynamic di ec ional meaning (Kam?) and,
unde s andably less so, o he o he pa ame e s (Odkud?, Kudy?). Loca i e meanings
a e discussed (albei non-sys ema ically and in places o e ly ambi iously) in he sec-
ion on Gene al Te ms (p.128–129) which include “posi ion” ( hough he inclusion
o e ms such as na ýchodě, na západ od e c. can be p oblema ic), “ ela i e posi ion”
(dole, na začá ku, e c.), “dis ance” (blízko, daleko) and “mo emen o an objec ” as well
as hei speci ic encoding in language (see p.138 e seq.).
The loca i e dimension is also men ioned on p.66 e seq. (Lis o Ph ases P e-
sen ed wi hou G amma ), bu only qui e b ie ly: “Pojď / Pojď e dál., Jsem ady., Není
ady., Odkud jsi / js e?, Kde bydlíš / bydlí e?, Kde ses / js e se na odil / na odila?, Kde p acuješ
/ p acuje e?”; in o de o ensu e he success o o eign speake s in communica ion,
his lis should bea ex ending. Mo eo e , i is discussed on. p.226 (Looking o
aPlace, Finding aWay): “Kde je ady supe ma ke , p osím?, Jak / Kudy se dos anu na
nád aží?, Jeď e pořád o ně., Pojede e dole a., Jdě e na náměs í., Půjde e dop a a., Léká na
je am., Poš a je ady nale o.”) and on p.248 e seq. (Cases and P eposi ions)7 and p.257
(Ad e bs) as pa o he g amma ical p ime .
Asomewha mo e de ailed discussion (unde s andably and desi ably so) o spa-
ial ela ionships is p o ided in he desc ip ion o le el A2 (Čadská e al., 2005), pa -
icula ly in he sec ion Va ious Fo ms o Exp essing Exis ence in Space (p.50 e seq.),
which is conside ed su icien .8 Pa icula ly no able is he lis ing o “di ec ional p e-
ixes wi h e bs o mo ion” wi h ega d o p eposi ions (p.53), which is a om com-
monplace (Hi scho á, 1977); c . e.g. y- “1. Au o yjelo en zga áže. Ne ychází zpokoje.,
2.Vý ah yjel naho u do pá ého pa a.” (c . also below).
Spa ial ela ionships a e also men ioned on p.20 (ques ions wi h ad e bs kde,
kam, odkud, kudy), on p.80 e seq. (Speci ic Te ms), p.208 (spa ial ad e bs) and p.210
e seq. (an o e iew o p eposi ions wi h cases). In his con ex , i should be a leas
men ioned ha he e is adeba able in e p e a ion o he meaning o ph ases such
as na Vánoce (p.212), which a e he e conside ed as empo al (e.g. přijel na Vánoce,
7 P.249 e oneously ma ches he p eposi ion po wi h he ins umen al case and illogical-
ly igno es he loca i e p eposi ion za+Ins , e en hough all he o he s a e included (mezi,
nad, pod, před, s/se).
8 The e a e howe e many hings o c i icise as well: e.g. p.50 (loca ion somewhe e) only
men ions p eposi ions +Loc, na+Loc au+Gen and no o he s (nad, pod, za, před, mezi aj.),
di e ences o he ype z/od P ahy a e no add essed a all, e c.
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118 STUDIE ZAPLIKOVANÉ LINGVISTIKY 
na íkend— when?) and no as pu pose-o ien ed. This is, howe e , amo e gene al is-
sue: Přijel oVánocích.— when? (= when i was Ch is mas) and Přijel na Vánoce.— why?
(= o celeb a e Ch is mas).
In ou opinion, he e e ence desc ip ion o le el B1 (Šá a e al., 2001) ep esen s
asigni ican imp o emen in quali y (e en i i some imes places excessi e demands
on he communica ion compe ences o anon-na i e speake ) and can be conside ed
exempla y. Spa ial ela ionships a e desc ibed e y compe en ly, exhaus i ely, me-
iculously and in g ea de ail (see p.85 e seq., 308, 311 and elsewhe e). Apa om
he a o emen ioned issue o a guably making unduly high demands on B1 s uden s,
he e a e no majo c i icisms. The emphasis on he coope a ion o p e ixes and p epo-
si ions in he exp ession o mo emen and local ela ions (p.326 and elsewhe e) is
commendable.
In conclusion, he examined e e ence le el desc ip ions o Czech as a o eign
language ul il hei ole in hei concep ualisa ion o local ela ions. They can se e
as agood s a ing poin o u he elabo a ion in ex books. The e e ence le el de-
sc ip ions o Czech as a o eign language, howe e , which is apoin wo h empha-
sising, se e mainly as asumma y o he equi ed skills and knowledge. Speci ic
linguodidac ic implemen a ion always depends on ca e ul selec ion and he compe-
ences and quali ies o he w i e s o eaching ma e ials.
4 THE SPATIAL DIMENSION IN TEXTBOOKS
OF CZECH FOR FOREIGNERS
4.1 THE cONcEPTUALISATION OF ADV LOc
P EPOSITIONAL PH ASES IN OLDE TEXTbOOKS
P o iding an ou line o how loca i e ela ions exp essed by p eposi ions9 a e con-
cep ualised in ex books o Czech o o eigne s is a om easy; in many cases, he
indi idual app oaches a e li e ally incompa able. Teaching ma e ials o Czech as
a o eign language o en di e in key pa ame e s— in he scope o con en 10 and i s
s uc u e (di e en o de o cases, e c.), a ge audience ( a ying le els o commu-
nica ion compe ence in Czech, e c.), me hod (induc ion o deduc ion) and aining
(acogni i e app oach o d ill), use o an in e media y language (ex en and me hod),
e c. The e is li le poin in going in o speci ics; he aim o his pape is o obse e el-
9 Besides g amma , ano he in e es ing aspec o ex books is how much a en ion hey pay
o he indi idual ci ies and egions o he Czech Republic. While P ague emains domi-
nan , i s nea -monopoly is on he decline and o he egions and ci ies a e gaining p omi-
nence (UNESCO si es— e.g. Český K umlo , Ku ná Ho a, Olomouc, B no, e c.).
10 Besides ex books which a e expec ed o be exhaus ed o e se e al weeks (e.g. Bischo o-
á, 2015a, 2015b) o mon hs (Š indl, 2008 and o he s), he e a e also ex ensi e se ies o
books ha ake yea s o mas e . These se ies p o ide an excellen oppo uni y o his e-
sea ch (Adamo ičo á e al., 2009, 2010, 2014; Boccou Kes řánko á e al., 2013, 2016, 2017;
C ejno á, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2017).
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mILAN H DLIčKA 119
e an endencies. In addi ion o an analysis o a ious ex books, his sec ion will also
be based on p e iously gained knowledge and yea s o expe ience.
In an ea lie pape (H dlička, 2000), i has been no ed ha hese ex books pub-
lished in 1980s and 1990s gene ally pay li le and a guably insu icien a en ion o
p eposi ions, pa icula ly hose ha call hemsel es communica ion o ien ed. They
o en unde s and p eposi ions as ala gely pe iphe al language phenomenon; hei
sys em is ei he no desc ibed a all o desc ibed a oo b ie ly.
The key p oblem wi h his app oach is he p edominan ly (and some imes ex-
clusi ely) o malis ic iew— p eposi ions a e only discussed oge he wi h hei
co esponding cases wi hou asu icien (o indeed any) explana ion o hei wide
sys em. This means ha o eigne s e.g. lea n ha he p eposi ion do is ollowed by
anoun o adjec i e in he geni i e case, bu a e augh li le abou he con ex o i s
use o when ano he p eposi ion would be abe e i .
Ano he signi ican sho coming o his o malis ic app oach is he lack o any
commen a y, explana ion o ins uc ions on how o use p eposi ions in speech. In
some cases, his absence is somewha success ully add essed wi h lis s o ypical
examples o he use o aspeci ic p eposi ion, bu his is o en inadequa e. The a e
o success o ailu e in mas e ing he dis ibu ion o Czech p eposi ions he e o e
mainly es s in he hands o he eache o he linguis ic sensibili ies and skills o he
non-na i e speake .
Ano he poin o con en ion is he lis ing o examples ha a e misleading, un-
clea , deba able o con using. Tex books e.g. mix up he loca i e meaning wi h he
exp ession o pu pose o do no di e en ia e be ween objec s exp essed by p eposi-
ional ph ases and by ad e bial meanings (pu pose, cause, e c.), which can be consid-
e ed undesi able. One example is he ollowing lis o p eposi ions wi h he accusa-
i e case which includes Jdu na konce (poš u, přednášku)., / Dá ám klobouk na hla u.,
Píšu slo a na papí ., Dí ám se na dě čá ko. ( o mo e de ails, see H dlička, 2000).
The e a e also nume ous undesi able simpli ica ions which should be c i icised.
While some deg ee o quali ied educ ion and simpli ica ion o he p eposi ional sys-
em is ad isable and necessa y o s uden s s a ing o lea n Czech, i should no be
oo excessi e. Simpli ica ions ha a e no duly conside ed and a e pe o med wi h-
ou c i ical hinking can easily become asou ce o misunde s anding, w ong analo-
gies, e c. Fo ins ance, i is now common ha he p eposi ion za is no lis ed o he
geni i e case (za álky, za p ní epubliky) and nei he a e he p eposi ions , o, po o
he accusa i e case ( ěři e í ězs í, dou a e sp a edlnos ; zajíma se oli e a u u, s a-
a se onemocnou ma ku; bylo am po kolena sněhu, oda dosaho ala až po ok aj).
4.2 P EPOSITIONAL PH ASES WITH THE ADV LOc mEANING
IN cONTEmPO A Y TEAcHING mATE IALS
Going h ough a ep esen a i e sample o con empo a y ex books o Czech o o -
eigne s, one can conclude ha he si ua ion has imp o ed qui e signi ican ly in he
las decades. P eposi ions a e no longe igno ed and ins ead a e ea ed wi h he
ca e hey dese e ( oughly one in en wo ds in any u e ance is ap eposi ion). The
si ua ion can be he e o e conside ed sa is ac o y. Some issues howe e emain,
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120 STUDIE ZAPLIKOVANÉ LINGVISTIKY 
pa icula ly alack o eliable ins uc ions conce ning he dis ibu ion o p eposi-
ions and p eposi ional ph ases in e ms o hei seman ics. Fo objec i e easons,
his will p obably emain un esol ed o qui e some ime (see below).
Va ious posi i e elemen s a e now encoun e ed a mo e o en, including illus-
a ions (kniha je na s ole, e s ole, e c.), use ul ables di e en ia ing be ween he
meanings o loca ion and pu pose (c . Adamo ičo á e al., 2012, p.127: “Jedu / Jdu
KAM? PROČ? do B uselu na ku z; do es au ace na oběd; do klubu na konce ; do pa ku na
p ocházku; na ambasádu p o ízum,” e c.) and an explana ion (wi h illus a ions) o
he di e ences in mo emen exp essions be ween objec s and people (Š indl, 2008,
p.124: “KAM? KDE? ODKUD?— Jdu do školy.— Jsem e škole.— Jdu ze školy. / Jdu kdok o-
o i.— Jsem udok o a.— Jdu od dok o a.”) wi h explici ly o mula ed ules,11 e.g. Holá
(2012, p.87):
2. The p eposi ion na exp esses mo ion on o/ owa ds asu ace (Dá ám knihu na
s ůl) o o open-space locali ies (Jedu na le iš ě, na nád aží). Howe e , he p eposi-
ion na is also used wi h: a) ac ions and ac i i ies (na disko éku, na konce ) and
some public ins i u ions (na poš u, na ambasádu), b) islands and peninsulas (na
Flo idu, na Mal u), c) excep ions (na Mo a u, na Slo ensko).
Gene ally speaking, he loca i e dimension (in addi ion o he empo al dimension
which is some imes conside ed mo e impo an o beginne s)12 plays an impo an
ole in ex books o Czech o o eigne s. The si ua ion in a ious eaching ma e i-
als is o en qui e simila . A e in oduc o y ph ases, such as Odkud jsi? Kam jdeš? Kde
s uduješ? (a i s mainly o exclusi ely using he e b bý , he e o e, o en wi h he
loca i e case), he con en g adually mo es on o o he spa ial meanings (Měs o / Můj
pokoj / V es au aci / Vobchodě / Jedeme na ýle , e c.) which add mo e communi-
ca ionally ich e bs (including e bs o mo ion) and he abili y o exp ess amuch
b oade pale e o local ela ions. A i s , his means loca i e ad e bs, p eposi ional
and non-p eposi ional cases, and la e also loca i e ad e bial clauses (see abo e).
5 LINGUODIDACTIC RECOMMENDATIONS
Despi e he la gely sa is ac o y manne in which p eposi ional ph ases wi h he loc-
a i e meaning (ADV Loc) a e concep ualised in con empo a y ex books, he e a e
some sugges ions conce ning a eas ha could make he eaching mo e e icien and
success ul, pa icula ly o non-Sla ic speake s.
11 While some o mula ions could be c i icised (see H dlička, 2000, 2009), many use s o
hese eaching ma e ials will ind hem use ul and su icien . Compa ed o he ea lie si -
ua ion, his undoub edly ep esen s p og ess in he igh di ec ion.
12 These include če a, pozí ří, čas o, b zo, pozdě, někdy, za hodinu, příš í ýden, minulý měsíc,
e s ředu, eče , odpoledne, e c. Such e ms a e discussed ea ly on in connec ion wi h he
linguodidac ic p esen a ion o enses, which equi es aco esponding amewo k o
ime.
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