P o . PhD . Ja osla Pep ník, CSc., Nine ie h bi hday
This yea s uden s and schola s o English om bo h Olomouc and beyond can cele-
b a e he nine ie h bi hday o P o esso Ja osla Pep ník. “Ou dea Pep ník”, as we
s uden s o English used o call him back in he mid-1950s, has augh anumbe o
gene a ions o s uden s o e he yea s and hose wi h he keenes in e es and en hu-
siasm ha e lea ned o lo e he subjec jus as much as he himsel does. The majo i y
o his colleagues a he Depa men a p esen can boas o ha ing been his s uden s.
We ha e had he pleasu e o a ending his cou ses as he ose h ough he anks om
assis an p o esso up o ull p o esso . Wha a ip i has been!
By he ime I, along wi h my ellow s uden s, made he acquain ance o D . Pep ník
in Sep embe 1955 in class, he had al eady expe ienced uly in e es ing and d ama ic
wis s and u ns, his being agi en du ing hose yea s in ou Cen al Eu opean e-
gion. The e was e y li le which did no impac ou main p o agonis .
Ja osla Pep ník was bo n 11 Feb ua y 1927 in I ančice in Mo a ia whe e his a he
wo ked as alawye . A e p ima y school, he a ended he g amma school in own
bu was unable o comple e his s udies as he had o wo k du ing he P o ec o a e in
an ai plane ac o y in he own o Bučo ice. He s udied Ge man, F ench and La in
a school, only o decide o ake up English on his own a e eading ad en u e s o-
ies se in English-speaking coun ies. He ound an English-Czech dic iona y and an
English g amma and con e sa ion ex book in his a he ’s lib a y. He hus became
ye ano he Czech schola o English, along he lines o B no linguis and Pep ník’s
li elong iend Jan Fi bas, who also came o he subjec ex p i a a indus ia! This sel -
augh s uden was accep ed a Masa yk Uni e si y in he yea 1945 a he same ime
when D . Jose Vachek— who se ed as ag ea model and inspi a ion o his s uden s
as aphilologis , eache and pe sonally, was beginning his academic ca ee .
The young English schola ’s a e had i s b igh e momen s and i s da ke ials
and ibula ions. P io o comple ing his s udies o English and His o y in B no, he
ecei ed he oppo uni y o a end asumme cou se in London in he yea 1948. The
en husias ic young man was able o ex end his s ay in B i ain and a elled h ough
bo h England and Sco land including an ascen o Ben Ne is. Upon e u ning o B no,
o he Depa men o English, he began, unde he supe ision o D . Vachek, he
wo k on his disse a ion “The Nominal Tendency in Mode n English P ose”. The wo k
was p in ed in asho e e sion in Časopis p o mode ní ilologii (Jou nal o Mode n
Philology) and Pep ník’s long and ich lis o publica ions had begun.
He ecei ed, howe e , ad a no ice, no o he egula a my, bu o “ he auxil-
ia y echnical ba alion” o which “enemy elemen s” o he egime we e egula ly as-
signed. An in ense in e es in English-speaking coun ies and bou geois o igins we e
seemingly su icien o ecei e his classi ica ion. Ou colleague Ja osla Pep ník con-
sequen ly spen ou yea s engaged in “ o ced labou ” in hese uni s. This was he
second ime in his li e he ound himsel li ing in ba acks behind ba bed wi e. (His
accoun s o his ime in hese o ced labou camps, which we asked him o ela e, we e
uly ho i ic.)
The yea 1954 in ol ed an impo an ansi ion om B no o Olomouc. The De-
pa men o Ge man and English Philology, led a he ime by P o esso I an Poldau ,
Jose Jařab
74 LINGUISTICA PRAGENSIA 1/2017
wo ked o e y high s anda ds despi e he ideological ‘cleansing’ which ook place a
uni e si ies a e Feb ua y 1948. As s uden s we we e well awa e o his and we e ex-
emely app ecia i e o D . Pep ník in his language semina s and linguis ic lec u es
and in his accoun s o li e and cul u e in English speaking-coun ies. Pe sonal des iny
linked wi h a e had some hing new in s o e, howe e , o ou colleague Pep ník. The
agic e en s o Augus 1968 had an impac on all o us. So-called “no maliza ion” in-
e en ions came abou a uni e si y depa men s and D . Pep ník was emo ed om
he English depa men and mo ed o he Depa men o Non-Sla onic Languages
and la e o he Depa men o Applied Linguis ics. P io o his, howe e , he was able
o a el o England and o he Uni ed S a es o se e al mon hs whe e he was able
o pe sonally expe ience he cul u es which he had lec u ed abou in such asophis-
ica ed and in elligen manne . In con as o his colleague Ja osla Macháček, who
was emo ed comple ely om he uni e si y, Pep ník was allowed o emain, bu in
adiminished capaci y. As is o en he case, howe e , his s ep back ac ually b ough
ag ea deal o ui . He was able o make use o his expe ience o eaching English o
w i e anumbe o ex books, such as he pionee ing Anglič ina p o lékaře (English o
Doc o s ) (1966— and anumbe o e-edi ions o e 24 consecu i e yea s), Anglič ina
p o anglis y (English o S uden s o English) 1.–8., which e ol ed in o he se ies An-
glický jazyk p o ilology (The English Language o Philologis s), la e enamed by he
publishe Anglič ina p o pok očilé (English o he Ad anced). His cou se books An-
glič ina p o jazyko é školy (English o Language Schools) ( he exe cises o which we e
p epa ed along wi h expe ienced co-au ho s) ha e emained popula and in luen ial
e en up o he p esen day. The numbe s o hose who me bo h wi h he language o
Shakespea e and wi h he ongue o he globalized wo ld h ough he cou se-book
p o agonis s known as he P okop amily would be impossible o es ima e. The pop-
ula i y o “Pep ník’s English” was ully compa able wi h Vachek’s ex book Anglicky
s ěže aspolehli ě (English Clea ly and Reliably) om he pos -wa yea 1946. The name
Pep ník became no only asynonym o English, bu also ameans o exp essing g a i-
ude on he pa o s uden s. This was he case when s uden s a one school in P ague
decided o gi e hei eache o English he gi o a ip o Olomouc and dinne wi h
he pleasan ly su p ised au ho o hese popula ex books. The au ho accep ed his
ibu e in “Pep ník s yle”, ha is wi h English humou and pe spec i e.
Ja osla Pep ník was ully engaged a his new wo kplace. He con inued o wo k as
alinguis and also p o ed a eady and willing o ganize . He dese es much c edi o
his demanding wo k o o ganizing summe schools du ing he no maliza ion yea s.
He b ough us in o con ac wi h na i e English speake s, some hing pa icula ly im-
po an o schola s o English and o he in e es ed pe sons a a ime when he bo -
de s wi h he ou side wo ld we e p ac ically closed. Colleagues om a ious academic
ields would o en seek ou Ja osla Pep ník wi h eques s o ansla ions o ex ended
summa ies and e en comple e books in o English. He was unable o say no o anyone,
o cou se. Al hough he busy ansla o and linguis wen blind in one eye in he yea
1986, which pu asca e in o all o us, his p oduc i i y was by no means a ec ed. He
published he long-awai ed and s ill use ul Slo ník ame ikanismů (Dic iona y o Ame i-
can Usage). The schola ly ho oughness in ol ed in he p epa a ion o his publica ion
was uly imp essi e o say he leas , as is always he case wi h his au ho .
JOSEF JAřAB 75
PhD . Ja osla Pep ník, CSc. inally me wi h dese ed ecogni ion o his wo k,
as was he case wi h many o he s, in he yea 1990, when he e u ned o he Depa -
men o English and Ame ican S udies. He was consequen ly in i ed o lec u e and
a end con e ences bo h a home and ab oad. He became amembe o a ious aca-
demic commi ees and o cou se supe ised bo h mas e ’s and doc o al heses and
augh o yea s a he Uni e si y o H adec K álo é. He has enjoyed bo h ci ic and
academic eedom. He was also inally awa ded long-o e due academic i les, being
made associa e p o esso and consequen ly ull p o esso o he English language
in he yea 1999. Apa om o e s o p o ide lec u es in English and Ame ican cul-
u e and lexicology, he also con inued his as onishing w i ing ou pu . (See he bib-
liog aphy o publica ions a e he yea 1990— Časopis p o mode ní ilologii (Jou nal
o Mode n Philology) 2011, no.1). He exhibi ed a uly ema kable collec o ’s pas-
sion when mapping ou and ga he ing in e es ing ac s (which he con inues o do
up o he p esen ) conce ning he English-speaking wo ld and i s signi icance o us
Czechs as well as ou ela ionship o i . In o de o accomplish his ask, one would
ha e o ead housands o pages and s udy hund eds o documen s and Iwould en-
u e ha no one o he han Pep ník would ha e been able o do so. Ou colleague Ja o-
sla Pep ník is a ue Nes o , no only being he mos expe ienced in ou b anch, bu
also in asecond sense, ha in ol ing he o iginal meaning o he wo d— as ach on-
icle o Czech-English ela ions and mu ual links be ween bo h ou cul u es. He has
also ecei ed bo h academic and ci ic app ecia ion in e ms o awa ds and medals
om his home own I ančice, om he ci y o Olomouc and om Palacký Uni e si y,
becoming— in he yea 2007— one o he i s people o be g an ed he i le o P o-
esso Eme i us. And he e is absolu ely no doub ha he wo d “eme i us” is uly
dese ed in his case.
Jose Jařab
Depa men o English and Ame ican S udies
Facul y o A s, Palacký Uni e si y in Olomouc.
ř. S obody 26, 779 00 Olomouc
jose .ja [email protected]