Abstract
Drawing on longitudinal analyses of university students’ papers, this article traces some new aspects of contemporary Czech. While many of the new phenomena are relevant responses of the language to the rapidly changing society, others seem to reveal simplistic tendencies, which are quite contrary to the present needs of language competences.
It is undeniable that the language must develop in reaction to modern means of communication and the public sphere (e.g. on-line social networking, advertising, the ubiquitous influence of English). However, if the impact of the new influences combines with an “illiterate” language competence (which is, to a certain degree, postulated by the denigration of any codified standards as advocated by the so-called Concept of Minimal Intervention), idiosyncrasy in communication may result in students’ failure to relevantly communicate on any level – notably academic or specialist – that exceeds their usual communication routine.
In spite of all the care being given to raising students’ language awareness, many are not adequately competent in their own mother tongue, let alone in their second and third languages.