Abstract
The topic of the dissertation is the communication of the deaf in written Czech. The theoretical part presents the studies of written Czech for the deaf which have been carried out in the Czech Republic so far, considers the causes of difficulties the deaf encounter when making Czech written texts, and deals with the position of written Czech in the education of the deaf.
The next part is devoted to the Czech sign language, the characteristics of its specifics and its role in the communication and education of deaf pupils, especially in connection with the currently valid legislation. Attention is also focused on the components and construction of narrative texts and on the acquisition of narrative competencies in spoken and sign languages.
The research part is focused on the qualitative analysis of narrative texts in Czech, the authors of which are deaf pupils of two primary schools for the hearing impaired aged 14 to 16, and which were created on the basis of a picture story. As part of the analysis of written narratives, attention is focused on the specific features which make the written texts of the deaf different from the texts written by hearing Czechs.
The phonic structure of words, vocabulary, the morphological and syntactic level, the ways in which deaf authors construct narrative texts and the degree of intelligibility for potential readers are studied. Part of the research also deals with an analysis of the narration in the Czech sign language, created by the pupils on the basis of the same picture story.
The obtained results serve as the foundation for the formulation of conclusions, recommendations and suggestions for improving the teaching of written Czech to deaf students.