Abstract
Hradec Králové may be the best researched town in the Czech Republic in terms of its sociolinguistic situation. This body of research arising since the 1960s can be divided into several areas: studies in language variation carried out in the framework of urban speech which emerged in connection with the work on the Czech Linguistic Atlas; studies in onomastics; studies in various kinds of social interaction such as asking for directions to the railway station, service encounters in a kiosk or the management of communication in religious proselyting.
Multilingualism in the town, particularly the linguistic landscape, is the most recently researched area. This paper provides an overview of the research done in the above areas, draws attention to the research paradigms involved, and, most importantly, seeks to present it as a coherent whole.
It addresses the question of the extent to which it is possible to provide such a coherent picture. Overall, the paper aims to outline the degree to which the agenda of present-day sociolinguistics can profit from the sociolinguistic agenda of the past.
In the course of working on this paper, the issue of the city identity emerged as crucial.