The development and changes of professional interest in Czech ethno-linguistic minorities abroad – issues of description and outline of typology
Abstract
Emigration from the territory of the present-day Czech Republic can be documented as early as the 16th/17th century. However, Czech migration did not take a mass form until the beginning of the 19th century. Within Europe, it was initially limited to the territory of the Austrian monarchy; later, Czechs also headed to Russia, the Balkan countries, etc. After 1848, there was also a significant migration of Czechs to the USA. In the 20th century, Czech emigration colonies can be found on every continent. In the context of the numerical size of the Czech ethnic group, the emigrant component represents a significant group.
The tradition of observing and studying the causes, situation, development, and prospects of the Czech "compatriot branches" goes back to the 19th century. This specific field reached its peak after the establishment of Czechoslovakia, in the times of the "First Republic". The thesis takes a closer look at the professional activities and production of this period. After 1948, on the other hand, the subject of regionalism was practically neglected within the Czech social sciences; a certain revival only occurred from the 1960s/1970s onwards. It is only after 1990 that the scholarly interest in Czech emigration and compatriot groups abroad can be fully studied and analyzed; the thesis comments on some of the published results in this field.
After a brief introduction to the background of Czech emigration and the emergence of compatriot groups, the text concludes with an outline of the typology (current situation) of Czech populations abroad, differentiated according to their degree of ethnolinguistic assimilation.