Ve slovech (In Words)
The main feature of the website Ve slovech (In Words) is an audio archive. It contains recordings reflecting the Czech population’s perception of war and other crises, in both the past and present. The recordings are drawn from the internal Archiv zvukových záznamů nářečních promluv (Archive of Sound Recordings of Dialect Speeches) owned by the Dialectology Department of the Czech Language Institute. The core of the archive consists of recordings from the 1960s and 1970s, which were made during collections campaigns for the Český jazykový atlas (Czech Linguistic Atlas) and thus exemplify traditional forms of territorial dialects. In contrast, the language of the contemporary recordings shows signs of levelling. The archive is unique in terms of language and content. In addition to linguistics, especially dialectology, it can be used in other disciplines, particularly history, ethnology and social anthropology.
The website also includes a small dictionary of military slang, field research reports and a podcast. The website is continuously updated and extended.
The Ve slovech (In Words) website is an outcome of the research project Odraz krize ve vyprávění nejstarší generace (Reflecting the Crisis in the Narratives of the Oldest Generation), carried out through the programme Odolná společnost pro 21. století (Resilient Society for the 21st Century) administered by the CAS AV21 Strategy programme in 2022. The research sought to record and make available examples of authentic speech by elderly members of the population.