Ein früher Beitrag zur tschechischen Syntax: Vincenc Bíbas Navedení k písemnostem

In 1848, the teacher and later school inspector Vincenc Dominik Bíba published the book Theoreticko-praktické Nawedení k písemnostem in Prague. It deals with writing texts for everyday use, for instance letters, receipts, authorisations, etc. These practical instructions are based on theoretical (grammatical-syntactical) guidelines discussed earlier in the book. Bíba thus makes a contribution to Czech syntax that is older than the “classical” works of Hattala (1855), Zikmund (1863), Bartoš (1878) and Gebauer (1890). So far, however, his work has received little attention. This study addresses several aspects of Bíba's Navedení: (i) the context in which the first edition of this work was written, in particular the influence of German-language works and aspects of the history of education; ii) a comparison of the twelve editions of Bíba's work published between 1848 and 1884 in order to reconstruct the conceptual and terminological development; iii) an assessment of Bíba's work from the perspective of the history of linguistics.

Keywords: Historical linguistics, Czech syntax, intertextuality, letter writer’s guide, old textbooks, old grammar books