Corpora
The Corpora information system provides access to databases arising from corpus-based and sociolinguistic research. It brings together collections of language data gathered in different projects, which vary in the nature of their material, methods of collection and processing, and research objectives.
The collections share a common feature: language material is linked to metadata that support the study of communication in its social, situational and historical contexts. These metadata may include the characteristics of the people involved, their relationships or the circumstances in which documents were created. The data structure, processing methodology, and browsing and searching options are described for each collection.
Currently, the following platforms are aggregated:
- Private letters
Corpora is intended for researchers, students and members of the wider public interested in language and communication. Conditions governing access to and use of the data are specified for each collection; some content may be available only to logged-in users.
The platform continues to develop as new collections are added and existing content is expanded.
Private Letters
The database provides access to the language, style and content of more than 7,600 items of correspondence spanning 125 years. Its initial release in 2026 contains 4,778 traditional letters from 1900–2024, 1,000 emails from 1996–2002, and 1,827 SMS messages from 2002–2005.
With the exception of part of the SMS collection, the selection preserves the principle of distinct idiolects: the material represents 6,254 different writers from across the Czech Republic, covering all age and educational categories.
Each item is dated and accompanied by basic sociodemographic metadata about the writer and recipient. These record sex (female or male), age (four groups), education (two levels) and the relationship between the correspondents (four categories, with a more detailed classification for some texts). Each item also records the writer’s geographical dialect background, based on the place that most strongly influenced their idiolect over the course of their life. Alongside location information, a numerical code assigns the place to a dialect area according to the Český jazykový atlas (ČJA, 1993), with updates based on the Mapka application. The classification distinguishes ten dialect areas and three major cities treated separately. The database can be searched using combinations of these metadata.
A parallel version of the letter collection is being prepared for the Czech National Corpus under the name KSK-dopisy 2. It will complement the study of digital images and full transcriptions with corpus searches and frequency analysis, substantially increasing the research value of the material.
Private correspondence as a resource for linguistic research and beyond
Private correspondence offers linguists a unique source of evidence on language use.
Its strengths include the authenticity, informality and spontaneity of expression, alongside sometimes rigid adherence to etiquette, as well as its emotional expressiveness and creativity. Particularly valuable is the way it moves between spoken and written modes, offering insights into the relationship between standard and non-standard language. The diversity of writers makes it possible to study geographically and socially conditioned linguistic features without extensive fieldwork. Correspondence collected over a longer period also reveals changes in letter-writing style and in the Czech language itself.
Correspondence can, for example, support research into geographical and functional variation in Czech. It is of considerable value to lexicology and lexicography, containing a high concentration and wide range of marked vocabulary, from literary words through non-standard everyday and emotionally expressive language to creative nonce formations. It also provides material for stylistics, linguistic pragmatics, gender-focused linguistics and other fields. Beyond linguistics, it can serve historians and sociologists interested in the history of everyday life. Its portrayal of the lives of several generations, emotional expression, creativity and often humour will also engage general readers.
The letter archive developed at the Department of Czech Language, Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University, has provided material for numerous linguistic studies. We highlight two contributions that combine scholarly rigour with an accessible style (Hladká, 2019; Hladká, 2022). The latter, written to mark a milestone birthday of François Esvan, an international scholar of Czech studies, gives a concise account of the collection, processing and linguistic study of private letters at the department, illustrated with many examples and points of interest. Two further contributions offer more detailed analyses of linguistically significant features of private correspondence (Hladká, 2013; Machalová and Osolsobě, 2013).
Hladká, Zdeňka, 2013, Teritoriálně a sociálně podmíněné diference v jazyce soukromé korespondence [Territorially and socially dependent differences in the language of private correspondence]. In: Hladká, Zdeňka et al., Soukromá korespondence jako lingvistický pramen. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, pp. 61–98. Hladká, Zdeňka, 2019, S upřímným pozdravem a políbením zůstávám Váš vděčný… versus Tak zatím… K proměnám epistolární etikety v průběhu 20. století. In: Rusinová, Eva (ed.), Přednášky a besedy z LII. ročníku Letní školy slovanských (bohemistických) studií. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, pp. 57–71. Hladká, Zdeňka, 2022, Dopis o dopisech. Co může lingvistovi nabídnout soukromá korespondence [A letter on letters (What does private correspondence offer to linguists)]. In: Macurová, Petra and di Filippo, Marina (eds.), Tre lingue, tre cuori. Studi in onore di François Esvan. Napoli: Union Press, pp. 59–70. Machalová, Jana and Osolsobě, Klára, 2013, Hypokoristika z rodných jmen v Korpusu soukromé korespondence [The Hypocorisms from first Names in The Private Correspondence Corpus (KSK)]. In: Hladká, Zdeňka et al., Soukromá korespondence jako lingvistický pramen. Brno: Masarykova univerzita, pp. 33–59. |
Contributors to the collection and preparation of the correspondence
Associate Professor Zdeňka Hladká of the Department of Czech Language, Faculty of Arts, Masaryk University, led the collection and preparation of private correspondence throughout all stages of the project.
The final preparation of the material and its transfer to the Digitalia MUNI ARTS database also involved Michaela Kovářová and Jakub Machura from the Department of Czech Language, together with digital curators Natálie Čornyjová and Josef Schwarz, and software developer Alžbeta Strakošová from the Centre for Information Technologies at the Faculty of Arts.
Over the years, many students of Czech studies at the Faculty of Arts contributed to collecting the correspondence, the demanding work of transcription, photographing the originals and documenting the texts. Neither the archive nor its subsequent processing would have been possible without their help. Our thanks go to all the students who took part, with particular gratitude to the following contributors, listed alphabetically: Adéla Kereková, Kateřina Kovářová, Michaela Kovářová, Petr Kuběnský, Tereza Lojdová and Lucie Rychnovská.