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language into a tool which would make the formation of a Czech “higher culture” possible. At the same time, it would help the Czech nation regain, after two hundred years, new courage and self-confidence. These lost national characteristics would be regained only with the help of a better and complete knowledge of the native tongue. With the improved knowledge of the native tongue, the Czech nation would be able to acquaint itself with its past and learn about the periods when it was one of the most progressive of peoples, generously giving to others from its culture.
The particular union of these two requirements was responsible for the style of the Czech version and constituted the major difference between the style of the Czech and German versions.
The work Geschichte von Böhmen has the character of a strictly historical work, intended for scholars and the narrow circle of educated German readers. The main prupose of this work was to preserve a vast amount of historiographical knowledge for future generations. For the History of the Czech Nation in Bohemia and Moravia, the author intended a much more important task: the very way in which it was written was to open the door for it to the household and spirit of the common Czech reader, to spark in him a desire to learn about the past of his country and to give him the opportunity to improve in his mother tongue. Therefore, the strict historical style of the German version gave way to the lively literary style of the Czech version, which could be understood and enjoyed by all levels of readers but, at the same time, did not violate any of the requirements of academic language.
This aim of the author is confirmed by a comparison of the language of the two texts. Our intention was to obtain a definite answer to the question as to whether or not the Czech version is a mere translation of the German text. We can answer that only a small part of the Czech version is a mere translation of its German counterpart. The larger portion of the Czech work is a stricter or a more liberal interpretation of the German product. The styles of both the Czech and German versions are the same. Even in German, Palacký betrays his classic education in long Latin periods, and his Czech shows specific signs of Veleslavín’s humanistic Czech (i.e., proportionately constructed, complicated periods; abundant transitional forms; the verb commonly at the end of a sentence; accusative forms with an infinitive, or nominative forms with an infinitive; etc.). However, the functional aims associated with these forms draw the dividing line between the two versions and account for the major changes in style. The following examples show the style and language tools used by
