Scholarly Czech — the register of journal articles, monographs, dissertations, and lectures — is impersonal, hedged, heavily nominal, and studded with precise connectives. An English speaker arriving with the habits of anglophone academic writing will overshoot on the personal I/we and the active voice, and undershoot on nominalization and hedging. The result reads as too casual, too assertive, too spoken. This page lays out the conventions of Czech academic style and, throughout, contrasts them with the English academic voice so you can see exactly which instincts to reset.
The impersonal or authorial stance
The first thing to abandon is the frequent English I argue / I show / I found. Czech scholarly prose keeps the author out of the sentence. It has three main devices for this, in rough order of frequency.
The impersonal-modal construction with lze ("it is possible to") or je možné / je třeba / je nutné ("it is possible / necessary to") states claims without any subject at all:
Lze konstatovat, že vztah mezi oběma proměnnými je významný.
It can be stated that the relationship between the two variables is significant. (lze + infinitive — impersonal claim)
Je možné tvrdit, že se jedná o obecnější jev.
It is possible to claim that this concerns a more general phenomenon.
The reflexive passive (verb + se) backgrounds the researcher, letting the work itself be the grammatical subject:
V této studii se zaměřujeme na vliv teploty na růst krystalů.
In this study we focus on the influence of temperature on crystal growth. (zaměřujeme se — authorial plural)
Získané výsledky se shodují s předchozími zjištěními.
The obtained results are consistent with previous findings. (reflexive passive, agent absent)
The authorial plural — a first-person plural (zaměříme se, ukážeme, domníváme se) standing for the single author — is standard and does not sound arrogant the way a lone English "we" from a sole author sometimes does. Czech uses it as a neutral scholarly convention. The mechanics of the se passive are on the reflexive passive page.
V následující kapitole se zaměříme na metodologii výzkumu.
In the following chapter, we will focus on the research methodology. (authorial plural for a single writer)
Nominalization
Like administrative Czech, academic prose prefers to express actions as nouns — the -ní/-tí verbal nouns (zkoumání "investigation," ověření "verification," zpracování "processing," měření "measurement"). Nominalization lets a sentence pack several actions into one clause and lends the text its dense, static, objective feel. Overusing verbs where a Czech scholar would nominalize is a classic transfer error from English.
Cílem tohoto výzkumu je ověření navržené hypotézy.
The aim of this research is the verification of the proposed hypothesis. (nominalized ověření, not 'to verify')
V tomto výzkumu chceme ověřit navrženou hypotézu.
In this research we want to verify the proposed hypothesis. (the less academic, more verbal phrasing)
Analýza dat proběhla po jejich zpracování a vyhodnocení.
The analysis of the data took place after their processing and evaluation. (three verbal nouns chained)
The morphology and register-weight of these nouns are treated fully on the verbal nouns and nominalization page.
Hedging: claiming without overclaiming
Academic Czech hedges — it marks the strength of a claim carefully, distinguishing what is demonstrated from what is merely suggested. This is not timidity; it is scholarly precision, and under-hedging (stating a tentative finding as flat fact) reads as naïve. The core hedges:
| Hedge | Force | English |
|---|---|---|
| zdá se, že… | tentative | it seems that… |
| patrně / pravděpodobně | probability | presumably / probably |
| lze předpokládat, že… | cautious inference | it can be assumed that… |
| zřejmě | apparent | apparently / evidently |
| do jisté míry | partial | to a certain extent |
| nasvědčuje tomu, že… | evidential | points to the fact that… |
Zdá se, že tento faktor hraje významnou roli.
It seems that this factor plays a significant role. (hedged — not asserted outright)
Získaná data patrně souvisejí s vnějšími vlivy.
The obtained data are presumably related to external influences. (patrně tempers the claim)
Lze předpokládat, že se výsledky projeví i v jiných podmínkách.
It can be assumed that the results will manifest in other conditions too. (cautious inference)
Precise connectives
Academic Czech signals the logic between sentences with a set of formal connectives that are distinctly bookish — you would rarely use them in speech, where tak, takže, and protože dominate (see tak and takže and the causal conjunctions page for the everyday counterparts). The scholarly inventory:
| Connective | Function | English |
|---|---|---|
| tudíž | consequence | therefore / consequently |
| nicméně | concession | nevertheless / however |
| avšak | contrast (bookish) | however / but |
| vzhledem k tomu, že… | cause | given / owing to the fact that… |
| na základě toho | grounding | on that basis |
| zároveň | addition | at the same time / moreover |
Data byla neúplná; nicméně základní trend je patrný.
The data were incomplete; nevertheless, the basic trend is discernible. (nicméně — formal concession)
Vzhledem k tomu, že vzorek byl malý, je třeba výsledky interpretovat opatrně.
Given that the sample was small, the results must be interpreted with caution. (formal causal connective + hedge)
Metoda selhala, a tudíž bylo nutné zvolit jiný postup.
The method failed, and therefore a different procedure had to be chosen. (tudíž — formal consequence)
The abstract and citation register
A Czech abstract (abstrakt / anotace) follows a predictable four-move shape, each move with its own conventional phrasing: statement of aim, method, results, conclusion. Learning the frames lets you both read abstracts fast and write one that sounds native.
| Move | Conventional opener |
|---|---|
| Aim | Cílem této studie je… / Práce se zabývá… |
| Method | Za tímto účelem byla použita metoda… / Bylo provedeno… |
| Results | Výsledky ukazují, že… / Bylo zjištěno, že… |
| Conclusion | Z výsledků vyplývá, že… / Lze konstatovat, že… |
Cílem této studie je popsat vliv nezaměstnanosti na migraci mladých lidí.
The aim of this study is to describe the influence of unemployment on the migration of young people. (the standard 'aim' frame)
Z výsledků vyplývá, že tento vztah je statisticky významný.
It follows from the results that this relationship is statistically significant. (the standard 'conclusion' frame)
Citation phrasing is likewise conventionalized. To attribute a claim to another scholar, Czech uses podle + genitive ("according to") and set reporting verbs like uvádí ("states"), tvrdí ("argues, claims"), poukazuje na ("points to"):
Podle Nováka (2019) hraje tento faktor klíčovou roli.
According to Novák (2019), this factor plays a key role. (podle + genitive Nováka, citation register)
Jak uvádí Svobodová (2021), výsledky je třeba interpretovat opatrně.
As Svobodová (2021) states, the results must be interpreted with caution. (jak uvádí + author)
A fully annotated specimen — an abstract dissected clause by clause — is on the academic abstract text page.
The English-speaker pitfall
The transfer error is predictable and worth naming plainly: English academic writing has, over recent decades, shifted toward the personal, active voice — "I argue," "we found," "this paper shows." Bringing that habit into Czech produces prose that is at once too personal (too many uses of já/my where the impersonal is expected), too verbal (verbs where a Czech scholar nominalizes), and too assertive (flat claims where a hedge belongs). Reset all three: default to lze / je možné / se constructions, nominalize your actions into -ní nouns, and calibrate every claim with a hedge that matches your evidence. Do that and your Czech will read as the work of someone at home in the register — which is exactly the impression scholarly writing is meant to give.
Common Mistakes
❌ Já jsem zjistil, že tento faktor je významný.
Too personal for academic register — use the impersonal or authorial plural.
✅ Bylo zjištěno, že tento faktor je významný.
It was found that this factor is significant.
❌ V této studii chceme ověřit, změřit a vyhodnotit hypotézu.
Too verbal — academic Czech nominalizes: the aim is ověření, měření a vyhodnocení.
✅ Cílem studie je ověření, měření a vyhodnocení hypotézy.
The aim of the study is the verification, measurement, and evaluation of the hypothesis.
❌ Tento faktor rozhodně způsobuje daný jev.
Overclaims — an unproven relationship needs a hedge, not 'definitely causes'.
✅ Zdá se, že tento faktor s daným jevem souvisí.
It seems that this factor is related to the phenomenon in question.
❌ Data byla neúplná, takže trend je vidět.
Too colloquial — takže and 'je vidět' are spoken register; academic prose uses nicméně and patrný.
✅ Data byla neúplná; nicméně trend je patrný.
The data were incomplete; nevertheless, the trend is discernible.
❌ Podle Novák je tento faktor klíčový.
Wrong case — podle governs the genitive: podle Nováka.
✅ Podle Nováka je tento faktor klíčový.
According to Novák, this factor is key.
Key Takeaways
- Czech academic prose keeps the author out of the sentence: prefer the impersonal (lze konstatovat), the reflexive passive (ukazuje se), and the authorial plural (zaměříme se) over the English personal I/we.
- Nominalize actions into -ní/-tí verbal nouns for the dense, objective scholarly feel.
- Hedge claims to match the evidence: zdá se, že…, patrně, lze předpokládat, že… — under-hedging reads as naïve.
- Use formal connectives — tudíž, nicméně, avšak, vzhledem k tomu, že — not the spoken takže/protože.
- The abstract has a fixed four-move shape (aim, method, results, conclusion), and citation uses podle + genitive with verbs like uvádí, tvrdí.
- The English-speaker pitfall is transferring a personal, active, assertive voice — reset toward impersonal, nominal, hedged prose.
Now practice Czech
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Start learning Czech→Related Topics
- Verbal Nouns and NominalizationC1 — The -ní/-tí verbal nouns and the heavy nominal style of administrative Czech.
- The Reflexive Passive (dělá se)B2 — Using se to form an agentless passive/impersonal.
- Causal Conjunctions: protože, jelikož, neboťB1 — Expressing cause and reason at different registers.
- Functional Text: An Academic AbstractC1 — A research abstract, annotated for the reflexive passive, verbal nouns, and hedging.
- Administrative Czech (Úřední Styl)C1 — The dense, impersonal style of officialdom, forms, and bureaucracy.