Evolution of discourse markers in Czech: case study of vždyť

The main goal of this paper is to analyze one specific Czech discourse marker, vždyť, both from the synchronic and diachronic position. In the context of this analysis, some questions of linguistic methodology are discussed. Most of this analysis focused on its semantic properties, which were described using the NSM methodology (Natural Semantic Metalanguage). NSM allows its users to describe the meaning of grammatical words in natural language, thanks to which a researcher can formulate the expression's function without having to use a complicated and obscure terminology. The resulting definition of vždyť is compared to the description found in Czech dictionaries, whose authors, unlike my approach, describe the meaning of vždyť in terms of multiple senses, polysemy. Apart from semantics, a small part of the chapter is dedicated to the description of other properties of vždyť, e. g. phonetics. In the diachronic analysis, a hypothesis is formulated about the emergence of vždyť from the originally temporal marker vždy, explaining it on the basis of conversational implicatures. That is illustrated by some examples of vždy from the earliest available linguistic data from Czech. I then describe the meaning of vždyť in Old Czech, while speculation about its further development is hindered by the lack of adequate..

Cooperatively Enhanced Ion Pair Binding with a Hybrid Receptor

A simple 18-crown-6-based bis-urea receptor <b>R</b>^<b>1</b> was synthesized in three steps from a commercial starting material. The receptor’s behavior toward anions, cations, and ion pairs was studied in solution with ¹H NMR, in solid state with single-crystal X-ray diffraction, and in gas phase with mass spectrometry. In 4:1 CDCl₃/dimethyl sulfoxide solution the receptor’s binding preference of halide anions is I^– < Br^– < Cl^– following the trend of the hydrogen-bonding acceptor ability of the anions. The receptor shows a remarkable positive cooperativity toward halide anions Cl^–, Br^–, and I^– when complexed with Na⁺, K⁺, or Rb⁺. The solid-state binding modes of <b>R</b>^<b>1</b> with alkali and ammonium halides or oxyanions were confirmed by the X-ray structures of <b>R</b>^<b>1</b> with KF, KCl, KBr, KI, RbCl, NH₄Cl, NH₄Br, KAcO, K₂CO₃, and K₂SO₄. They clearly present two different binding modes, either as separated or contact ion pairs depending on the nature and size of the bound cation and anion. Complexation capability of <b>R</b>^<b>1</b> in the gas phase was studied with competition experiments with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry showing preference of KCl complexation over NaCl, KBr, or KI supporting the results obtained in solution