01947nas a2200205   4500000000100000000000100001008004100002653001900043653002500062653003300087653002000120653002400140653002200164100002000186245011700206856011800323300001200441520126800453022002001721                                       d10aCzech dialects10aEndangered languages10aIntangible cultural heritage10alanguage policy10alanguage protection10aRegional Identity1 aM. Šimečková00aLanguages and Dialects as Part of Regional Identity and Cultural Heritage (on the Example of the Czech Republic)  uhttps://www.scopus.com/inward/record.uri?eid=2-s2.0-85140733221&partnerID=40&md5=c5ee4b49e20cf17989714869b598e59d  a114-1243 aThe aim of the paper is to determine whether languages and their territorial dialects are intangible cultural heritage or not. Excerpts from the Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage have been argued, as well as specific entries on the UNESCO lists, in which languages and dialects appear as intangible cultural heritage independently or as part of more complex items. The definition of intangible cultural heritage, as formulated in the aforementioned Convention, has been found to entirely correspond to the nature of dialects - these are considered by the general public as part of cultural heritage, passed down from generation to generation, reshaped by various threatening factors, and they provide people with a sense of identity and continuity. Several options for the preservation of dialects in terms of their documentation and presentation by dialectologists and laypersons were presented. At the same time, attention was drawn to potential consequences of active protection through legislation channels, especially to the undesirable conservation of a certain state without taking into account natural language development and to the need for canonization leading to the creation of an artificial language hyper-standard.  a08628351 (ISSN)