Sensitivity towards registers in Czech

Abstract This study explored the correlation between findings from a multidimensional analysis (MDA) of Czech ( Cvrček et al. 2020 ) and native speakers’ intuition about register variation. Four linguistic features (contact expressions, adjective clusters, non-dropped pronouns, and verbal nouns) were examined across dynamic, static, spontaneous, and prepared situations, representing two key dimensions of Czech register variation. MDA showed that adjective clusters and verbal nouns are typical of static registers, while contact expressions and non-dropped pronouns are linked to spontaneous registers. Participants ( n = 230) chose between sentences with or without these features under different contextual conditions. Two main findings were uncovered: (1) participants preferred sentences with register-specific features in congruent contexts, and (2) the amount of contextual information did not significantly affect choices. The study highlights native speakers’ intuition about register variation and the role of context in perceiving linguistic features.