Skladnost

Skladnost is a noun used in Czech and Slovak to denote the quality of being harmonious or well put together. It is commonly translated into English as harmony, consonance, coherence, or balance, depending on the context. The word derives from the Slavic stem sklad-, meaning to compose or arrange, with the noun-forming suffix -nost.

In linguistic and stylistic contexts, skladnost refers to the fluency and logical coherence of a text or utterance. A text with high skladnost reads smoothly, with sentences and ideas that follow naturally from one another and with euphonic, unobtrusive phrasing. In this sense, it is related to, but distinct from, clarity or precision of meaning.

In the arts, skladnost denotes the unity of form and content. In music, it describes the coherence of melody, rhythm, and harmony so that the musical statements fit together and create a sense of completeness. In architecture and design, it can refer to proportional harmony and the balanced arrangement of parts, contributing to an aesthetically satisfying whole.

Skladnost is commonly discussed alongside other aesthetic principles such as jasnost (clarity) and vyrovnanost (balance). While primarily used in Czech and Slovak discourse, the concept has parallels in other languages where terms like harmony, coherence, or consonance are employed to express similar ideas of unity and well-ordered composition.