When/How to use таков

Question

From time to time I encounter the word таков (in written language) but do not have a real clue about it.

Usually I replace it (mentally) with такой cause it's typically translated as such.

• In which sense таков is usually used?
  • Is it linked with or can it be replaced by такой?
  • Would there be a use case in spoken language?
• Is the female ending pronounced or not? Wikislovar and gramota are discordant about it.

Answer 1

ТАКОВ is a short form of ТАКОВОЙ, which generally means such, the same, above-mentioned. Now answering your questions specifically

1. The main meaning is "such" that might be used as a name-replacement in a bureaucratic documentation, although in a full form ТАКОВОЙ, ТАКОВЫЕ: "К протоколу прилагаются их объяснения и замечания, если ТАКОВЫЕ имеются." - ... if such are available.
2. In the previous meaning - yes, fully. Using ТАКОВОЙ makes the sentence much more formal.
3. As to the spoken language, there are a couple of idioms with ТАКОВ. "...И был ТАКОВ" = скрылся, убежал (иронически) - in case someone did or said something and then suddenly disappeared. "Каков поп, таков приход" = everyone gets what it is worth of. The last frequent case I can think of is a statement of the type "ТАКОВ ...": "ТАКОВА судьба" - such is our destiny, "ТАКОВ человек" - such is the man (human nature), "ТАКОВЫ факты" - these are the facts.
4. Sure, ТАКОВА.