Polish Dialects Research Articles

„Ostatni Mohikanie” rodzimej kultury na „zdemazuryzowanych” Mazurach

“The Last of the Mohicans” of the Native Culture in “De-Masurized” MasuriaThe Masurians as an ethno-regional group have almost disappeared from the ethnic map of the world: their descendants now live in Germany in great numbers, while there are just a few thousand in their native Masuria. At the same time, the Masurians’ original culture spanning between Evangelism, the Polish dialect and culture, and German identity, is vanishing. Probably the last formally organized group of representatives of the local native population is the one active in the Masuria Evangelical Association (MEA). Its members’ main aim is to preserve and maintain their native culture, and thus save it from complete eradication.The article presents some of the unique measures taken by the activists of MEA in a concrete response to the marginalization of the Masurians and their vanishing in the region due to Germanization policies and, later, Polonization policies in Masuria, which were introduced by force when necessary. Many attempts at establishing the institutional means to rescue the native Masurian identity, which to a large extent proved unsuccessful, are briefly described in the text. The activities of MEA, as an institution of a regionalist character, are shown both in the historical and contemporary contexts. The author also presents the tasks, forms and contents of the Association’s work, taking into account the ideological and practical perspectives of its efforts to support the Masurian population.

Changing Gender of Self-Reference in the Polish Dialects of the Silesian Beskids

ABSTRACT This article deals with the masculine gender of self-reference in women's speech attested in the Polish dialects of the Silesian Beskids. It aims at identifying the diachronic relation between this phenomenon and the neuter gender used in the same function in the adjacent territories. Children – irrespective of sex – developed the neuter gender of self-reference in parallel to neuter forms they were addressed with but replaced it with the natural gender while growing up. As this convention gradually declined in males' speech, a three-step schema of development emerged in the case of females, viz. neuter → masculine → feminine. This unusual schema was subsequently reduced to a new two-step one, viz. masculine → feminine, which, in turn, could be reduced to the masculine gender alone. While the Polish material is sufficient for substantiating this interpretation, the main points are corroborated by comparative Slavic – mainly Czech and Slovenian – data. Special attention has been paid to lay accounts, which provide more detailed information than professional ones.

Zmiany językowe na polskiej wsi na przykładzie pola tematycznego „Przygotowanie gleby, uprawa ziemniaków” w rejonie mościskim obwodu lwowskiego

In the article deals with vocabulary potato cultivation, past and present, and the terminology of soil preparation, planting, cultivation and excavation of potatoes in Polish dialects in the region of Mościska. The collected contributions of informants from three generations will show what the changes in it taking place in this vocabulary as a result of civilizational processes are analyzed. The material obtained in the field was verified in lexicographical sources and in further field studies.

Polszczyzna kresowa na ekranie – analiza jakościowa filmowych wykładników stylizacji w serialu "Boża podszewka" w reżyserii Izabelli Cywińskiej

This article concerns the problem of dialectization in a show Boża podszewka by Izabela Cywińska. It analysed language indicators occurring on phonetical, inflectional, word-formational and syntactic planes in 15 episodes of the show. In the research, besides indicating features of north-eastern borderlands’ dialect, it also highlited occurance of features from other polish dialects within characters dialogue.

Frazeologizmy w gawędach Dominika Kuziniewicza

The subject of considerations presented in this article is phraseological units appearing in Dominik Kuziniewicz’s tales. The research material was selected from two of his books: Kochaninkie, patrzajciesami (1989) and Żeby gembulka była uśmiechnięta (2007).The overwhelming majority of the phraseological relationships used by the storyteller is colloquial, which was dictated by the topics discussed in the texts that relate to various situations occuring in everyday life. The research shows that only a small group of phraseologies was used in the canonical form, while the absolute majority of phraseological units appear in a modified form. Their various transformations were largely favored by the stylization of the Polish dialects used in Lithuania. As a result of such an operation, in many phraseologisms (with original lexics), Polish grammatical forms were replaced by forms characteristic to these language varieties. Much more often, the author changes the lexical composition of phraseologisms, using various procedures, such as replacing the lexical component of phraseology, supplementing phraseology with new components and using phraseological calque of East Slavic languages.

ONE PHONETIC FEATURE OF THE LANGUAGE OF THE WORKS OF P. KULISH IN THE LIGHT OF THE DICTIONARY OF B. GRINCHENKO

The proposed observation is based mainly on the material of the first editions of Panteleimon Kulish's works and is part of a holistic study of the writer's language against the background of his native Eastern Polish dialect of the northern dialect. The article is a fragment of the study of the connections between the language of P. Kulish and the Dictionary edited by B. Grinchenko as one of the significant lexicographic works of the relevant era; as well as previous explorations, it is based on the consonant methodology used by T. Shevchenko's language researchers (P. Tymoshenko, M. Zhovtobryukh and V. Rusanivskyi). Based on the analysis of the linguistic situation of Kulish's time, the writer was directly related to the development of the all-Ukrainian literary idiom with an Eastern Ukrainian dialectal basis, actively strengthening its so-called "Cernighiv elements" both as an author and as an editor and organizer of literature; on the other hand, the same role (according to Yu. Shevelyov) was played by B. Grinchenko, in particular, the dictionary edited by him; ethnographic materials from the territory of Chernihiv Oblast, as well as the language of Chernihiv writers are used here on such a scale that the representation of Chernihiv (Eastern Polish) elements is much more extensive, "than the place of Chernihiv Oblast in the general territory of Ukraine." Undoubtedly, the "Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language" had a great impact on the process of codification of norms of the Ukrainian literary language. Therefore, the study of the specifics of reflection in this lexicographic work of the language of the classical writer is, of course, a long overdue need; such studies are also interesting and relevant in view of the important fact that there are still no special dictionaries of the language of P. Kulish, and the celebration of his 200th anniversary, unfortunately, did not activate research studies in the direction of a detailed characterization of the idiolect of the conscious creator of the Ukrainian literary language.

Borrowing from the Polish language in Bukovynian dialects (on the material of the dialect of the village of Yuzhynets, Kitsman district, Chernivtsi region)

The article analyzes borrowings from the Polish language in Bukovynian dialects (based on the dialect of Yuzhynets village, Kitsman district, Chernivtsi region), the vocabulary of which preserves the nation’s original worldview, relics of spiritual culture, understanding of ethical norms, relations with other peoples, reproduces socio-political changes in the society. Analysis of the vocabulary of dialects allowed us to draw conclusions about the main trends in the lexical system of language. Based on the Etymological Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language, the Dictionary of Bukovinian Dialects and the Dictionary of the Ukrainian Language, the origin of dialectisms- Polonisms is clarified and the way of their semantic and structural development is determined. The urgency of the research is caused by the need to study the spoken language, in particular the vocabulary of Bukovinian dialects which allows to touch the sources of national memory, to comprehend the historical path of Bukovinian people. Yuzhynets village, Kitsman district, Chernivtsi region singled out several groups of Polish dialects in the lexical system of speech: 1) words borrowed from the Polish language with the same meaning, among them names adapted to the lexical-semantic system of dialects (there were semantic shifts in the meanings of dialectisms-Polonisms); 2) borrowed words (from German, Latin, French), for which the Polish language acts as a mediator. It is noted that Polish words become creative for derivatives, the meanings of dialectismsderivatives are formed on the basis of associative connection with the meaning of creative-Polonisms. It is proved that dialectisms-Polonisms adapt to the phonetic-grammatical system of speech. Lexical and semantic adaptation of names in Bukovinian dialects concerns both the donor language and the intermediary language. In addition, among the borrowed vocabulary in Bukovinian dialects, borrowings from European languages, were recorded which, in turn, inherited them from Latin and became a source of replenishment of the dialect vocabulary of the Ukrainian language. It is stated that dialectisms-Polonisms of the dialect Yuzhynets belong to different parts of speech, which form the main lexical and semantic groups.

Rękopiśmienny słowniczek wileńskiej gwary ludowej Artura Dolińskiego jako źródło do badań gwar polskich

The article presents a manuscript collection of dialect lexicon from the 2nd half of the 19th century compiled by Artur Doliński. The glossary records the vocabulary characteristic of the folk dialect of the Vilnius area. The author has established that in terms of methodology, Doliński’s work differs from other studies of this type (the entries are not arranged alphabetically, they lack qualifiers or explicataions of how to use a particular word). However, this does not diminish the value of the work under discussion, since the glossary records unknown lexemes from historical Lithuania, and attests to phonetic and grammatical features inherent in the borderland variety of the language. This makes Doliński’s work an important source for the study of Polish dialects in the 19th century Northeastern Borderlands.

Prasa lokalna jako źródło do badań dialektologicznych (na przykładzie kieleckich „Przemian”)

The local press is used to a small extent for dialectological studies. In the article, I present a review and typology of press materials contained in the Kielce socio-cultural monthly „Przemiany” (Transformation, 1970–1989), which is a valuable source of language material, primarily for Polish dialectical lexicography, but also for the study of the language system of the Kielce dialects from the 1980s and 1990s. The sociolinguistic aspect is included in the description of dialects in the analyzed press texts. On the one hand, Kielce dialect materials broaden the number of printed sources for the issued Polish dialect dictionary, and on the other – they can be well used when developing a regional glossary.

Świadomość językowa, troska o język polski i zainteresowania językoznawcze Elizy Orzeszkowej w świetle jej korespondencji

The raw material for this article came from the nine volume edition of letters written by Orzeszkowa to her friends, acquaintances, publishers etc. The authors reveal and review the authoress’ statements concerning her own literary works and the language used to translate them, while also discussing the meticulousness of proofreaders and Orzeszkowa’s mastery of foreign languages. Other issues include the writer’s attitude to the Russian language, Russian culture and Russification of Poles, her role in defending of the Polish spirit and promoting the Polish language, her opinions on other writers and their language, statements about the Linde dictionary, interests in botanical nomenclature, mentions of north Borderlands Polish dialect, reflections on the correctness of specific language facts, contacts with eminent philologists and linguists.

Bohemizm czy rutenizm – o wyrazie huba, hubka 1. bot. ‘grzyb na drzewach, Polyporus’, 2. ‘wysuszona huba do rozniecania ognia’, 3. ‘grzyby’

The text is a lexical mini-monograph in the context of issues related to linguis­tic borderland and linguistic borrowings. The word under consideration is huba, hubka 1. botany ‘fungus on trees, Polyporus’, 2. ‘dried Polyporus fungus for kin­dling fire, amadou’, 3. ‘fungi’, which in the Polish language is considered either a Bohemism or a Ruthenism. In the light of the linguistic data presented, it can be concluded that the former infrequently attested Bohemian influence was forgot­ten, and that under the influence of the Ruthenian languages the forms of huba, hubka were only later popularized in the Polish general language. On the oth­er hand, the influence of the Czech (and Slovak) language can be observed in the southern dialects, while in the east and in the Polish dialects of the southern Eastern Borderlands, Ukrainian influences were marked. It should be additionally noted that the spreading of these forms in dialects was under a strong impact of the Polish literary language.

Germanizmy emotywno-oceniające w gwarach kujawskich: nazwy osób

Emotive-Evaluative Germanisms in the Kuyavian Dialect: Names of Persons
 The article contributes to the knowledge on the sources of lexical borrowings from German into Polish dialects. The subject of the analysis includes selected names of persons that are Germanisms, characterized by expressiveness, and documented in the Kuyavian dialect. The vocabulary of this region has never been studied in this aspect. The material was taken from the 1st Volume of The Dialect and Culture Dictionary of Kuyavia, and from its file. The term “Germanism” is understood broadly in this paper. Germanisms are considered not only as proper borrowings from the German language and dialects, but also as derivatives which were created in the native Kuyavian land on the basis of German original forms, using various nominative techniques. Four ways of penetrating the German influence into the Polish language were indicated. Various criteria were used in the analysis of these German loans: formal, etymological, semantic and geographical ones. A typology of expressivisms, developed by Stanisław Grabias, was utilised. The article presents seventeen Germanisms in the Kuyavian dialect that define a man in terms of his physicalness, psyche and material status, in the context of the comparison with the semantically similar vocabulary in other regions of Poland and with non-general varieties of Polish. These are names that mostly reflect negative valuation (e.g. gałgan, fagas, huncwot, rojber, ekensztyjer, lofer, lump), and that are already present in the meanings and expressiveness of the German basic forms.

The 19th-century dialect glossary from the Podlasie region by Zygmunt Wasilewski as a contribution to the history of the Polish dialect lexicography

The subject matter described in this paper is the lexicographic work of Zygmunt Wasilewski, a lawyer, politician, columnist, literary critic, which refers to his 19th-century glossary from the Podlasie region. When characterising this small collection of words (282 headwords), the macrostructure and microstructure of the glossary is taken into consideration. Its lexical material is fi rst of all a source of knowledge about the oldest state of Podlasie dialects and research on Polish dialects overall, but it also offers an insight in the methods of this unqualifi ed lexicographer, enthusiast of “folk things”, amateur ethnographer and dialectologist.

Phrasematic Introduction to Dialectal Axiolinguistics

The current works related to analysing value in Polish dialects have been presented in the article. The author has selected six types of values. For each of them, two opposite values in the form of adjectives have been chosen. The author has shown how these values are expressed by dialectal phrasemes.Cognitive values: wise (e. g. mądry jak Salomon [as wise as Solomon]) – stupid (e. g. głupi jak motyka [as stupid as a hoe]).Moral values: good (e. g. dobry jak lato [as good as summer]) – evil (e. g. zły jak czart [as bad as the devil]).Vital values: healthy (e. g. zdrowy jak dzwon [as healthy as a bell]) – ill (e. g. chory na śmierć [ill with death]).Values of feelings: satiated (e. g. wiatrem syt [satiated with wind]) – hungry (e. g. głodny jak Żydowa kobyła [as hungry as a Jew’s horse]).Aesthetic values: beautiful (e. g. piękny jak z obrazka [as beautiful as from a picture]) – ugly (e. g. brzydki jak papuga [as ugly as a parrot]).Economic values: rich (e. g. bogaty jak patyk w lesie [as rich as a stick in the forest]) – poor (e. g. biedny jak mysz [as poor as a mouse]).

Mowa Ślązaków – gwara, dialekt czy język regionalny (w związku z próbą zmiany statusu prawnego)

The speech of the Silesians: subdialect, dialect or a regional language (with reference to the attempted change of the legal status)
 The paper discusses a bill submitted to the Polish Parliament on recognition of the speech of the inhabitants of Upper Silesia as a regional language, and demonstrates that the said speech is a subdialect of the Silesian dialect of Polish.

Opinia o projekcie zmiany Ustawy o mniejszościach narodowych i etnicznych oraz o języku regionalnym, a także niektórych innych ustaw

Opinion on draft amendments to the law on national and ethnic minorities and regional language, and on some other laws
 The opinion on draft amendments is negative due to lack of compliance with the Polish and EU regulations (Act on the Polish Language from 1999.10.07 and the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages). Applicants want Silesian to be recognized as a national language. However, the current classification of used (living) languages of the world contrasts the general (nationwide) language with its regional/territorial varieties, i.e. subdialects. There are no rational arguments for modification of the existing arrangements, and favouring one of Polish dialects by establishing it as a regional language. Since, however, the positions of subdialects and regional Polish have been weakened for historical reasons, it will be justified to seek to raise their prestige.

Jaki jest właściwie zakres dialektologii historycznej? (Uwagi z perspektywy dialektologa)

What Does Historical Dialectology Actually Include? (Remarks from the Perspective of a Dialectologist)
 The article refers to the contemporary status of Polish dialects and, at the same time, it is a voice in the debate on the scope of historical dialectology. The reference point for the works of W. Taszycki and other, later historians of language, was (and still is) the heritage of K. Nitsch, while, for dialectologists, his texts only offer a historical and/or normative value (in case of revitalization activities) as an example of language used in villages about a hundred years ago. In the publications related to historical dialectology it is assumed that the status of local dialects described by Nitsch is still valid. Dynamic changes that take place in the Polish village require revising this view and, as a result, correcting the scope of historical dialectology which, from the modern perspective, includes the works that describe dialects from the first half of the 20th century.

Gwarowe nazwy kobiet z sufiksem -ula

Dialectal Female Names with the Suffix -ula
 The article discusses female names created with the suffix -ula, taken from the Lexicon of Polish Dialects prepared by the Polish Institute of Sciences (PAN). Despite the possibility of double motivation, it was assumed that most of them were motivated by male names, with only few derived from verbs, adjectives or nouns. Among the formations in question, words with a negative connotation are prevalent, and positive ones (diminutives and terms of endearment) are rare. This is compliant with colloquial Polish in which negative assessment is dominant, too. According to the analysis: 1) the suffix -ula has a feminizing function when it is used to create female names based on common names, and the expressiveness of the name is transferred from the basis to the derivative; 2) the scope of the suffix -ula is limited to Lesser Poland and Silesia; 3) it hardly ever occurs in other dialects.The author of this article discusses the structure, origin and functions of dialectal pronouns which occur in the local dialect of Posada Jaśliska near Krosno. Posada Jaśliska is a village of three cultures: Polish, Lemko and Slovakian. The author describes mutual influences of these three languages on shaping the collection of pronouns, with particular emphasis on the pronouns that are typical of this area or known only in this place: definite ones, such as haw ‘here’ and het ‘very far, somewhere, from somewhere, away’, and indefinite pronouns, such as dakto ‘whoever’, dagdzie ‘wherever’.

The Linguistic Variability of the Kaunas District: The Basis for the Development of the "Tarmynas" Model

The article analyses the linguistic basis of the Tarmynas, the database Lithuanian local language variants. The development of the database model was based on the linguistic variability of the Kaunas district as an important zone for the development of Standard Lithuanian. Until now, the territory of the Kaunas district has not been systematically studied by dialectologists; therefore, the study is relevant in assessing the interaction between Standard language and local variants; the conclusions drawn are significant for prog-nostic models of the Lithuanian language. The analysis performed by the methods of geolinguistics research showed a significant horizontal and vertical variability of the Kaunas district. Based on the characteristics of the traditional dialects and their spread in the new dialectal structures, four linguistic areas of the Kaunas district were distinguished. Their main distinguishing features are the shortening of long vowels in unaccented inflexions and the hardening of the compounds le and lė. The influence of the local Polish dialects on the current linguistic variants was also identified. The possibilities of the explication of the dialectal phonetic features in the database are also briefly presented: transcriptions of acoustic recordings and a questionnaire about the frequency of usage of the dialectal features.

Attitudes to the Polish language of Polish youth minority living in Eišiškės

The aim of the article is to analyze language attitudes expressed by young people belonging to the Polish ethnic minority living in Eišiškės. The material for this research was collected in 2020 by student Aneta Borisevska on the basis of a survey developed in the project “Sociolinguistic map of Lithuania: city and town (2013)”. The results of the survey show that the Polish language is assessed ambiguously by the respondents: the common Polish language is considered prestigious and necessary for contacts in Poland, but the Polish dialect is considered mixed and unsuitable for use in Vilnius or Poland. Young respondents state that they will need the Lithuanian language the most to study and work in Lithuania. In Eišiškės, there is a tendency to use the Lithuanian language more widely, the Polish dialect it is mostly spoken at home and with acquaintances.