View source for Polish language

{{Short description|West Slavic language}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2024}}
{{Infobox language
| name             = Polish
| nativename       = {{lang|pl|polski}}
| pronunciation    = {{IPA|pl|ˈpɔlskʲi||Pl-polski.ogg}}
| states           = [[Poland]], [[Lithuania]], and bordering regions
| speakers         = [[first language|L1]]: {{sigfig|39.709620|2}} million
| date             = 2021
| ref              = e27
| speakers2        = [[Second language|L2]]: {{sigfig|2.092000|2}} million (2021)<ref name=e27/><br>Total: {{sigfig|42.629030|2}} million (2021)<ref name=e27/>
| speakers_label   = Speakers
| familycolor      = Indo-European
| fam2             = [[Balto-Slavic languages|Balto-Slavic]]
| fam3             = [[Slavic languages|Slavic]]
| fam4             = [[West Slavic languages|West Slavic]]
| fam5             = [[Lechitic languages|Lechitic]]
| fam6             = [[East Lechitic dialects|East Lechitic]]
| dia1             = [[Greater Poland dialect group|Greater Poland]]
| dia2             =  [[Goral ethnolect|Goral]]
| dia3             = [[Lesser Poland dialect group|Lesser Poland]]
| dia4             = [[Masovian dialect group|Masovian]]
| dia5             = [[New mixed dialects]]
| dia6             = [[Northern Borderlands dialect|Northern Borderlands]]
| dia7             = [[Silesian language|Silesian]]<ref>{{Cite book |title=Gwara Śląska – świadectwo kultury, narzędzie komunikacji |date=2002 |work=Śląsk |others=Jolanta Tambor (eds.); Aldona Skudrzykowa |isbn=83-7164-314-4 |location=Katowice |oclc=830518005}}</ref><ref>"Słownik gwar Śląskich". Opole, Bogusław Wyderka (eds.)</ref><ref>"Dialekt śląski" author: Feliks Pluta, publication: Wczoraj, Dzisiaj, Jutro. – 1996, no 1/4, pp 5–19</ref><ref>"Fenomen śląskiej gwary" author: Jan Miodek publication: Śląsk. – 1996, no 5, pp 52</ref>{{efn|name=silesian|Also considered a separate language, see ''[[Silesian language#Dialect vs. language]]''}}
| dia8             = [[Southern Borderlands dialect|Southern Borderlands]]
| ancestor         = [[Old Polish]]
| ancestor2        = [[Middle Polish]]
| script           = {{ubl|[[Latin script]] ([[Polish alphabet]])}}
| nation           = {{ubl|[[Poland]]|[[European Union]]}}
| minority         = {{ubl|[[Bosnia and Herzegovina]]<ref name="euro-charter">[[European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages]]</ref>| |[[Brazil]]<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://notesfrompoland.com/2022/08/01/polish-made-official-language-in-brazilian-town-founded-by-poles/ |title=Polish made official language in Brazilian town founded by Poles |date=August 2022 |access-date=31 January 2023 |archive-date=31 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230131205322/https://notesfrompoland.com/2022/08/01/polish-made-official-language-in-brazilian-town-founded-by-poles/ |url-status=live }}</ref>|
[[Czech Republic]]<ref name="euro-charter">[[European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages]]</ref>|[[Hungary]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://europapont.blog.hu/2016/03/16/nyelvi_sokszinuseg_az_eu-ban_hivatalos_regionalis_es_kisebbsegi_nyelvek_a_tagallamokban|title=Nyelvi sokszínűség az EU-ban – hivatalos regionális és kisebbségi nyelvek a tagállamokban|access-date=28 November 2018|date=16 March 2016|language=hu|archive-date=9 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180809123545/https://europapont.blog.hu/2016/03/16/nyelvi_sokszinuseg_az_eu-ban_hivatalos_regionalis_es_kisebbsegi_nyelvek_a_tagallamokban|url-status=live}}</ref>|[[Lithuania]]<ref>{{cite act|url=http://conventions.coe.int/Treaty/Commun/QueVoulezVous.asp?NT=157&CM=2&DF=18/04/02&CL=ENG|title=Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities|index=157|type=Treaty|legislature=Council of Europe|date=1 February 1995|access-date=28 November 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.minelres.lv/NationalLegislation/Lithuania/lithuania.htm|title=MINELRES – Minority related national legislation – Lithuania|website=www.minelres.lv|access-date=28 November 2018|archive-date=18 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180918182544/http://www.minelres.lv/NationalLegislation/Lithuania/lithuania.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>|[[Romania]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Reservations and Declarations for Treaty No.148 – European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages|url=http://www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/full-list/-/conventions/treaty/148/declarations?p_auth=63PpH3zN|website=Council of Europe|access-date=3 December 2015|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208122308/http://www.coe.int/en/web/conventions/full-list/-/conventions/treaty/148/declarations?p_auth=63PpH3zN|archive-date=8 December 2015}}</ref>|[[Slovakia]]<ref name="euro-charter"/>|[[Ukraine]]<ref name="euro-charter"/><ref>{{cite web | url=http://zakon4.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/5029-17 | title=Law of Ukraine "On Principles of State Language Policy" (Current version — Revision from 01.02.2014) | publisher=Zakon2.rada.gov.ua | work=Document 5029-17, Article 7: Regional or minority languages Ukraine, Paragraph 2 | date=1 February 2014 | access-date=30 April 2014 | archive-date=14 February 2014 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140214125040/http://zakon4.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/5029-17 | url-status=live }}</ref>}}
| agency           = [[Polish Language Council]]<br>(of the [[Polish Academy of Sciences]])
| iso1             = pl
| iso2             = pol
| iso3             = pol
| lingua           = 53-AAA-cc [[West Slavic languages|53-AAA-b..-d]]<br>(varieties: 53-AAA-cca to 53-AAA-ccu)
| map              = Map of Polish language.svg
| mapcaption       = {{legend|#0080FE|Majority of Polish speakers}}
{{legend|#5AAFDF|Polish used together alongside other languages}}
{{legend|#88C4FE|Significant minority of Polish speakers outside of Poland}}
| notice           = IPA
| sign             = [[Sign Language System]]
| glotto           = poli1260
| glottorefname    = Polish
}}

'''Polish''' ({{langx|pl|label=[[Endonym and exonym|endonym]]|język polski}}, {{IPA|pl|ˈjɛ̃zɨk ˈpɔlskʲi||Pl-język polski.ogg}}, {{lang|pl|polszczyzna}} {{IPA|pl|pɔlˈʂt͡ʂɨzna||Pl-polszczyzna.ogg}} or simply {{lang|pl|polski}}, {{IPA|pl|ˈpɔlskʲi||Pl-polski.ogg}}) is a [[West Slavic languages|West Slavic language]] of the [[Lechitic languages|Lechitic subgroup]], within the [[Indo-European languages|Indo-European language family]], and is written in the [[Latin script]].<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/335581/Lekhitic-languages|title=Lekhitic languages|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|date=2015-01-08|access-date=2015-03-31|archive-date=20 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120420130305/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/335581/Lekhitic-languages|url-status=live}}</ref> It is primarily spoken in [[Poland]] and serves as the official language of the country, as well as the language of the [[Polish diaspora]] around the world. In 2024, there were over 39.7 million Polish native speakers.<ref name="ethnologue">{{Cite web |date=2023 |title=What are the top 200 most spoken languages? |url=https://www.ethnologue.com/insights/ethnologue200/ |access-date=2023-08-25 |website=Ethnologue |archive-date=18 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230618002011/https://www.ethnologue.com/insights/ethnologue200/ |url-status=live }}</ref> It ranks as the sixth-most-spoken among [[languages of the European Union]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/davekeating/2020/02/06/despite-brexit-english-remains-the-eus-most-spoken-language-by-far/|title=Despite Brexit, English Remains The EU's Most Spoken Language By Far|last=Keating|first=Dave|website=Forbes|language=en|access-date=2020-02-07|archive-date=7 June 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230607135739/https://www.forbes.com/sites/davekeating/2020/02/06/despite-brexit-english-remains-the-eus-most-spoken-language-by-far/|url-status=live}}</ref> Polish is subdivided into regional [[Dialects of Polish|dialects]].  It maintains strict [[T–V distinction]] pronouns, [[Honorifics (linguistics)|honorifics]], and various forms of formalities when addressing individuals.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wierzbicka |first1=Anna |last2=Winter |first2=Werner |date=2020 |title=Cross-Cultural Pragmatics |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hiMTEAAAQBAJ |publisher=De Gruyter |page=57 |isbn=9783112329764 |access-date=21 March 2023 |archive-date=17 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230517045632/https://books.google.com/books?id=hiMTEAAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref>

The traditional 32-letter [[Polish alphabet]] has nine additions ({{Lang|pl|ą}}, {{Lang|pl|ć}}, {{Lang|pl|ę}}, {{Lang|pl|ł}}, {{Lang|pl|ń}}, {{Lang|pl|ó}}, {{Lang|pl|ś}}, {{Lang|pl|ź}}, {{Lang|pl|ż}}) to the letters of the basic 26-letter [[Latin alphabet]], while removing three (x, q, v). Those three letters are at times included in an extended 35-letter alphabet.<ref name="sjp.pwn.pl">{{Cite web|url=https://sjp.pwn.pl/poradnia/haslo/Q-V-X;10937.html|title=Q, V, X – Poradnia językowa PWN|website=sjp.pwn.pl|access-date=20 April 2020|archive-date=31 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731002935/https://sjp.pwn.pl/poradnia/haslo/Q-V-X;10937.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The traditional set comprises 23 [[consonants]] and nine written [[vowels]], including two [[nasal vowels]] ({{Lang|pl|ę}}, {{Lang|pl|ą}}) denoted by a reversed [[diacritic]] hook called an {{Lang|pl|[[ogonek]]}}.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kappenberg |first1=Bernard |last2=Schlobinski |first2=Peter |date=2015 |title=Setting Signs for Europe; Why Diacritics Matter for European Integration |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=w7c-DQAAQBAJ |publisher=Columbia University Press |page=44 |isbn=9783838267036 |language=English |access-date=18 January 2021 |archive-date=17 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230517045630/https://books.google.com/books?id=w7c-DQAAQBAJ |url-status=live }}</ref> Polish is a [[Fusional language|synthetic and fusional]] language which has seven [[grammatical case]]s.<ref>{{cite book |last=Foland-Kugler |first=Magdalena |date=2006 |title=W gaju słów, czyli, Polszczyzna znana i nieznana |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_WMpAQAAIAAJ&q=siedem%20przypadk%C3%B3w%20ma%20j%C4%99zyk%20polski |publisher=Ex Libris |page=29 |isbn=9788389913876 |language=Polish |access-date=18 January 2021 |archive-date=17 May 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230517045630/https://books.google.com/books?id=_WMpAQAAIAAJ&q=siedem%20przypadk%C3%B3w%20ma%20j%C4%99zyk%20polski |url-status=live }}</ref> It has fixed [[Stress (linguistics)|penultimate stress]] and an abundance of [[palatal consonants]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://wals.info/chapter/14 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151207160058/http://wals.info/chapter/14 |title=WALS Online – Chapter Fixed Stress Locations |archive-date=December 7, 2015 |website=wals.info}}</ref> Contemporary Polish developed in the 1700s as the successor to the medieval [[Old Polish]] (10th–16th centuries) and [[Middle Polish]] (16th–18th centuries).<ref>{{cite book |last1=Długosz-Kurczabowa |first1=Krystyna |last2= Dubisz |first2= Stanisław |date=2006 |title=Gramatyka historyczna języka polskiego |url= |location=Warszawa (Warsaw) |publisher=wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego |pages=56, 57 |isbn=83-235-0118-1 |language=Polish}}</ref>

Among the major languages, it is most closely related to [[Slovak language|Slovak]]<ref>{{cite book |editor-first = Ernest |editor-last = Andrews |chapter-url = https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9783319709253 |title = Language planning in the post-communist era: the struggles for language control in the new order in Eastern Europe, Eurasia and China |year = 2018 |isbn = 978-3-319-70926-0 |location = Cham |publisher = Palgrave Macmillan |oclc = 1022080518 |language = en |chapter = The Polish Language Act: Legislating a Complicated Linguistic-Political Landscape |first1 = Magda |last1 = Stroińska |first2 = Ernest |last2 = Andrews |page = 243 |access-date = 26 August 2019 |archive-date = 26 August 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190826112513/https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9783319709253 |url-status = live }}</ref> and [[Czech language|Czech]]<ref name="Swan-2002">{{cite book |last = Swan|first=Oscar E. |title = A grammar of contemporary Polish |url = https://archive.org/details/grammarcontempor00swan|url-access = limited|year = 2002 |isbn = 0-89357-296-9 |location = Bloomington, Ind. |publisher = Slavica |oclc = 50064627 |language=en | page=[https://archive.org/details/grammarcontempor00swan/page/n6 5]}}</ref> but differs in terms of pronunciation and general grammar. In addition, Polish was profoundly influenced by [[Latin]] and other [[Romance languages]] like [[Italian language|Italian]] and [[French language|French]] as well as [[Germanic languages]] (most notably [[German language|German]]), which contributed a large number of loanwords and similar grammatical structures.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y_lgAAAAMAAJ&q=wplyw+francuskiego+na+j%C4%99zyk+polski|title=Język polski|date=July 27, 2000|publisher=Towarzystwo Miłośników Języka Polskiego.|via=Google Books|access-date=27 August 2020|archive-date=27 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230927201922/https://books.google.com/books?id=y_lgAAAAMAAJ&q=wplyw+francuskiego+na+j%C4%99zyk+polski|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hjq2AAAAIAAJ&q=wp%C5%82yw+jezyka+niemieckiego+na+polski|title=Tendencje rozwojowe współczesnych zapożyczeń angielskich w języku polskim|first=Elżbieta|last=Mańczak-Wohlfeld|date=July 27, 1995|publisher=Universitas|isbn=978-83-7052-347-3|via=Google Books|access-date=27 August 2020|archive-date=27 September 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230927201924/https://books.google.com/books?id=hjq2AAAAIAAJ&q=wp%C5%82yw+jezyka+niemieckiego+na+polski|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JENHAAAAcAAJ&q=wp%C5%82yw+jezyka+niemieckiego+na+polski&pg=PA69|title=Rok ... pod względem oświaty, przemysłu i wypadków czasowych|date=July 27, 1844|publisher=Nakł. N. Kamieńskiego i Spólki|via=Google Books}}</ref> Extensive usage of [[nonstandard dialect]]s has also shaped the [[standard language]]; many [[colloquialism]]s and expressions were directly borrowed from German or [[Yiddish]] and subsequently adopted into the [[vernacular]] of Polish in everyday use.<ref>{{cite book |last=Brzezina |first=Maria |date=1986 |title= Polszczyzna Żydów |location=Warszawa (Warsaw) |publisher=Państwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe |pages=31, 46 |isbn=83-01-06611-3 |language=Polish}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Prokop-Janiec |first=Eugenia |date=2013 |title=Pogranicze Polsko-żydowskie |url=https://ruj.uj.edu.pl/xmlui/bitstream/handle/item/11953/prokop-janiec_pogranicze_polsko-zydowskie_2013.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |location=Kraków |publisher=Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego |page=20 |isbn=978-83-233-3507-8 |language=Polish |access-date=18 January 2021 |archive-date=21 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121212928/https://ruj.uj.edu.pl/xmlui/bitstream/handle/item/11953/prokop-janiec_pogranicze_polsko-zydowskie_2013.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y |url-status=live }}</ref>

Historically, Polish was a ''[[lingua franca]]'',<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yRz0DQAAQBAJ&pg=PA25|title=Multilingual Europe, Multilingual Europeans|date=1 January 2012|publisher=BRILL|access-date=28 November 2018|isbn=978-94-012-0803-1|pages=25|editor1-first=László|editor1-last=Marácz|editor2-first=Mireille|editor2-last=Rosello|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last=Koyama |first=Satoshi |url=http://src-h.slav.hokudai.ac.jp/coe21/publish/no15_ses/contents.html |title=Regions in Central and Eastern Europe: Past and Present |publisher=Slavic Research Center, Hokkaido University |year=2007 |isbn=978-4-938637-43-9 |editor1-last=Hayashi |editor1-first=Tadayuki |pages=137–153 |chapter=Chapter 8: The Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth as a Political Space: Its Unity and Complexity |access-date=23 May 2019 |editor2-last=Fukuda |editor2-first=Hiroshi |chapter-url=http://src-h.slav.hokudai.ac.jp/coe21/publish/no15_ses/08_koyama.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200225015447/http://src-h.slav.hokudai.ac.jp/coe21/publish/no15_ses/contents.html |archive-date=25 February 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> important both diplomatically and academically in [[Central Europe|Central]] and part of [[Eastern Europe]]. In addition to being the official language of Poland, Polish is also spoken as a [[second language]] in eastern [[Germany]], northern [[Czech Republic]] and [[Slovakia]], western parts of [[Belarus]] and [[Ukraine]] as well as in southeast [[Lithuania]] and [[Latvia]]. Because of the emigration from Poland during different time periods, most notably after [[World War II]], millions of Polish speakers can also be found in countries such as [[Canada]], [[Argentina]], [[Brazil]], [[Israel]], [[Australia]], the [[United Kingdom]] and the [[United States]].

==History==
{{main|History of Polish}}{{see also|Old Polish|Middle Polish}}
Polish began to emerge as a distinct language around the 10th century, the process largely triggered by the establishment and development of the Polish state. At the time, it was a collection of dialect groups with some mutual features, but much regional variation was present.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Dejna|first=Karol|title=Dialekty polskie|location=Wrocław|year=1973|page=235}}</ref> [[Mieszko I of Poland|Mieszko I]], ruler of the Polans tribe from the [[Greater Poland]] region, united a few culturally and linguistically related tribes from the basins of the [[Vistula]] and [[Oder]] before eventually accepting baptism in 966. With the arrival of [[Western Christianity]], Poland also adopted the [[Latin alphabet]], which made it possible to write down Polish, which until then had existed only as a [[spoken language]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.todaytranslations.com/language-history/polish/|title=Polish Language History and Facts|website=Today Translations|date=2014-06-20|access-date=2015-03-31|archive-date=16 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140816122217/http://www.todaytranslations.com/language-history/polish/|url-status=live}}</ref> The closest relatives of Polish are the [[Elbe Slavs|Elbe]] and [[Pomeranians (tribe)|Baltic Sea]] Lechitic dialects ([[Polabian language|Polabian]] and [[Pomeranian language|Pomeranian]] varieties). All of them, except [[Kashubian language|Kashubian]], are extinct.<ref name="Kolaczyk">{{cite web |last1=Dziubalska-Kołaczyk |first1=Katarzyna |last2=Walczak |first2=Bogdan |title=Polish |url=https://tf.edu.pl/t/WA_Dziubalska-Ko%C5%82aczyk_Walczak_Polish.pdf |access-date=12 February 2023 |website=repozytorium.amu.edu.pl |publisher=[[Adam Mickiewicz University]] |pages=1, 5}}</ref> The precursor to modern Polish is the [[Old Polish language]]. Ultimately, Polish descends from the unattested [[Proto-Slavic]] language.

[[File:Book of Henryków.PNG|thumb|left|The [[Book of Henryków]] is the earliest document to include a sentence written entirely in what can be interpreted as [[Old Polish language|Old Polish]] – ''Day, ut ia pobrusa, a ti poziwai'', meaning "let me grind, and you have a rest" highlighted in red.]]

The [[Book of Henryków]] (Polish: {{lang|pl|Księga henrykowska}}, {{langx|la|Liber fundationis claustri Sanctae Mariae Virginis in Heinrichau}}), contains the earliest known sentence written in the Polish language: ''Day, ut ia pobrusa, a ti poziwai'' (in modern orthography: ''Daj, uć ja pobrusza, a ti pocziwaj''; the corresponding sentence in modern Polish: ''Daj, niech ja pomielę, a ty odpoczywaj'' or ''Pozwól, że ja będę mełł, a ty odpocznij''; and in English: ''Come, let me grind, and you take a rest''), written around 1280. The book is exhibited in the Archdiocesal Museum in Wrocław, and as of 2015 has been added to [[UNESCO]]'s "[[Memory of the World Programme|Memory of the World]]" list.<ref>{{Cite news |title=The Book of Henryków on UNESCO's list! |language=en |work=Wroclaw.pl |url=https://www.wroclaw.pl/en/the-book-of-henrykow-on-unescos-list-01 |access-date=2023-06-08 |archive-date=8 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230608161043/https://www.wroclaw.pl/en/the-book-of-henrykow-on-unescos-list-01 |url-status=live }}</ref>

The medieval recorder of this phrase, the Cistercian monk Peter of the Henryków monastery, noted that "Hoc est in polonico" ("This is in Polish").<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://digital.fides.org.pl/publication/834|title=FIDES Digital Library – Liber fundationis claustri Sancte Marie Virginis in Henrichow = Księga henrykowska|via=digital.fides.org.pl|access-date=18 April 2017|archive-date=15 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200715025221/https://digital.fides.org.pl/publication/834|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Barbara i Adam Podgórscy: Słownik gwar śląskich. Katowice: Wydawnictwo KOS, 2008, {{ISBN|978-83-60528-54-9}}</ref><ref>Bogdan Walczak: Zarys dziejów języka polskiego. Wrocław: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Wrocławskiego, 1999, {{ISBN|83-229-1867-4}}</ref>

The earliest treatise on Polish orthography was written by {{ill|Jakub Parkosz|pl|Jakub Parkoszowic}} around 1470.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Stankiewicz |first1=Edward |title=Grammars and Dictionaries of the Slavic Languages from the Middle Ages up to 1850: An Annotated Bibliography |date=1984 |publisher=[[Mouton Publishers]] |isbn=3110097788 |page=33}}</ref> The first [[History of printing in Poland|printed]] book in Polish appeared in either 1508<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://krakowcityofliterature.com/city-of-literature/the-history-of-literature-in-krakow/|title=The history of literature in Krakow|website=krakowcityofliterature.com|language=en-US|access-date=2023-02-08|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190616103432/http://krakowcityofliterature.com/city-of-literature/the-history-of-literature-in-krakow/ |archive-date=16 June 2019}}</ref> or 1513,<ref name="Comrie">{{cite book |last1=Stone |first1=Gerald |editor1-last=Comrie |editor1-first=Bernard |title=The World's Major Languages |date=2009 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |page=290 |edition=2nd |chapter=Polish|isbn=978-0-415-35339-7}}</ref> while the [[Merkuriusz Polski Ordynaryjny|oldest Polish newspaper]] was established in 1661.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Aumente |first1=Jerome |title=Eastern European Journalism: Before, During and After Communism |date=1999 |publisher=Hampton Press |isbn=1-57273-177-X |page=7}}</ref> Starting in the 1520s, large numbers of books in the Polish language were published, contributing to increased homogeneity of grammar and orthography.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Bideleux |first1=Robert |last2=Jeffries |first2=Ian |title=A History of Eastern Europe: Crisis and Change |date=1998 |publisher=[[Routledge]] |isbn=0-415-16111-8 |page=129 }}</ref> The writing system achieved its overall form in the 16th century,<ref name="Kolaczyk"/>{{sfn|Kamusella|2009|page=111}} which is also regarded as the "[[Polish Golden Age|Golden Age]] of Polish literature".<ref name="Comrie"/> The [[History of Polish orthography|orthography was modified]] in the 19th century and in 1936.<ref name="Kolaczyk"/>

[[Tomasz Kamusella]] notes that "Polish is the oldest, non-ecclesiastical, written Slavic language with a continuous tradition of literacy and official use, which has lasted unbroken from the 16th century to this day."<ref>{{cite book |last= Kamusella |first= Tomasz |year= 2009 |title= The Politics of Language and Nationalism in Modern Central Europe |publisher= Palgrave Macmillan |page=138 |isbn= 978-0-230-55070-4 }}</ref> Polish evolved into the main [[sociolect]] of the nobles in [[Polish–Lithuanian union|Poland–Lithuania]] in the 15th century.{{sfn|Kamusella|2009|page=111}} The history of Polish as a language of state governance begins in the 16th century in the [[Crown of the Kingdom of Poland|Kingdom of Poland]]. Over the later centuries, Polish served as the official language in the [[Grand Duchy of Lithuania]], [[Congress Poland]], the [[Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria]], and as the administrative language in the [[Russian Empire]]'s [[Western Krai]]. The growth of the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]]'s influence gave Polish the status of ''lingua franca'' in [[Central and Eastern Europe]].{{sfn|Kamusella|2009|page=137}}

The process of standardization began in the 14th century<ref>{{Cite journal|language=pl|title=Geneza polskiego języka literackiego|journal=Teksty Drugie|number=3|year=1994|last=Walczak|first=Bogdan|publisher=IBL PAN|location=Warsaw}}</ref> and solidified in the 16th century during the Middle Polish era.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Dejna|first=Karol|title=Dialekty polskie|location=Wrocław|year=1973|pages=16–17}}</ref> Standard Polish was based on various dialectal features, with the [[Greater Poland dialect group]] serving as the base.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Dejna|first=Karol|title=Dialekty polskie|location=Wrocław|year=1973|page=18}}</ref> After [[World War II]], Standard Polish became the most widely spoken variant of Polish across the country, and most dialects stopped being the form of Polish spoken in villages.<ref>{{Cite journal|language=pl|title=Status gwary w języku polskim|last=Wronicz|first=Jadwiga|journal=Socjolingwistyka|volume=XXX|issn=0208-6808}}</ref>

==Geographic distribution==
{{See also|Geographical distribution of Polish speakers}}
Poland is one of the most linguistically [[wikt:Homogeneous|homogeneous]] European countries; nearly 97% of Poland's citizens declare Polish as their [[first language]]. Elsewhere, [[Polish people|Poles]] constitute large minorities in areas which were once administered or occupied by Poland, notably in neighboring [[Lithuania]], [[Belarus]], and [[Ukraine]]. Polish is the most widely used minority language in Lithuania's [[Vilnius County]], by 26% of the population, according to the 2001 census results, as [[Vilnius]] was part of Poland from 1922 until 1939. Polish is found elsewhere in southeastern Lithuania. In Ukraine, it is most common in the western parts of [[Lviv Oblast|Lviv]] and [[Volyn Oblast]]s, while in [[West Belarus]] it is used by the significant Polish minority, especially in the [[Brest, Belarus|Brest]] and [[Grodno]] regions and in areas along the Lithuanian border. There are significant numbers of Polish speakers among Polish emigrants and their descendants in many other countries.

In the [[United States]], [[Polish Americans]] number more than 11 million but most of them cannot speak Polish fluently. According to the [[2000 United States census]], 667,414 <!-- directly from the Census table. --> Americans of age five years and over reported Polish as the language spoken at home, which is about 1.4% of people who speak languages other than [[English language|English]], 0.25% of the US population, and 6% of the Polish-American population. The largest concentrations of Polish speakers reported in the census (over 50%) were found in three states: [[Illinois]] (185,749), {{awrap|[[New York (state)|New York]]}} (111,740), and [[New Jersey]] (74,663).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.census.gov/population/cen2000/phc-t20/tab05.pdf |title=Table 8. Detailed List of Languages Spoken at Home for the Population 5 Years and Over : By State |publisher=Census.gov |access-date=2015-03-31 |archive-date=17 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100117052130/https://www.census.gov/population/cen2000/phc-t20/tab05.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> Enough people in these areas speak Polish that [[PNC Financial Services]] (which has a large number of branches in all of these areas) offers services available in Polish at all of their [[cash machine]]s in addition to [[English language|English]] and [[Spanish language|Spanish]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pnc.com/en/personal-banking/banking/services/atm-layouts.html|title=PNC ATM Banking|website=PNC|language=en|access-date=2017-11-02|archive-date=7 November 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171107012044/https://www.pnc.com/en/personal-banking/banking/services/atm-layouts.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

According to the 2011 census there are now over 500,000 people in [[England]] and [[Wales]] who consider Polish to be their "main" language. In [[Canada]], there is a significant [[Polish Canadians|Polish Canadian population]]: There are 242,885 speakers of Polish according to the 2006 census; in particular, there are concentrations of Polish speakers in [[Toronto]] (91,810 speakers) and [[Montreal]].<ref name="census">{{cite web |url=http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/topics/RetrieveProductTable.cfm?ALEVEL%3D3%26APATH%3D3%26CATNO%3D%26DETAIL%3D0%26DIM%3D%26DS%3D99%26FL%3D0%26FREE%3D0%26GAL%3D0%26GC%3D99%26GK%3DNA%26GRP%3D1%26IPS%3D%26METH%3D0%26ORDER%3D1%26PID%3D89189%26PTYPE%3D88971%26RL%3D0%26S%3D1%26ShowAll%3DNo%26StartRow%3D1%26SUB%3D705%26Temporal%3D2006%26Theme%3D70%26VID%3D0%26VNAMEE%3D%26VNAMEF%3D |title=Various Languages Spoken (147), Age Groups (17A) and Sex (3) for the Population of Canada, Provinces, Territories, Census Metropolitan Areas and Census Agglomerations, 2006 Census – 20% Sample Data |access-date=September 21, 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080527030141/http://www12.statcan.ca/english/census06/data/topics/RetrieveProductTable.cfm?ALEVEL=3&APATH=3&CATNO=&DETAIL=0&DIM=&DS=99&FL=0&FREE=0&GAL=0&GC=99&GK=NA&GRP=1&IPS=&METH=0&ORDER=1&PID=89189&PTYPE=88971&RL=0&S=1&ShowAll=No&StartRow=1&SUB=705&Temporal=2006&Theme=70&VID=0&VNAMEE=&VNAMEF= |archive-date=May 27, 2008 |website=Statistics Canada }}</ref>

The geographical distribution of the Polish language was greatly affected by the [[territorial changes of Poland immediately after World War II]] and [[Polish population transfers (1944–46)]]. Poles settled in the "[[Recovered Territories]]" in the west and north, which had previously been mostly [[German language|German]]-speaking. Some Poles remained in the previously Polish-ruled territories in the east that were annexed by the [[Soviet Union|USSR]], resulting in the present-day Polish-speaking communities in Lithuania, Belarus, and Ukraine, although many Poles were expelled from those areas to areas within Poland's new borders. To the east of Poland, the most significant Polish minority lives in a long strip along either side of the [[Lithuania]]-[[Belarus]] border. Meanwhile, the [[flight and expulsion of Germans (1944–50)]], as well as the [[population exchange between Poland and Soviet Ukraine|expulsion of Ukrainians]] and [[Operation Vistula]], the 1947 migration of Ukrainian minorities in the Recovered Territories in the west of the country, contributed to the country's linguistic homogeneity.

{{multiple image
| header            = Geographic language distribution maps of Poland from pre-WWII to present
| header_align      = center
| header_background = #CCCCFF
| align             = center
| direction         = horizontal
| width1            = 346
| image1            = Curzon line en.svg
| caption1          = The "[[Recovered Territories]]" (in pink) were parts of Germany, including the [[Free City of Danzig]] ([[Gdańsk]]), that became part of Poland after World War II. The territory shown in grey was lost to the Soviet Union, which [[Polish population transfers (1944–46)|expelled many Poles]] from the area.
| width2            = 275
| image2            = Languages of CE Europe-3.PNG
| caption2          = Geographical distribution of the Polish language (green) and other Central and Eastern European languages and dialects. A large Polish-speaking diaspora remains in the countries located east of Poland that were once the [[Eastern Borderlands]] of the [[Second Polish Republic]] (1918–1939).
| width3            = 290
| image3            = Map_of_the_Polish_language.png
| caption3          = Knowledge of the Polish language within parts of [[Europe]]. Polish is not a majority language of any nation outside of Poland, though areas that speak and are majority Polish are present in some neighboring countries.
}}

==Dialects==
{{Main|Dialects of Polish}}
[[File:Modlitwy drukowane po polsku w r. 1475.JPG|thumb|The oldest printed text in Polish – ''Statuta synodalia Episcoporum Wratislaviensis'' printed in 1475 in [[Wrocław]] by Kasper Elyan.]]
[[File:Polish-alphabet.png|thumb|The Polish alphabet contains 32 letters. Q, V and X are not used in the Polish language.]]

The inhabitants of different regions of Poland {{as of | 2008 | alt = still}} speak Polish somewhat differently, although the differences between modern-day [[vernacular]] varieties and standard Polish ({{lang|pl|język ogólnopolski}}) appear relatively slight. Most of the middle aged and young speak vernaculars close to standard Polish, while the traditional dialects are preserved among older people in rural areas.<ref name=wtad>{{cite book|editor=Witold Tulasiewicz, Anthony Adams|title=Teaching the Mother Tongue in a Multilingual Europe|publisher=A&C Black|page=166|year=2005|language=en|isbn=978-0-8264-7027-0}}</ref> First-language speakers of Polish have no trouble understanding each other, and non-native speakers may have difficulty recognizing the regional and [[sociolect|social]] differences. The modern [[standard language|standard dialect]], often termed as "correct Polish",<ref name=wtad/> is spoken or at least understood throughout the entire country.<ref name="Swan-2002" />

Polish has traditionally been described as consisting of three to five main regional dialects:
* [[Greater Polish dialect|Greater Polish]], spoken in the west
* [[Lesser Polish dialect|Lesser Polish]], spoken in the south and southeast
* [[Masovian dialect|Masovian]], spoken throughout the central and eastern parts of the country

[[Silesian language|Silesian]] and [[Kashubian language|Kashubian]], spoken in [[Upper Silesia]] and [[Pomerania]] respectively, are thought of as either [[dialects of Polish|Polish dialects]] or [[Ausbau|distinct languages]], depending on the criteria used.<ref>{{cite book |title = Polish Western Affairs |year = 1989 |publisher= Instytut Zachodni | page=26 |url = https://books.google.com/books?id=OXFpAAAAMAAJ | language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Compendium of the World's Languages|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DWAqAAAAQBAJ|author=George L. Campbell, Gareth King|publisher=Routledge|date=2012|language=en|isbn=978-1-136-25846-6|access-date=13 November 2019|archive-date=27 April 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240427103822/https://books.google.com/books?id=DWAqAAAAQBAJ|url-status=live}}</ref>

Kashubian contains a number of features not found elsewhere in Poland, e.g. nine distinct oral vowels (vs. the six of standard Polish) and (in the northern dialects) phonemic word stress, an archaic feature preserved from [[Common Slavic]] times and not found anywhere else among the [[West Slavic languages]]. However, it was described by some linguists as lacking most of the linguistic and social determinants of language-hood.<ref>{{cite book|title=The Slavic Languages|year=1958|url=https://archive.org/details/readerinhistoryo00sher|url-access=registration|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]}}</ref>

Many linguistic sources categorize Silesian as a regional language separate from Polish,<ref>Henryk Jaroszewicz (2022). ''Zasady Pisowni Języka Śląskiego - Written Rules of the Silesian Language''. Silesia Progress</ref> while some consider Silesian to be a dialect of Polish.<ref>Robert A. Rothstein (1994). "Polish". ''The Slavonic Languages'', edited by [[Bernard Comrie]] and Greville G. Corbett. Routledge. Pp. 754–756.</ref> Many Silesians consider themselves a separate ethnicity and have been advocating for the recognition of Silesian as a [[Languages of Poland|regional language in Poland]]. The law recognizing it as such was passed by the [[Sejm]] and [[Senate of Poland|Senate]] in April 2024, but was vetoed by President [[Andrzej Duda]] in late May 2024.

According to the last official census in Poland in 2011, over half a million people declared Silesian as their native language. Many sociolinguists (e.g. [[Tomasz Kamusella]],<ref>"Silesia and Central European Nationalisms", 2007. West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press {{ISBN|978-1-55753-371-5}}</ref> Agnieszka Pianka, Alfred F. Majewicz,<ref>["Języki świata i ich klasyfikowanie"] (en: "Languages of the world and their classification"), [[Polish Scientific Publishers PWN|Polish Scientific Publishers]], Warszawa 1989</ref> [[Tomasz Wicherkiewicz]])<ref>"Ekspertyza naukowa dr Tomasza Wicherkiewicza", Language Policy and the Laboratory for Research on Minority, Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan, 2008</ref> assume that extralinguistic criteria decide whether a lect is an independent language or a dialect: speakers of the [[variety (linguistics)|speech variety]] or/and political decisions, and this is dynamic (i.e. it changes over time). Also, research organizations such as [[SIL International]]<ref name="SIL">{{cite web|url=http://www.sil.org/iso639-3/documentation.asp?id=szl |title=ISO documentation of Silesian language |publisher=[[SIL International]] |access-date=2015-03-31 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121003061821/http://www.sil.org/iso639-3/documentation.asp?id=szl |archive-date=October 3, 2012 }}</ref> and resources for the academic field of linguistics such as ''[[Ethnologue]]'',<ref>{{e25|szl|Silesian}}</ref> [[Linguist List]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://multitree.linguistlist.org/codes/szl|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130602110608/http://multitree.linguistlist.org/codes/szl|archive-date=June 2, 2013|title=Silesian|website=MultiTree: A Digital Library of Language Relationships}}</ref> and others, for example the [[Ministry of Administration and Digitization (Poland)|Ministry of Administration and Digitization]]<ref name="MoAaD">{{cite web|url=http://isap.sejm.gov.pl/DetailsServlet?id=WDU20120000309|title=Dz.U. 2012 poz. 309: Rozporządzenie Ministra Administracji i Cyfryzacji z dnia 14 lutego 2012 r. w sprawie państwowego rejestru nazw geograficznych|website=Internetowy System Aktów Prawnych|language=pl|date=14 February 2012|access-date=2015-03-31|archive-date=2015-04-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150429093635/http://isap.sejm.gov.pl/DetailsServlet?id=WDU20120000309|url-status=dead}}</ref> recognized the Silesian language. In July 2007, the Silesian language was recognized by [[International Organization for Standardization|ISO]], and was attributed an ISO code of szl.

Some additional characteristic but less widespread regional dialects include:
# The distinctive dialect of the [[Gorals#Language|Gorals]] (''Góralski'') occurs in the mountainous area bordering the [[Czech Republic]] and [[Slovakia]]. The Gorals ("Highlanders") take great pride in their culture and the dialect. It exhibits some cultural influences from the [[Vlachs|Vlach]] shepherds in the 14th–17th centuries.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://litopys.org.ua/rizne/magocie.htm|title=The Rusyn Question|author=Magosic, Paul Robert|year=2005|access-date=2008-01-30|archive-date=11 October 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011064137/http://litopys.org.ua/rizne/magocie.htm|url-status=live}}</ref>
# The [[:pl:Gwara poznańska|Poznański dialect]], spoken in [[Poznań]] and to some extent in the whole region of the former [[Prussian Partition]] (excluding [[Upper Silesia]]), with noticeable German influences.
# In the northern and western (formerly German) regions where Poles from the territories annexed by the [[Soviet Union]] resettled after World War II, the older generation speaks a dialect of Polish characteristic of the [[Kresy]] that includes a longer pronunciation of vowels.
# Poles living in [[Lithuania]] (particularly in the [[Vilnius]] region), in Belarus (particularly the northwest), and in the northeast of Poland continue to speak the [[Kresy|Eastern Borderlands]] dialect, which sounds "slushed"{{clarify|date=June 2024}} (in Polish described as ''zaciąganie z ruska'', "speaking with a Ruthenian drawl") and is easily distinguishable.
# Some city dwellers, especially the less affluent population, had their own distinctive dialects – for example, the [[Warsaw dialect]], still spoken by some of the population of [[Praga]] on the eastern bank of the [[Vistula]]. However, these city dialects are {{as of | 2008 | alt = now}} mostly extinct due to assimilation with standard Polish.
# Many Poles living in emigrant communities (for example, in the [[United States]]), whose families left Poland just after World War II, retain a number of minor features of Polish vocabulary as spoken in the first half of the 20th century that now sound archaic to contemporary visitors from Poland.

Polish linguistics has been characterized by a strong strive towards promoting [[linguistic prescription|prescriptive]] ideas of language intervention and usage uniformity,<ref name=mling/> along with normatively oriented notions of language "correctness"<ref name=wtad/> (unusual by Western standards).<ref name="mling">{{cite journal | journal = Multilingua | editor = Miklós Kontra | volume = 19 | number = 1–2 ''Language contact in East–Central Europe'' | title = Special issue book reviews | year = 2000 | page = 193 | publisher = Mouton Publishers | url = https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/mult.2000.19.issue-1-2/mult.2000.19.1-2.169/mult.2000.19.1-2.169.xml | issn = 1613-3684 | language = en | access-date = 6 September 2019 | archive-date = 11 March 2020 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20200311091328/https://www.degruyter.com/view/j/mult.2000.19.issue-1-2/mult.2000.19.1-2.169/mult.2000.19.1-2.169.xml | url-status = live }}</ref>

==Phonology==
{{Main|Polish phonology}}
[[File:Pl-Deflegmator-article.ogg|thumb|Spoken Polish in a neutral informative tone]]
[[File:WIKITONGUES- Marta speaking Polish.webm|thumb|A Polish speaker, recorded in Poland]]

===Vowels===
Polish has six oral vowels (seven oral vowels in written form), which are all [[monophthong]]s, and two [[nasal vowel]]s. The oral vowels are {{IPAl-pl|i}} (spelled {{Lang|pl|i}}), {{IPAl-pl|y}} (spelled {{Lang|pl|y}} and also transcribed as /ɘ/ or /ɪ/), {{IPAl-pl|e}} (spelled {{Lang|pl|e}}), {{IPAl-pl|a}} (spelled {{Lang|pl|a}}), {{IPAl-pl|o}} (spelled {{Lang|pl|o}}) and {{IPAl-pl|u}} (spelled {{Lang|pl|u}} and {{Lang|pl|[[ó]]}} as separate letters). The nasal vowels are /[[Open-mid front unrounded vowel|ɛ]][[Nasal labial–velar approximant|w̃]]/ (spelled {{Lang|pl|[[ę]]}}) and /[[Open-mid back rounded vowel|ɔ]][[Nasal labial–velar approximant|w̃]]/ (spelled {{Lang|pl|[[ą]]}}). Unlike Czech or Slovak, Polish does not retain phonemic vowel length — the letter {{Lang|pl|ó}}, which formerly represented lengthened /ɔː/ in older forms of the language, is now vestigial and instead corresponds to /u/.

[[File:Polish vowel chart (with allophones).svg|thumb|right|Polish oral vowels depicted on a vowel chart. Main [[allophones]] (in black) are in broad transcription, whereas positional allophones (in red and green) are in narrow transcription. Allophones with red dots appear in palatal contexts. The central vowel {{IPAblink|ɐ}} is an unstressed allophone of {{IPA|/ɛ, ɔ, a/}} in certain contexts]]

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
!
! [[Front vowel|Front]]
! [[Central vowel|Central]]
! [[Back vowel|Back]]
|-
! [[Close vowel|Close]]
| {{IPA link|i}}
| {{IPA link|ɨ}}
| {{IPA link|u}}
|-
! [[Mid vowel|Mid]]
| {{IPA link|ɛ}}
|
| {{IPA link|ɔ}}
|-
! [[Open vowel|Open]]
|
| {{IPA link|ä|a}}
|
|-
!Nasal [[diphthong]]
|[[Open-mid front unrounded vowel|ɛ]][[Nasal labial–velar approximant|w̃]] 
|
|[[Open-mid back rounded vowel|ɔ]][[Nasal labial–velar approximant|w̃]]
|}

===Consonants===
The Polish [[consonant]] system shows more complexity: its characteristic features include the series of [[affricate consonant|affricate]] and [[palatal consonant]]s that resulted from four [[Proto-Slavic]] palatalizations and two further [[Palatalization (sound change)|palatalizations]] that took place in Polish. The full set of consonants, together with their most common spellings, can be presented as follows (although other phonological analyses exist):

{| class="wikitable" style="text-align: center;"
! colspan="2" |
! [[Labial consonant|Labial]]
! [[Dental consonant|Dental]]/<br/>[[Alveolar consonant|alveolar]]
! [[Retroflex consonant|Retroflex]]
! ([[Alveolo-palatal consonant|Alveolo-]])<br/>[[Palatal consonant|palatal]]
! [[Velar consonant|Velar]]
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Nasal consonant|Nasal]]
| {{IPA link|m}}
| {{IPA link|n̪|n}}
|
| {{IPA link|ɲ}}
|([[Voiced velar nasal|ŋ]])
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Plosive]]
! {{small|[[voicelessness|voiceless]]}}
| {{IPA link|p}}
| {{IPA link|t̪|t}}
|
|
| {{IPA link|k}}
|-
! {{small|[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]}}
| {{IPA link|b}}
| {{IPA link|d̪|d}}
|
|
| {{IPA link|ɡ}}
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Affricate consonant|Affricate]]
! {{small|[[voicelessness|voiceless]]}}
|
| {{IPA link|t̪͡s̪|t͡s}}
| {{IPA link|t͡ʂ}}
| {{IPA link|t͡ɕ}}
|
|-
! {{small|[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]}}
|
| {{IPA link|d̪͡z̪|d͡z}}
| {{IPA link|d͡ʐ}}
| {{IPA link|d͡ʑ}}
|
|-
! rowspan="2" | [[Fricative consonant|Fricative]]
! {{small|[[voicelessness|voiceless]]}}
| {{IPA link|f}}
| {{IPA link|s̪|s}}
| {{IPA link|ʂ}}
| {{IPA link|ɕ}}
| {{IPA link|x}}
|-
! {{small|[[voice (phonetics)|voiced]]}}
| {{IPA link|v}}
| {{IPA link|z̪|z}}
| {{IPA link|ʐ}}
| {{IPA link|ʑ}}
|([[Voiced velar fricative|ɣ]])
|-
! colspan="2" |[[Trill consonants|Trill]]
|
| {{IPA link|r}}
|
|
|
|-
! colspan="2" | [[Approximant consonant|Approximant]]
| {{IPA link|w}}
| {{IPA link|l}}
|
| {{IPA link|j}}
| {{IPA link|w}}
|}

[[Neutralization (linguistics)|Neutralization]] occurs between [[Voice (phonetics)|voiced]]–[[voicelessness|voiceless]] consonant pairs in certain environments, at the end of words (where devoicing occurs) and in certain consonant clusters (where [[Assimilation (phonology)|assimilation]] occurs). For details, see ''[[Polish phonology#Voicing and devoicing|Voicing and devoicing]]'' in the article on Polish phonology.

Most Polish words are [[paroxytone]]s (that is, the [[Stress (linguistics)|stress]] falls on the second-to-last syllable of a polysyllabic word), although there are exceptions).

===Consonant distribution===
Polish permits complex consonant clusters, which historically often arose from the disappearance of [[yer]]s. Polish can have word-initial and word-medial clusters of up to four consonants, whereas word-final clusters can have up to five consonants.<ref>{{cite web|title=Polish|url=http://www.phonetics.ucla.edu/appendix/languages/polish/polish.html|website=UCLA Phonetics Lab data|publisher=UCLA Phonetics Laboratory, [[University of California, Los Angeles]]|access-date=26 April 2018|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170920090539/http://phonetics.ucla.edu/appendix/languages/polish/polish.html|archive-date=20 September 2017}}</ref> Examples of such clusters can be found in words such as {{Audio|Pl-bezwzględny.ogg|''bezwzględny''}} {{IPA|[bɛzˈvzɡlɛndnɨ]}} ('absolute' or 'heartless', 'ruthless'), {{Audio|Pl-źdźbło.ogg|''źdźbło''}} {{IPA|[ˈʑd͡ʑbwɔ]}} ('blade of grass'), {{Audio|Pl-wstrząs.ogg|''wstrząs''|help=no}} {{IPA|[ˈfstʂɔw̃s]}} ('shock'), and ''krnąbrność'' {{IPA|[ˈkrnɔmbrnɔɕt͡ɕ]}} ('disobedience'). A popular Polish [[tongue-twister]] (from a verse by [[Jan Brzechwa]]) is {{Audio|Polish Tongue twister - Chrząszcz - 2.ogg|''W Szczebrzeszynie chrząszcz brzmi w trzcinie''|help=no}} {{IPA|[fʂt͡ʂɛbʐɛˈʂɨɲɛ ˈxʂɔw̃ʂt͡ʂ ˈbʐmi fˈtʂt͡ɕiɲɛ]}} ('In [[Szczebrzeszyn]] a beetle buzzes in the reed').

Unlike languages such as Czech, Polish does not have [[syllabic consonant]]s – the nucleus of a [[syllable]] is always a vowel.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Nonsyllabic Analysis of Voice Assimilation in Polish|first=Jerzy|last=Rubach|date=28 November 1996|journal=Linguistic Inquiry|volume=27|issue=1|pages=69–110|jstor = 4178926}}</ref>

The consonant {{IPA|/j/}} is restricted to positions adjacent to a vowel. It also cannot precede the letter {{Lang|pl|y}}.

===Prosody===

The predominant [[stress (linguistics)|stress]] pattern in Polish is penultimate stress – in a word of more than one syllable, the next-to-last syllable is stressed. Alternating preceding syllables carry secondary stress, e.g. in a four-syllable word, where the primary stress is on the third syllable, there will be secondary stress on the first.<ref>{{Harvcoltxt|Gussmann|2007|p=8}}, deferring to {{Harvcoltxt|Rubach|Booij|1985}} for further discussion.</ref>

Each vowel represents one syllable, although the letter {{Lang|pl|i}} normally does not represent a vowel when it precedes another vowel (it represents {{IPA|/j/}}, palatalization of the preceding consonant, or both depending on analysis). Also the letters {{Lang|pl|u}} and {{Lang|pl|i}} sometimes represent only semivowels when they follow another vowel, as in {{Lang|pl|autor}} {{IPA|/ˈawtɔr/}} ('author'), mostly in loanwords (so not in native {{Lang|pl|nauka}} {{IPA|/naˈu.ka/}} 'science, the act of learning', for example, nor in nativized {{Lang|pl|Mateusz}} {{IPA|/maˈte.uʂ/}}  'Matthew').

[[File:Styl urzedowy - Polish sign.jpg|thumb|right|A formal-tone informative sign in Polish, with a composition of vowels and consonants and a mixture of long, medium and short [[syllables]]]]

Some [[loanword]]s, particularly from the [[classical language]]s, have the stress on the antepenultimate (third-from-last) syllable. For example, {{lang|pl|fizyka}} ({{IPA|/ˈfizɨka/}}) ('physics') is stressed on the first syllable. This may lead to a rare phenomenon of minimal pairs differing only in stress placement, for example {{lang|pl|muzyka}} {{IPA|/ˈmuzɨka/}} 'music' vs. {{lang|pl|muzyka}} {{IPA|/muˈzɨka/}} – genitive singular of {{lang|pl|muzyk}} 'musician'. When additional syllables are added to such words through [[inflection]] or [[suffix]]ation, the stress normally becomes regular. For example, {{lang|pl|uniwersytet}} ({{IPA|/uɲiˈvɛrsɨtɛt/}}, 'university') has irregular stress on the third (or antepenultimate) syllable, but the genitive {{lang|pl|uniwersytetu}} ({{IPA|/uɲivɛrsɨˈtɛtu/}}) and derived adjective {{lang|pl|uniwersytecki}} ({{IPA|/uɲivɛrsɨˈtɛt͡skʲi/}}) have regular stress on the penultimate syllables. Loanwords generally become nativized to have penultimate stress.{{sfnp|Gussmann|2007|p=9}} In psycholinguistic experiments, speakers of Polish have been demonstrated to be sensitive to the distinction between regular penultimate and exceptional antepenultimate stress.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Domahs |first1=Ulrike |last2=Knaus |first2=Johannes |last3=Orzechowska |first3=Paula |last4=Wiese |first4=Richard |date=2012 |title=Stress 'deafness' in a language with fixed word stress: an ERP study on Polish |journal=Frontiers in Psychology |volume=3 |page=439 |doi=10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00439 |pmid=23125839 |pmc=3485581 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Another class of exceptions is verbs with the conditional endings {{lang|pl|-by, -bym, -byśmy}}, etc. These endings are not counted in determining the position of the stress; for example, {{lang|pl|'''zro'''biłbym}} ('I would do') is stressed on the first syllable, and {{lang|pl|zro'''bi'''libyśmy}} ('we would do') on the second. According to [[linguistic prescription|prescriptive authorities]], the same applies to the first and second person plural past tense endings {{lang|pl|-śmy, -ście}}, although this rule is often ignored in [[colloquialism|colloquial speech]] (so {{lang|pl|zro'''bi'''liśmy}} 'we did' should be prescriptively stressed on the second syllable, although in [[usus|practice]] it is commonly stressed on the third as {{lang|pl|zrobi'''li'''śmy}}).<ref>[http://phonetik.phil-fak.uni-koeln.de/uploads/tx_sibibtex/Oliver_Grice_ICPhS2003-1_01.pdf Phonetics and Phonology of lexical stress in Polish verbs]{{Dead link|date=May 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}, Dominika Oliver, Martine Grice, Institute of Phonetics, Saarland University, Germany</ref> These irregular stress patterns are explained by the fact that these endings are detachable [[clitic]]s rather than true verbal inflections: for example, instead of {{lang|pl|'''ko'''go zoba'''czy'''liście?}} ('whom did you see?') it is possible to say {{lang|pl|'''ko'''goście zoba'''czy'''li?}} – here {{lang|pl|kogo}} retains its usual stress (first syllable) in spite of the attachment of the clitic. Reanalysis of the endings as inflections when attached to verbs causes the different colloquial stress patterns. These stress patterns are considered part of a "usable" norm of standard Polish - in contrast to the "model" ("high") norm.<ref>{{Cite web|author=Andrzej Markowski|title=Norma wzorcowa|url=http://www.rjp.pan.pl/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1354&Itemid=50|work=Konferencje i dyskusje naukowe|publisher=[[Rada Języka Polskiego]]|access-date=2019-01-30|archive-date=24 April 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190424171021/http://www.rjp.pan.pl/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=1354&Itemid=50|url-status=live}}</ref>

Some common word combinations are stressed as if they were a single word. This applies in particular to many combinations of preposition plus a personal pronoun, such as {{lang|pl|'''do''' niej}} ('to her'), {{lang|pl|'''na''' nas}} ('on us'), {{lang|pl|prze'''ze''' mnie}} ('because of me'), all stressed on the bolded syllable.

==Orthography==
{{Main|Polish orthography|Polish Braille}}
{{see also|History of Polish orthography}}
The [[Polish alphabet]] derives from the [[Latin script]] but includes certain additional letters formed using [[diacritic]]s. The Polish alphabet was one of three major forms of Latin-based orthography developed for Western and some South Slavic languages, the others being [[Czech orthography]] and [[Croatian language|Croatian orthography]], the last of these being a 19th-century invention trying to make a compromise between the first two. [[Kashubian language|Kashubian]] uses a Polish-based system, [[Slovak language|Slovak]] uses a Czech-based system, and [[Slovene language|Slovene]] follows the Croatian one; the [[Sorbian languages]] blend the Polish and the Czech ones.

Historically, Poland's once diverse and multi-ethnic population utilized many forms of scripture to write Polish. For instance, [[Lipka Tatars]] and [[Muslims]] inhabiting the eastern parts of the former [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]] wrote Polish in the [[Arabic alphabet|Arabic]] alphabet.<ref>{{cite book |author=Towarzystwo Miłośników Języka Polskiego |date=2006 |title=Język polski |volume=86 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nu4oAQAAIAAJ&q=j%C4%99zyk%20polski%20arabski%20alfabet |access-date=20 April 2021 |language=pl |page=228 |archive-date=7 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230407151944/https://books.google.com/books?id=nu4oAQAAIAAJ&q=j%C4%99zyk%20polski%20arabski%20alfabet |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Cyrillic script]] is used to a certain extent today by [[Poles in Belarus|Polish speakers]] in [[Western Belarus]], especially for religious texts.<ref>[[Tomasz Kamusella|Kamusella, T]] 2019, 'The new Polish Cyrillic in independent Belarus', Colloquia Humanistica, vol. 8, pp. 79–112. https://doi.org/10.11649/ch.2019.006 {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240427103826/https://journals.ispan.edu.pl/index.php/ch/article/view/ch.2019.006 |date=27 April 2024 }}</ref>

The diacritics used in the Polish alphabet are the {{Lang|pl|kreska}} (graphically similar to the [[acute accent]]) over the letters {{Lang|pl|ć, ń, ó, ś, ź}} and through the letter in {{Lang|pl|ł}}; the {{Lang|pl|kropka}} (superior dot) over the letter {{Lang|pl|ż}}, and the {{Lang|pl|[[ogonek]]}} ("little tail") under the letters {{Lang|pl|ą, ę}}. The letters ''q, v, x'' are used only in foreign words and names.<ref name="sjp.pwn.pl"/>

Polish orthography is largely [[phoneme|phonemic]]—there is a consistent correspondence between letters (or [[digraph (orthography)|digraph]]s and [[trigraph (orthography)|trigraph]]s) and phonemes (for exceptions see below). The letters of the alphabet and their normal phonemic values are listed in the following table.
[[File:Wyjscia wujek 1599.jpg|thumb|right|The [[Jakub Wujek Bible]] in Polish, 1599 print. The letters á and é were subsequently abolished, but survive in Czech.]]
{| class="wikitable"
! Upper<br />case
! Lower<br />case
! Phonemic<br />value(s)
! Upper<br />case
! Lower<br />case
! Phonemic<br />value(s)
|-
| {{Lang|pl|[[A]]}}
| {{Lang|pl|a}}
| {{IPAl-pl|a}}
| {{Lang|pl|[[Ń]]}}
| {{Lang|pl|ń}}
| {{IPAl-pl|ń}}
|-
| {{Lang|pl|[[Ą]]}}
| {{Lang|pl|ą}}
| {{IPAl-pl|ą}}, {{IPA|pl|ɔn|}}, {{IPA|pl|ɔm|}}
| {{Lang|pl|[[O]]}}
| {{Lang|pl|o}}
| {{IPAl-pl|o}}
|-
| {{Lang|pl|[[B]]}}
| {{Lang|pl|b}}
| {{IPAl-pl|b}} ({{IPAl-pl|p}})
| {{Lang|pl|[[Ó]]}}
| {{Lang|pl|ó}}
| {{IPAl-pl|u}}
|-
| {{Lang|pl|[[C]]}}
| {{Lang|pl|c}}
| {{IPAl-pl|c}}
| {{Lang|pl|[[P]]}}
| {{Lang|pl|p}}
| {{IPAl-pl|p}}
|-
| {{Lang|pl|[[Ć]]}}
| {{Lang|pl|ć}}
| {{IPAl-pl|ć}}
| {{Lang|pl|[[Q]]}}
| {{Lang|pl|q}}
| Only loanwords
|-
| {{Lang|pl|[[D]]}}
| {{Lang|pl|d}}
| {{IPAl-pl|d}} ({{IPAl-pl|t}})
| {{Lang|pl|[[R]]}}
| {{Lang|pl|r}}
| {{IPAl-pl|r}}
|-
| {{Lang|pl|[[E]]}}
| {{Lang|pl|e}}
| {{IPAl-pl|e}}
| {{Lang|pl|[[S]]}}
| {{Lang|pl|s}}
| {{IPAl-pl|s}}
|-
| {{Lang|pl|[[Ę]]}}
| {{Lang|pl|ę}}
| {{IPAl-pl|ę}}, {{IPA|pl|ɛn|}}, {{IPA|pl|ɛm|}}, {{IPAl-pl|e}}
| {{Lang|pl|[[Ś]]}}
| {{Lang|pl|ś}}
| {{IPAl-pl|ś}}
|-
| {{Lang|pl|[[F]]}}
| {{Lang|pl|f}}
| {{IPAl-pl|f}}
| {{Lang|pl|[[T]]}}
| {{Lang|pl|t}}
| {{IPAl-pl|t}}
|-
| {{Lang|pl|[[G]]}}
| {{Lang|pl|g}}
| {{IPAl-pl|ɡ}} ({{IPAl-pl|k}})
| {{Lang|pl|[[U]]}}
| {{Lang|pl|u}}
| {{IPAl-pl|u}}
|-
| {{Lang|pl|[[H]]}}
| {{Lang|pl|h}}
| {{IPAslink|x}} ({{IPAslink|ɣ}})
| {{Lang|pl|[[V]]}}
| {{Lang|pl|v}}
| Only loanwords
|-
| {{Lang|pl|[[I]]}}
| {{Lang|pl|i}}
| {{IPAl-pl|i}}, {{IPAl-pl|j}}
| {{Lang|pl|[[W]]}}
| {{Lang|pl|w}}
| {{IPAl-pl|w}} ({{IPAl-pl|f}})
|-
| {{Lang|pl|[[J]]}}
| {{Lang|pl|j}}
| {{IPAl-pl|j}}
| {{Lang|pl|[[X]]}}
| {{Lang|pl|x}}
| Only loanwords
|-
| {{Lang|pl|[[K]]}}
| {{Lang|pl|k}}
| {{IPAl-pl|k}}
| {{Lang|pl|[[Y]]}}
| {{Lang|pl|y}}
| {{IPAslink|ɨ}}, {{IPAslink|ɘ}}
|-
| {{Lang|pl|[[L]]}}
| {{Lang|pl|l}}
| {{IPAl-pl|l}}
| {{Lang|pl|[[Z]]}}
| {{Lang|pl|z}}
| {{IPAl-pl|z}} ({{IPAl-pl|s}})
|-
| {{Lang|pl|[[Ł]]}}
| {{Lang|pl|ł}}
| {{IPAl-pl|ł}}, {{IPAslink|ɫ}}
| {{Lang|pl|[[Ź]]}}
| {{Lang|pl|ź}}
| {{IPAl-pl|ź}} ({{IPAl-pl|ś}})
|-
| {{Lang|pl|[[M]]}}
| {{Lang|pl|m}}
| {{IPAl-pl|m}}
| {{Lang|pl|[[Ż]]}}
| {{Lang|pl|ż}}
| {{IPAl-pl|ż}} ({{IPAl-pl|sz}})
|-
| {{Lang|pl|[[N]]}}
| {{Lang|pl|n}}
| {{IPAl-pl|n}}
|}

The following [[Digraph (orthography)|digraphs]] and [[Trigraph (orthography)|trigraphs]] are used:
{| class="wikitable"
! Digraph
! Phonemic value(s)
! Digraph/trigraph<br />(before a vowel)
! Phonemic value(s)
|-
| {{Lang|pl|ch}}
| {{IPAl-pl|h}}
| {{Lang|pl|ci}}
| {{IPAl-pl|ć}}
|-
| {{Lang|pl|cz}}
| {{IPAl-pl|cz}}
| {{Lang|pl|dzi}}
| {{IPAl-pl|dź}}
|-
| {{Lang|pl|dz}}
| {{IPAl-pl|dz}} ({{IPAl-pl|c}})
| {{Lang|pl|gi}}
| {{IPAl-pl|gi}}
|-
| {{Lang|pl|dź}}
| {{IPAl-pl|dź}} ({{IPAl-pl|ć}})
| {{Lang|pl|(c)hi}}
| {{IPAl-pl|hi}}
|-
| {{Lang|pl|dż}}
| {{IPAl-pl|dż}} ({{IPAl-pl|cz}})
| {{Lang|pl|ki}}
| {{IPAl-pl|ki}}
|-
| {{Lang|pl|rz}}
| {{IPAl-pl|ż}} ({{IPAl-pl|sz}})
| {{Lang|pl|ni}}
| {{IPAl-pl|ń}}
|-
| {{Lang|pl|sz}}
| {{IPAl-pl|sz}}
| {{Lang|pl|si}}
| {{IPAl-pl|ś}}
|-
| &nbsp;
| &nbsp;
| {{Lang|pl|zi}}
| {{IPAl-pl|ź}}
|}

Voiced consonant letters frequently come to represent voiceless sounds (as shown in the tables); this occurs at the end of words and in certain clusters, due to the neutralization mentioned in the ''[[#Phonology|Phonology]]'' section above. Occasionally also voiceless consonant letters can represent voiced sounds in clusters.

The spelling rule for the palatal sounds {{IPAl-pl|ś}}, {{IPAl-pl|ź}}, {{IPAl-pl|ć}}, {{IPAl-pl|dź}} and {{IPAl-pl|ń}} is as follows: before the vowel {{Lang|pl|i}} the plain letters {{Lang|pl|s, z, c, dz, n}} are used; before other vowels the combinations {{Lang|pl|si, zi, ci, dzi, ni}} are used; when not followed by a vowel the diacritic forms {{Lang|pl|ś, ź, ć, dź, ń}} are used. For example, the {{Lang|pl|s}} in {{Lang|pl|siwy}} ("grey-haired"), the {{Lang|pl|si}} in {{Lang|pl|siarka}} ("sulfur") and the {{Lang|pl|ś}} in  {{Lang|pl|święty}} ("holy") all represent the sound {{IPAl-pl|ś}}. The exceptions to the above rule are certain loanwords from Latin, Italian, French, Russian or English—where {{Lang|pl|s}} before {{Lang|pl|i}} is pronounced as {{Lang|pl|s}}, e.g. {{Lang|pl|sinus}}, {{Lang|pl|sinologia}}, {{Lang|pl|do re mi fa sol la si do}}, {{Lang|pl|Saint-Simon i saint-simoniści}}, {{Lang|pl|Sierioża}}, {{Lang|pl|Siergiej}}, {{Lang|pl|Singapur}}, {{Lang|pl|singiel}}. In other loanwords the vowel {{Lang|pl|i}} is changed to {{Lang|pl|y}}, e.g. {{Lang|pl|asymilacja}}.

The following table shows the correspondence between the sounds and spelling:

[[Digraph (orthography)|Digraphs]] and [[Trigraph (orthography)|trigraphs]] are used:
{| class="wikitable"
! Phonemic value
! Single letter/Digraph<br />(in pausa or <br />before a consonant)
! Digraph/Trigraph<br />(before a vowel)
! Single letter/Digraph<br />(before the vowel {{Lang|pl|i}})
|-
| {{IPAl-pl|ć}}
| {{Lang|pl|ć}}
| {{Lang|pl|ci}}
| {{Lang|pl|c}}
|-
| {{IPAl-pl|dź}}
| {{Lang|pl|dź}}
| {{Lang|pl|dzi}}
| {{Lang|pl|dz}}
|-
| {{IPAl-pl|ś}}
| {{Lang|pl|ś}}
| {{Lang|pl|si}}
| {{Lang|pl|s}}
|-
| {{IPAl-pl|ź}}
| {{Lang|pl|ź}}
| {{Lang|pl|zi}}
| {{Lang|pl|z}}
|-
| {{IPAl-pl|ń}}
| {{Lang|pl|ń}}
| {{Lang|pl|ni}}
| {{Lang|pl|n}}
|}

Similar principles apply to {{IPAl-pl|ki}}, {{IPAl-pl|gi}}, {{IPAl-pl|hi}} and {{IPA|[[Palatalization (phonetics)|/lʲ/]]}}, except that these can only occur before vowels, so the spellings are {{Lang|pl|k, g, (c)h, l}} before {{Lang|pl|i}}, and {{Lang|pl|ki, gi, (c)hi, li}} otherwise. Most Polish speakers, however, do not consider palatalization of {{Lang|pl|k, g, (c)h}} or {{Lang|pl|l}} as creating new sounds.

Except in the cases mentioned above, the letter {{Lang|pl|i}} if followed by another vowel in the same word usually represents {{IPAl-pl|j}}, yet a palatalization of the previous consonant is always assumed.

The reverse case, where the consonant remains unpalatalized but is followed by a palatalized consonant, is written by using {{Lang|pl|j}} instead of {{Lang|pl|i}}: for example, {{Lang|pl|zjeść}}, "to eat up".

The letters {{Lang|pl|ą}} and {{Lang|pl|ę}}, when followed by plosives and affricates, represent an oral vowel followed by a nasal consonant, rather than a nasal vowel. For example, {{Lang|pl|ą}} in {{Lang|pl|dąb}} ("oak") is pronounced {{IPA|pl|ɔm|}}, and {{Lang|pl|ę}} in {{Lang|pl|tęcza}} ("rainbow") is pronounced {{IPA|pl|ɛn|}} (the nasal assimilates to the following consonant). When followed by {{Lang|pl|l}} or {{Lang|pl|ł}} (for example {{Lang|pl|przyjęli}}, {{Lang|pl|przyjęły}}),  {{Lang|pl|ę}} is pronounced as just {{Lang|pl|e}}. When {{Lang|pl|ę}} is at the end of the word it is often pronounced as just {{IPA|pl|ɛ|}}.

Depending on the word, the phoneme {{IPAl-pl|h}} can be spelt {{Lang|pl|h}} or {{Lang|pl|ch}}, the phoneme {{IPAl-pl|ż}} can be spelt {{Lang|pl|ż}} or {{Lang|pl|rz}}, and {{IPAl-pl|u}} can be spelt {{Lang|pl|u}} or {{Lang|pl|ó}}. In several cases it determines the meaning, for example: {{Lang|pl|może}} ("maybe") and {{Lang|pl|morze}} ("sea").

In occasional words, letters that normally form a digraph are pronounced separately. For example, {{Lang|pl|rz}} represents {{IPA|/rz/}}, not {{IPAl-pl|ż}}, in words like {{Lang|pl|zamarzać}} ("freeze") and in the name ''{{Lang|pl|[[Tarzan]]}}''.

Doubled letters are usually pronounced as a single, [[Gemination#Polish|lengthened]] consonant, however, some speakers might pronounce the combination as two separate sounds.

There are certain clusters where a written consonant would not be pronounced. For example, the {{Lang|pl|ł}} in the word {{Lang|pl|jabłko}} ("apple") might be omitted in ordinary speech, leading to the pronunciation {{Lang|pl|japko}}.

== Grammar ==
{{main|Polish grammar}}

Polish is a highly [[fusional language]] with relatively free [[word order]], although the dominant arrangement is [[subject–verb–object]] (SVO). There are no [[article (grammar)|articles]], and subject pronouns are often [[Pro-drop language|dropped]].

[[Noun]]s belong to one of three [[grammatical gender|genders]]: masculine, feminine and neuter. The masculine gender is also divided into subgenders: animate vs inanimate in the singular, human vs nonhuman in the plural. There are seven [[case (grammar)|case]]s: nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, instrumental, locative and vocative.

[[Adjective]]s agree with nouns in terms of gender, case, and number. [[Attributive adjective]]s most commonly precede the noun, although in certain cases, especially in fixed phrases (like {{lang|pl|język polski}}, "Polish (language)"), the noun may come first; the rule of thumb is that generic descriptive adjectives normally precede (e.g. {{lang|pl|piękny kwiat}}, "beautiful flower") while categorizing adjectives often follow the noun (e.g. {{lang|pl|węgiel kamienny}}, "black coal"). Most short adjectives and their derived [[adverb]]s form [[comparative]]s and [[superlative]]s by inflection (the superlative is formed by prefixing {{lang|pl|naj-}} to the comparative).

[[Verb]]s are of imperfective or perfective [[aspect (grammar)|aspect]], often occurring in pairs. Imperfective verbs have a present tense, past tense, compound future tense (except for {{lang|pl|być}} "to be", which has a simple future {{lang|pl|będę}} etc., this in turn being used to form the compound future of other verbs), subjunctive/conditional (formed with the detachable particle {{lang|pl|by}}), imperatives, an infinitive, present participle, present gerund and past participle. Perfective verbs have a simple future tense (formed like the present tense of imperfective verbs), past tense, subjunctive/conditional, imperatives, infinitive, present gerund and past participle. Conjugated verb forms agree with their subject in terms of person, number, and (in the case of past tense and subjunctive/conditional forms) gender.

[[Passive voice|Passive]]-type constructions can be made using the auxiliary {{lang|pl|być}} or {{lang|pl|zostać}} ("become") with the passive participle. There is also an impersonal construction where the active verb is used (in third person singular) with no subject, but with the reflexive pronoun {{lang|pl|się}} present to indicate a general, unspecified subject (as in {{lang|pl|pije się wódkę}} "vodka is being drunk"—note that {{lang|pl|wódka}} appears in the accusative). A similar sentence type in the past tense uses the passive participle with the ending {{lang|pl|-o}}, as in {{lang|pl|widziano ludzi}} ("people were seen"). As in other Slavic languages, there are also subjectless sentences formed using such words as {{lang|pl|można}} ("it is possible") together with an infinitive.

[[Yes–no question]]s (both direct and indirect) are formed by placing the word {{lang|pl|czy}} ("whether") at the start, although it's often omitted in casual speech. Negation uses the word {{lang|pl|nie}}, before the verb or other item being negated; {{lang|pl|nie}} is still added before the verb even if the sentence also contains other negatives such as {{lang|pl|nigdy}} ("never") or {{lang|pl|nic}} ("nothing"), effectively creating a [[double negative]].

[[Cardinal number (linguistics)|Cardinal number]]s have a complex system of inflection and agreement. Zero and cardinal numbers higher than five (except for those ending with the digit 2, 3 or 4 but not ending with 12, 13 or 14) govern the [[genitive case]] rather than the nominative or accusative. Special forms of numbers ([[collective numeral]]s) are used with certain classes of noun, which include {{lang|pl|dziecko}} ("child") and [[plurale tantum|exclusively plural]] nouns such as {{lang|pl|drzwi}} ("door").

==Borrowed words==
{{multiple image
| perrow            = 2
| total_width       = 300
| image1            = Chou-fleur 02.jpg
| image2            = Cordage en chanvre.jpg
| image3            = Carcharhinus melanopterus Luc Viatour.jpg
| image4            = Photograph of President Reagan holding "The Gipper" jersey at 1984 campaign rally in New York - NARA - 198557.jpg
| footer            = Poland was once a multi-ethnic nation with many minorities that contributed to the Polish language. {{olist
    |Top left: [[cauliflower]] (Polish ''kalafior'' from [[Italian language|Italian]] ''cavolfiore'').
    |Top right: [[rope]] (''sznur'' from [[German language|German]] ''Schnur'').
    |Bottom left: [[shark]] (''rekin'' from [[French language|French]] ''requin'').
    |Bottom right: [[nickname]] (''ksywa'' (colloquial) from [[Yiddish language|Yiddish]] כּתיבֿה ''ksive'')
    }}
}}

Polish has, over the centuries, borrowed a number of words from other languages. When borrowing, pronunciation was adapted to Polish phonemes and spelling was altered to match [[Polish orthography]]. In addition, word endings are liberally applied to almost any word to produce [[verb]]s, [[noun]]s, [[adjective]]s, as well as adding the appropriate endings for cases of nouns, adjectives, [[diminutive]]s, double-diminutives, [[augmentative]]s, etc.

Depending on the historical period, borrowing has proceeded from various languages. Notable influences have been [[Latin]] (10th–18th centuries),<ref name="Istvan Fodor, Claude Hagege-1983">{{cite book|title=Language Reform: History and Future|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SK1hAAAAMAAJ|author=István Fodor, Claude Hagège|publisher=Buske|volume=1|page=324|date=1983|isbn=978-3-87118-572-4|access-date=27 August 2020|archive-date=27 April 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240427103921/https://books.google.com/books?id=SK1hAAAAMAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Czech language|Czech]] (10th and 14th–15th centuries), [[Italian language|Italian]] (16th–17th centuries),<ref name="Istvan Fodor, Claude Hagege-1983" /> [[French language|French]] (17th–19th centuries),<ref name="Istvan Fodor, Claude Hagege-1983" /> German (13–15th and 18th–20th centuries), [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]] (15th–16th centuries)<ref name="Istvan Fodor, Claude Hagege-1983" /> and [[Turkish language|Turkish]] (17th century). Currently, English words are the most common imports to Polish.<ref name="Knara-2017">{{cite web|url=https://e-polish.eu/blog/zapozyczenia-w-jezyku-polskim/|title=Zapożyczenia w języku polskim|first=Izabela|last=Knara|website=e-polish.eu|language=pl|date=6 October 2017|access-date=28 November 2018|archive-date=28 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181128075449/https://e-polish.eu/blog/zapozyczenia-w-jezyku-polskim/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Loanwords make up 26.2% of the Polish vocabulary, with 36.3% originating from Latin, 19.7% from German, 15.9% from French, 7.1% from Czech, 3.8% from Greek, 3.5% from English, 3.1% from Italian, 1.9% from Ukrainian and Belarusian, 1.4% from Russian, and 1.5% from other languages; 5.9% are artificial borrowings (usually [[compound words]] of undetermined origin).<ref>{{cite web |title=Migracje słów do jezyka polskiego [Migrations of words into Polish]|url=https://atlas2022.uw.edu.pl/wp-content/uploads/sites/416/nggallery/mapy/migracje_slow_do.png |website=atlas2022.uw.edu.pl |publisher=Faculty of Geography and Regional Studies, [[University of Warsaw]] |access-date=30 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240330222725/https://atlas2022.uw.edu.pl/wp-content/uploads/sites/416/nggallery/mapy/migracje_slow_do.png/ |archive-date=30 March 2024 |language=pl, en}}</ref>

The Latin language, for a very long time the only official language of the Polish state, has had a great influence on Polish. Many Polish words were direct borrowings or calques (e.g. ''[[wikt:rzeczpospolita|rzeczpospolita]]'' from ''res publica'') from Latin. [[Latin]] was known to a larger or smaller degree by most of the numerous [[szlachta]] in the 16th to 18th centuries (and it continued to be extensively taught at secondary schools until [[World War II]]). Apart from dozens of loanwords, its influence can also be seen in a number of verbatim Latin phrases in [[Polish literature]] (especially from the 19th century and earlier).
During the 12th and 13th centuries, Mongolian words were brought to the Polish language during wars with the armies of [[Genghis Khan]] and his descendants, e.g. ''dzida'' (spear) and ''szereg'' (a line or row).<ref name="Knara-2017"/>

Words from [[Czech language|Czech]], an important influence during the 10th and 14th–15th centuries include ''[[sejm]]'', ''hańba'' and ''brama''.<ref name="Knara-2017"/>

In 1518, the Polish king [[Sigismund I of Poland|Sigismund I the Old]] married [[Bona Sforza]], the niece of the Holy Roman emperor Maximilian, who introduced Italian cuisine to Poland, especially vegetables.<ref name="ciekawostkihistoryczne.pl">{{cite web|url=https://ciekawostkihistoryczne.pl/2014/11/07/czy-bona-sforza-naprawde-sprowadzila-do-polski-kapuste-i-kalafior/|title=Czy Bona Sforza naprawdę sprowadziła do Polski kapustę i kalafior?|first=Kamil|last=Janicki|website=CiekawostkiHistoryczne.pl|language=pl|date=7 October 2014|access-date=28 November 2018|archive-date=28 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181128075529/https://ciekawostkihistoryczne.pl/2014/11/07/czy-bona-sforza-naprawde-sprowadzila-do-polski-kapuste-i-kalafior/|url-status=live}}</ref> Hence, words from Italian include ''pomidor'' from "pomodoro" ([[tomato]]), ''kalafior'' from "cavolfiore" ([[cauliflower]]), and ''pomarańcza'', a portmanteau from Italian "pomo" ([[pome]]) plus "arancio" (orange). A later word of Italian origin is ''autostrada'' (from Italian "autostrada", highway).<ref name="ciekawostkihistoryczne.pl"/>

In the 18th century, with the rising prominence of France in Europe, [[French language|French]] supplanted Latin as an important source of words. Some French borrowings also date from the Napoleonic era, when the Poles were enthusiastic supporters of [[Napoleon]]. Examples include ''ekran'' (from French "écran", screen), ''abażur'' ("abat-jour", lamp shade), ''biuro'' ("bureau", [[office]]), ''biżuteria'' ("bijou", [[Jewellery|jewelry]]), ''rekin'' ("requin", [[shark]]), ''meble'' ("meuble", furniture), ''bagaż'' ("bagage", luggage), ''walizka'' ("valise", suitcase), ''fotel'' ("fauteuil", armchair), ''plaża'' ("plage", beach) and ''koszmar'' ("cauchemar", [[nightmare]]). Some place names have also been adapted from French, such as the [[Warsaw]] boroughs of [[Żoliborz]] ("joli bord" = beautiful riverside), [[Marymont]] ("Marie mont" = Mary's hill) as well as the town of [[Żyrardów]] (from the name [[Philippe de Girard|Girard]], with the Polish suffix -ów attached to refer to the founder of the town).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.visit.zyrardow.pl/pol/2p|title=Historia Żyrardowa|website=www.visit.zyrardow.pl|access-date=28 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181128122704/http://www.visit.zyrardow.pl/pol/2p|archive-date=28 November 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[File:Pink Birkin bag.jpg|thumb|Common [[handbag]] in Polish is called a ''torba'', a word directly derived from the [[Turkish language]]. Turkish loanwords are common as Poland bordered the [[Ottoman Empire]] for centuries.{{failed verification|date=June 2022}}]]

Many words were borrowed from the [[German language]] from the sizable German population in Polish cities during medieval times. German words found in the Polish language are often connected with trade, the building industry, civic rights and city life. Some words were assimilated verbatim, for example ''handel'' (trade) and ''dach'' (roof); others are pronounced similarly, but differ in writing ''Schnur''—''sznur'' (cord). As a result of being neighbors with Germany, Polish has many German expressions which have become literally translated ([[calques]]). The regional [[dialect]]s of [[Upper Silesia]] and [[Masuria]] (Modern Polish [[East Prussia]]) have noticeably more German loanwords than other varieties.

The [[Poland-Turkey relations|contacts with Ottoman Turkey]] in the 17th century brought many new words, some of them still in use, such as: ''jar'' ("yar" deep valley), ''szaszłyk'' ("şişlik" shish kebab), ''filiżanka'' ("fincan" cup), ''arbuz'' ("karpuz" [[watermelon]]), ''dywan'' ("divan" carpet),<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.bartleby.com/61/68/K0056800.html |title=kielbasa |encyclopedia=The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language |edition=fourth |year=2000 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Company |access-date=2009-05-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080630012313/https://www.bartleby.com/61/68/K0056800.html |archive-date=2008-06-30 }}</ref> etc.

From the founding of the Kingdom of Poland in 1025 through the early years of the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]] created in 1569, Poland was the most tolerant country of Jews in Europe. Known as the "[[Heaven for the nobles, Purgatory for the townspeople, Hell for the peasants, and Paradise for the Jews|paradise for the Jews]]",<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ypcWuuGVvX8C&pg=PA30|title=A History of East European Jews|last=Haumann|first=Heiko|date=2002-01-01|publisher=Central European University Press|isbn=978-963-9241-26-8|language=en|access-date=26 September 2018|archive-date=27 April 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240427103948/https://books.google.com/books?id=ypcWuuGVvX8C&pg=PA30|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://culture.pl/en/article/a-virtual-visit-to-the-museum-of-the-history-of-polish-jews|title=A Virtual Visit to the Museum of the History of Polish Jews|work=Culture.pl|access-date=2018-09-26|language=en|archive-date=25 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180925104359/https://culture.pl/en/article/a-virtual-visit-to-the-museum-of-the-history-of-polish-jews|url-status=live}}</ref> it became a shelter for persecuted and expelled European Jewish communities and the home to the world's largest Jewish community of the time. As a result, many Polish words come from [[Yiddish]], spoken by the large [[History of the Jews in Poland|Polish Jewish]] population that existed until the [[The Holocaust|Holocaust]]. Borrowed Yiddish words include ''bachor'' (an unruly boy or child), ''bajzel'' (slang for mess), ''belfer'' (slang for teacher), ''ciuchy'' (slang for clothing), ''cymes'' (slang for very tasty food), ''geszeft'' (slang for business), ''kitel'' (slang for apron), ''machlojka'' (slang for scam), ''mamona'' (money), ''manele'' (slang for oddments), ''myszygene'' (slang for lunatic), ''pinda'' (slang for girl, pejoratively), ''plajta'' (slang for bankruptcy), ''rejwach'' (noise), ''szmal'' (slang for money), and ''trefny'' (dodgy).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.academia.edu/31168653|title=Wpływ języków żydowskich na język polski|first=Katarzyna|last=Martinovic|access-date=28 November 2018|archive-date=28 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728035738/https://www.academia.edu/31168653/Wp%C5%82yw_j%C4%99zyk%C3%B3w_%C5%BCydowskich_na_j%C4%99zyk_polski|url-status=live}}</ref>

The mountain dialects of the [[Gorals|Górale]] in southern Poland, have quite a number of words borrowed from [[Hungarian language|Hungarian]] (e.g. ''baca'', ''gazda'', ''juhas'', ''hejnał'') and [[Romanian language|Romanian]] as a result of historical contacts with Hungarian-dominated [[Slovakia]] and Wallachian herders who travelled north along the [[Carpathian Mountains|Carpathians]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://polskiwdwunastce.edu.pl/12-wiedza-o-jezyku/99-historia-zapozyczen|title=Historia zapożyczeń|website=polskiwdwunastce.edu.pl|access-date=28 November 2018|archive-date=28 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181128122658/http://polskiwdwunastce.edu.pl/12-wiedza-o-jezyku/99-historia-zapozyczen|url-status=dead}}</ref>

[[grypsera|Thieves' slang]] includes such words as ''kimać'' (to sleep) or ''majcher'' (knife) of Greek origin, considered then unknown to the outside world.<ref>{{cite journal|url=https://www.academia.edu/31283378|title=Kilka uwag o socjolekcie przestępczym polszczyzny przedwojennego Lwowa, "Socjolingwistyka" XXX, 2016|first=Maciej|last=Rak|journal=Socjolingwistyka|volume=30|page=133|doi=10.17651/SOCJOLING.30.11|access-date=28 November 2018|doi-access=free|archive-date=28 July 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728035745/https://www.academia.edu/31283378/Kilka_uwag_o_socjolekcie_przest%C4%99pczym_polszczyzny_przedwojennego_Lwowa_Socjolingwistyka_XXX_2016|url-status=live}}</ref>

In addition, Turkish and Tatar have exerted influence upon the vocabulary of war, names of oriental costumes etc.<ref name="Istvan Fodor, Claude Hagege-1983" />  Russian borrowings began to make their way into Polish from the second half of the 19th century on.<ref name="Istvan Fodor, Claude Hagege-1983" />

Polish has also received an intensive number of English loanwords, particularly after World War II.<ref name="Istvan Fodor, Claude Hagege-1983" /> Recent loanwords come primarily from the [[English language]], mainly those that have [[Latin]] or [[Greek language|Greek]] roots, for example {{lang|pl|komputer}} (computer), {{Lang|pl|korupcja}} (from 'corruption', but sense restricted to 'bribery') etc. Concatenation of parts of words (e.g. ''auto-moto''), which is not native to Polish but common in English, for example, is also sometimes used.  When borrowing English words, Polish often changes their spelling. For example, Latin suffix '-tio' corresponds to ''-cja''. To make the word plural, ''-cja'' becomes ''-cje''. Examples of this include ''inauguracja'' (inauguration), ''dewastacja'' (devastation), ''recepcja'' (reception), ''konurbacja'' (conurbation) and ''konotacje'' (connotations). Also, the digraph ''qu'' becomes ''kw'' (''kwadrant'' = quadrant; ''kworum'' = quorum).

==Loanwords from Polish in other languages==
{{See also|List of English words of Polish origin}}
[[File:Fishing - The Noun Project.svg|thumb|right|There are numerous words in both Polish and [[Yiddish language|Yiddish (Jewish)]] languages which are near-identical due to the large Jewish minority that once inhabited Poland. One example is the [[fishing rod]], {{lang|yi|ווענטקע|italic=no}} ({{Lang|yi-latn|ventke}}), borrowed directly from Polish {{Lang|pl|wędka}}.]]
The Polish language has influenced others. Particular influences appear in other Slavic languages and in [[History of the Germans in Poland|German]]&nbsp;— due to their proximity and shared borders.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Polish|first1=Katarzyna|last1=Dziubalska-Kołaczyk|first2=Bogdan|last2=Walczak|date=28 November 2018|journal=Revue belge de philologie et d'histoire|volume=88|issue=3|pages=817–840|doi=10.3406/rbph.2010.7805|s2cid=240815177 }}</ref> Examples of loanwords include German {{lang|de|Grenze}} (border),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://realpoland.eu/polish-language/|title=Polish Language|website=RealPoland|access-date=2018-11-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190424171100/https://realpoland.eu/polish-language/|archive-date=2019-04-24|url-status=dead}}</ref> [[Dutch language|Dutch]] and [[Afrikaans]] {{lang|nl|grens}} from Polish {{Lang|pl|granica}}; German {{lang|de|Peitzker}} from Polish {{Lang|pl|piskorz}} (weatherfish); German {{lang|de|Zobel}}, French {{lang|fr|zibeline}}, [[Swedish language|Swedish]] {{lang|sv|sobel}}, and English ''sable'' from Polish {{Lang|pl|soból}}; and {{Lang|pl|[[ogonek]]}} ("little tail")&nbsp;— the word describing a diacritic hook-sign added below some letters in various alphabets. The common [[Germanic languages|Germanic]] word ''[[quartz]]'' comes from the dialectical [[Old Polish]] ''kwardy''. "[[:pl:Szmata|Szmata]]," a Polish, Slovak and [[Rusyn language|Ruthenian]] word for "mop" or "rag", became part of [[Yiddish]]. The Polish language exerted significant lexical influence upon [[Ukrainian language|Ukrainian]], particularly in the fields of abstract and technical terminology; for example, the Ukrainian word {{lang|uk|панство}} {{lang|uk-latn|panstvo}} (country) is derived from Polish {{lang|pl|państwo}}.<ref name="Timothy Shopen-1987">{{cite book |author= Timothy Shopen |title= Languages and Their Status |year= 1987 |isbn= 978-0-8122-1249-5 |publisher= University of Pennsylvania Press |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=zIJu4xAFcIwC |page= 132 |access-date= 13 November 2019 |archive-date= 27 April 2024 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240427103922/https://books.google.com/books?id=zIJu4xAFcIwC |url-status= live }}</ref> The Polish influence on Ukrainian is particularly marked on western Ukrainian dialects in western Ukraine, which for centuries was under Polish cultural domination.<ref name="Timothy Shopen-1987" /><ref name="Swan-2002"/><ref name="Istvan Fodor, Claude Hagege-1983"/><ref>{{Cite book |author= Brian D. Joseph |title= Historical Linguistics |year= 1999 |publisher= Ohio State University, Department of Linguistics |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=VqIbAQAAIAAJ |page= 165 |access-date= 13 November 2019 |archive-date= 27 April 2024 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20240427103948/https://books.google.com/books?id=VqIbAQAAIAAJ |url-status= live }}</ref>

There are a substantial number of Polish words which officially became part of Yiddish, once the main language of European [[Jews]]. These include basic items, objects or terms such as a [[Bun|bread bun]] (Polish {{Lang|pl|bułka}}, Yiddish {{lang|yi|בולקע|italic=no}} {{Lang|yi-latn|bulke}}), a [[fishing rod]] ({{Lang|pl|wędka}}, {{lang|yi|ווענטקע|italic=no}} {{Lang|yi-latn|ventke}}), an [[oak]] ({{Lang|pl|dąb}}, {{lang|yi|דעמב|italic=no}} {{Lang|yi-latn|demb}}), a [[meadow]] ({{Lang|pl|łąka}}, {{lang|yi|לאָנקע|italic=no}} {{Lang|yi-latn|lonke}}), a [[moustache]] ({{Lang|pl|wąsy}}, {{lang|yi|וואָנצעס|italic=no}} {{Lang|yi-latn|vontses}}) and a [[bladder]] ({{Lang|pl|pęcherz}}, {{lang|yi|פּענכער|italic=no}} {{Lang|yi-latn|penkher}}).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://culture.pl/en/article/how-much-polish-is-there-in-yiddish-and-how-much-yiddish-is-there-in-polish|title=How Much Polish Is There in Yiddish (and How Much Yiddish Is There in Polish)?|first=Mikołaj|last=Gliński|date=7 December 2015|website=Culture.pl|access-date=28 November 2018|archive-date=28 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181128164732/https://culture.pl/en/article/how-much-polish-is-there-in-yiddish-and-how-much-yiddish-is-there-in-polish|url-status=live}}</ref>

Quite a few culinary loanwords exist in German and in other languages, some of which describe distinctive features of Polish cuisine. These include German and English {{lang|de|[[Quark (dairy product)|Quark]]}} from {{Lang|pl|twaróg}} (a kind of fresh cheese) and German {{lang|de|Gurke}}, English ''gherkin'' from {{Lang|pl|ogórek}} (cucumber). The word {{Lang|pl|[[pierogi]]}} (Polish dumplings) has spread internationally, as well as {{Lang|pl|[[pączki]]}} (Polish donuts)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.eater.com/2015/2/17/8055779/paczki-fat-tuesday-detroit-chicago|title=What Are Paczki and Why Is Everyone Freaking Out About Them?|website=Eater|first=Lucas|last=Peterson|date=27 February 2017|access-date=28 November 2018|archive-date=28 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181128210628/https://www.eater.com/2015/2/17/8055779/paczki-fat-tuesday-detroit-chicago|url-status=live}}</ref> and kiełbasa (sausage, e.g. {{lang|eo|kolbaso}} in [[Esperanto]]). As far as {{Lang|pl|pierogi}} concerned, the original Polish word is already in plural (sing. {{Lang|pl|pieróg}}, plural {{Lang|pl|pierogi}}; stem {{Lang|pl|pierog-}}, plural ending {{Lang|pl|-i}}; NB. {{Lang|pl|o}} becomes {{Lang|pl|ó}} in a closed syllable, like here in singular), yet it is commonly used with the English plural ending ''-s'' in Canada and United States of America, ''pierogis'', thus making it a "double plural". A similar situation happened with the Polish loanword from English {{Lang|pl|czipsy}} ("potato chips")—from English ''chips'' being already plural in the original (''chip'' + ''-s''), yet it has obtained the Polish plural ending {{Lang|pl|-y}}.{{efn|name=chip|However, the word ''chip'' (or in the Polish spelling: ''czip''; in the plural – ''chipy'' or ''czipy'') in Polish means only an [[integrated circuit]].}}

It is believed that the English word ''[[spruce]]'' was derived from ''Prusy'', the Polish name for the region of [[Prussia]]. It became ''spruce'' because in Polish, ''z Prus'', sounded like "spruce" in English (transl. "from [[Prussia]]") and was a generic term for commodities brought to England by [[Hanseatic League|Hanseatic]] merchants and because the tree was believed to have come from Polish Ducal Prussia.<ref name="etymonline"/> However, it can be argued that the word is actually derived from the [[Old French]] term ''Pruce'', meaning literally Prussia.<ref name="etymonline">{{cite web |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/spruce |title=spruce – Origin and meaning of spruce |website=Online Etymology Dictionary |access-date=28 November 2018 |archive-date=28 November 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181128164546/https://www.etymonline.com/word/spruce |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Literature==
{{Main|Polish literature}}

[[Image:Manuscript of Pan Tadeusz 8pl.jpg|thumb|The manuscript of ''[[Pan Tadeusz]]'' held at [[Ossolineum]] in [[Wrocław]]. Adam Mickiewicz's signature is visible.]]
The Polish language started to be used in literature in the Late [[Middle Ages]]. Notable works include the ''[[Holy Cross Sermons]]'' (13th/14th century), ''[[Bogurodzica]]'' (15th century) and ''[[Master Polikarp's Dialog with Death]]'' (15th century). The most influential Renaissance-era literary figures in Poland were poet [[Jan Kochanowski]] (''[[Laments (Kochanowski)|Laments]]''), [[Mikołaj Rej]] and [[Piotr Skarga]] (''[[Lives of the Saints (Skarga)|The Lives of the Saints]]'') who established poetic patterns that would become integral to the Polish literary language and laid foundations for the modern Polish grammar. During the [[Enlightenment in Poland|Age of Enlightenment in Poland]], [[Ignacy Krasicki]], known as "the Prince of Poets", wrote the first Polish novel called ''[[The Adventures of Mr. Nicholas Wisdom]]'' as well as ''[[Fables and Parables]]''. Another significant work form this period is ''[[The Manuscript Found in Saragossa]]'' written by [[Jan Potocki]], a Polish nobleman, Egyptologist, linguist, and adventurer.

In the [[Romanticism in Poland|Romantic Era]], the most celebrated national poets, referred to as the [[Three Bards]], were [[Adam Mickiewicz]] (''[[Pan Tadeusz]]'' and ''[[Dziady (poem)|Dziady]]''), [[Juliusz Słowacki]] (''[[Balladyna (drama)|Balladyna]]'') and [[Zygmunt Krasiński]] (''[[The Undivine Comedy]]''). Poet and dramatist [[Cyprian Norwid]] is regarded by some scholars as the "Fourth Bard". Important positivist writers include [[Bolesław Prus]] (''[[The Doll (Prus novel)|The Doll]]'', ''[[Pharaoh (Prus novel)|Pharaoh]]''), [[Henryk Sienkiewicz]] (author of numerous historical novels the most internationally acclaimed of which is ''[[Quo Vadis (novel)|Quo Vadis]]''), [[Maria Konopnicka]] (''[[Rota (poem)|Rota]]''), [[Eliza Orzeszkowa]] (''[[Nad Niemnem]]''), [[Adam Asnyk]] and [[Gabriela Zapolska]] (''[[The Morality of Mrs. Dulska]]''). The period known as [[Young Poland]] produced such renowned literary figures as [[Stanisław Wyspiański]] (''[[The Wedding (1901 play)|The Wedding]]''), [[Stefan Żeromski]] (''[[Ludzie bezdomni|Homeless People]]'', ''[[The Spring to Come]]''), [[Władysław Reymont]] (''[[The Peasants]]'') and [[Leopold Staff]]. The prominent interbellum period authors include [[Maria Dąbrowska]] (''[[Nights and Days]]''), [[Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz]] (''[[Insatiability]]''), [[Julian Tuwim]], [[Bruno Schulz]], [[Bolesław Leśmian]], [[Witold Gombrowicz]] and [[Zuzanna Ginczanka]].

Other notable writers and poets from Poland active during [[World War II]] and after are [[Aleksander Kamiński]], [[Zbigniew Herbert]], [[Stanisław Lem]], [[Zofia Nałkowska]], [[Tadeusz Borowski]], [[Sławomir Mrożek]], [[Krzysztof Kamil Baczyński]], [[Julia Hartwig]], [[Marek Krajewski]], [[Joanna Bator]], [[Andrzej Sapkowski]], [[Adam Zagajewski]], [[Dorota Masłowska]], [[Jerzy Pilch]], [[Ryszard Kapuściński]] and [[Andrzej Stasiuk]].

Five people writing in the Polish language have been awarded the [[List of Nobel laureates in Literature|Nobel Prize in Literature]]: [[Henryk Sienkiewicz]] (1905), [[Władysław Reymont]] (1924), [[Czesław Miłosz]] (1980), [[Wisława Szymborska]] (1996) and [[Olga Tokarczuk]] (2018).

{{Gallery
|title= Notable Polish language authors
|align= center
|width = 120
|File:Mikołaj Rej.PNG|[[Mikołaj Rej|Mikołaj<br>Rej]]<br /><small>(1505–1569)</small>
|File:Jan Kochanowski.png|[[Jan Kochanowski|Jan<br>Kochanowski]]<br /><small>(1530–1584)</small>
|File:Adam Mickiewicz według dagerotypu paryskiego z 1842 roku.jpg|[[Adam Mickiewicz|Adam<br>Mickiewicz]]<br /><small>(1798–1855)</small>
|File:Henryk Sienkiewicz post 1892 (53054489) (cropped).jpg|[[Henryk Sienkiewicz|Henryk<br>Sienkiewicz]]<br /><small>(1846–1916)</small>
|File:Wladyslaw Reymont 1924.jpg|[[Władysław Reymont|Władysław<br>Reymont]]<br /><small>(1867–1925)</small>
|File:Czeslaw Milosz 3 ap.tif|[[Czesław Miłosz|Czesław<br>Miłosz]]<br /><small>(1911–2004)</small>
|File:Stanisław Lem.jpg|[[Stanisław Lem|Stanisław<br>Lem]]<br /><small>(1921–2006)</small>
|File:Wisława_Szymborska_2009.10.23_(1).jpg|[[Wisława Szymborska|Wisława<br>Szymborska]]<br /><small>(1923–2012)</small>
|File:Andrzej Sapkowski - Lucca Comics & Games 2015.JPG|[[Andrzej Sapkowski|Andrzej<br>Sapkowski]]<br /><small>(born 1948)</small>
|File:Olga Tokarczuk-9739.jpg|[[Olga Tokarczuk|Olga<br>Tokarczuk]]<br /><small>(born 1962)</small>
}}

== Sample text ==
[[File:Universal Declaration of Human Rights - pl - km - Art1.ogg|thumb|Polish pronunciation]]
Article 1 of the ''[[Universal Declaration of Human Rights]]'' in Polish:<ref>{{cite web|title=Universal Declaration of Human Rights|website=ohchr.org|url=https://www.ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Pages/Language.aspx?LangID=pql|access-date=27 December 2022|archive-date=20 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220120154358/https://www.ohchr.org/EN/UDHR/Pages/Language.aspx?LangID=pql|url-status=live}}</ref>
:{{Lang|pl|Wszyscy ludzie rodzą się wolni i równi pod względem swej godności i swych praw. Są oni obdarzeni rozumem i sumieniem i powinni postępować wobec innych w duchu braterstwa.}}

Article 1 of the ''Universal Declaration of Human Rights'' in English:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights|title=Universal Declaration of Human Rights|website=United Nations|access-date=27 December 2022|archive-date=16 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210316050452/https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights|url-status=live}}</ref>
:''All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.''

==See also==
* [[List of English words of Polish origin|Polonism]] (words of Polish origin)
* [[Adam Mickiewicz Institute]]
* ''[[Holy Cross Sermons]]''
* [[Lechitic languages]]
* [[University of Łódź School of Polish for Foreigners]]
* [[West Slavic languages]]

== Notes ==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book
| last = Bisko
| first = Wacław
| others = translated and adapted by Stanisław Kryński
| title = Mówimy po polsku. A beginner's course of Polish
| url = https://archive.org/details/mwimypopolskub00bisk
| format = [[DTBook]]
| year = 1966
| publisher = [[Wiedza Powszechna]] ([[:pl:Wiedza Powszechna|pl]])
| location = Warsaw
}}
* {{cite book|last=Gussmann|first=Edmund|year=2007|title=The Phonology of Polish|oclc=320907619|isbn=978-0-19-926747-7| location=[[Oxford]]|publisher=Oxford University Press.}}
* {{cite book|last=Dubisz|first=Stanisław|title=Najnowsze dzieje języka polskiego. Rozwój polszczyzny w latach 1918-2018|location=Warsaw|publisher=Dom Wydawniczy Elipsa|year=2020|isbn=978-83-8017-348-4}}
* {{cite book| last=Sadowska| first=Iwona| title= Polish: A Comprehensive Grammar| year=2012| publisher=[[Routledge]]| location=[[Oxford]]; [[New York City|New York]]| isbn=978-0-415-47541-9}}
* {{cite book |last = Swan |first = Oscar E. |title = A Grammar of Contemporary Polish |publisher = Slavica |year = 2002 |location = Bloomington, IN |isbn = 0-89357-296-9}}

==External links==
{{External links|date=March 2015}}
{{Sister project links|auto=1|wikt=Category:Polish language|voy=Polish phrasebook|s=pl:Main Page|iw=pl}}
* [https://lingoput.com/learn-polish Comprehensible Input Videos in Polish]
* [https://culture.pl/en/article/the-polish-language-a-cheatsheet-for-beginners The Polish Language: A Cheatsheet for Beginners] from Culture.pl
*[https://startpolish.pl/podreczniki-do-jezyka-polskiego/ Podręczniki języka polskiego dla obcokrajowców] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211023151528/https://startpolish.pl/podreczniki-do-jezyka-polskiego/ |date=2021-10-23 }}

{{Polish language}}
{{Languages of Poland}}
{{Slavic languages}}
{{Silesia topics}}
{{Authority control}}

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