Polish is what language group. The complicated history of the Polish language

By origin Polish language very close to other Slavic languages. But we will only touch on some of the features Polish, which it is useful for a Russian-speaking audience to consider when starting it.

So, what do we mean when we talk about language features? Of course, those nuances and characteristic features of the language that facilitate its study, and those that represent a certain complexity. First of all, this is the apparent ease and simplicity of understanding many Polish words and expressions, on the one hand, and on the other hand, the complexity and “pitfalls” of the language. This simplicity and these complexities, oddly enough, are closely related and intertwined.

The second form is the "perfect aspect", which is used to refer to actions that have already been completed or that are to be completed in the future. The infinitive usually ends in "-ć". Absolutely flawless Perfect Perfect Perfect Perfect Perfect Imperfect Perfect Imperfect Imperfect Perfect Perfect Perfect Perfect Perfect Perfect Perfect Perfect.

Often the perfect verb is formed from the imperfection by some prefixes. Another class of pairs are verbs that are already derived from some other verb with a prefix. In Polish, the double prefix is ​​very rare, so the alternative form of the base verb is used with the same prefix. In some cases, and also changes to and in the plural of human-male, where the light consonant is used. Future imperfection is formed by the future of the verb "to be" and either the infinitive or the third person of the participle form.

Similarity of sounds and their recognition

Based their teaching practice I should note that at the very initial stage of learning (learning the alphabet, phonetics), often the main difficulty for students when reading a text is the need to get used to recognition two and three letter sounds, absent in Russian and unusual for perception (sz, ch, cz, rz, dzi, etc.).

Language history: translation into Polish

To be on the safe side, the infinitive is more used than the participle in the past. The Polish language comes from the West Slavic languages, which evolved over time into three separate groups: Czechoslovak, Serbian, and Lechitic. The Lechit tribes, formed in the ninth century, had a great influence on the formation of the Polish language. The history of the Polish language can be divided into three periods: Old Polish, Environment Polish and Modern Polish. Although it is in Latin, the bubble contains many names of people and local places.

Getting used to them quickly, their correct and fluent voicing greatly facilitates the understanding of the text, since a huge number of words in our languages ​​have a similar sound and similar original roots. So, for example, the simplest and most understandable “bread” (chleb), “butter” (masło), “library” (biblioteka), “compote” (kompot), “tractor” (traktor), etc. sound the same in both languages and are easily recognized in Latin. And at first glance, the unreadable Polish “jeszcze” is translated into Russian with a short “still” (other examples: brzoza - birch, morze - sea, gdzie - where, imię - name, etc.). Therefore, it is important to correctly recognize Polish words those sounds that have their own, but sounding differently, analogues in Russian and compare them correctly.

Polish words appear in some works such as "Dagome-ludex", "Chronicles of Thietmar" or "The Book of Henryk". The first known texts written in Polish are published between the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The most famous of these are the Bogogudzica, the Świętokrzyskie sermons, the Florian Psalt and the Queen Sophie's Bible.

The Middle Polish period extends from the sixteenth century to the middle of the eighteenth century. During this period there were important changes in vocabulary and grammar. In addition, during this period, the first printers appeared, the first publications related to grammar, spelling and vocabulary were published and that the two giants of the time - the poets Mikołaj Reg and Jan Kochanowski, create their works.


However external similarity of words in Polish – as in no other – sometimes very misleading. There are a huge number of words that have a completely different meaning than we think from their sound. Examples of "false friends of the translator" can be easily found on the Internet. Moreover, the Polish language occupies a leading position in terms of the number of such “friends” - in no Western European language you will find such a number of words similar in sound, but different in meaning.

The period of modern Polish begins in the middle of the eighteenth century and also leads to important changes. The most important events are the formation of the national Polish language, the standardization of grammar and spelling, the establishment of a compulsory school, and the publication of numerous linguistic works and periodicals. Today we are still in the era of the modern Polish language, which never stops developing and transforming.

The specifics of the Polish language

Modern Polish is heavily influenced by other languages. In recent years, many lexical and syntactic Anglicisms have replaced Polish expressions and terms. Similarly, foreign vocabulary is increasingly present in scientific publications. At the national level, there are two types of Polish: Standard Polish and Familiar Polish. Standard Polish is divided into two types of language: spoken and written. Like any other language, Polish can be formal or informal. There are many jargons and dialects in terms of familiar expressions.

To illustrate: nagły - sudden, ważny - real, szyna - rail, zakon - order (monastic), rano - morning, puszka - bank, dywan - carpet, kawior - caviar, etc.

Similarities in the structure of the Slavic languages

The second significant feature is similarity of the structure of the Polish and Russian languages- that is, the presence of similar cases, conjugations, various forms of pronouns, prepositions. We are spared the need to assimilate them as linguistic concepts (what foreigners from other, non-Slavic countries have to do). All this seems to be embedded in us from childhood. We know what cases are, and we just have to deal with case endings. We know that not all verbs are the same, we just need to systematize for ourselves the differences in verb conjugation and in prepositions. As a rule, Russian speakers have no problems with this. And this is a big plus.

The three most important dialects are those used in Greater Poland, Lesser Poland and Silesia. Those who are learning Polish and are looking for a complete, fast and economical online course can rely on Babbel. Its online language courses also enable Polish learners to work towards mastering the Slavic language quickly, eschewing mandatory language courses that require more time and energy. His courses are structured leaving nothing in this case, starting with grammar and continuing with syntax, vocabulary and pronunciation.

But here a certain difficulty becomes the situation that has developed in Poland for centuries referring to "you" through a third party, that is, using the expressions "Pan", "Pani", "Państwo". The long-dead form in Russian (“Maybe the lady would like to drink some tea with gingerbread?”) causes a lot of trouble for beginners to learn Polish and requires some time and effort to get used to it.

At each stage of learning, the student is provided with both concepts and tools for internalizing them, which means exercises that are useful for understanding and remembering. Interactive courses along with a social network are designed for those who study foreign language where you can meet other students and chat with native Poles or other nationalities.

Why learn Polish online

The most expensive subscription reaches 9.95 euros per month. There are so many reasons to learn how to express yourself and communicate fluently in Polish: Poland is a member of the European Union and, despite the negative trend followed by most, there is significant economic growth. You can learn Polish for work, guided by the dream of emigrating, or be able to deeply understand culture and people. Others want to prepare for a big trip or just want to expand their circle of friends.

The extremely rare use of personal pronouns in the Polish language, which, as a rule, are replaced by the pronominal endings of verbs and are used only when it is necessary to emphasize the person in question, should also be attributed to the same category of features.

Polish is part of the West Slavic language group and is spoken by 44 million people worldwide. Apart from the pool of Polish people, which is spoken as the official language, Polish is spoken in several European countries such as Austria, the Czech Republic, and Germany, as well as in Australia, Israel, and the United States. In order to speak Polish at a basic level, according to the University of Bialystok, you need to know 200 words; different - those who learn Polish for work, and depending on specific cases, the need to learn certain technical terms.

To illustrate: Lubię czytać - I love to read, Szukam krawatu - I am looking for a tie, but: Ja pójdę i ty pójdziesz - I will go - and you will go.

Features of Polish verbs

Since we touched verbs, then it is necessary to emphasize their following feature: in the Polish language there is no simple and understandable systematization of verb conjugations according to the infinitive, similar to that in Russian. It is enough to remember just 2 Russian conjugations (plus a few easy-to-remember exceptions), and 11 Polish conjugations can seem like a nightmare. But if you do not set yourself the goal of becoming a philologist or linguist, then you can understand the verbs on the basis of simplified diagrams and tables that any professional teacher is able to offer.

The programs developed by Babbel are especially dedicated to those who intend to save time and money and seek a flexible course without scheduling or other fees. Courses can be taken in your spare time, even with mobile devices such as tablets and cell phones.

Geographical names of people end in a conditional pronunciation

Thanks to specialized social networks, you can practice with a native speaker, and as this is not enough, the prices are among the lowest on the market. Search for common interpretations of linguistic phenomena. Problems with inclination may arise when choosing the file form no.

Names completed in hard or zombie pronunciation

Names ceased both in pronunciation and in Scripture on the same consonant. Also used in some of the various indigenous names such as Beroun Brandys, Nachod, Tabor and some foreign place names such as Bethlehem, Egypt, Jerusalem, Milan, Rome, Rhine. Yard, church, pond - p Yard, church, pond. The deprecation is mainly used for domestic or foreign names. These linguistic alternatives largely influence the ending -e of some Czech names.

(as in any Slavic), perhaps, the main element that carries the vast majority of information about some action: who acts (I, you, he, she, it, we, you, they), when acts (present, past, future tense), how many participants (singular, plural), what is the goal (indicative, imperative), etc. All other parts of speech cannot be compared with verbs in terms of saturation with information.

The ending is used to express the notorious designation of a place. However, this functional division is only indicative, may not always apply, and is certainly not binding on the speaker or writer. In Czech and foreign place names, only -e appears from mobile vowels.

Other mobile vowels are found, for example, in the names of the Slovak, Russian, Serbian and Croatian languages. It is possible to shift the moving sounds of these names into indirect falls. They are mostly left behind by lesser known names for easier identification of the underlying form. The named names are most often discarded by the more famous names of the Slovak and Russian, and the names of the South Slavic ones are rather leftist. In indirect falls, the musical voice always remains with Uzok, Klimczok.

Unlike Russian, Polish has additional gradations forms of verbs, allowing to clarify and concretize information on gender. For example, in a simple sentence in Russian "I will stand here" it is impossible to determine who said this phrase - a man, a woman or an animal (say, in a cartoon). Polish provides this opportunity by using the past tense instead of the infinitive: „Będę stał (stała, stało) tu” (“I will stand / stand, stand / here”).

antique names

However, for more frequent names, there is a strong tendency to systemic declension without deletion, especially when used in current rather than ancient contexts. We would not even consider these figures as incorrect. In some names, an inflection or expansion of the base occurs in the inflection. Currently, this change, which respects the original Latin and Greek declarations, is taking place in indirect texts in ancient texts.

Polish names stopped at

They can be saved, but this method is less common today. The names Loket and Stone are peculiar in that they have a soft inflection for historical reasons, although they end in a hard consonant.

Names ending in a font with a different consonant than the pronunciation

These names are mostly of French origin and end with a consonant cluster in which the final consonant remains silent. In writing, the entire word is retained in the announcement and endings are assigned to it. Due to the tendency in modern Czech to distinguish its base form from all the falling forms of the given name, the second procedure is increasingly being promoted.

Names ending with a conditional pronunciation and script on a vowel letter

Traditionally unfavorable are such names as Lille, Dieppe, Lausanne, Stoke, Spokane, Carcassonne. Names ending in a soft consonant. Names that end in both a letter and a pronunciation.

Names end with pronunciation and script in different consonants

Names ending in font on a vowel and in the pronunciation of a soft consonant. In their unconfigured form, these names refer to the middle generations. . Although most of the foreign names of this type occupy a place among the female picture "song", there are several names according to the "machine" pattern.

Moreover, in the Polish language there is a form of verbs that distinguishes men into a separate category. So-called " personal-male form", Unlike " feminine-property”, suggests specific endings of verbs in the past tense. The correct use of these endings is the key to competent and correct communication in Polish.

Note. If for some reason we are unsure of the fall, we can avoid it by using a common noun noun, such as in Baltimore, Sabadell, etc. Polish is a member of the West Slavic languages, as well as Slovak, Slovak, and Serbian. They belong to the group of Slavic languages ​​and to the family of Indo-European languages.

For centuries, interrogations and essences were essentially the same language, and later they began to diverge from the fact that half a century later Jesse and the poets understood. There are many words on the Polish clergy that seem literally the same due to the fact that the poets took Christianity from the Jews. Over the centuries, many words of foreign origin have been incorporated into polishing.

To illustrate:"Oni leżali na ziemi" - They lay on the ground (men or at least one of them is a man). But: "One leżały na ziemi" - They lay on the ground (women, firewood, any objects).

And finally, another feature of verbs is frequent mismatch of their management with analogues in Russian. Many verbs require nouns after them in a case unusual for the Russian language. For example: to hurt (what?) - chorować (na co?); wait (for whom? what?) - czekać (na kogo? na co?); to marry (to whom?) - żenić się (z kim?). This category of verbs should be simply memorize and memorize not separately, but in phrases: "chorować na grypę"; "czekać na tramwaj"; "żenić się z Anną", etc.

Numerals in Polish

And the last feature that just needs to be mentioned in this material is numerals. Despite their general similarity and similar rules for changing cases in Russian and Polish (jeden, dwa, trzy, cztery...), there are significant differences and special rules when using the personal-masculine form (dwaj panowie stali... - dwóch panów stało...), as well as when using collective numbers (three, five, ten, etc.), when voicing dates, times, etc. .

It can be said that numerals in Polish- this is a special section, like no other, requiring a careful and competent approach when studying, as well as a lot of study time to consolidate the material.

Other features of the Polish language are in grammatical forms, in the placement of stress, in the placement of punctuation marks, in the style of constructing sentences, etc. - deserve separate consideration.

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Pole Piotr writes on one of the Ukrainian forums about the origin of the Polish language:

Polish linguists believe that there are few polonisms in Ukrainian and they mainly refer to new words that entered the Ukrainian language in transit through the Polish type: parasolka, cukiernia, kawa.
But in fact, what is interesting is the multitude of Ukrainianisms in Polish. Let me explain: the Polish language was created on the basis of Czech. In fact, we do not know what language the Polans and then the Poles spoke in the 11th and 12th centuries, but there is no doubt that whatever their language was, it was very strongly influenced by Czech. in a cultural and linguistic sense, the Czechs were the "big brothers" of the Poles - Christianity came to us from there, Catholic priests came from there, the first texts were not written in Latin but were found in Poland, in rural Polish they testify that in the 11th - 13th centuries Polish and Czech were as similar to each other as Slovak and Czech are today.
This is just understandable in historical terms - the history of Poland in the 11th - 14th centuries was closely connected with the history of the Czech Republic. The Piast dynasty, which ruled Poland ca. For 400 years there were strong Czech roots, and at the beginning of the 14th century Poland was ruled by the Czech king Wenceslas 2nd.
Yes, you know from your own history that until the 15th century in Rus' no one had heard of the Poles - with the exception of the border region of Chervinskaya Rus (Przemysl region).
Everything changed as a result of the Union of Krevo between Poland and the Grand Duchy, i.e. Lithuania and Russia (1385). The vector of Polish history went east. And then, at the end of the 15th century, in the 16th century, the modern Polish language began to form.
And if Old Polish is very similar to Czech, then modern Polish was strongly influenced by "Rusyn", that is, the language that was spoken in the Grand Duchy. Suffice it to say that at the first Sejm of the Commonwealth (Unia of Lublin in 1569), most of the gentry did not communicate at all in Polish, namely in "Rusyn".
And if the Poles can understand the Poltava people, it is rather not because the Old Polish / Czech language penetrated to the east, but quite the opposite.
This cultural and linguistic import is especially noticeable in folklore, folk music, where the Ruthenian culture turned out to be much stronger and more attractive than the Polish one.
I am sure that both Pan Mykola and Viktor, who is fluent in Polish, know for sure that one of the most popular folk songs in Poland is Na zielonej Ukraine ("Hej Sokoly"), and they did not even try to adapt it, but simply translated and sing to this day .. put a bottle on the table for the Poles and in half an hour you will hear (in Polish) how it is na kon wsiada Kozak mlody and in general that zal, zal za dziewczyna, za zielona Ukraina ..

What else I want to say - I just like that the Polish language and culture are so eclectic. Marshal Pilsudski, a native of Vilna, told everyone around "what is best in the Commonwealth is in the outskirts" - and in many respects he was right. A nation that is hermetic in relation to the outside world, and especially to its neighbors, is simply dying ...

Unfortunately, I myself can’t write very much on this topic - by education I am neither a historian nor a linguist. I just remembered what I learned in high school. And they also taught that the modern Polish language was formed under the strong influence of the "Rusyn language", i.e. modern Ukrainian and Belarusian. And this is absolutely understandable since our greatest poet - Adam Mickiewicz began the poem with the words: Litwo, Ojczyzno moja, (Mickiewicz was born on the territory of modern Belarus). Polish sings number 2 (and some believe that he is still better than Mickiewicz) - Juliusz Slovacki was born and lived in Ukraine.
It was in the 19th century that a lot of Ukrainianisms entered the Polish literary language - they were introduced there by poets of the romantic period, who in their work often turned to the "natural" language of the people - for Mickiewicz it was the Belarusian language, for Slovak - Ukrainian.
I found a link on the Internet on this topic - but everything is not so detailed there, this is a link to the material for preparing for exams from Polish at the secondary school level - it clearly states the scale of naming from Ukrainian and Belarusian to Polish ..

and although the relationship between Polish and Ukrainian was very interactive, with the exception of "transit" words that came to us from the West, the vector of linguistic exchange went from east to west, and this is indisputable.
it is all the more ridiculous to read that, as follows from many statements, that the Polish language developed in relation to the language .. which did not exist .. and here it is not only about folk songs and language: approx. 90% (!) of Poles consider varenniki to be a national Polish dish (in Polish - pierogi), also borscht (national soup for Christmas), the same thing - kutya ( a traditional dish for Christmas, although they understand here that it came to us from the east).
In general, the picture is such that the Polish culture in Ukraine was appropriated by the elites, while folk culture Ukrainians at the level of broad strata of society very powerfully penetrated to the west - in language, in folklore, in cuisine, etc.