| Also Known As: Polish language,Polnisch,Polski,Polish
Description:
Polish (język polski, polszczyzna) is a West Slavic language and the official language of Poland. Its written standard is the Polish alphabet which corresponds basically to the Latin alphabet with a few additions. Polish-speakers use the language in a uniform manner through most of Poland.
Despite the pressure of non-Polish administrations in Poland which often attempted to suppress the Polish language, a rich literature developed over the centuries and the language is currently the largest in terms of speakers of the West Slavic group.
Nearly 97% of Poland's citizens declare Polish as their mother language. Ethnic Poles constitute significant minorities in Lithuania, Belarus, and Ukraine. Polish is the most widely used minority language in Lithuania's Vilnius County (26% of the population, according to the 2001 census results), and it is also present in other counties. In Ukraine, Polish can often be heard in the cities of Lviv and Lutsk. Western Belarus has a significant Polish minority, particularly in the Brest and Grodno regions.
Polish speakers also live in: Argentina, Andorra, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech..... full article at Wikipedia |
