Poland is a beautiful country in East-Central Europe. Lots of people, around 38 million, live there. These people come from different groups, which makes Poland’s culture diverse. Because of this diversity, people in Poland talk in different languages. Guess what? Poland has two official languages: Polish and Silesian. Most Poles, about 97%, speak Polish, and they are also good at Silesian. They use both languages based on where they are and who they are talking to. Poland has cool things like Chopin’s music and Copernicus’ discoveries. These things are famous around the world. But if you don’t know Polish, learning about them can be tough. This is where Polish translation services come to the rescue. They make Polish books, art, and history easy to understand for people everywhere. This way, people can like different cultures and get along better.
Languages Spoken in Poland
Let’s have a look at the linguistic diversity in Poland.
Polish
Polish is the West Slavic language. Moreover, it is from the family of the Indo-European languages. Its history is dated back to the 10th century AD. It was the time when the tribes of Oder and Vistula were ruled by Mieszko I. These tribes shared many similar languages with each other and with the help of the Latin alphabet, they came up with a new standardized version. During 1500 and 1700, the Polish language used to be a lingua franca in the Eastern European region. This language is very old and has been used for a long time without stopping, even before the 1500s. It is not connected to the Christian religion. People have used it for reading and writing, as well as for running the government.
Silesian
Do you know that approximately 529 377 people in Poland speak the Silesian language? This language has many distinct characteristics that differentiate it from other languages. It has some old features that Standard Polish does not have. For example, Silesian has both long and short vowels, like Old Polish. To differentiate Silesian from the Polish language, Polish translation services can be of great help. The Silesians are people who came from Germany and lived in Silesia for a long time. They got split between Poland and Germany in 1742 after a big fight.
Poland asked folks from its neighboring places, including Germany, to come to live here. They gave them a lot of land to settle on.
German
People living in the Western part of Poland speak the German language. The families that came from Germany speak this language to keep their identity in Opole and Pomerania. Secondly, in Gdansk, Poznan, and Wroclaw, people speak and learn the German language for business purposes. German translation services can be very helpful for businesses here.
You can find German speakers well-educated and professionals in Poland. Moreover, German is taught in schools in this country. Due to the demand for the German language in professional fields, many professional translation companies are providing German to English translation services.
Russian
In the late 1800s, more than a million folks lived in the old Russian Empire, now Ukraine. They left Poland and went to live in other parts of Europe. As a result, a small number of people in Poland (around 20,000) speak Russian at home, which is about 0.05% of the people there. Lots of these folks came to Poland after World War II, and Poland was linked to the USSR for a while.
English
English is the common language on the streets, especially among young people. More than 100,000 folks in Poland speak English at home. Big city schools, like in Łódź and Wrocław, teach kids English as their first foreign language. Many young folks who speak English use signs in both Polish and English to get around.
Ukrainian
A big group of Ukrainians live in Poland. More than 460,000 people are in Poland. This number can be increased because of the Russian and Ukrainian wars. About 24,539 folks speak Ukrainian as their main language. Other Ukrainians there can talk both Polish and Ukrainian. Many from this group came when Ukraine wanted freedom from Poland during fights.
Kashubian
About 108,000 people in Poland speak Kashubian language. Their ancestors came to Poland in the early 1600s, invited by the rulers. Kashubians were part of Poland, but later they started using their own language and liked Germany too. This happened during a time when they were forced to become more like Germans from 1915 to 1918 when World War I began. Because of this, only a few Kashubians stayed connected to their original culture.
Minority Languages Spoken in Poland
The other minority languages that the people of Poland speak are
- Romany
- Rusyn
- Lithuanian
- French
- Italian
- Armenian
- Hungarian
- Slovak
- Czech
- Vietnamese
In addition, other officially recognized minority languages include Hebrew, Yiddish, Tartar, and Karaim
Wrapping Up
Do you know that Poland is famous for producing many agricultural and horticultural products? Moreover, Polish ceramics & pottery are around the world. Therefore, if you want to explore the amazing culture of Poland then Polish translation services can be of great help. If you are aware of other languages that people of Poland speak then it gives you additional advantage and mitigates communication barriers.