Spoken by 38 Million in Poland and 50 Million World Wide
Polish is the official language of Poland and is spoken by most of the 38 million inhabitants of Poland (census 2002). Native speakers of Polish can also be found in Western Belarus, Ukraine and Eastern Lithuania. Because of emigration from Poland in various periods, millions of Polish-speakers can also be found in countries such as Ireland, Australia, Israel, Brazil, Canada, the United Kingdom, United States, etc. The estimated number of Poles who live beyond the borders of Poland is 10 million, with about 50 million people worldwide naming Polish as their mother tongue.
Rich Literature
Despite the pressure of non-Polish administrations in Poland, who have often attempted to suppress the Polish language, a rich literature has developed over the centuries, and the language is currently the largest in terms of speakers of the West Slavic group. It is also the second most widely spoken Slavic language after Russian.
Origins of the Polish Language
Like Czech and Slovak, Polish is part of the West-Slavic group of the Indo-European languages. It came from the Proto-Slavic language which was used as the mother tongue of all past Slavic tribes. The Polish language has developed so much throughout history that the texts written in the Middle Ages are difficult to understand for today’s Poles and need to be read with a dictionary of archaisms.
Polish Dialects
While most Poles speak standard Polish, there are several dialects within the Polish language. These are easily understandable to native Polish speakers as they are based mostly on regional pronunciation and vocabulary changes. Different dialects within Polish include Silesia and Podale (highlander’s dialect). Kashubian is also spoken – this is a separate language used by the Polish living west of Gdansk near the Baltic Sea. It is quite rare, with between 100,000 and 200,000 speakers and is gradually becoming extinct.
Population Distribution in the UK (source Wikipedia.org)
The main hub of the London Polish community is Hammersmith in west London, as well as Ealing, Balham, Enfield and Haringey. The activities revolve around the Polish Social and Cultural Centre (POSK) in King Street. Polish newspapers and food shops are increasingly apparent following Poland’s entry into the European Union in May 2004. Many towns and cities in the UK have long established and relatively large Polish communities, most notably London, Liverpool, Birmingham, Bradford, Leeds, Manchester and Nottingham. Other communities exist in locations such as Leicester, Slough, Reading and Melton Mowbray.
Poles have also settled in Hereford, Sheffield, Bolton, Bury, Northampton, Peterborough and Chorley in Lancashire. There is a long established Polish community in Bristol and there are also concentrations in Derby, South Yorkshire, South Wales, North Wales mainly in Wrexham, Rugby, Banbury, Luton, Evesham and Swindon. Scotland has seen a significant influx of Polish immigrants with estimates of Poles currently living in Scotland ranging from 40,000 according to General Register Office for Scotland up to 50,000 as per Polish Council, with around 5,000 in the Highlands region. This has led to the creation of a bilingual English-Polish newspaper. Carlisle in Cumbria, which is twinned with the Polish city of Słupsk, has a Polish population of over 1,600. Blackpool has about 5,000 immigrants living in and around the resort on the Fylde coast. The local newspaper is one of a handful of British newspapers to have its own online edition in Polish called Witryna Polska. Following the recent migrations, many towns and cities in the UK now have a growing number of Polish inhabitants. Polish workers are employed in agriculture and light industry in the countrysides of low-population density regions such as East Anglia and East Midlands.
Polish to English Translation
With an estimated 1 million Poles having emigrated to the United Kingdom in recent years (source: Polityka magazine), there is more need than ever for Polish to English translation as well as English to Polish translation.
Learning Polish
Polish can be very difficult for foreigners to learn due to its system of grammatical gender. Polish uses three genders – masculine, feminine and neuter – and is also broken down into animate and inanimate. It shares some Latin grammar and vocabulary and has three genders – masculine, feminine and neuter. Polish also uses the Latin alphabet and excludes the letters ‘q’, ‘v’ and ‘x’ except for in foreign words.
Work with a Reputable Translation Agency
With about 50 millions speakers of the Polish language worldwide, Polish Translation Services are in high demand. If you need Polish Translation then it’s essential that you work with a reputable translation agency who specialises in the Polish language.
20 Years Experience
Prestige Network has over 20 years of experience in language services and are specialists in the field of Polish Translation. Our Polish Translation services are used widely in both the commercial and public sectors by bodies including the IPS, NHS, Job Centres, courts, solicitors and many more and on a regular basis.
Accuracy and Reliability
All translators working with our Polish Translation Service are experts in their field, be it legal, construction, medical or any other sector, so you can rest assured that your Polish Translation will be professional, clear and accurate every time.
Our Reputation
We have a reputation you can rely on in the language services industry and it is built on over 20 years of experience, so when you place an order for Polish Translation you can be sure that you’re getting the best, every time.
Contact us today for a great quote and a great service! Phone Sales on 01635 292 789 or email us at sales@prestigenetwork.com
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Other facts from the BBC Poland Country Profile Page
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