ODRODZENIE POLSZCZYZNY CZY JEJ ZANIK? O SYTUACJI JĘZYKA POLSKIEGO NA DAWNYCH KRESACH WSCHODNICH
Rebirth or decline of the Polish language? On the position of Polish in the old Eastern Borderlands

Summary/Abstract: The object of the paper is to describe the position of the Polish language in the old Eastern Borderlands: Lithuania, Latvia, Belarus and Ukraine, and to answer the question raised in the title, whether we are facing rebirth or decline of the Polish language in the East. The position of Polish is diverse not only in each of the countries but also within the same country, the conditions in which it functions, the type of bi- and multilingualism differ, the nature of the changes in progress is also slightly different although numerous common processes conditioned by similar or identical causes can be indicated. The paper characterises the Polish minority in the mentioned countries in terms of its population and changes with this respect, territorial distribution, relation between the national identity and language, declarations about the mother tongue, variations in the Polish language of the Eastern Borderlands, ist functions, teaching Polish, multilingualism, etc.

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