Cudzysów

Cudzysłów, commonly used term for quotation marks in Polish, denotes punctuation used to mark direct speech, quoted passages, or titles. The standard plural forms are cudzysłowy (nominative) and cudzysłowów (genitive). The form cudzysów is a frequent misspelling or simplified variant encountered in informal writing. In other languages, quotation marks may differ, but in Polish typography the cudzysłów serves as the primary quoting sign.

Typographic forms. The Polish standard uses the opening low double quotation mark „ and the closing high double quotation mark ” to enclose quoted material. For nested quotes, single quotation marks or alternate punctuation may appear. In digital text, straight quotes " and ' are often used as substitutes, while some fonts support guillemets (« ») as an alternative in multilingual contexts.

Usage. Cudzysłów marks direct speech, quotations from literature, or the titles of articles, chapters, or songs when they are cited or referenced. Polish punctuation rules place punctuation inside or outside the closing mark depending on whether it belongs to the quoted material: if the quoted segment includes the punctuation, it goes inside; otherwise the punctuation stands outside.

History and notes. The concept derives from the need to separate a speaker's words or a quoted text from narrative. In many publications the standard is to use double quotation marks, with single marks reserved for quotes within quotes; in some styles, guillemets or other marks appear for non-Polish quotes.