Pisownia

Pisownia, or orthography, is the system of spelling rules for the Polish language. It governs how words are written, including the alphabet, the use of diacritics, digraphs and trigraphs, capitalization, punctuation, hyphenation, and the treatment of foreign names and loanwords. The aim is to reflect phonology while maintaining readability and consistency across texts.

Normative rules are published and maintained by linguistic authorities, notably the Rada Języka Polskiego (Polish Language Council) associated with the Polish Academy of Sciences. The main reference works include Zasady pisowni języka polskiego (Rules of Polish Orthography) and Ortografia polska, which are adopted in education, publishing, and media. Updates are issued as language use evolves and new terms appear.

Key features include the Polish alphabet, which uses diacritics such as ą, ć, ę, ł, ń, ó, ś, ź, ż, and the digraphs cz, sz, dz, dż, dź, among others. q, v and x occur mainly in borrowed words and proper names. The system also prescribes when to capitalize, how to hyphenate compound elements, and how to treat loanwords and foreign phrases.

Practical use: Spelling rules are taught in schools, reflected in dictionaries and style guides, and enforced in journalism and publishing. In the digital era, there is ongoing adaptation to new technologies and international vocabulary, while core rules remain stable.

Historically, modern Polish orthography was codified in the 20th century, with further refinements since then. It continues to evolve through revision and discussion within linguistic communities and language policy discussions.