Polski

Polski, in English “Polish,” refers to the language of the Polish people. In Polish itself, the language is called język polski, with polski serving as the adjectival form used to describe Poland or its language. It is a West Slavic language belonging to the Lechitic subgroup, together with Kashubian and, in some classifications, Silesian. It is the official language of Poland and is one of the official languages of the European Union; it is used in government, education, media, and daily communication.

Polish uses the Latin alphabet with diacritics. The standard alphabet comprises 32 letters, including ą, ć, ę, ł, ń, ó, ś, ź, ż, and the non-native q, v, x used mainly in loanwords. Orthography is largely phonemic, with most letters representing a single sound, though some letters represent several phonemes depending on context.

Grammar is highly inflected, with seven grammatical cases, three genders, and two numbers. Verbs express aspect and mood and undergo conjugation for tense, person, and number. Adjectives agree with nouns in gender, number, and case.

Polish has several regional dialects, including Greater Polish, Lesser Polish, Masovian, and Silesian. Kashubian is closely related and often treated as a separate language. Standard Polish developed from medieval dialects and was standardized through grammars and dictionaries in the early modern period; today normative references guide spelling, usage, and grammar.

Estimates place the number of speakers at about 45 million worldwide, with around 38 million in Poland and communities across North America, Western Europe, and other regions. It has borrowed and lent vocabulary with languages such as German, Latin, French, and English.