Languages of Poland

Languages of Poland
OfficialPolish
RegionalSilesian (529,377); Kashubian (108,000); German (96,000); Belarusian (26,000); Hungarian (1,000); Ruthenian (6,000); Lithuanian (5,000); Slovak (1,000); Czech (1,000);
Dispersed: Romani (14,000); Armenian (2,000)
ImmigrantRussian (20,000), Ukrainian (25,000), Vietnamese (3,000), Greek (2,000), Chinese (1,000), Bulgarian (1,000), Turkish (1,000), Hindi (1,000) and others[1]
ForeignEnglish (33%)[2]
German (19%)
Russian (18%)
SignedPolish Sign Language
Signed Polish
Sourceebs_243_en.pdf (europa.eu)
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The languages of Poland include Polish – the language of the native population – and those of immigrants and their descendants. Polish is the only official language recognized by the country's constitution and the majority of the country's population speak it as a native language or use it for home communication.[3][4] Deaf communities in Poland use Polish Sign Language, which belongs to the German family of Sign Languages.

Languages other than Polish that have existed in the region for at least 100 years can gain recognition as a regional or minority language, which have appropriate rules of use.[5] In areas where the speakers of these languages make up more than 20% of the population, the language can receive the status of auxiliary language, while Polish remains the official language.[6]

According to the Act of 6 January 2005 on national and ethnic minorities and on the regional languages,[7] 16 languages have been recognized as minority languages; 1 regional language, 10 languages belonging to 9 national minorities (minorities from another sovereign state) and 5 languages belonging to 4 ethnic minorities (minorities that do not belong to another sovereign state). Jewish and Romani minorities each have 2 recognized minority languages.

  1. ^ Nowak, Lucyna, ed. (2013). Ludność. Stan i struktura demograficzno-społeczna. Narodowy Spis Powszechny Ludności i Mieszkań 2011 (PDF). Główny Urząd Statystyczny. ISBN 978-83-7027-521-1. Retrieved 2013-04-14.
  2. ^ "SPECIAL EUROBAROMETER 386 Europeans and their Languages" (PDF). ec.europa.eu. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-01-06.
  3. ^ "Konstytucja Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej". www.sejm.gov.pl. Retrieved 2021-03-28.
  4. ^ "Ustawa z dnia 6 stycznia 2005 r. O mniejszościach narodowych i etnicznych oraz o języku regionalnym".
  5. ^ "Ustawa z dnia 6 stycznia 2005 r. O mniejszościach narodowych i etnicznych oraz o języku regionalnym".
  6. ^ "Ustawa z dnia 6 stycznia 2005 r. O mniejszościach narodowych i etnicznych oraz o języku regionalnym".
  7. ^ "Act of 6 January 2005 on national and ethnic minorities and on the regional languages" (PDF) – via GUGiK.gov.pl.