Evolution of the Polish language
Encyclopedia
The Polish language
is a West Slavic language
There are four periods of development of the Polish language:
The most important changes that have taken place in the language are:
Word stress
, initially moving, first was placed on the first syllable, to finally become penultimate.
Traces of consonant stems still remain but almost exclusively in neuter noun stems ending in -en, -ent- (cielę – cielęcia, imię – imienia) (a calf - of a calf, a name - of a name). For all other stems, long or short form has become characteristic of all cases. In general, in the past endings characteristic of stems ending in -o-, -jo- and -a-, -ja- were most common. Other endings were disappearing. The endings which did not cause the alteration of the stem were becoming more popular. Traces of the lack of softness in some forms of words softened by front vowels (mainly forms ending with a consonant or ending with -i-, egz. krъvaxъ > *krwach > krwiach) have disappeared. Often softness is the only remnant of old noun endings (Gen. kamane > kamienia) (of stone).
The disappearance of short forms of stems may be interpreted as the result of the introduction of accusative noun form in nominative.
For neuter nouns the ending -ьje sometimes produced a constricted -é (weselé) (wedding). Names of institutions such as podkomorzé, due to the influence of names such as łowczy (hunting), since the 16th century have been declinated as adjectives: podkomorzy (chamberlain).
The ending -y has come to be applied to all feminine nouns.
The ending -a has come to be applied to all neuter nouns and to the majority of masculine nouns. In the 16th century, ending -å, in other words non-acute -a, was applied to neuter stems ending in -ьje: oká (of an eye) but wesela (of a wedding).
After a period of frequent changes (which still has not ended) the ending -u is still applied to some masculine non-personal nouns, but there is no major connection with the original form.
Until the 16th century, the ending -ej, used in the declension of pronouns, was applied to all nouns in genitive and dative and to feminine nouns in the locative if a noun had an old stem ending in -ja-: paniej, rolej, duszej (lord, role, soul).
The ending -'e is still applied to feminine nouns with stems ending in -a-.
The ending -y is still applied to feminine soft-stem nouns. Occasionally, in the Old Polish ending -y was applied to neuter nouns with stems ending in a consonant: dziecięci, książęci (child, prince).
The ending -owi has come to be applied to almost all stems of masculine nouns. Occasionally, it was applied to stems of neuter nouns.
The ending -ewi in the Old Polish was sometimes applied instead of the ending -owi to the soft-stem nouns and in the 15th and 16th century it was also applied to hard-stem nouns.
The ending -u has come to be applied to all stems of neuter nouns. It is still applied to some masculine noun forms ending in -o-, -jo-. Until the 16th century it was used more frequently, especially following the preposition ku (człowieku (human), głosu (voice), ku południu (towards the south)).
The accusative has remained the same as the nominative for all neuter nouns.
For masculine nouns, the accusative has remained the same as the nominative for inanimate nouns and for animate nouns it has become the same as the genitive. The reason for this last change was most probably the free word order and the ambiguity that it could entail in phrases such as syn kocha ojciec (a son /nom./ loves a father /nom./) and ojciec kocha syn (a father /nom./ loves a son /nom./). The change of their forms into syn kocha ojca (son /nom./ loves father /acc./) and ojca kocha syn (father /acc./ loves son /nom./) helped to resolve this ambiguity. The accusative was the same as the nominative until 14th - 15th century (in the region of Mazowsze until 16th century), and nowadays this feature is preserved in common phrases such as iść za mąż (to get married), siąść na koń (to mount a horse), na miły Bóg (dear Lord!), być za pan brat (to be on intimate terms with sbd.).
The ending -0 is still applied to stems of feminine nouns for which this same ending is applied also in the nominative.
The ending -ę is still applied to the typically feminine nouns.
In Old Polish the ending -ą was applied instead of -ę to nouns which in the nominative ended with -å widzę duszę, boginię (I see a soul, a goddess) but wolą, pieczą (will, care). Nowadays, the only remnant of this rule is the accusative form panią (lady).
The ending -ą is still applied to all stems of feminine nouns.
The ending -em has come to be applied to all stems of masculine and neuter nouns. The development of -ъmь, -ьmь has contributed to the stabilization of the use of this ending.
The ending -im < -ьjemь was applied to neuter nouns ending in the old -ьje: wiesielim, miłosierdzim (joy, mercy), wyobrażenim (imagination).
The ending -'e is applied to hard-stem nouns. Until 15th - 16th century it was also applied to masculine and feminine nouns ending in -k, -g, -ch: Bodze (god), gresze (sin), mlece (milk). For noun stems ending in -n-: We dnie i w nocy (during the day and night), but in general: w dniu (during the day).
The ending -y has come to be applied to all feminine soft-stem nouns. Until 14th - 15th century it was also applied to a very small number of stems ending in -jo-, especially i < -ьji for neuter nouns ending in -ьje.
The ending -u has come to be applied to masculine and neuter hard-stem nouns ending in -k, -g, -ch. It has also survived in forms o synu, domu (about a son, about a house) and is also present in the form o panu (due to the infuence of the phrase w Panu Bogu) (in the Lord God).
The ending -'e (with -e, not -ě2, this is why there is the softening connected to the first palatalization) is applied to masculine hard-stem nouns. Until 16th century it was also applied to nouns ending in -k, -g, -ch. Nowadays it is present in forms such as Boże, człowiecze, Kozacze (also człowieku, Kozaku), and also księże, additionally after -ec: ojcze, starcze(father, old man) (connected with the third palatalization).
The ending -u has come to be applied to masculine soft-stem nouns ending in -k, -g, -ch and also feminine soft-stem nouns known as 'rodzinne' ('family nouns', used when addressing other family members) (coiciu, Helu) (auntie, Hela). It has also survived in forms such as synu, domu! (son, home!).
The ending -o has survived in the old feminine nouns ending in -a- and has also spread onto the majority of old feminine nouns ending in -ja-.
The ending -y is still applied to feminine nouns which stems in the nominative end with a consonant (myszy, kości!) (mice, bones!) and has spread onto the nouns of the same type as pani (lady).
The forms of neuter nouns in the vocative have remained the same as their forms in the nominative.
Until the 15th century the ending -i was the most widely applied ending to the stems of masculine nouns. From the 16th century onwards it was not applied to the stems of inanimate nouns, and from the 18th century – to the stems of nouns referring to non-persons. Forms Włoszy, mniszy (Italians, monks) have been replaced by Włosi, mnisi with the phonetic softness introduced in the 17th century.
In the accusative -y was gradually replacing -i as the ending applied to the stems of masculine nouns. Since the 16th century it was applied even to the stems of nouns referring to persons. It was popular especially in the Enlightenment (syny, wnuki, greki) (sons, grandsons, Greeks). For feminine nouns it is still applied to the stems ending in -a- and also to some forms in the nominative singular ending in -0.
The ending -e, derived from the stems ending in -i- (gost-ьje, lud-ьje) (guests, people), -n- (dьn-e, kamen-e, mestjan-e) (days, stones, townsmen) and forms such as przyjaciele, cesarze (friends, caesars), have dominated soft-stem masculine nouns. For feminine nouns it is still applied to the stems ending in -ja- and has spread onto some of the forms in the nominative singular ending in -0.
The ending -owie in the 14th - 15th century was applied to all stems of masculine nouns. Since the 16th century it has been gradually disappearing, especially from inanimate nouns and those referring to nonpersons, still Norwid
(1821–1883) used obłokowie (clouds) to make up a rhyme.
In the Old Polish, soft-stem nouns sometimes had the ending -ewie applied instead of -owie.
The ending -a is still applied to the stems of neuter nouns. Due to the influence of the Latin language, it has been applied since the 15th century to the stems of male nouns borrowed from Latin and German: akta, fundamenta, grunta, (files, foundations, grounds) and temporarily (and incorrectly) also to originally Polish nouns: okręta, pociska (ships, bullets). Nowadays, the ending -a applied to the stems of masculine nouns is in general considered as incorrect, however: akta (files)||akty (acts).
The names of offices such as podkomorzé until the 15th century also had the ending -a applied in the plural. In the 16th century forms chorążowie podczasze podchorąże ma pod sobą were widely used; nowadays in the nominative it is chorążowie (warrant officers), in the dative podchorążych (of cup bearers).
The ending -´a (-´å) < -ьja today is used to construct forms such as brat – bracia (brother - brothers), ksiądz – księża (priest - priests). Initially, these forms were interpreted as collective nouns (bracia stała = braty stały) (brothers stood), księża poszła = księdzowie poszli (priests went), and were declined in the same way as female nouns (others of this type in the accusative had applied the ending -ą, in the genitive, dative and locative: -ej). In the writings of Skarga
(1536–1612) they were declined in the same way as plural nouns (braciom, braćmi, braciach, księżom, księżmi, księżach) (brothers, priests). In dialect forms such as swaciå, muzykanciå, adwokaciå (matchmakers, musicians, lawyers)can be found.
The ending -0 has started to be widely applied to neuter and feminine hard-stem nouns. For soft-stem nouns the ending that is also applied is -y. Until 17th century, its traces were present in the old masculine stems ending in -o-, -jo-: genitive woz (carriage), god, tysiąc (thousand), dziej, włos (hair). Nowadays, it is present in forms such as przyjaciół (friends), dotychczas (until now).
The ending -ów has become characteristic of the masculine hard-stem nouns, for soft-stem nouns the ending that is also applied is -y. In Old Polish it had a slightly different pronunciation and was more widely applied: pisarzow (of writers), koniow (of horses), dniow (of days), miesiącow (of months), in dialects: krolew (of kings).
For soft-stem nouns the ending that is also applied instead of -ów/-0 is -y.
In the past, the ending -om has been widely applied to the stems of masculine and neuter nouns. Since the Middle Polish period it has started to be applied to the stems of feminine nouns.
In Old Polish -am prevailed as the ending applied to the stems of feminine nouns. In the 15th - 17th century it was applied also to the stems of masculine and neuter nouns.
The ending -em until the 17th century was sometimes applied instead of -om to the stems of masculine nouns. There are no traces of this ending being applied to the stems of neuter nouns.
The endings -um, -óm in Old Polish were sometimes applied to the stems of neuter nouns instead of -om.
Initially, the endings -e/-y in the masculine accusative were distributed as endings applied to the stems of non-person nominative nouns. However, in the 17th century the accusative was made the same as the genitive. This change became common in the 17th century. Old accusative was and still is used for stylistic reasons: króle (kings), pany (masters), chłopy (peasants).
The forms of feminine and neuter nouns in the plural accusative have remained the same as in the plural nominative.
In the past, the ending -ami has been most widely applied to the stems of feminine nouns. Since the 15th century it came to be applied to the stems of neuter nouns and in the 16th - 17th century, despite the resistance of grammarians, to the stems of masculine nouns.
The ending -mi was applied in Old Polish to the stems of masculine and neuter nouns, especially to soft-stem ones, and also to the stems of some feminine nouns in the nominative ending with -0. In principle, today it is only applied to the stems of masculine and feminine nouns in the nominative ending with -0 and having a phonetically soft-stem.
The ending -y was applied in Old Polish to the stems of masculine and neuter nouns, especially to hard-stem ones. Until now it has survived in phrases such as tymi czasy (these days).
The ending -oma, derived from the dual number, was applied to the stems of masculine nouns in the 16th - 17th century.
In the past, the ending -ach has been applied to feminine nouns. It could also be found in the masculine and neuter but came to be formally applied to nouns in these two genders in the 17th century.
The ending -'ech was applied in the Old Polish to masculine and neuter nouns, especially those with hard-stem: wilcech (wolf), syniech (son), skrzydlech (wings), leciech. The traces have remained in the names of countries: Na Węgrzech (in Hungary).
The ending -och was applied to nouns of all genders in the 14th - 16th century, especially to soft-stem nouns and also to those ending with -k, -g, -ch, most probably because of the influence of the endings such as -owie, -ów, -om.
The mixed declension is characteristic of forms such as poeta (poet), mężczyzna (man), Jagiełło, Fredro, sędzia (judge).
In Old Polish forms such as starosta (prefect), poeta (poet) were declined like feminine nouns. In the 16th century plural forms were changed due to their meaning (also plural dative such as mężczyznam).
Until the 17th century, nouns such as Fredro in plural had forms Fredra, Fredrowi, Fredrę and so on.
In the 15th century nouns such as sędzia < sądьja (judge) were given in singular genitive, dative and accusative forms like adjectives. Later on, forms such as sędzim, sędziem (judge) appeared in the instrumental. Sometimes the locative sędziej was also present.
The adjectival declension in combination with the pronoun jь has given rise to a new type of declension combining the two: adjectival and pronoun declensions. It is different from the noun declension: jego, tego białego słonia (his, of this white elephant).
Primarily, the singular feminine accusative ending was -ę. The form ją (her) was the only exception. Due to the influence of adjectives the use of the form -ą came to be more widely applied. Nowadays, the only existing form is tę. (In 1996 the accusative form tą was accepted as correct in the spoken language.)
The old genitive čьso was transferred to the accusative and has spread to be applied to the nominative. The old accusative has preserved its prepositions: w niwecz < vъ nivъčь, przecz < prěčь, zacz < začь.
For the declension of numerals a new and quite irregular pattern has been constructed, based on the dual number.
Combinations of words have been turned into compounds.
The forms of collective numerals have been blended (portmanteau)
Many verbs have changed their present tense forms:
Instead of -ętъ for athematic verbs or for verbs with stems ending in -i-, the form -jątъ is used:
Based on the conjugation of athematic verbs, the new conjugation -am, -asz has been introduced (very rarely -em, -esz):
By analogy to dam (I will give) - dasz (you will give):
in general (compare with dadzą) (they will give):
Imperfect - was used to mark an action that took place or was repeated in the past. It was used with imperfective verbs.
Aorist
and Imperfect merged and then disappeared. The ending characteristic of the aorist has remained present in some dialects: byłech, byłek (=byłem) (I was)
The past imperfective tense has become a past simple tense bylъ jes-mь > jestem. (I am)
The pluperfect is currently disappearing.
The future tense of imperfective verbs is still constructed by combining a conjugated form of będę with an infinitive or a past participle: będę chwalić or będę chwalił. (I will be praising).
In the 16th century dual number disappeared from the literary language. It has been preserved in a number of dialects but the meaning of words in the dual number is equal to their blending in plural. The first person ending -ma is sometimes used as a result of merging -wa with -my.
chodźwa, chodźma (=chodźmy) (/we/let's go).
Only in the region of Tarnobrzeg the distinction still exists for niesiewa, nieśwa (dual number) and niesiemy, nieśmy (plural) (we carry, let's carry).
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
is a West Slavic language
West Slavic languages
The West Slavic languages are a subdivision of the Slavic language group that includes Czech, Polish, Slovak, Kashubian and Sorbian.Classification:* Indo-European** Balto-Slavic*** Slavic**** West Slavic***** Czech-Slovak languages****** Czech...
There are four periods of development of the Polish language:
- Old PolishOld Polish languageOld Polish is a name used to describe the period in the history of the Polish language between 9th and 16th centuries.-History:...
- until the beginning of the 16th century - Middle Polish - from the 16th century until the end of the 18th century
- New Polish - until 1930
- Modern Polish - after 1930
The most important changes that have taken place in the language are:
Phonetic processes
- Addition of a voiced labiodental fricativeVoiced labiodental fricativeThe voiced labiodental fricative is a type of consonantal sound used in some spoken languages. The symbol in the International Phonetic Alphabet that represents this sound is , and the equivalent X-SAMPA symbol is v....
before ą:- ąglь > vąglь > węgiel (coal)
- Softening of consonantConsonantIn articulatory phonetics, a consonant is a speech sound that is articulated with complete or partial closure of the vocal tract. Examples are , pronounced with the lips; , pronounced with the front of the tongue; , pronounced with the back of the tongue; , pronounced in the throat; and ,...
s before front vowelVowelIn phonetics, a vowel is a sound in spoken language, such as English ah! or oh! , pronounced with an open vocal tract so that there is no build-up of air pressure at any point above the glottis. This contrasts with consonants, such as English sh! , where there is a constriction or closure at some...
s i, ь, e, ę, ě:- sę > siĄ > się (generic reflexive pronoun; self, oneself; myself, yourself, ourselves, yourselves, etc. also each other, one another)
- bělъjь > biały (white)
- sę > siĄ > się (generic reflexive pronoun; self, oneself; myself, yourself, ourselves, yourselves, etc. also each other, one another)
- AblautApophonyIn linguistics, apophony is the alternation of sounds within a word that indicates grammatical information .-Description:Apophony is...
of vowels before hard coronal consonants e > o, ě > a Example:- nesą > niosę but nesešь > niesiesz (you carry)
- bělъjь > biały but bělitъ > on bieli (/he/it is whitening)
- The traces of the transition of ě into a in verbs after j, š, ž, č have disappeared
- slyšatь – slyšalъ – slyšalь > słyszeć, słyszał, słyszeli (to hear, he heard, they heard, compare with russ. слышать (słyszat´))
- wisětь – wisělъ – wisělь > wisieć, wisiał, wisieli (to hung, he hung, they hung)
- the only remnants are stojatь, bojatь> stojać, bojać (in dialects of WielkopolskaGreater PolandGreater Poland or Great Poland, often known by its Polish name Wielkopolska is a historical region of west-central Poland. Its chief city is Poznań.The boundaries of Greater Poland have varied somewhat throughout history...
) - stać, bać (to stand, to be afraid))in the dialect of MałopolskaLittle PolandLittle Poland may refer to:*Lesser Poland , a historical region of southern Poland*Lesser Poland Voivodeship , a present-day administrative region in southern Poland...
and in the literary languageLiterary languageA literary language is a register of a language that is used in literary writing. This may also include liturgical writing. The difference between literary and non-literary forms is more marked in some languages than in others...
- the only remnants are stojatь, bojatь> stojać, bojać (in dialects of Wielkopolska
- wisětь – wisělъ – wisělь > wisieć, wisiał, wisieli (to hung, he hung, they hung)
- slyšatь – slyšalъ – slyšalь > słyszeć, słyszał, słyszeli (to hear, he heard, they heard, compare with russ. слышать (słyszat´))
- nesą > niosę but nesešь > niesiesz (you carry)
- The disappearance of weak yerYerThe letter yer of the Cyrillic alphabet, also spelled jer or er, is known as the hard sign in the modern Russian and Rusyn alphabets and as er golyam in the Bulgarian alphabet...
s and the change of strong yerYerThe letter yer of the Cyrillic alphabet, also spelled jer or er, is known as the hard sign in the modern Russian and Rusyn alphabets and as er golyam in the Bulgarian alphabet...
s into e:- pьsъ > pies (dog) but pьsa > psa (of dog)
- sъnъ > sen (sleep)
- pьsъ > pies (dog) but pьsa > psa (of dog)
- Formation of long vowels as a result of:
-
- contraction of two syllableSyllableA syllable is a unit of organization for a sequence of speech sounds. For example, the word water is composed of two syllables: wa and ter. A syllable is typically made up of a syllable nucleus with optional initial and final margins .Syllables are often considered the phonological "building...
s into one (ojo-type groups) - synaeresisSynaeresisIn linguistics, synaeresis or syneresis is a sound change by which two vowels are pronounced together rather than separately...
, for example: singular instrumental nogoją - nogą (with leg) - compensation for the loss of yers (compensatory lengtheningCompensatory lengtheningCompensatory lengthening in phonology and historical linguistics is the lengthening of a vowel sound that happens upon the loss of a following consonant, usually in the syllable coda...
) - preservation of the old length of intonation (by means of the new acute accentAcute accentThe acute accent is a diacritic used in many modern written languages with alphabets based on the Latin, Cyrillic, and Greek scripts.-Apex:An early precursor of the acute accent was the apex, used in Latin inscriptions to mark long vowels.-Greek:...
)
- contraction of two syllable
- disappearance of long vowels:
- length of i:, y:, u: disappeared without a trace in the early 16th century
- length of a:, e:, o:, Ą: transformed into the constriction of these vowels in the early 16th century
- o:> ó (constricted o), then merged with u
- Proto-Slavonic ą and ę were mixed
- around year 1000, there were 4 distinct nasal vowels: ę and ą both long and short
- in the 12th century the pronunciation of ę and ą got closer to Ą (nasal a)
- in the 13th and 14th century the only existing difference was in the vowel lengthVowel lengthIn linguistics, vowel length is the perceived duration of a vowel sound. Often the chroneme, or the "longness", acts like a consonant, and may etymologically be one, such as in Australian English. While not distinctive in most dialects of English, vowel length is an important phonemic factor in...
, hence the common symbol ø - Ą> ę (an unusual process, in some dialects a has remained nasal), Ą:> Ą° (the constricted a has remained nasal, hence the spelling)> ą
- the constricted a (the constricted a was being marked with an acute accent (å in the modern etymological spelling)) or the non-constricted a disappeared in the 18th century. In many dialects it corresponds to / o / (pon 'pan')(a man')
- the constricted é in the 19th century was pronounced just like i or y ("daléj, daléj/niech się na powietrzu spali" – Adam Mickiewicz's Forefather's Eve) but eventually it has merged with non-constricted e.
- nesątъ > niosĄ: > niosą (they carry) but nesą > niosĄ > niosę (I carry)
- Bogъ > Bo:g > Bóg (god) but Boga > Boga > Boga (of god)
- kurъ > ku:r > kur (a cock)
- Bogъ > Bo:g > Bóg (god) but Boga > Boga > Boga (of god)
-
- Development of sonorantSonorantIn phonetics and phonology, a sonorant is a speech sound that is produced without turbulent airflow in the vocal tract; fricatives and plosives are not sonorants. Vowels are sonorants, as are consonants like and . Other consonants, like or , restrict the airflow enough to cause turbulence, and...
s- X - any
- T - coronal
- T'- softened coronal
- W - labial
- K - velar
- Č - rustling, derived from palatalized velar sonorants
- XrX, Xr´T > XarX, exception: Xr´T > X´arT, XrX > XurX, XorX
- krkъ > kark (neck)
- čr´nъjь > czarny (black)
- zr´no > ziarno (seed)
- Xr´T´ > XirT´ > X´erT´
- vr´titi > wiercić (to drill)
- Xr´K, W > XirzX > X´erzX, exception: XarX
- vr´xъ > wierzch (top)
- vr´ba > wierzba (willow)
- pr´xy > parchy, but pr´chnąti > pierzchnąć (to chap)
- in general ir, irz > ´er, ´erz
- sěkyra > siekira > siekiera (axe)
- TlX, Tl´X > TłuX
- dl´gъjь > długi (long)
- stlpъ > stłup > słup (pillar)
- Tln, Tl´n > Tłun > Tłon
- slnьce > słuńce > słońce (sun)
- dl´gъjь > długi (long)
- W, KlX, Wl´T > XełX, sometimes WlX > WołX, WułX
- klbasa > kiełbasa (sausage)
- vl´na > wełna (wool)
- mlva > mołwa > mowa (speech)
- plkъ > pułk (rus. полк) (regiment)
- Čl´X > ČełX > ČołX
- čl´no > czółno (canoe)
- žl´tъjь > żółty (yellow)
- Wl´T´, W, K > Wl´X
- vl´kъ > wilk (wolf)
- Fourth palatalizationPalatalizationIn linguistics, palatalization , also palatization, may refer to two different processes by which a sound, usually a consonant, comes to be produced with the tongue in a position in the mouth near the palate....
ke, ky, ge, gy > kie, ki, gie, gi:
- bogyni > bogini (goddess)
- Strengthening of softness: s', z ', t', d ', n'> ś, ź, ć, dź, ń. Example:
- losь > łos´ > łoś (elk)
- Transition of softness
- gostь > gost´ > gość (guest)
- sъpi > spi > śpi (is asleep)
- Loss of softness
- š, ž, č, dž, c´, dz´, r´ (> ř) and l´ (but not before i; hard l > ł) have lost their softness altogether:
- či > czy (if)
- p´, b´, w´, f´, m´ have lost the softness that they had when at the end of a word or before a consonant:
- goląbь > gołĄ:b´ > gołąb (dove)
- s', z ', t', d 'n' in some cases were losing their softness when before a hard consonant:
- kotьnъjь > kot´ny: > kotny
- š, ž, č, dž, c´, dz´, r´ (> ř) and l´ (but not before i; hard l > ł) have lost their softness altogether:
- Simplification of consonant clusterConsonant clusterIn linguistics, a consonant cluster is a group of consonants which have no intervening vowel. In English, for example, the groups and are consonant clusters in the word splits....
s- kń > kś
- kъnędzь > kniĄ:dz > ksiądz (priest)
- czs > cs > c, dźs > ćs > c, żs > szs > ss > s
- czso > co (what)
- lud – ludzki /lucki/ < ludźski (people - human)
- bogaty – bogactwo < bogaćstwo (rich - richness)
- Bóg – boski < bożski (God - divine)
- Włochy – włoski < włoszski (Italy - Italian)
- Ruś – ruski < rusьskъjь (Rus' - of or relating to Rus' )
- śćc > jc, dźc > ćc > jc
- miejsce < mieśćce < městьce (lace)
- ojca < oćca < otьca (father)
- rajca < radźca (councilmen)
- źdźs > śćs > js
- Miasto – miejski < mieśćski (town)
- Ujazd – ujejski < ujeźdźski
- sześćset /szejset/ (six hundred)
- sr´- > s´r´- > śrz- > śr-, analogically zr´- >źr- (in dialects of Wielkopolska and ŚlaskSilesiaSilesia is a historical region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with smaller parts also in the Czech Republic, and Germany.Silesia is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław...
: strz-, zdrz-, in the dialect of Małopolska: rś-, rź-)- sreda > środa (strzoda, rsioda) (Wednesday)
- zrěnica > źrenica (zdrzenica, rzienica) (pupil)
- zgn, rgn, rgm > zn, rn, rm
- rozgniewać się > rozniewać się (Old Polish) (to become angry)
- burgmistrz (Germ.German languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
Bürgermeister) > burmistrz (town mayor)
- rdc, zdn, łdn, cztw, stb, stł, stl > rc, zn, łn, czw, zb, sł, śl
- sr´dьce > sierdce > serce (heart)
- cztwarty > czwarty (fourth)
- sr´dьce > sierdce > serce (heart)
- kń > kś
- ji>i (at least in spelling and while pronouncing clearly)
- Loss of softness
- dojiti > doić (to milk)
- jixъ > ich (their)
- l-vocalizationL-vocalizationIn linguistics, l-vocalization is a process by which an sound is replaced by a vowel or semivowel sound. This happens most often to velarized .-English:...
- kolo > koło (initially with coronary-dental ł, nowadays /kouo/)
Word stress
Stress (linguistics)
In linguistics, stress is the relative emphasis that may be given to certain syllables in a word, or to certain words in a phrase or sentence. The term is also used for similar patterns of phonetic prominence inside syllables. The word accent is sometimes also used with this sense.The stress placed...
, initially moving, first was placed on the first syllable, to finally become penultimate.
Nouns
The declension of nouns has become simpler. Now it depends on the gender of a noun (smok, o smoku – foka, o foce) (a dragon, about a dragon - a seal, about a seal) and to some extend on the hardness of a noun's stem (liść, liście – list, listy)(leaf - leaves, letter - letters). Two categories have appeared in the masculine gender: the category of animacy and of personhood (but, widzę but, widzę buty – kot, widzę kota, widzę koty – pilot, widzę pilota, widzę pilotów) (a shoe, I see a shoe, I see shoes - a cat, I see a cat, I see cats - a pilot, I see a pilot, I see pilots).Traces of consonant stems still remain but almost exclusively in neuter noun stems ending in -en, -ent- (cielę – cielęcia, imię – imienia) (a calf - of a calf, a name - of a name). For all other stems, long or short form has become characteristic of all cases. In general, in the past endings characteristic of stems ending in -o-, -jo- and -a-, -ja- were most common. Other endings were disappearing. The endings which did not cause the alteration of the stem were becoming more popular. Traces of the lack of softness in some forms of words softened by front vowels (mainly forms ending with a consonant or ending with -i-, egz. krъvaxъ > *krwach > krwiach) have disappeared. Often softness is the only remnant of old noun endings (Gen. kamane > kamienia) (of stone).
Nominative
The disappearance of short forms of stems may be interpreted as the result of the introduction of accusative noun form in nominative.
- kamy > *kamy > kamień (kamenь) (stone)
- kry > *kry > krew (por. krъvь) (blood)
For neuter nouns the ending -ьje sometimes produced a constricted -é (weselé) (wedding). Names of institutions such as podkomorzé, due to the influence of names such as łowczy (hunting), since the 16th century have been declinated as adjectives: podkomorzy (chamberlain).
Genitive
The ending -y has come to be applied to all feminine nouns.
The ending -a has come to be applied to all neuter nouns and to the majority of masculine nouns. In the 16th century, ending -å, in other words non-acute -a, was applied to neuter stems ending in -ьje: oká (of an eye) but wesela (of a wedding).
After a period of frequent changes (which still has not ended) the ending -u is still applied to some masculine non-personal nouns, but there is no major connection with the original form.
Until the 16th century, the ending -ej, used in the declension of pronouns, was applied to all nouns in genitive and dative and to feminine nouns in the locative if a noun had an old stem ending in -ja-: paniej, rolej, duszej (lord, role, soul).
Dative
The ending -'e is still applied to feminine nouns with stems ending in -a-.
The ending -y is still applied to feminine soft-stem nouns. Occasionally, in the Old Polish ending -y was applied to neuter nouns with stems ending in a consonant: dziecięci, książęci (child, prince).
The ending -owi has come to be applied to almost all stems of masculine nouns. Occasionally, it was applied to stems of neuter nouns.
The ending -ewi in the Old Polish was sometimes applied instead of the ending -owi to the soft-stem nouns and in the 15th and 16th century it was also applied to hard-stem nouns.
The ending -u has come to be applied to all stems of neuter nouns. It is still applied to some masculine noun forms ending in -o-, -jo-. Until the 16th century it was used more frequently, especially following the preposition ku (człowieku (human), głosu (voice), ku południu (towards the south)).
Accusative
The accusative has remained the same as the nominative for all neuter nouns.
For masculine nouns, the accusative has remained the same as the nominative for inanimate nouns and for animate nouns it has become the same as the genitive. The reason for this last change was most probably the free word order and the ambiguity that it could entail in phrases such as syn kocha ojciec (a son /nom./ loves a father /nom./) and ojciec kocha syn (a father /nom./ loves a son /nom./). The change of their forms into syn kocha ojca (son /nom./ loves father /acc./) and ojca kocha syn (father /acc./ loves son /nom./) helped to resolve this ambiguity. The accusative was the same as the nominative until 14th - 15th century (in the region of Mazowsze until 16th century), and nowadays this feature is preserved in common phrases such as iść za mąż (to get married), siąść na koń (to mount a horse), na miły Bóg (dear Lord!), być za pan brat (to be on intimate terms with sbd.).
The ending -0 is still applied to stems of feminine nouns for which this same ending is applied also in the nominative.
The ending -ę is still applied to the typically feminine nouns.
In Old Polish the ending -ą was applied instead of -ę to nouns which in the nominative ended with -å widzę duszę, boginię (I see a soul, a goddess) but wolą, pieczą (will, care). Nowadays, the only remnant of this rule is the accusative form panią (lady).
Instrumental
The ending -ą is still applied to all stems of feminine nouns.
The ending -em has come to be applied to all stems of masculine and neuter nouns. The development of -ъmь, -ьmь has contributed to the stabilization of the use of this ending.
The ending -im < -ьjemь was applied to neuter nouns ending in the old -ьje: wiesielim, miłosierdzim (joy, mercy), wyobrażenim (imagination).
Locative
The ending -'e is applied to hard-stem nouns. Until 15th - 16th century it was also applied to masculine and feminine nouns ending in -k, -g, -ch: Bodze (god), gresze (sin), mlece (milk). For noun stems ending in -n-: We dnie i w nocy (during the day and night), but in general: w dniu (during the day).
The ending -y has come to be applied to all feminine soft-stem nouns. Until 14th - 15th century it was also applied to a very small number of stems ending in -jo-, especially i < -ьji for neuter nouns ending in -ьje.
The ending -u has come to be applied to masculine and neuter hard-stem nouns ending in -k, -g, -ch. It has also survived in forms o synu, domu (about a son, about a house) and is also present in the form o panu (due to the infuence of the phrase w Panu Bogu) (in the Lord God).
Vocative
The ending -'e (with -e, not -ě2, this is why there is the softening connected to the first palatalization) is applied to masculine hard-stem nouns. Until 16th century it was also applied to nouns ending in -k, -g, -ch. Nowadays it is present in forms such as Boże, człowiecze, Kozacze (also człowieku, Kozaku), and also księże, additionally after -ec: ojcze, starcze(father, old man) (connected with the third palatalization).
The ending -u has come to be applied to masculine soft-stem nouns ending in -k, -g, -ch and also feminine soft-stem nouns known as 'rodzinne' ('family nouns', used when addressing other family members) (coiciu, Helu) (auntie, Hela). It has also survived in forms such as synu, domu! (son, home!).
The ending -o has survived in the old feminine nouns ending in -a- and has also spread onto the majority of old feminine nouns ending in -ja-.
The ending -y is still applied to feminine nouns which stems in the nominative end with a consonant (myszy, kości!) (mice, bones!) and has spread onto the nouns of the same type as pani (lady).
The forms of neuter nouns in the vocative have remained the same as their forms in the nominative.
Nominative
Until the 15th century the ending -i was the most widely applied ending to the stems of masculine nouns. From the 16th century onwards it was not applied to the stems of inanimate nouns, and from the 18th century – to the stems of nouns referring to non-persons. Forms Włoszy, mniszy (Italians, monks) have been replaced by Włosi, mnisi with the phonetic softness introduced in the 17th century.
In the accusative -y was gradually replacing -i as the ending applied to the stems of masculine nouns. Since the 16th century it was applied even to the stems of nouns referring to persons. It was popular especially in the Enlightenment (syny, wnuki, greki) (sons, grandsons, Greeks). For feminine nouns it is still applied to the stems ending in -a- and also to some forms in the nominative singular ending in -0.
The ending -e, derived from the stems ending in -i- (gost-ьje, lud-ьje) (guests, people), -n- (dьn-e, kamen-e, mestjan-e) (days, stones, townsmen) and forms such as przyjaciele, cesarze (friends, caesars), have dominated soft-stem masculine nouns. For feminine nouns it is still applied to the stems ending in -ja- and has spread onto some of the forms in the nominative singular ending in -0.
The ending -owie in the 14th - 15th century was applied to all stems of masculine nouns. Since the 16th century it has been gradually disappearing, especially from inanimate nouns and those referring to nonpersons, still Norwid
Cyprian Norwid
Cyprian Kamil Norwid, a.k.a. Cyprian Konstanty Norwid is a nationally esteemed Polish poet, dramatist, painter, and sculptor. He was born in the Masovian village of Laskowo-Głuchy near Warsaw. One of his maternal ancestors was Polish King John III Sobieski.Norwid is regarded as one of the second...
(1821–1883) used obłokowie (clouds) to make up a rhyme.
In the Old Polish, soft-stem nouns sometimes had the ending -ewie applied instead of -owie.
The ending -a is still applied to the stems of neuter nouns. Due to the influence of the Latin language, it has been applied since the 15th century to the stems of male nouns borrowed from Latin and German: akta, fundamenta, grunta, (files, foundations, grounds) and temporarily (and incorrectly) also to originally Polish nouns: okręta, pociska (ships, bullets). Nowadays, the ending -a applied to the stems of masculine nouns is in general considered as incorrect, however: akta (files)||akty (acts).
The names of offices such as podkomorzé until the 15th century also had the ending -a applied in the plural. In the 16th century forms chorążowie podczasze podchorąże ma pod sobą were widely used; nowadays in the nominative it is chorążowie (warrant officers), in the dative podchorążych (of cup bearers).
The ending -´a (-´å) < -ьja today is used to construct forms such as brat – bracia (brother - brothers), ksiądz – księża (priest - priests). Initially, these forms were interpreted as collective nouns (bracia stała = braty stały) (brothers stood), księża poszła = księdzowie poszli (priests went), and were declined in the same way as female nouns (others of this type in the accusative had applied the ending -ą, in the genitive, dative and locative: -ej). In the writings of Skarga
Piotr Skarga
Piotr Skarga was a Polish Jesuit, preacher, hagiographer, polemicist, and leading figure of the Counter-reformation in the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth. He was called the "Polish Bossuet" due to his oratorical abilities.He was born February 2, 1536 in Grójec, to a family of lesser landless gentry...
(1536–1612) they were declined in the same way as plural nouns (braciom, braćmi, braciach, księżom, księżmi, księżach) (brothers, priests). In dialect forms such as swaciå, muzykanciå, adwokaciå (matchmakers, musicians, lawyers)can be found.
Genitive
The ending -0 has started to be widely applied to neuter and feminine hard-stem nouns. For soft-stem nouns the ending that is also applied is -y. Until 17th century, its traces were present in the old masculine stems ending in -o-, -jo-: genitive woz (carriage), god, tysiąc (thousand), dziej, włos (hair). Nowadays, it is present in forms such as przyjaciół (friends), dotychczas (until now).
The ending -ów has become characteristic of the masculine hard-stem nouns, for soft-stem nouns the ending that is also applied is -y. In Old Polish it had a slightly different pronunciation and was more widely applied: pisarzow (of writers), koniow (of horses), dniow (of days), miesiącow (of months), in dialects: krolew (of kings).
For soft-stem nouns the ending that is also applied instead of -ów/-0 is -y.
Dative
In the past, the ending -om has been widely applied to the stems of masculine and neuter nouns. Since the Middle Polish period it has started to be applied to the stems of feminine nouns.
In Old Polish -am prevailed as the ending applied to the stems of feminine nouns. In the 15th - 17th century it was applied also to the stems of masculine and neuter nouns.
The ending -em until the 17th century was sometimes applied instead of -om to the stems of masculine nouns. There are no traces of this ending being applied to the stems of neuter nouns.
The endings -um, -óm in Old Polish were sometimes applied to the stems of neuter nouns instead of -om.
Accusative
Initially, the endings -e/-y in the masculine accusative were distributed as endings applied to the stems of non-person nominative nouns. However, in the 17th century the accusative was made the same as the genitive. This change became common in the 17th century. Old accusative was and still is used for stylistic reasons: króle (kings), pany (masters), chłopy (peasants).
The forms of feminine and neuter nouns in the plural accusative have remained the same as in the plural nominative.
Instrumental
In the past, the ending -ami has been most widely applied to the stems of feminine nouns. Since the 15th century it came to be applied to the stems of neuter nouns and in the 16th - 17th century, despite the resistance of grammarians, to the stems of masculine nouns.
The ending -mi was applied in Old Polish to the stems of masculine and neuter nouns, especially to soft-stem ones, and also to the stems of some feminine nouns in the nominative ending with -0. In principle, today it is only applied to the stems of masculine and feminine nouns in the nominative ending with -0 and having a phonetically soft-stem.
The ending -y was applied in Old Polish to the stems of masculine and neuter nouns, especially to hard-stem ones. Until now it has survived in phrases such as tymi czasy (these days).
The ending -oma, derived from the dual number, was applied to the stems of masculine nouns in the 16th - 17th century.
Locative
In the past, the ending -ach has been applied to feminine nouns. It could also be found in the masculine and neuter but came to be formally applied to nouns in these two genders in the 17th century.
The ending -'ech was applied in the Old Polish to masculine and neuter nouns, especially those with hard-stem: wilcech (wolf), syniech (son), skrzydlech (wings), leciech. The traces have remained in the names of countries: Na Węgrzech (in Hungary).
The ending -och was applied to nouns of all genders in the 14th - 16th century, especially to soft-stem nouns and also to those ending with -k, -g, -ch, most probably because of the influence of the endings such as -owie, -ów, -om.
Mixed Declension
The mixed declension is characteristic of forms such as poeta (poet), mężczyzna (man), Jagiełło, Fredro, sędzia (judge).
In Old Polish forms such as starosta (prefect), poeta (poet) were declined like feminine nouns. In the 16th century plural forms were changed due to their meaning (also plural dative such as mężczyznam).
Until the 17th century, nouns such as Fredro in plural had forms Fredra, Fredrowi, Fredrę and so on.
In the 15th century nouns such as sędzia < sądьja (judge) were given in singular genitive, dative and accusative forms like adjectives. Later on, forms such as sędzim, sędziem (judge) appeared in the instrumental. Sometimes the locative sędziej was also present.
Adjectives
The declension of adjectives as nouns has almost disappeared (exception: pełen) (full).The adjectival declension in combination with the pronoun jь has given rise to a new type of declension combining the two: adjectival and pronoun declensions. It is different from the noun declension: jego, tego białego słonia (his, of this white elephant).
Pronouns with genders
The declension of hard-stem pronouns with genders has assimilated to the declension of soft-stem ones.- těxъ > *ciech > tych jak ich (these as their)
- togo > *togo > tego jak jego (this as his)
Primarily, the singular feminine accusative ending was -ę. The form ją (her) was the only exception. Due to the influence of adjectives the use of the form -ą came to be more widely applied. Nowadays, the only existing form is tę. (In 1996 the accusative form tą was accepted as correct in the spoken language.)
Pronouns without gender
They have undergone just slight changes:- azъ > jazъ > jaz > ja (I)
- mene > *mienie > mnie (me)
- kogo > kogo (without any major phonetic changes)
- čьso > czso > cso > co (what)
The old genitive čьso was transferred to the accusative and has spread to be applied to the nominative. The old accusative has preserved its prepositions: w niwecz < vъ nivъčь, przecz < prěčь, zacz < začь.
Numerals
Ordinal, multiplicative and multiple numerals declined and still decline in the same way as adjectives so they will not be discussed here.One hundred
For the declension of numerals a new and quite irregular pattern has been constructed, based on the dual number.
Twenty - ninety, two hundred - nine hundred
Combinations of words have been turned into compounds.
Collective numerals
The forms of collective numerals have been blended (portmanteau)
- masculine genitive dъvoj-a or dъvoj-ego > dwoj(e)ga (two)
Dual number
Dual number has disappeared, only some endings have been preserved: oczy (eyes), uszy (ears), rękoma or rękami (with hands, both correct), also in dialects and in proverbs: "mądrej głowie dość dwie słowie, lepszy wróbel w ręku niż gołąb na sęku". ("Two words are enough for a smart head, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush").Conjugation
The distinction between stems of the present tense verbs and stems of the past tense verbs has been preserved.Infinitive
The ending -i has disappeared (at first from endings *-cy < -ci):- by-ti > *byci > być (to be)
- nes-ti > *nieści > nieść (to carry)
- dvigną-ti > *dźwignęci > dźwignąć (to lift)
Present tense
It has undergone just slight changes:- nes-ą > niosę (I am carrying)
- rek-ą > *rzekę > rzeczę (I am saying), exception: tłukę (I am smashing)
- rec-i > *rzec(y) > rzeknij ? (you say), exception: tłucz (you smash)
- nes-e-mъ > *niesiem > niesiemy (we are carrying)
Many verbs have changed their present tense forms:
- żywię – żywiesz > żyję – żyjesz (I am alive / I live – you are alive / you live)
- grzebę – grzebiesz > grzebię – grzebiesz (I am digging / I dig – you are digging / you dig)
- kolę – kolesz > kłuję – kłujesz (I am stinging / I sting – you are stinging / you sting)
- porzę – porzesz > pruję – prujesz (I am unstitching / I unstitch – you are unstitching / you unstitch)
- rostę – rościesz > rosnę – rośniesz (I am growing / I grow – you are growing / you grow)
- kradę – kradziesz > kradnę – kradniesz (I am stealing / I steal – you are stealing / you steal)
- łupam – łupasz > łupię – łupiesz (I am splitting / I split – you are splitting / you split)
- kłamam – kłamasz > kłamię – kłamiesz (I am lying / I lie – you are lying / you lie)
Instead of -ętъ for athematic verbs or for verbs with stems ending in -i-, the form -jątъ is used:
- dus-ętъ > *dusią(t) > duszą (they are strangling/they strangle)
- dad-ętъ > *dadzią(t) > dadzą (they will give)
Conjugation -am,-asz
Based on the conjugation of athematic verbs, the new conjugation -am, -asz has been introduced (very rarely -em, -esz):
- gra-je-šь > *gra-je-sz > *gr-a:-sz > grasz (you play)
- gra-je-tъ > *gra-je-0 > *gr-a:-0 > gra (he/she/it plays)
- gra-je-mъ > *gra-je-my > *gr-a:-my > gramy (we play)
- gra-je-te > *gra-je-cie > *gr-a:-cie > gracie (you-plural play)
By analogy to dam (I will give) - dasz (you will give):
- gra-ją > gra-j-ę (until 14th – 15th century) > gram (I play)
in general (compare with dadzą) (they will give):
- gra-ją-tъ > grają (they play)
Past tenses
Aorist - a past perfective tense, used to mark an action that happened only once and was fully accomplished in the past. Initially, it was used with both perfective and imperfective verbs. Out of the three types of aorist: asygmatic, sygmatic I and sygmatic II, only the sygmatic I was used in the Polish language. It was used with verbs which stems in the infinitive ended in a vowel.Imperfect - was used to mark an action that took place or was repeated in the past. It was used with imperfective verbs.
Aorist
Aorist
Aorist is a philological term originally from Indo-European studies, referring to verb forms of various languages that are not necessarily related or similar in meaning...
and Imperfect merged and then disappeared. The ending characteristic of the aorist has remained present in some dialects: byłech, byłek (=byłem) (I was)
The past imperfective tense has become a past simple tense bylъ jes-mь > jestem. (I am)
The pluperfect is currently disappearing.
Future tense
The present forms of perfective verbs have retained their future meaning.The future tense of imperfective verbs is still constructed by combining a conjugated form of będę with an infinitive or a past participle: będę chwalić or będę chwalił. (I will be praising).
Conditional
The Protoslavic form of a conditional was replaced by the aorist (Old Polish bych), which then underwent some changes due to the influence of past tense endings.Participles
- The present tense active participle has come to be declined in the same way as adjectives. The present tense adverbial participle has also been introduced: gotujący, gotując (cooking).
- The traces of the present tense passive participle have remained in forms such as świadomy (aware of), rzekoma (alleged).
- The type I past tense active participle has remained in the form of the past tense adverbial participle: ugotowawszy (having cooked), kopnąwszy (having kicked), obdarłszy (having stripped).
- The type II past tense active participle has become the base for the construction of the past tense (gotowałem) (I was cooking) and also the future complex tense (będę gotował) (I will be cooking). It is still used with some intransitive verbs (zgniły, zmokły) (rotten, soaked).
- The past tense passive participle has remained animate: bity (bitten), poznana (met), wiedzione (led).
Dual number
Dual number survived until 14th - 15th century with some slight changes:- first person -vě > *-wie > -wa (due to the influence of the first person masculine dual: dwa konja) (two horses).
- second person -ta > -ta
- third person -te > *-cie > -ta (became the same as the second person to be differentiated from the second person singular)
In the 16th century dual number disappeared from the literary language. It has been preserved in a number of dialects but the meaning of words in the dual number is equal to their blending in plural. The first person ending -ma is sometimes used as a result of merging -wa with -my.
chodźwa, chodźma (=chodźmy) (/we/let's go).
Only in the region of Tarnobrzeg the distinction still exists for niesiewa, nieśwa (dual number) and niesiemy, nieśmy (plural) (we carry, let's carry).
Sources
- Stanisław Rospond, Gramatyka historyczna języka polskiego, PWN, Warszawa-Wrocław 2005
- Deputacya Od Król. Towarzystwa Warsz. Przyjaciół Nauk, Rozprawy i Wnioski o Ortografii Polskiéj, Drukarnia Józefa Węckiego, Warszawa 1830
External links
- Edward Polański, Reformy ortografii polskiej – wczoraj, dziś, jutro, BULLETIN DE LA SOCIÉTÉ POLONAISE DE LINGUISTIQUE, fasc. LX, 2004, ISSN 0032–3802