Language Research

6. Language in everyday life: The use of language in everyday life, e.g. education, broadcasting, and other

Updated (October 2001)

GERMAN SPEAKING MINORITY

According to the officials in Poland, 300,000 people belong to the German speaking minority but according to the minority itself, it is between 700,000 to 1 million. Most of minority members live in Upper Silesia, the southern part of Poland, bordering the Czech Republic and Slovakia.

As far as minority media is concerned, it is financed mainly by the German government and partly by the Polish government. They have 170 minutes in the private radio and 70 minutes in the state owned. One national print media provides the German minority with news once a week.

Peter Baron, head of the German Society for Education informs that so far 16,981 students in 174 elementary schools, and 1,700 students in 34 high schools were offered additional German mother tongue classes. There are also 8 bilingual classes. Only one grade with 53 students is completely in German.

According to Baron, minority is facing a lot of problems with establishing new classes for example problem with fear of parents to sign application in such classes, incompetence of principals, lack of appropriate pedagogical material, not enough financial support, not enough training for teachers. The tradition of mother tongue lessons is very young in Poland. Only in 1992 the Polish Ministry of Education released a law allowing the "preservation of the national, ethnic and linguistic identity of students belonging to minorities." 

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Updated (August 2003)

CASHUBIAN ROAD SIGNS DISAPPEARED IN POLAND

The project to place Cashubian language signs on the roads at county borders was initiated a few years ago in the county of Pùck/Puck in northern Cashubia. For this occasion, special boards were made, indicating ‘Puck County’ in both Polish and Cashubian. The county of Wejrowò/Wejherowo was the second one to take the same initiative with approximately twenty bilingual signs.

At the beginning, the project did not cause any controversy, but in July 2003 a number of problems arose when the signs started to be painted over or completely destroyed.

The coordinators are also concerned about an inactivity of the county officials as for these actions. They consider them only as another act of vandalism and promise to repair the boards as soon as possible.

The recent events could endanger Cashubian's precarious status even further. However, the situation looks slightly different in another Cashubian county, Kartuzë, in central Cashubia. Last spring a decision was taken whereby all the signs on all Cashubian local government buildings (including hospitals) will be bilingual (Cashubian and Polish).

Source: Eurolang News, Brussels, August 14, 2003, by Pawel Szczypta & Marcello Mereu, http://217.136.252.147/webpub/eurolang/pajenn.asp?ID=4366 

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Updated (July 2005)

FIRST "YES" THEN "NO" TO BILINGUAL SIGNS IN SILESIA 

Mr. Osuchowski, the Mayor of Racibórz/Ratibor in the Polish province (wojwod) of Upper Silesia, has rejected plans to erect bilingual Polish-German signs previously promised by his deputy, Miros³aw Szypowski. 

During the meeting with members of the German minority, Mr Szypowski announced his intention to put up bilingual signs on entering the town. Later he went even further by agreeing to erect bilingual signs in streets and public buildings. 

However, this pleasant surprise for the Ratibor's German minority disappeared quickly when the speaker of the Mayor, Ms Tyszkiewicz-Zima³ka, categorically denied any plans to erect bilingual signs in the town. 

In an interview for the newspaper "Dziennik Zachodni" the Mayor himself confirmed his negative stance toward Polish-German signs, asking, why the signs should be in German and not in Czech, for example. 

The Polish Parliament has recently adopted a watered-down version of a minority act, which allows the use of so-called subsidiary languages in the municipalities where an autochthonous minority constitutes at least 20 percent of the population. An earlier proposal to guarantee an official status for minority languages with an 8 percent threshold was rejected. 

In the city of Racibórz/Ratibor only 4 percent of the population declared themselves to be of the German ethnicity in the last census. However, German officials believe that the real number is substantially greater. 

In the meantime Mr Szypowski has received a letter from the Deputy Governor of Upper Silesia in which it was written that even towns with less than 20 percent of minority population are also permitted to put up bilingual signs if there is a majority support for it. 

Only one municipality in the province of Silesia, the town of Krzanowice/Kranowitz (or Kranstädt), has more than 20 percent of German-speaking population. Most Germans in Poland live in the neighboring province of Opole/Oppeln, where twenty-seven municipalities reach the 20 percent threshold. Besides these twenty-eight Polish-German municipalities, towns with Kashubian, Belarusian and Lithuanian minorities also qualify for bilingual signage. However, at this stage the new Polish minority act has not yet been fully implemented. 

Parts of the province of Upper Silesia and all of Opole/Oppeln belonged to Germany until 1945. While Germans were expelled from Lower Silesia and Pommerania immediately after the War, those from the eastern parts of the Opole/Oppeln and Upper Silesia regions were allowed to stay as many spoke a local Slavic language or dialect, similar to Polish, as well as German. 

The historically difficult relationship between Germans and Poles, as well as the decision of Polish and European authorities that Silesian is only a Polish dialect, not a separate ethnicity, has caused recently a great amount of tension among the area's divided population. 

Source: Eurolang News, Biel/Bienne, July 21, 2005, by Peter Josika, http://www.eurolang.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2412&Itemid=1=en

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Updated (June 2006)

LITHUANIANS AND THEIR EDUCATION SYSTEM IN POLAND 

The present system of education in Poland has been in effect since 1999, when the most significant education reform in the country's recent history took place. School attendance is compulsory between the ages of six to fifteen or sixteen. 

It is worth mentioning that the Polish Lithuanians are actually the only minority group in the country who have developed and are provided with a fully bilingual school curriculum: from pre-school education up to university level. 

PRE-SCHOOL EDUCATION 

This level of education is not compulsory in Poland. On the other hand, since the academic year of 2003/2004, all 6-year-olds must be included in the system of compulsory education (According to the 1999 Appendix Framework statute of public kindergartens to the Decree of the Minister of Education on changes in the framework statutes of public 6-year primary schools and public lower secondary schools) Therefore, the municipalities should have established so-called "zero classes" either in primary schools or in kindergartens. Eventually, all the "zero classes" are to be taken over by kindergartens. 

Lithuanian is used or taught in pre-school education in just one kindergarten, run by the municipality of Punsk. In 2004, the kindergarten was attended by 66 children, divided into three groups: 

1. a group of six-year-old children with Lithuanian as the language of instruction (21 children)  

2. a group of six-year-olds with Polish medium education (20 children)  

3. a Lithuanian-language group of children at the age of three to five (25 children)  

The data above show that forty-six children in the kindergarten in the town of Punsk received Lithuanian medium pre-school education. 

PRIMARY EDUCATION 

In the Polish education system, primary education (for children aged from six to twelve or thirteen) is followed directly by lower secondary school education. Lower secondary education includes children aged from 12-13 to 15-16. Both levels are compulsory. 

All schools in the Sejny region, where most of the Lithuanian minority live, provide bilingual education in Polish and Lithuanian. However, the proportions of classes given in both languages may vary according to school type: 

1. Schools with Lithuanian as the language of instruction - where all subjects, except for Polish language & literature, history, geography and foreign languages, are lectured in Lithuanian, and Lithuanian language and literature is taught for four classes a week. The curriculum in such schools also includes courses in the history and geography of Lithuania.  
2. Schools with additional teaching of Lithuanian, where all subjects are taught in Polish and Lithuanian is taught as a subject for three hours a week.  

The primary and lower secondary schools listed below provide education for children from the Lithuanian minority in the Sejny region: 

• Four primary schools with Lithuanian as the language of instruction - two of them (a school in Nowiniki and Widugiery) provide education at all class levels while the other two - one in the town of Przystawance and the other in Wojtokiemie, offer Lithuanian-language education only from the "zero" to the third grade.  

• Three primary schools with classes where Lithuanian is the medium of education are located in the towns of Punsk, Krasnowo and Krasnogruda.  

• Three primary schools with additional teaching of the Lithuanian language are found in Klejwy, Ogrodniki and Sejny.  

• One primary inter-school group with Lithuanian as an additional subject is in Suwalki.  

• Two lower secondary schools offer classes with Lithuanian as the language of instruction.  

• One lower-secondary school with additional teaching of the Lithuanian language in Sejny.

• One lower-secondary inter-school group with additional teaching of Lithuanian in Suwalki

Unfortunately, the municipality of Sejny intends to close down the smaller schools, e.g. in Krasnogruda, Klejwy and Ogrodniki, due to high operating costs. On the other hand, the Seina Foundation run by the Community of Lithuanians in Poland has built a private school in the town of Sejny with the financial assistance from the Republic of Lithuania. Since September 2005, it houses a primary school and a lower secondary school with Lithuanian as the language of instruction for children from the closed smaller schools.

In Warsaw, the Lithuanian community runs a Saturday language course for children of Lithuanian families living in the capital.

The tables below show the numbers of children in individual types of schools in the region densely populated with the Lithuanian minority.

SECONDARY EDUCATION 

Secondary education (understood here as upper secondary schools of general education) is not obligatory in Poland and is intended for pupils aged 15-16 to 18-19. 

The only upper secondary school providing education in Lithuanian is the Secondary School Complex in Punsk, housing two educational institutions: an upper secondary school of general education and a specialized upper secondary school. The School Complex is an extremely important center of local and regional education, culture and social life, famous for its high level of education far beyond the area inhabited by the Polish Lithuanians. The existing school buildings do not have enough room for the present and future numbers of pupils and teaching staff. Therefore, imminent extension of the school complex is of the utmost importance. The school and municipality authorities are eagerly looking for the finances required to accomplish that project at regional, provincial and national levels. 

In two upper secondary schools in Punsk, all subjects - except for Polish language and literature, history, geography and foreign languages - are lectured bilingually in Lithuanian and Polish. Lithuanian language and literature is taught four classes a week. The curriculum in such schools also includes courses in regional studies and history of Lithuania (one hour a week). 

Since 2005, it has been possible to choose a minority language as one of the subjects included in the secondary-school final examinations. At this point, forty-one students have chosen the Lithuanian language as "mother tongue" subject of examination. 

HIGHER EDUCATION 

There are no universities in the region inhabited by the Polish Lithuanians (because of its mainly rural character). The closest state universities are located in Bialystok and Olsztyn; numerous graduates from the Secondary School in Punsk also study at universities in the Republic of Lithuania. 

However, Lithuanian is taught at two universities in Poland: Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznan and the University of Warsaw. Both universities offer a full 5-year M.A. curriculum. The university in Poznan offers Lithuanian studies while students at the University of Warsaw can study the Lithuanian language together with Latvian in Baltic studies. Every academic year, about 10 candidates enroll for Lithuanian studies at both universities. 

ADULT EDUCATION 

There are no forms of Lithuanian education for adults in Poland. People usually take part in various courses of Lithuanian at the universities in the Republic of Lithuania, or at the Universities in Poznan and Warsaw - either the full 5-year M.A. curriculum with most of the courses taught in Lithuanian or they just attend Lithuanian language courses. 

Source: Mercator Education, Regional Dossiers, The Lithuanian Language in Education of Poland http://www1.fa.knaw.nl/mercator/regionale_dossiers/regional_dossier_lithuanian_in_poland.htm

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Updated (July 2007)

MINORITY EDUCATION IN GENERAL 

The Law on the System of Education (1991) is crucial to the status of education of and in minority languages in Poland. It grants national and ethnic minorities the right to maintain and develop their own national, ethnic, religious and linguistic identity, and in particular, to be given classes in/on their mother tongue, as well as their history and culture. Students belonging to national minorities receive basically the same education as other children; they may, however, study in their mother tongue or study their minority language, history, geography and culture. 

Education of national minorities is financed by the state budget; the existing schools in the region are predominantly public or run by municipality. Currently, members of the following minority groups enjoy their right to different forms of minority–language education: Belarussians, Kashubians, Lithuanians, Lemki (Ruthenian), Germans, Slovaks and Ukrainians. 

The main problems encountered in the organization of minority education are shortages in funding (especially for small schools), insufficient number of curricula, textbooks and teaching staff. Moreover, each minority has its own problems arising from demographic, geographic, political and historical reasons. 

Educational system in Poland provides four different forms of minority education: 

1. Schools in which minority language is the language of instruction; 

2. Bilingual form of teaching 

3. Schools with supplementary teaching of the native language to members of minority; and 

4. Interscholastic sections with supplemental teaching of the native language to members of minority.

Native language as the language of instruction

In schools where the native language is the language of instruction, all activities, except the Polish language, history and geography classes, are held in the minority language. In grades I–III, which have integrated teaching, i.e. without division into particular subjects, content concerning the Polish language is conducted in Polish. 

Teaching of the language, history and geography of the minority's country of origin or ethnic group takes place pursuant to curricula approved for school by the Ministry of National Education and Sport.

Bilingual schools 

In bilingual schools, all subjects are taught in two languages of equal importance – in Polish and the language of the respective minority. This means the first portion of the lesson is conducted in one language and the second in another. In practice, however, it often happens that certain subjects are taught in only one language (e.g. due to lack of funds or teachers). In bilingual schools, history and geography lessons may be expanded to include elements of history and geography of the home country. 

Native language as a supplementary language 

Schools in which a minority language is taught as a supplementary language – a few hours a week are devoted to teaching of the language. It is usually from two to four hours, depending on the staff and financial aids available. In accordance with the Decree of the Minister of National Education and Sport on Conditions and Methods for Enabling Pupils Belonging to National Minorities and Ethnic Groups to Maintain Their National, Ethnic Identity (2002), the school headmaster may, to the extent financially feasible, organize supplementary activities that serve to cultivate the tradition and culture of national minorities and ethnic groups (for instance, classes on the history or geography of the native country or art classes). In practice, such activities are organized relatively rarely. However, teaching a minority language as a supplementary language is the most frequently organized form of education for minorities.

Inter-school sections  

Interscholastic sections are organized when the number of students interested in studying their native tongue at a given school is insufficient to organize a class, interdepartmental or interclass unit, or if there is no teacher available at the school to teach the subject. In such cases, school directors convey the list of students interested in such instruction to the body managing the schools, which has then the obligation to organize an interscholastic section. 

UKRAINIAN IN THE POLISH SYSTEM OF EDUCATION 

In spite of their extreme dispersion, the Polish Ukrainians seem to be one of the most active and well–organized minority communities in the country, although strong assimilation processes have caused a dramatic decline in the numbers of people stating Ukrainian nationality and/or Ukrainian as their mother tongue. The Ukrainian minority has prepared a Program for the Development of Ukrainian as Minority Language in Poland, but unlike a strategy program for Lithuanian as a minority language in Poland, the former has not been adopted and launched yet. 

The Ukrainians living in Poland are provided with some forms of their mother tongue teaching at all educational levels. However, the proportion of classes given in Ukrainian varies according to school type.

PRE-SCHOOL EDUCATION 

As reported in our earlier report on Lithuanians, since the academic year 2003/04, 6–year–old children must be included in the system of compulsory education. Therefore, the municipalities had to establish “zero classes” for them either in kindergartens or in primary schools. For Ukrainians, only two kindergartens offer teaching in their mother tongue: in the town of Przemysl and Bielsk Podlaski.

PRIMARY AND LOWER SECONDARY EDUCATION 

Primary and lower secondary school education in Poland falls within the jurisdiction and supervision of the Ministry of National Education and Sports. It is compulsory for all children. Primary and lower secondary schools are established and financed by municipalities from funding provided by the Ministry. 

In the Polish education system, primary education is followed directly by lower secondary school education. Both school levels providing education for the Ukrainian children have different structures. 

There are three primary schools with Ukrainian as the language of instruction (in Bartoszyce, Przemysl and Bialy Bór) and 107 interscholastic groups with teaching of Ukrainian for primary–school children. 

As for lower secondary schools, in five schools Ukrainian is the language of instruction: in Legnica, Górowo Ilaweckie, Bartoszyce, Przemysl and the town of Bialy Bór. Another 23 inter–school groups offer teaching of Ukrainian at lower secondary level. 

As in all schools providing minority language classes, the school board of teachers is responsible for making a decision to introduce classes for Ukrainian. However, seven written applications from parents are required to open a class with instruction in Ukrainian. 

The respective subjects taught entirely through the medium of the Ukrainian language are: “integrated education” (classes 1–3 in primary schools); Ukrainian language and literature (classes 4–6 in primary schools and lower secondary schools); History and Geography of Ukraine (in primary (classes 4–6) and lower secondary schools); Regional education and “home–room lessons”. Other subjects can also be taught in Ukrainian and/or Polish.

SECONDARY EDUCATION 

Upper secondary education is not obligatory in Poland and is intended for pupils aged 15–16 to 18–19. The regulations for schools/classes providing education in Ukrainian are generally the same as for primary and lower secondary level. 

The State provides funding for teaching Ukrainian in such schools if weekly teaching amounts to 3 hours of classes. The subsidies rate for schools providing such education is 120 percent the rate for other schools. If the number of pupils in such a school does not exceed 42, the rate increases to 150 percent. 

There are four upper secondary schools providing education in Ukrainian: in Legnica, Górowo Ilaweckie, Przemysl and Bialy Bór. 

In these schools, Ukrainian language and literature, History of Ukraine, Geography of Ukraine, and Greek Catholic religion are lectured in Ukrainian; other subjects are taught bilingually in Ukrainian and/or Polish. Since 2005, it has been possible to choose a minority language as one of the subjects included in the secondary school final examinations (matura). 

There are also two inter–school groups providing additional teaching of Ukrainian to 19 pupils. Even though no separate vocational school offers classes in the Ukrainian language, the specialized upper-secondary school in Górowo Ilaweckie, offering classes with Ukrainian as the language of instruction, combines elements of general and vocational education in its curriculum, with a focus on economy and administration. There, Ukrainian is the language of instruction (including the teaching of Ukrainian as a mother tongue) for about 20 pupils. 

HIGHER EDUCATION 

Ukrainian is taught at several Polish universities, which offer a full five–year M.A. curriculum or three–year B.A. programs. Furthermore, there are also student–exchange programs enabling students of Ukrainian background to study at universities in Ukraine. 

Source: Mercator Education, Regional Dossiers, The Ukrainian and Ruthenian language in Education in Poland, 2006 http://www1.fa.knaw.nl/mercator/regionale_dossiers/PDFs/Ukrainian&Ruthenian.pdf 

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Updated (September 2008)

FIRST POLISH – GERMAN SIGNAGE FINALLY ERECTED

Three years after the Law on bilingual signs and the use of place-names was adopted, the first Polish-German bilingual signs were finally put up in the communities of Cisek/Czissek and Radlów/Radlau in September. The erection of additional bilingual signs is expected in other towns of the regions of Opole/Oppeln and Silesia (Slask/Schlesien) in the coming months.

Based on current legislation, settlements can apply for permission to display bilingual place names if at least 20 percent of the population belongs to one of recognized autochthonous minorities. Besides the German minority, Kashubians, Lithuanians, Belarussians and Ukrainians also qualify for bilingual signage in Poland.

Before erecting the new bilingual signs in Radlów/Radlau on September 17 some members of the German minority feared protests by local Polish nationalists but the event took place without any incident. The German minority and the local authorities celebrated the event with a little ceremony near one of the new town entry signs.

In a speech, Norbert Rasch, President of the German Minority Organization and Member of the Regional Parliament, called the new bilingual signs “a return to normality.” The State Secretary of the Interior Ministry, Tomasz Siemoniak, said that this initiative might also encourage other communities to implement the regulation on bilingual signs as outlined in the law.

The communities of Leśnica/Leschnitz, Tarnów Opolski/Tarnau im Oppelnerland, Chrzastowice/Chronstau, Izbicko/Stubendorf and Dobrodzien/Guttentag have all applied for bilingual Polish-German signs and are currently awaiting formal permission by the Polish Interior Ministry to put them up. Kolonowskie/Kolonnowska, Strzeleczki /Klein Strehlitz, Biala/Zülz und Zebowice/Zembowitz are currently in the process of applying.

Bilingual Polish-Kashubian signs were also recently erected in the settlements of Stê¿yca/Stã¿ëca and Chmielno/Chmielno.

Despite this step forward, there is some criticism especially in areas where minorities comprise less than 20 percent of population.

All minority languages in Poland suffered under strong assimilation pressure in recent decades. Many settlements, especially those with German and Kashubian majorities, have dropped below the 20 percent threshold. They thus do not qualify for bilingual place names despite the historic linguistic background of these communities. Until the end of World War II most of Silesia, Pomerania, Gdansk/Danzig/Gdunsk and Masuria were majority German-speaking while the Kashubian communities in Pomerania were substantially larger than today.

In some of Poland's neighboring countries more attention has been placed on the history factor. Germany and Hungary, for example, recognize the place-names of their autochthonous language communities in the entire historic settlement area of the minority. The Czech Republic reduced the percentage threshold for bilingual signage to 10 percent with the Polish minority benefiting the most. And Austrian Constitutional Court, for instance, set 10 percent as the standard threshold as well.

More criticism comes from Silesians who have so far failed to receive recognition as an autochthonous minority by Polish authorities. Silesian is considered a dialect rather than a language by the Polish state, despite the unique history of the Silesian region also strongly influenced by German and Czech.

Source: Eurolang News, September 22, 2008 by Peter Josika http://www.eurolang.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3094&Itemid=1&lang=en

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