Old Polish language
Encyclopedia
Old Polish is a name used to describe the period in the history of the Polish language
between 9th and 16th centuries.
– bringing in words from Latin
, such as kościół ("church", from L. castellum, meaning "castle"), often via the Czech language
, which also influenced Polish in that era (hence Lechitic
"wiesiełyj" yielded modern Polish
"wesoły" and "wesele"). Also, in later centuries, with the onset of cities founded on German law namely so-called Magdeburg law
, Middle High German
urban and legal words filtered into Old Polish. Around the 14th or 15th centuries the aorist
and imperfect became obsolete. In the 15th century the dual
fell into disuse except a few fixed expressions (adages, sayings). In relation to most other European languages, though, the differences between Old and Modern Polish are comparatively slight.
professor and rector
Jakub Parkoszowic tried to codify the Polish alphabet
. He wrote the first tract on Polish orthographic
rules (in Latin
) and rhyme Obiecado (in Polish). Parkoszowic wanted to differentiate:
His idea wasn't popular and did not become obligatory.
(The introduction to The Legend of Saint Alexander (15th century)
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
between 9th and 16th centuries.
History
The Polish language started to change after the Baptism of PolandBaptism of Poland
The Baptism of Poland was the event in 966 that signified the beginning of the Christianization of Poland, commencing with the baptism of Mieszko I, who was the first ruler of the Polish state. The next significant step in Poland's adoption of Christianity was the establishment of various...
– bringing in words from Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
, such as kościół ("church", from L. castellum, meaning "castle"), often via the Czech language
Czech language
Czech is a West Slavic language with about 12 million native speakers; it is the majority language in the Czech Republic and spoken by Czechs worldwide. The language was known as Bohemian in English until the late 19th century...
, which also influenced Polish in that era (hence Lechitic
Lechitic languages
The Lechitic languages include three languages spoken in Central Europe, mainly in Poland, and historically also in the eastern and northern parts of modern Germany. This language group is a branch of the larger West Slavic language family...
"wiesiełyj" yielded modern Polish
Polish language
Polish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
"wesoły" and "wesele"). Also, in later centuries, with the onset of cities founded on German law namely so-called Magdeburg law
Magdeburg rights
Magdeburg Rights or Magdeburg Law were a set of German town laws regulating the degree of internal autonomy within cities and villages granted by a local ruler. Modelled and named after the laws of the German city of Magdeburg and developed during many centuries of the Holy Roman Empire, it was...
, Middle High German
Middle High German
Middle High German , abbreviated MHG , is the term used for the period in the history of the German language between 1050 and 1350. It is preceded by Old High German and followed by Early New High German...
urban and legal words filtered into Old Polish. Around the 14th or 15th centuries the 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 became obsolete. In the 15th century the dual
Dual (grammatical number)
Dual is a grammatical number that some languages use in addition to singular and plural. When a noun or pronoun appears in dual form, it is interpreted as referring to precisely two of the entities identified by the noun or pronoun...
fell into disuse except a few fixed expressions (adages, sayings). In relation to most other European languages, though, the differences between Old and Modern Polish are comparatively slight.
Parkoszowic
About 1440 Cracow AcademyJagiellonian University
The Jagiellonian University was established in 1364 by Casimir III the Great in Kazimierz . It is the oldest university in Poland, the second oldest university in Central Europe and one of the oldest universities in the world....
professor and rector
Rector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
Jakub Parkoszowic tried to codify the Polish alphabet
Alphabet
An alphabet is a standard set of letters—basic written symbols or graphemes—each of which represents a phoneme in a spoken language, either as it exists now or as it was in the past. There are other systems, such as logographies, in which each character represents a word, morpheme, or semantic...
. He wrote the first tract on Polish orthographic
Orthography
The orthography of a language specifies a standardized way of using a specific writing system to write the language. Where more than one writing system is used for a language, for example Kurdish, Uyghur, Serbian or Inuktitut, there can be more than one orthography...
rules (in Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
) and rhyme Obiecado (in Polish). Parkoszowic wanted to differentiate:
- long and short vowels by doubling long ones,
- palatalPalatal consonantPalatal consonants are consonants articulated with the body of the tongue raised against the hard palate...
and non-palatal consonants with letters of different shapes (round and edged).
His idea wasn't popular and did not become obligatory.
Literature
- The Gniezno Bull (Polish: Bulla gnieźnieńska) a papal bull containing 410 Polish names, published 7 July 1136 (This document in polish wikisource)
- Mother of God (Polish: BogurodzicaBogurodzicaBogurodzica is the oldest Polish religious hymn. It was composed somewhere between the 10th and 13th centuries. The origin of the song is not clear....
) 10th–13th centuries, the oldest known Polish religious hymn - The Book of HenrykówBook of HenrykówThe Book of Henryków is a Latin chronicle of the Cistercian abbey in Henryków in Lower Silesia. Originally created as a registry of belongings looted by the Mongol raids of 1241, with time it was extended to include the history of the monastery...
(Polish: Księga henrykowska, Latin: Liber fundationis) – contains the earliest known sentence written in the Polish language. - The Holy Cross SermonsHoly Cross SermonsThe Holy Cross Sermons are the oldest extant manuscripts of fine prose in the Polish language dating from the early 14th century. The documents are named after the place where they had originally been housed—the Holy Cross Monastery in Poland's Holy Cross Mountains .-Description and history:The...
(Polish: Kazania świętokrzyskie) 14th century - St. Florian's Psalter (Polish: Psałterz floriański) 14th century – a psalmody; consists of parallel Latin, Polish and German texts
- Master Polikarp's Dialog with Death (Polish: Rozmowa Mistrza Polikarpa ze Śmiercią, Latin: De morte prologus, Dialogus inter Mortem et Magistrum Polikarpum) verse poetry
- St. Cross Lament (Polish: Lament świętokrzyski, also known as: Żale Matki Boskiej pod krzyżem or Posłuchajcie Bracia Miła)
Example
- Ach, Królu wieliki nasz
- Coż Ci dzieją Maszyjasz,
- Przydaj rozumu k mej rzeczy,
- Me sierce bostwem obleczy,
- Raczy mię mych grzechów pozbawić
- Bych mógł o Twych świętych prawić.
(The introduction to The Legend of Saint Alexander (15th century)
See also
- Modern PolishPolish languagePolish is a language of the Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages, used throughout Poland and by Polish minorities in other countries...
- Evolution of the Polish languageEvolution of the Polish languageThe Polish language is a West Slavic language There are four periods of development of the Polish language:* Old Polish - until the beginning of the 16th century* Middle Polish - from the 16th century until the end of the 18th century* New Polish - until 1930...
- History of Polish orthographyHistory of Polish orthographyPoles adopted the Latin alphabet in the 12th century. This alphabet, however, was ill-equipped to deal with Polish phonology, particularly the palatal consonants , the retroflex group as well as the nasal vowels...