Polski język religijny w Grodnie i na Grodzieńszczyźnie

Abstract

Polish religious language in Grodno and the Grodno area is very unusual due to the historical and sociological specificity of the region. It has many varieties, depending on whether people have learnt it and used at home or whether it is used exclusively for worship. The language of young local priests differs considerably from the standard literary Polish: it has many peculiarities and it is used rather sporadically. Polish is the language of the Catholic media in Grodno but it is obligatory to include Belarusian translations of all texts since this is the primary language of the region. Inscriptions on Catholic tombstones, on the other hand, irrespective of when they were made, are always in Polish. They are perfect examples of the peculiar local usage and as such require proper linguistic research.