Linguistic Image of DOM ‘home’ in Wojciech Piotrowicz’s Autobiographical Prose

The aim of the article is to describe the concept of dom ‘home’ in Wojciech Piotrowicz’s idiolect by using the methodological assumptions of Lublin ethnolinguistics school. Research on which this paper is based consists of two main parts: we present the writer’s biography, which introduces a representative of the Polish intelligentsia in Lithuania, and an analysis of the concept of dom ‘home’. The presented biography emphasizes the origin and formation of the personality of the recognized writer and social and cultural activist, whose life is an example of the formation of the Polish intelligentsia in Lithuania. The subject of research is a textual data coming from his volume of memoirs, which contains the writer’s memories and reflections. The analysis of the dom ‘home’ concept focuses on two profiles: physical and symbolic, specific features were grouped onto facets. In the conclusions, we underline the specific character of home in Wojciech Piotrowicz’s autobiographical prose which has some differences comparing to home described in Polish, Lithuanian and Belarusian languages by EUROJOS project.

Działalność Bronisława Piłsudskiego na rzecz ludności Spisza i Orawy. Na marginesie listu do Bolesława Wysłoucha

Bronisław Piłsudski (1866–1918) jest znany na świecie przede wszystkim jako badacz ludów Dalekiego Wschodu – informacje o jego aktywności w Galicji oraz na Spiszu i Orawie są mniej powszechne. Odnaleziony w aktach Związku Przyjaciół Polskiego Ludu Tatrzańskiego, napisany w 1912 r. list do Bolesława Wysłoucha (1855–1937), stanowi jeszcze jedno świadectwo wszechstronności jego działań również na gruncie polskim. Po powrocie z zesłania B. Piłsudski zaangażował się w działalność muzealniczą i społeczną w Galicji. Utrzymywał kontakty z polską inteligencją pracującą na rzecz zachowania tożsamości narodowej pod zaborami. Do tej grupy należał również B. Wysłouch – redaktor „Kuriera Lwowskiego”. Prezentowany artykuł naświetla kontekst akcji uświadomienia narodowego ludności tzw. „Zapomnianych Kresów”. The activity of Bronisław Piłsudski for the people of Spisz and Orawa. Based on a letter to Bolesław Wysłouch In memory of Prof. Czesław Robotycki (1944–2014) Bronisław Piłsudski (1866–1918) is primarily known in the world for his research work into the peoples of the Far East. There is not so much information about his 108 Karolina Zięba activities in Galicia as well as in Spisz and Orawa. However, a letter written in 1912 to Bolesław Wysłouch (1855–1937), found in the records of the Friends of Polish Tatra Highlanders Association, represents a testimony to his wide-ranging activities on Polish land. After returning from exile, B. Piłsudski was involved in museum and social activities in Galicia. He remained in contact with the Polish intelligentsia, working to maintain national identity during the partitions. This group also included B. Wysłouch – editor of “Kurier Lwowski”. The presented article highlights the context of actions to raise awareness of the national identity in the so-called “Forgotten Borderlands”.

The Idiolect of Wojciech Piotrowicz: A Vocabulary of Autobiographical Prose

Wojciech Piotrowicz (born in 1940) is a Vilnius poet, prose writer, translator, journalist, social and cultural activist. He is the author of several poetry collections and volumes of memoirs. Research on which this paper is based consists of two main parts: we present the writer’s biography, which introduces a representative of the Polish intelligentsia in Lithuania, and an analysis of his lexis from his collection of short stories Moja czasoprzestrzeń (My Space-Time) (2015). The aim of the research is to investigate the lexical layers in the idiolect of the writer. Piotrowicz’s idiolect is the domain where the erudite vocabulary of the standard language blends in with the dialectical vocabulary of the Švenčionys district, in which words of rural life are frequent. In the vocabulary of his idiolect, we distinguish the following groups of lexemes: words from family language, archaisms, dialect words, and postwar Russian borrowings, referred to as “Soviet words”. The multi-layer nature of Piotrowicz’s idio­lect is a result of a complicated reality on the border between cultures, languages, times, and evidence of changes in social stratification. To summarize the research results, it can be stated that the analysis of 179 words (phrases) from the writer’s individual language shows a world of concepts, thoughts, and values that are characteristic of representatives of the intelligentsia of peasant origin, born in the 1940s. The authors of the paper consider that this study is only a contribution toward determining the peculiarities of the Polish language spoken by the intelligentsia in Lithuania in the 20th century, and that this article does not exhaust all issues of Wojciech Piotrowicz’s idiolect.

Język pism Józefa Piłsudskiego – Rok 1920

Rok 1920 (1920) is the most extensive text by Józef Piłsudski. The image of the author inferred from the linguistic features of the text is one of a typical user of general Polish in the interwar period, that is a representative of the Polish intelligentsia of those days. The idiolectal and regional characteristics are infrequent or occasional (in the phonetic, grammatical, and lexical layers). The stylistics of the treaty is primarily the stylistics of a realistic description and the author’s narrative, used effi ciently and displaying a great narrative talent and the knowledge of realities.

Rozwój świadomości językowej obywateli II Rzeczypospolitej na tle procesów integracyjnych.

The subject matter of this paper is the development of language awareness in the society in the context of the integration of diverse social classes in Poland in the period 1918–1939. This study covers several specifi c aspects: 1) language awareness of the Polish intelligentsia, 2) language integration of the Polish dialectal environments, 3) language integration of other nationalities, 4) role of the regionalistic movement and the Polish school in integrating the state. In the linguistic studies on the interwar period, the researchers have concentrated on the language used by the educated class and the Polish national identity, and – as emphasised by the author – not enough attention has been given to the evolution of the language awareness of the lower social class and the complicated language and national awareness in the borderline between ethnical groups. This paper briefl y discusses the source material, which could be used in further research: peasants’ diaries, Sejm records, linguistic and sociological studies from the interwar period.

On some aspects of Russian-Polish bilingualism in the Russian Empire in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries

This article deals with the issues of Russian-Polish bilingualism in the Russian Empire in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Within the framework of the empire, the area of settlement of Poles was not limited to the territory of the Kingdom of Poland. Their presence in various Russian regions is shown by the example of the activities of “Polonies” in the Kharkov province, the North Caucasus, and Siberia. The migration of the Poles occurred both voluntarily, as was the case in the Kharkov province, or was forced, as a result of the repressions of the tsarist authorities and the exile of members of the Polish national movement, as in the North Caucasus and Siberia. It was not unusual that after the expiration of the term of exile, Poles voluntarily remained in the place they had been exiled to. Their occupation depended largely on the nature of the region and their social status. In the Kharkov province, representatives of the Polish intelligentsia carried out professional and cultural-educational activities, served as provincial officials, and were engaged in the improvement of urban infrastructure. In Siberia, Polish exiles became teachers as well as taking part in scientific expeditions that conducted research in the fields of geography, hydrography, geology, flora and fauna, meteorology, and ethnography of the region. To obtain better opportunities and adapt to the surrounding reality, the Poles needed, to one degree or another, knowledge of the Russian language. They acquired the language in various ways in addition to self-education: they were in constant contact with the local population and some even married those of the Orthodox faith. The participation of Poles in the social and cultural life of the regions under consideration contributed to a certain rapprochement and greater assimilation of the culture of both peoples.

Russia: Asia or Europe? Reflections on the awareness of the Polish intelligentsia in the 19th century as the ideological context of Norwid’s work

The article discusses the views of the Polish intelligentsia in Cyprian Norwid’s lifetime on the issue of Russia’s membership in Europe. Among the discussed examples there are particularly frequent attempts to push Russia out of Europe by emphasising its Asian character. The examples of pan-Slavic ideas are less frequent. Against this background, Norwid’s views on the question of Russia’s Asianness seem to be exceptionally balanced. The poet noticed that Russia was different, but he believed that isolating it from Europe could be more detrimental than beneficial.

Idea przeobrażenia świata w środowisku rosyjskiej inteligencji

This paper displays the birth of the Russian intelligentsia and demonstrates the differences between educated people and members of the intelligentsia. It proves that each member of the intelligentsia is educated, while not every educated person is a member of the intelligentsia. Such a person needs to be fanatically devoted to the idea of the emancipation of the people, which is followed by atheists. The paper distinguishes the Russian intelligentsia and the Polish intelligentsia. It discovers the destructiveness of the intelligentsia based on the Gnostic-Manichaean foundation. It emphasizes the anti-worldness of the secularization of religious beliefs and ideas which are averse to the world as such. It proves that the Russian idea of the world transformation is motivated by destructive desires: hatred towards life, towards existence in bodily and physical mortal life. The author of the paper proves that the response to the destructive potential of the idea of the absolute world transformation triggered the beginnings of the Russian religious rebirth – the return to the metahistorical dimension of the Russian idea.