More sensible act

   It was with relief last week that the WBJ learned that parliamentarians had watered down the much-ballyhooed Polish language act.

   The act, which has been passed by Parliament and at this moment awaits the signature of President Aleksander Kwasniewski, caused significant controversy this summer because it was believed companies and brands would be forced to use Polish names. The much-used example was the cologne "Old Spice," which under the law would have to become "Stara Przyprawa" or some such thing.

   In the final version of the act, parliamentarians have removed the xenophobic sting from the wording and come away with legislation that, get this, makes Polish the language of Poland. The new act says that "public activity" and "legal relations" must for the most part be done in Polish. Brand and company names can stay in their respective language, as long as the presence of the foreign language in communication to the public and other entities is not overly burdensome. The act also still contains a section requiring all public institutions and authorities to "protect" the Polish language.

   All countries have laws specifying what their particular language is, and Poland is simply following that example. What Poland should not follow, though, is the desire by some to legislate purity in language, which was the seed from which this law was born.

   What should be maintianed is the flexibility the Polish language and Poles themselves have shown when it comes to incorporating new terms. Pomidor, for example, originates from the Italian. Ratusz, which means city hall and many Poles strongly believe is a Polish word, actually comes from the German. If the goal is to "protect the Polish language," it should be done by creating a top-notch educational system. The effectiveness of that system was brought into question this summer when a United Nations' report asserted that Poland has a 42% illiteracy rate. The validity of that report has been questioned (Canada was also found to have a similarly high rate), but it did signal an alarm. Either way, the future of the Polish language and culture is best ensured by teaching children to read, and in particular by encouraging them to read great works such as that of poet Adam Mickiewicz, who makes the Polish tongue sing.

   The goal in all of this is to not become like France, which goes to extremes to ensure that the French tongue does not become mired in Anglo-isms. Computer, which even in Polish is computer, is ordinateur in French. The Hungarians are equally strict, crafting the word szamitogep. In either country, though, almost everybody says – you guessed it – computer.

   But overall, we at the Warsaw Business Journal are particularly happy that we will not have to change our title to Warszawska Gazeta Biznesu and can continue to print in the international language of English.