8. Textbooks, References and Resources (from The Learning and Teaching of Slavic Languages. Edited by Olga Kagan and Benjamin Rifkin. Bloomington, IN: Slavica, 2000, pp. 689-- 608[!]) Resources for Teaching Polish* Timothy G. Riley 2000 by Timothy G. Riley. All rights reserved. In the past the Polish language classroom was primarily composed of students of Polish descent and graduate students with a prior knowledge of Russian. The unprecedented changes in Central Europe in the past decade have begun to change these demographics. Not only is the Polish classroom more diverse, but the number of materials for teaching and studying Polish has also grown dramatically. While the availability of grammars has not increased much, it has become difficult to keep up with the surfeit of Polish dictionaries on the market today. This review will present some resources that can supplement textbooks in order to facilitate the teaching of Polish to English-speaking students. Grammars in Polish More contemporary Polish language reference works include Strutynski sgramatyka Polska: wprowadzenie, fonetyka, fonologia, morfologia, published in 1996, and Nagórko s Zarys gramatyki polskiej, 2nd edition, published in 1997. Both of these are concise (280 and 235 pages, respectively), well organized, and well indexed. Nagórko s grammar is written more for linguists than Strutynski s and contains far fewer tables and charts. Strutynski has also published three separate, easy to reference volumes on phonology, morphology, and syntax under the titlezarys gramatyki polskiej (1994), each about 160 pages. Two very practical Polish grammars written in Polish for foreigners are Bartnicka sgramatyka jezyka polskiego dla cudzoziemców, published in 1990, and Kaleta sgramatyka jezyka polskiego dla cudzoziemców, published in 1995. Despite the common titles, these grammars have very little in common. Kaleta s is the more thorough of the two (488 pages vs. 278) and includes a multitude of charts, tables, and examples on virtually every page. Unfortunately, this edition also contains a lot of typographical errors;it comes with a four-page list of errata. The present market of resources for Polish reflects the fact that there are still far more Poles studying English than English speakers studying Polish. Consequently, the number of Polish grammars wanes in comparison with the number of dual language dictionaries. Recent economic and political changes have made Polish a more viable
language choice for Anglophones; consequently the number of grammars written expressly for this audience should soon increase. When searching for sources on Polish grammar, the value of old grammars should not be underestimated. These texts are solid sources, imbued with a thoroughness lacking in many flashier, up-to-date texts. One of these is Szober s Gramatyka jezyka polskiego, compiled by Doroszewski in 1953, but revised and republished in 1972. Another time-honored grammar is Doroszewski s Podstawy gramatyki polskiej. First published in 1952, it is the Polish grammar upon which many grammars are based today. As the title states, Gramatyka opisowa jezyka polskiego z cwiczeniami, edited by Doroszewski and Wieczórkiewicz, published in 1972, includes some valuable exercises. Other dependable grammars written in Polish are Klemensiewicz s Podstawowe wiadomosci z gramatyki jezyka polskiego, 6th edition, published in 1970, and Bàk s Gramatyka jezyka polskiego,published in 1977. Gramatyka wspólczesnego jezyka polskiego, published in 1984, is a three volume grammar (syntax, morphology, and phonology) by Dukiewicz et. al. Each volume is over three hundred pages long and well indexed. Grammars in English There is still a dearth of Polish grammars written expressly for English speakers. One of the oldest, yet still of use because of its comprehensiveness, is Corbridge- Patkaniowska s Essentials of Polish Grammar for English-Speaking Students,published in 1944 (618 pages). Brooks (1975) Polish Reference Grammar is equally exhaustive (580 pages), more up-to-date, and includes exercises. Other Polish grammars in English are An Introductory English-Polish Contrastive Grammar by Fisiak, Lipinska- Grzegorek, and Zabrocki, published in 1978,Handbook of Polish by Gladney (1983), and A New Polish Grammar, by Teslar, published in 1962. The latter is a revised English adaptation of the author sméthode pratique de Polanais pour le Francais, first published in 1936. Stone s An Introduction to Polish (1980, 110 pages) is much more concise and designed "to make it possible for the complete beginner to get off to a good start." It includes 20 short, unexciting lessons, with short stories about the adventures of "Jan and Wanda." More engaging is Swan s Concise Grammar of Polish (1983, 182 pages), which unfortunately is now out of print. Swan has written an expanded version entitled A Grammar of Contemporary Polish, which will be published in 2001 (over 380 pages) by Slavica Publishers. This is a very comprehensive and well-organized resource for the English-speaking non-specialist. Special emphasis is given to the "social implications of grammatical forms, a point of view which is often inadequately represented in grammars of Polish written by Poles, for whom such matters may seem obvious." This work will fill a void in the field of contemporary Polish grammars for Anglophones.
Polish Dictionaries In the past there were only two or three Polish-Polish dictionaries readily available. At present, it seems that every publisher in Poland has produced, or is in the process of producing, such a dictionary. There is now an overabundance of dual language Polish dictionaries with bright covers, including specialized dictionaries of business, computer, and legal jargon, as well as colloquial, slang, and profanity dictionaries. This situation reflects the current burgeoning interest among Polish students in more western-oriented studies as well as more competition among publishers for the lucrative dictionary market. The Polish language instructor should keep in mind that most of these dictionaries are written primarily for native Polish speakers, and some are from less reputable publishers interested more in marketing than education. Caution is recommended before investing, especially in the less well-known dual language dictionaries, which tend to be more helpful with the English than with the Polish. The most complete Polish dictionary is the 11 volume Slownik jezyka polskiego by Doroszewski, published in 1958. This was once the final word on Polish dictionaries, but today it is a bit dated. A relatively more portable and contemporary dictionary for everyday use is the three-volume Slownik jezyka polskiego, edited by Szymczak, first published in 1978, but revised and reissued in 1994. It contains over 80,000 entries with about 150,000 examples of usage in 3,295 pages. Also included is a 124 page supplement, containing about four thousand entries of the newest expressions and definitions, as well as words which were previously omitted from dictionaries due to "moral or political reasons." The most essential information on inflection, definitions, and usage in expressions and metaphors is given, as well as some etymological information. All this information is included without overburdening the reader with predictable or commonly known information. Most instructors will find this dictionary to be more than sufficient for their needs. A more portable, yet still thorough and up-to-date dictionary is the one volume Maly slownik jezyka polskiego edited by Sobol, published in 1993. This dictionary is only maly when compared to Doroszewski s 11 volume dictionary upon which it is based. Sobol s dictionary contains 40,000 entries in 1,181 pages, including the most frequently used vocabulary. The user-friendly format is very similar to that of Szymczak s, which should not be surprising as they are from the same publisher - Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, Warszawa. Polish-English Dictionaries There was a time when there were relatively few dual language dictionaries on the market and what was available was lacking in some way. Today the problem is that there are too many to choose from. The two-volume Kosciuszko Foundation Dictionary English-Polish/Polish-English by Bulas, Thomas, and Whitfield, first published in 1957 (1400 pages), revised and reprinted in 1977, is lacking crucial information about inflection, gender, and the use of the words in context. Much more informative is Stanislawski s four-volume The Great English-Polish/Polish-English Dictionary, first
published in 1982, but reprinted in 1995. This set contains over 100,000 words, phrases, and expressions and includes useful grammatical information and examples of usage. Stanislawski has also recently published A Practical English-Polish Dictionary and A Practical Polish-English Dictionary(1997) which is a more concise version of the four-volume set, containing over 50,000 words, phrases, and expressions commonly used in English and Polish. This should be enough practicality for most language instructors. A relative newcomer to this field is the two volume Slownik angielsko-polski/polskoangielski, by Fisiak (1996). It contains over 80,000 entries and 120,000 translations, including thousands of idioms and phrases. This is a very well-organized and userfriendly dictionary. A more portable version of this is the Praktyczny slownik angielskopolski/polsko-angielski, also by Fisiak (1996). This is a reliable dictionary to bring to class for quick reference. The definitions are brief, but the essential information about inflection, gender, and aspect is usually listed. Prescriptive Dictionaries Certain aspects of Polish can cause confusion even among native and near-native speakers. For example, when should one say Proszen panian and when Proszenpani? Is the locative singular for words like naturalizm naturaliz'mie ornaturalizmie? Where should the accent fall on nouns like Ameryka, polityka, uniwersytet, prezydent, or verb forms like dostalismy, chcieliscie? Should one write or say jes'c' kotleta or kotlet? omlet or omleta? What does one call a resident of Gdansk, Budapest, Olso, Brno, or Tibet? Doroszewski s Slownik poprawnej polszczyzny is a good source for finding the official answer to these and many other burning questions. First published in 1973, but revised and printed in 1980 and 1996, this is the most complete dictionary of correct usage. It gives advice on spelling, pronunciation, inflection, and syntax for 27,000 entries, including surnames and geographic names, Polish and foreign. Also included are definitions of problematic words, the correct use of phrases, conventional abbreviations, as well as abbreviations of institutions and organizations. This is a more contemporary dictionary of correct Polish than Szober s Slownik poprawnej polszczyzny of 1973, first published in 1958. A more concise dictionary of correct usage is Praktyczny slownik poprawnej polszczyzny nie tylko dla mlodziezy by Markowski. (1995, 480 pages). Although this dictionary is primarily intended for students in their last year of elementary school and the first years of secondary school, as the title states, this is "not just for young people." This 480 page dictionary contains about 8,000 entries "which an educated person knows (or should know), but which can cause linguistic doubt." Because of its target audience, Markowski s dictionary is more accessible to non-natives than Doroszewski s dictionary. Markowski s dictionary is based upon the belief that there are two norms of language: an exemplary, literary norm and a spoken, colloquial norm. His entries refer to both norms; when a particular use or definition is typical to only one of the norms, this is indicated.
Slownik wyrazów klopotliwych by Banko and Krajewska (1996, 404 pages) is a concise source of the most problematic words and phrases in contemporary Polish. This dictionary is intended for educated native speakers of Polish, so it is not as useful for elementary or intermediate students of Polish; however, it is a wealth of information for advanced students and native speakers alike. The pocket dictionary entitled Maly slownik odmiany wyrazów trudnych by Wróbel et. al. (1993, 486 pages), part of a series of dictionaries by Towarzystwo Milosników Jezyka Polskiego, is a very condensed resource especially helpful with the most problematic verb conjugations and noun inflections, including the troublesome masculine genitive and accusative singular cases. A classic book on language correctness is Urbanczyk s (1966) Polszczyzna piekna i poprawna. This is not really a dictionary but a compilation of interesting articles (well indexed) on problematic issues of Polish usage. Phrase Dictionaries The first widely available Polish phrase dictionary was the very thorough, two volume Slownik frazeologiczny jezyka polskiego, by Skorupka, published in 1967 (1,800 pages). A more concise and contemporary phrase dictionary is thepodreczny slownik frazeologiczny jezyka polskiego by Bàba and Liberek, published in 1996 (775 pages). It lists the most well known phrases in contemporary Polish accompanied by definitions and authentic examples from modern literature and the press. There is also a handy pocket-sized version of this under the title Maly slownik frazeologiczny wspólczesnego jezyka polskiego, also by Bàba and Liberek (1994). Because these phrase dictionaries are intended for native speakers concerned with stylistics, they are of more use to advanced students and native speakers than to elementary and intermediate students. Orthographic Dictionaries English speakers might question the importance of orthographic dictionaries for a language which is far more phonetic than English; however, there are indeed some problematic aspects of Polish spelling and such dictionaries also include valuable information on inflection and pronunciation. Nowy slownik ortograficzny jezyka polskiego wraz z zasadami pisowni i interpukcji, edited by Polanski (1998, 944 pages), is the largest dictionary of its type, listing approximately 110,000 words and phrases. The first section explains the basics of Polish spelling and punctuation, including a commentary on the logic behind new orthographic rules. Among other things, the dictionary section includes surnames, Polish and foreign geographic names, abbreviations, and acronyms. Those inflectional forms which can cause difficulty are also given along with the entries. Ortograficzny slownik ucznia by Saloni et. al. (1995, 530 pages) is a smaller dictionary recommended by the National Ministry of Education for Polish schools. Because of its intended audience, it is more accessible to foreign students of Polish. There are also a
few pocket-sized orthographic dictionaries which are useful for in-class reference, including the Podreczny slownik ortograficzny ze skróconymi zasadami pisowni, by Tittenbrunowie (1993), Jodlowski s Slownik ortograficzny i prawidla pisowni polskiej (1981), and the Ortografia polska compiled by the Towarzystwo Milosników Jezyka Polskiego (1972), all of which contain about 25,000 of the most difficult words to spell. Colloquial Dictionaries There are several recently published dictionaries of colloquial Polish. Slownik polszczyzny potocznej by Anusiewicz and Skawinski (1996, 410 pages) is a collection of Polish colloquialisms taken from actual usage since 1970. There are approximately 8,000 entries culled from over 50,000 examples from literature, the press, radio, television, and recordings of the spoken language. What distinguishes this dictionary from other slang dictionaries is that it actually cites the sources of the examples, lending legitimacy to questionable expressions. Entries are organized by lexical-semantic categories and individual words can also be found in the alphabetical index. The Polish-English Dictionary of Slang and Colloquialism by Widawski (1998) contains nearly 5,000 terms and expressions of current Polish slang along with their American English equivalents. Half of these are from written sources and half from the spoken language. Unlike Anusiewicz s dictionary, this one does not cite the sources for the individual expressions listed. Another good source on slang is Slownik gwary studenckiej by Kaczmarek, Skubalanka, and Grabias, published in 1994 (328 pages). The organization is similar to that of Anusiewicz s dictionary - there are lexical-semantic categories and an alphabetical index. Many examples are regionalisms and are listed as such. Despite the title, the lexicon is not limited to students, although the sources were students at academic institutions throughout Poland. Kania s Slownik Argotyzmów, published in 1995, is a good source for slang common to different societal, political, athletic, and professional groups in Poland. Entries are listed alphabetically instead of by speaker group, so it is difficult to form a larger picture of the language used by any particular group. For anyone interested primarily in Polish profanity, Slownik polskich przeklenstw i wulgaryzmów by Grochowski (1996) is the most recent and complete resource. The sources for all examples are cited in the entries and a lot of helpful information on inflection, origin, frequency of use, and stylistic level is provided. There are several other dictionaries of profanity, including Kielbasa s Dictionary of Polish Obscenities, published in 1978, Tuftanka s Zakazane wyrazy slownik sprosnosci i wulgaryzmów, published in 1993, but these are less readily available. Dictionaries of Foreign Words and Expressions
Polish is a language which readily adopts foreign words, expressions, and quotations, although not always with all the connotations of the original. The best resource for such foreign borrowings is Slownik wyrazów obcych edited by Sobol (1998, 1186 pages), the ninth reprint of the 1980 classic. With over 30,000 entries, it is the largest dictionary of its type for Polish. Several thousand new entries and expressions have been added in this latest version and the entries are presented in a clearer and more organized manner. Included are etymologies and explanations for pronunciation. Another such resource is Kopalinski s Slownik wyrazów obcych i zwrotów obcojezycznych z almanachem (1971, 979 pages), which contains about 20,000 entries, and Podreczny slownik wyrazów obcych (1996, 1,085 pages), by the same author. This version is better indexed and includes 58 tables of foreign terminology grouped according to common themes. Verb Dictionaries There are a several practical sources on Polish verbs, the most thorough beingslownik czasowników w zdaniach polsko-angielski by Kaczmarski (1997, 738 pages). Like most dual language dictionaries recently published, it is intended primarily for advanced learners and teachers of English. Nonetheless, it can be of some use for advanced students of Polish or anyone interested in Polish syntax. It includes over 1,300 entries for over 2,000 Polish and about 1,200 equivalent British English predicative forms in example sentences. Probably the best source for Polish verbal aspect is the Strukturalny slownik aspektowy czasowników polskich by Cockiewicz and Matlak (1995, 121 pages). This concise dictionary covers the most common Polish verbs and their prefixed variants along with English definitions. There is also an introduction in English and an English to Polish verb index. A reliable reference for students at all levels and instructors alike is the 201 Polish Verbs by Kaipio (1977, 247 pages), which contains information on the most frequently used verbs, such as conjugation, aspect, participles, and verbal nouns. All verbs are indexed from Polish to English and from English to Polish. A similar and equally useful resource is Kurzowa s (1997, 415 pages) Tackling Polish Verbs, republished in 1999 as Polish Handbook of Verbs: 250 Most Frequently Used Verbs Fully Conjugated. It contains the same information as 201 Polish Verbs as well as some phrases associated with the verbs. Thesauri Thesauri, or if you prefer thesauruses, can be very useful to advanced students interested in building their vocabulary or attempting to improve their writing skills. There are several contemporary thesauri available today. The Slownik synonimówby Dàbrówka, Geller, and Turczyn (1993, 490 pages) is one of the most complete. It contains over 53,000 synonyms for over 23,000 nouns and 18,000 verbs.
The Praktyczny slownik wyrazów bliskoznacznych by Cienkowski (1993, 363 pages) is more abridged, listing approximately 11,400 entries, and is a bit more user-friendly than that of Dàbrówka, Geller, and Turczyn. Kurzowa s Slownik synonimów polskich (1998, 530 pages) is a great source for tackling Polish synonyms. It includes examples and phrases associated with the entries, of which there are about 24,000. This is perhaps the best organized and most current thesaurus available today. A closely related type of dictionary is the Slownik eufemizmów polskich, czyli w rzeczy mocno, w sposobie lagodnie by Dàbrowska (1998, 324 pages). In it one can find a lot of useful euphemisms as well as some which are humorous, like the acronym PKWN which officially stands for Polski Komitet Wyzwolenia Narodowego, but euphemistically stands for Polski Koniak Wypedzony Nocà, otherwise known as bimber. The situation with thesauri is similar to that of dictionaries - it is difficult to keep up with the new ones being published today. Dictionaries of Acronyms and Abbreviations The modern world seems fixated on acronyms and abbreviations. For those who have problems keeping their PKM, PKN, PKNO, PKPL, PKO and PKOS straight, there is the Slownik Skrótów by Paruch (1992, 647 pages). This is a revised edition of the 1970 dictionary for deciphering acronyms and abbreviations from many languages of the world. Each entry gives a non-abbreviated form in the original language, its language origin, and a Polish translation. This dictionary is especially useful for translators, but can also be of service to the language instructor. Etymological Dictionaries In the language classroom questions often arise regarding the origin of particular words and their relationship to words of other languages. For instance, where does the word Wlochy for "Italy" come from? What about the word niedswieds? One of very few sources to turn to is Brückner s Slownik etymologiczny jezyka polskiego,first published in 1927 and reprinted in 1993 (805 pages). The entries include examples from related languages, and where possible, the approximate time certain words were borrowed into Polish. Kopalinski s Slownik eponimów czyli wyrazów odimiennych (1996, 292 pages) is a rare source of eponyms - words derived from proper names. This book is designed to be both a reference as well as an interesting read for linguists. Indexes a tergo An index a tergo, more commonly known as a backwards dictionary is not an everyday resource for teaching a foreign language; however, when one needs to find words according to their prefixes and suffixes, there is no substitute. Doroszewski s Indeks a
tergo, published in 1973 (558 pages), contains material from his 11-volume Slownik jezyka polskiego (1958) and Linde s Slownik jezyka polskiego (1965) and is quite exhaustive. A more condensed index a tergo is Tokarski s Schematyczny indeks a tergo polskich form wyrazowych (1993, 383 pages), which is also based on Doroszewski s 11-volume dictionary. Both of these indexes a tergo are well organized and easy to use. Other Written Resources A useful source for improving Polish vocabulary is The New Oxford Picture Dictionary by Parnwell (1993, 143 pages). This includes approximately 100 pages of color pictures with Polish and English vocabulary. The culture represented in the pictures is American as the target audience is immigrants to America, but this should not cause any significant problems. Words are well indexed alphabetically in English and Polish. Shortcuts to Poland by Klos Sokol (1996, 222 pages) is a humorous introduction to contemporary Polish culture. In 71 informative essays, the author, an expatriate American in Poland, discusses stereotypical differences between Polish and American culture and customs, concerning for instance, personal space and waiting in lines, name days, Polish hospitality, and so on. The book begins with "The Polskosc Quiz," a selfassessment of the reader s own rate of "Polishness." This humorous book provides a starting point for discussions on Polish culture as well as a welcome respite from the usual classroom routine. Jezyk polski à la carte, by Medak (1995, 462 pages), is a collection of intermediate and advanced Polish language examinations for foreigners from the Instytut Polonijny, Jagiellonian University, including a few from the Polish Proficiency Test from the Center for Applied Linguistics, Washington, D.C. Included are diagnostic tests of Polish, tests from the humanities, science, economics, and medicine. Answers to the tests are included along with an index of grammatical topics and verb aspect. The Handbook of Polish Pronunciation by Puppel, Nawrocka-Fisiak, and Krassowska (1977, 250 pages) was designed as a course in Polish phonetics for beginners and intermediate English-speaking students. Each sound is described in terms of place and manner of articulation and illustrated by schematic diagrams of the mouth. Helpful comments on the differences between the Polish sound and its closest English counterparts are also given. There is a whole series of useful textbooks published by the Uniwersytet Jagiellonski Instytut Polonijny Biblioteka Pomocy Dydaktycznych do nauczania obcokrajowców jezyka i kultury polskiej. These books can serve as supplements to a regular Polish textbook, but may be difficult to find. The Slownik semantyczno-syntaktyczny przymiotników polskich by Âliwinski (1993, 142 pages), is designed to help intermediate and advanced English-speaking students improve their knowledge of adjectives and
their proper use in phrases. The Polish entries have brief English definitions followed by longer Polish definitions, phrases, synonyms and antonyms, as well as notes on their stylistic level and frequency of use. Adjectives are alphabetically indexed in English. A picture dictionary entitled A co to takiego? Obrazkowy slownik jezyka polskiegoby Seretny (1993, 195 pages) contains about 60 pages of black and white drawings of everything from automobiles to parts of the body, accompanied by Polish vocabulary and a handy Polish alphabetical index. Slowa i slówka Podrecznik do nauczania slownictwa i gramatyki dla poczàtkujàcych, by Rybicka and Szelc-Mays (1992, 113 pages), is designed to accompany the textbooks Wsród Polaków and W Polsce po polsku, but can easily supplement other texts. It includes vocabulary and grammar exercises for elementary students, but many of the exercises can be used in an intermediate class. All sections include a list of new words, a short reading text, and lexical and grammatical drills. There is an accompanying set of 70 illustrations under the titleplansze rysunkowe. The workbook Nie taki diabel straszny Podrecznik frazeologii dla obcokrajowcówby Rybicka (1994, 212 pages) provides an entertaining way to learn about 50 common Polish expressions and idioms. Each section begins with an illustration and a short dialogue using the new phrase, followed by definitions and examples in Polish, and exercises which facilitate discussions regarding the topic at hand. This is a great addition to any elementary or intermediate text. There are several other books in the series Biblioteka Pomocy Dydaktycznych which can supplement intermediate and advanced students. Brak mi slów Podrecznik do nauczania obcokrajowców slownictwa jezyka polskiego by Chlopicka and Fornelski (1991, 207 pages), can help increase the vocabulary of those who already are comfortable with Polish grammar. Mów do mnie jeszcze Podrecznik jezyka polskiego dla sredniozaawansowanychby Martyniuk (1984, 190 pages) contains 16 short texts followed by comprehension questions, true or false questions, and other goal-oriented exercises. Zrozumiec Polske cwiczenia w czytaniu dla studentów zaawansowanych by Czarnecka and Gaszynska (1990, 171 pages) contains 15 short essays, mostly about Polish culture. Following the essays are exercises testing reading comprehension and other exercises designed to increase vocabulary and writing skills and stimulate conversation. A more advanced reader is Polubic Polske cwiczenia dla studentów zaawansowanych also by Czarnecka and Gaszynska (1992, 183 pages) which contains another 15 essays about Polish writers, film directors, musicians, and composers. The format is similar to Zrozumiec Polske. Polubic Polske can also prove helpful for heritage students who want more practice reading and writing in Polish. Other books of this series which can help advanced
students and heritage students develop writing skills are Pisze, wiec jestem Podrecznik kompozycji i redakcji tekstów by Wójcikiewicz (1993, 114 pages), Jak to napisac? cwiczenia redakcyjno-stylistyczne dla studentów polonijnych by Awdiejew, Dàmbska, and Lipinska (1986, 261 pages), and Rendez-vous z kulturà polskà Podrecznik jezyka polskiego dla humanistów Kurs dla zaawansowanych, by Ligara (1990, 287 pages). Finally, Hippocrene Books has several publications which can be useful in the Polish language classroom, including the Children s Illustrated Polish Dictionary English- Polish/Polish-English (1998), Graded Reader of Classic Polish Literatureby Juszczak (1996), A Treasury of Polish Aphorisms by Galazka (1997),Dictionary of 1,000 Polish Proverbs by Lipinski (1997), Treasury of Polish Love Poems, Quotations and Proverbs by Lipinski (1994, 128 pages) (also available on cassettes), Polish Fables of Ignacy Krasicki by Gerard T. Kapolka (1997, 250 pages), Old Polish Legends, a collection of eleven Polish fairy tales by Anstruther (1997, 66 pages), Polish Weddings, Customs and Traditions by Hodorowicz Knab (1998, 250 pages), Polish Folk Dances and Songs: A Step-By-Step Guide by Dziewanowska (1997, 800 pages), Treasury of Classic Polish Love Stories in Polish and English by Lipinski (1997, 128 pages), Polish Herbs, Flowers and Folk Medicines by Hodorowicz Knab (1995), and Song, Dance, and Customs of Peasant Poland by Benet (1996). Video Resources The video-based advanced Polish language course W labiryncie, by Oleksy and Swan (1993, 378 pages) is an actual Polish soap opera condensed into twenty-one video installments (nearly five hours in recorded length) with an accompanying textbook. The heroine, Ewa, is a young laboratory assistant in a pharmacology institute in Warsaw. Her fiancé has recently died in an auto accident and now as she is trying to move on with her life, an old relationship (Adam) is rekindled and a new one (Pawel) looms on the horizon. The viewing sections are about ten to fifteen minutes in length and there are from three to five in each lesson. A typical three-hour lesson includes: a recap of the preceding action; the new video segment with a written script; questions for discussion and assessment of the viewers comprehension; condensed versions of the video script dialogues designed for memorization; scenarios for in-class reenactment of video scenes; language commentary; grammatical exercises; and cultural notes. The melodramatic adventures of Ewa, Adam, and Pawel are immensely more engaging than those of Jan and Wanda. W labiryncie makes for a very effective and popular third-year course. Uczmy sie polskiego by Miodunka (1996) is a 15 hour video-based course built around the adventures of the Grzegorzewski family as they travel through modern Poland from the Baltic Sea to the Tatras. Each lesson, Basic Polish andintermediate Polish, contain five 90-minute videotapes (15 x 30-minute lessons), a Polish-English manual with exercises for each episode and audiocassettes featuring songs composed for each lesson. The Basic Polish texts and video can be incorporated into a second-year Polish course as a review of first-year grammar and vocabulary. Likewise, the Intermediate
Polish course can be used as a review in a third-year course. This is a very popular course among today s multimedia-oriented students. Computer Resources Several popular Polish dictionaries are now available on CD-ROM. The largest iskomputerowy slownik jezyka polskiego PWN (1998), which is actually two dictionaries in one: Szymczak s (1994) three-volume dictionary and Tokarski s (1998) Slownik wyrazów obcych. The search functions of the 1998 edition have been improved and a special module for crossword puzzles has been added, as well as recordings of the pronunciation of difficult foreign words and phrases. The dictionary is closely integrated with Microsoft Word and can be accessed from other word processors and programs, but is designed only for PCs. The Slownik jezyka polskiego t. I-XI. Przedruk elektroniczny (1997) is a CD-ROM of Doroszewski s eleven-volume Polish dictionary. Computer and software requirements are the same as for Komputerowy slownik jezyka polskiego PWN, but for full functionality the Polish version of Windows is required. The Encyklopedia multimedialna PWN (1999) contains over 100,000 entries on two CD- ROMs and a DVD-ROM, which includes illustrations and lectures. This edition of the encyclopedia includes a new mechanism of automatic searching and updating via the Internet. Minimum hardware and software requirements are a PC computer with 16 MB RAM, Windows 95/98, and about 30 MB free space on the hard disk. Also recommended are a DVD-ROM drive and a 16 bit sound card. There is a multimedia quiz game on CD-ROM, entitled Miliard w rozumie Multimedialna gra edukacyjna (1999), which is based on a popular Polish TV game show. Participants answer questions from different fields of knowledge, fulfill various tasks, and guess the correct solutions. There are over 5,000 tasks from 20 fields of knowledge in the form of 10 different games. Materials are included from the Encyklopedia multimedialna PWN: 3,000 photographs, drawings, charts, and sounds; political and physical maps, and so on. The computer and software requirements are the same as for the Encyklopedia multimedialna. Swan s PRT drills by Lektorek are designed to supplement his First Year Polishand Intermediate Polish textbooks. They contain a multitude of exercises for reviewing and testing the student s vocabulary and grammar. Results can be printed out. This program is designed for Macintosh computers and may not be completely functional on the newest Macs. Listening to Poles An Introductory Course for Improving Listening Comprehensionby the Center for Applied Linguistics is a CD-ROM intended for students at the novice-high level, but can be a good review for more advanced students. Although designed for students who have used Swan s First Year Polish, this CD-ROM can be used in conjunction with any text. The following topics for vocabulary, including idioms and
phrases, are presented: occupations, facial features, clothing, money, people, places, travel, health, weather, and foods. This includes tests on vocabulary and grammar, the results of which can be printed out for instructor verification. The courseware is PowerPC Macintosh compatible. There are several other educational computer programs for Polish and many more are in the making. Many newer computer and video materials have not been reviewed in journals, so instructors must find, test, and evaluate many of these materials themselves. Internet Resources A cursory Internet search using the entry "Polish language" yields about 2,000 websites and the entry "Polish resources" almost 400 websites. The Internet is a great resource for up-to-date information on all things Polish, provided one properly narrows one s search. The entry "Polish language learning resources" yields 3 websites, 2 of which are for the Polish Language Learning Resources site of the Center for the Advancement of Language Learning (CALL). Here one can find at least 15 links to websites of the Polish press, including Zycie Warszawa, Gazeta Wyborcza, Polska Agencja Prasowa, Polish radio programs and Polvision Video broadcasts, as well as SCOLA Insta-Class, which has Polish audio and video news programs. Other Internet resources can be found by searching for the Chicago Public Library s Polish Language Resources under "CPL WWW Server," the Newark Public Library s "Multimac Polish Language Resources," or the University of Minnesota s "Less Commonly Taught Languages" (LCTL) site. The LCTL project is operated under the auspices of the Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition (CARLA) with the goal of helping LCTL teachers cooperate and communicate and encouraging more people to study less commonly taught languages. CARLA sponsors an electronic mailing list (listserv) to provide a way for LCTL teachers to maintain contact with each other. Discussions on these lists, to which anyone can subscribe, revolve around pedagogy, resources, and other concerns. Conclusion The past few years have seen a marked increase in both the quantity and quality of Polish language resources. Several classic grammars and dictionaries have been revised and reprinted and many new resources have been introduced, somewhat relieving the dearth of materials. The vast majority of these works have been written for Poles interested in their own language or studying English; however most of these are also of use to students and teachers of Polish. Recent political and economic improvements have made Polish a more tenable and popular language choice among students who are not of Polish descent. Consequently resources for studying Polish have improved. Some dual language dictionaries now have grammatical and lexical information for English speakers. Swan s Grammar of
Contemporary Polish, to be published this year, will be a much welcomed addition among Polish language instructors and students alike. The recently published videobased courses of Polish - Uczmy sie polskiego andw labiryncie have begun to fill the void of multimedia sources. As demand grows, more such works will appear on the horizon. Despite the progress made in the past decade, there are still at least two types of resources for the study of Polish which are relatively lacking - computer-based exercises, and texts for heritage students. For students at all levels a DVD version with excerpts from Polish movies by Wajda, Holand, Polanski, or Kieslowski would be a popular addition, especially if it were supplemented with cultural, historical and lexical notes as well as comprehension exercises. Heritage students still make up a portion of most Polish language classes, especially in the United States, and their unique requirements are often ignored. A supplemental textbook/reader or computer based exercises designed specifically to meet their needs is long overdue. Nonetheless, the future looks bright for those who teach and study Polish. Works Cited Anusiewicz, Janusz, and Jacek Skawinski. Slownik polszczyzny potocznej.warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 1996. Awdiejew, Urszula, Elzbieta Dambska, and Ewa Lipinska. Jak to napisac? Cwiczenia redakcyjno-stylistyczne dla studentów polonijnych. Kraków: Uniwersytet Jagiellonski, 1986. Banko, Miroslaw, and Maria Krajewska. Slownik wyrazów klopotliwych. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 1994. Bartnicka, Barbara, and Halina Satkiewicz. Gramatyka jezyka polskiego dla cudzoziemców. Warszawa:Wiedza Powszechna, 1990. Bàba, Stanislaw, and Jaroslaw Liberek. Maly slownik frazeologiczny wspólczesnego jezyka polskiego. Warszawa: Spólka Wydawniczo-Ksiegarska, 1994. Bàba, Stanislaw, Gabriela Dziamska, and Jaroslaw Liberek. Podreczny slownik frazeologiczny jezyka polskiego. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 1996. Bàk, Piotr. Gramatyka jezyka polskiego. Warszawa: Wiedza Powszechna, 1977. Brooks, Maria Zagorska. Polish Reference Grammar. The Hague: Mouton, 1975. Brückner, Aleksander. Slownik etymologiczny jezyka polskiego. Warszawa: Wiedza Powszechna, 1993.
Bulas, Kazimierz, Lawrence L. Thomas, and Francis J. Whitfield. The Kosciuszko Foundation Dictionary English-Polish/Polish-English. New York: The Guinn Co., 1997. Center for Advanced Research on Language Acquisition. Polish Language Learning Resources. Online. Internet. 12 April 2000. Available URL:http://www.call.gov.resource/Language/pollr000.htm Chlopicka, Maria and Piotr Fornelski. Brak mi slów Podrecznik do nauczania obcokrajowców slownictwa jezyka polskiego. Czesc I. Kraków: Uniwersytet Jagiellonski, 1991. Chlopicka, Maria, Danuta Pukas-Palimaka, and Katarzyna Turek-Fornelska. Co Panu Dolega? Komunikacyjny podrecznik jezyka medycznego dla obcokrajowców.kraków: Uniwersytet Jagiellonski, 1991. Cienkowski, Witold. Praktyczny slownik wyrazów bliskoznacznych. Warszawa: Polska Oficyna Wydawnicza "BGW", 1993. Cockiewicz, Waclaw, and Anna Matlak. Strukturalny slownik aspektowy czasowników polskich. Kraków: Uniwersytet Jagiellonski, 1995. Corbridge-Patkaniowska, Maria. Essentials of Polish Grammar for English-Speaking Students. Glasgow: Ksiàznica polska, The Polish Library, 1944. Czarnecka, Urszula, and Malgorzata Gaszynska. Polubic Polske Cwiczenia w czytaniu dla studentów zaawansowanych Czesc I. Kraków: Uniwersytet Jagiellonski, 1992.. Zrozumiec Polske Cwiczenia w czytaniu dla studentów zaawansowanych Czesc II. Kraków: Uniwersytet Jagiellonski, 1990. Danecka-Chwals, Alicja, Maria Chlopicka, and Danuta Pukas-Palimaka. O czlowieku po polsku Podrecznik jezyka medycznego dla obcokrajowców. Kraków: Uniwersytet Jagiellonski, 1989. Dàbrowka, Andrzej, Ewa Geller, and Ryszard Turczyn. Slownik synonimów.warszawa: MCR, 1993. Doroszewski, Witold. Podstawy gramatyki polskiej. Warszawa: Panstwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 1952.. Slownik jezyka polskiego. Warszawa: Panstwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 1958.. Indeks a tergo. Warszawa: Panstwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 1973.
. Podstawowe wiadomosci z gramatyki jezyka polskiego. Warszawa: Panstwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 1977.. Slownik poprawnej polszczyzny. Warszawa: Panstwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1996.. Slownik eufemizmów polskich, czyli w rzeczy mocno, w sposobie lagodnie.warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 1998. Dukiewicz, Leokadia, et. al. Gramatyka wspólczesnego jezyka polskiego.warszawa: Panstwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1984. Fisiak, Jacek, Maria Lipinska-Grzegorek, and Tadeusz Zabrocki. An Introductory English-Polish Contrastive Grammar. Warszawa: Panstwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1978. Fisiak, Jacek. 1996. Slownik angielsko-polski. Warszawa: Harpers Collins and Polska Oficyna Wydawniczna "BGW", 1996.. Praktyczny slownik angielsko-polski/polsko-angielski. Warszawa: Harpers Collins and Polska Oficyna Wydawniczna "BGW", 1997. Gladney, Frank Y. Handbook of Polish. Urbana: G&G Press, 1983. Grochowski, Maciej. Slownik polskich przeklenstw i wulgaryzmów. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 1996. Idzikowski, Mariusz. Slownik polsko-angielski. Warszawa: Harpers Collins and Polska Oficyna Wydawniczna "BGW," 1996. Jodlowski, Stanislaw, and Witold Taszycki. Slownik ortograficzny i prawidla pisowni polskiej. Wroclaw: Zaklad Narodowy im. Ossolinskich, 1981. Kaczmarek, Leon, Teresa Skubalanka, and Stanislaw Grabias. Slownik gwary studenckiej. Lublin: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Marii Curie-Sklodowskiej, 1994. Kaczmarski, Stanislaw P. Slownik czasowników w zdaniach polskoangielski.warszawa: Wiedza Powszechna, 1997. Kaipio, Clara. 201 Polish Verbs Fully Conjugated In All The Tenses. New York: Barron s Educational Series, 1977. Kaleta, Zofia. Gramatyka jezyka polskiego dla cudzoziemców. Kraków: Uniwersytet Jagiellonski, 1995. Kania, Stanislaw. Slownik argotyzmów. Warszawa: Wiedza Powszechna, 1995.
Klemensiewicz, Zenon. Podstawowe wiadomosci z gramatyki jezyka polskiego.warszawa: Panstwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe, 1960. Klos Sokol, Laura. Shortcuts to Poland. Warszawa: IPS Wydawnictwo, 1997. Kopalinski, Wladyslaw. Slownik wyrazów obcych i zwrotów obcojezycznych.warszawa: Wiedza Powszechna, 1971.. Podreczny slownik wyrazów obcych. Warszawa: Wiedza Powszechna, 1996. Kopalinski, Wladyslaw. Slownik eponimów czyli wyrazów odimiennych. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 1996. Kowalik, Krystyna, Alicja Orzechowska, and Teresa Rokicka. Maly slownik odmiany wyrazów trudnych. Warszawa: Spólka Wydawniczo-Ksiegarska, 1993. Kurzowa, Zofia. Tackling Polish Verbs. Kraków: Wydawnictwo Baran i Suszczynski, 1997.. Polish Handbook of Verbs: 250 Most Frequently Used Verbs Fully Conjugated. Lincolnwood, IL: NTC Publishing Group, 1999. Kurzowa, Zofia, et.al. Slownik synonimów polskich. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 1998. Linde, Samuel B. Slownik jezyka polskiego. Warszawa: Panstwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1965. Ligara, Bronislawa. Rendez-vous z kulturà polskà Podrecznik jezyka polskiego dla humanistów Kurs dla zaawansowanych. Kraków: Uniwersytet Jagiellonski, 1990. Markowski, Andrzej. Praktyczny slownik poprawnej polszczyzny Nie tylko dla mlodziezy. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 1995. Martyniuk, Waldemar. Mów do mnie jeszcze! Podrecznik jezyka polskiego dla sredniozaawansowanych. Kraków: Uniwersytet Jagiellonski, 1984. Medak, Stanislaw. Jezyk polski à la carte Wybór testów z jezyka polskiego dla obcokrajowców. Kraków: Uniwersytet Jagellonski, 1995. Miodunka, Wladyslaw. Czesc, jak sie masz? A Polish Language Textbook for Beginners. Kraków: Wydawnictwo JB, 1993.. Uczmy sie polskiego Let s Learn Polish. Kraków:Uniwersytet Jagellonski, 1997.
Nagórko, Alicja. Zarys gramatyki polskiej. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 1997. Oleksy, Wieslaw, and Oscar E. Swan. W labiryncie (Labyrinth of Life). Columbus: Slavica Publishers, 1993. Parnwell, E.C. The New Oxford Picture Dictionary English/Polish Edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 1993. Paruch, Józef. Slownik skrótów. Warszawa: Wiedza Powszechna, 1992. Patkaniowska, Maria Corbridge. Essentials of Polish Grammar for English-Speaking Students. Glasgow: Willian McLellan and Co., 1944. Polanski, Edward. Nowy slownik ortograficzny PWN wraz z zasadami pisowni i interpunkcji. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 1996. Puppel, Stanislaw, Jadwiga Nawrocka-Fisiak, and Halina Krassowska. A Handbook of Polish Pronunciation for English Learners. Warszawa: Panstwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 1977. Rybicka, Elzbieta, and Magdalena Szelc-Mays. Slowa i slówka Podrecznik do nauczania slownictwa i gramatyki dla poczàtkujàcych. Kraków: Uniwersytet Jagiellonski, 1992. Rybicka, Elzbieta. Nie taki diabel straszny Podrecznik frazeologii dla obcokrajowców. Kraków: Uniwersytet Jagiellonski, 1994. Saloni, Zygmunt. Ortograficzny slownik ucznia. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 1995. Seretny, Anna. A co to takiego? Obrazkowy slownik jezyka polskiego. Kraków: Uniwersytet Jagiellonski, 1993. Skorupka, Stanislaw. Slownik frazeologiczny jezyka polskiego. Warszawa: Wiedza Powszechna, 1967. Sobol, Elzbieta. Maly slownik jezyka polskiego. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 1997.. Slownik wyrazów obcych. Warszaw: Panstwowe Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 1998. Stanislawski, Jan. Wielki slownik polsko-angielski z suplementem. Warszawa: Wiedza Powszechna, 1990.
. A Practical English-Polish Dictionary. Lincolnwood, Ill: National Textbook Co., 1997.. A Practical Polish-English Dictionary. Lincolnwood, Ill: National Textbook Co., 1997. Stone, Gerald. An Introduction to Polish. New York: Oxford University Press, 1980. Strutynski, Janusz. Zarys gramatyki polskiej. Kraków: Ksiegarnia Akademicka, 1994.. Gramatyka Polska Wprowadzenie, Fonetyka, Fonologia, Morfologia. Kraków: Ksiegarnia Akademicka, 1996. Swan, Oscar. Concise Grammar of Polish. Washington, D.C.: University Press of America, 1983.. First Year Polish. Columbus: Slavica Publishers, 1983.. Intermediate Polish. Columbus: Slavica Publishers, 1986.. A Grammar of Contemporary Polish. Columbus: Slavica Publishers, Publication pending. Szober, Stanislaw. Gramatyka jezyka polskiego. Warszawa: Nasza Ksiegarnia, 1953.. Slownik poprawnej polszczyzny. Warszawa: Panstwowy Instytut Wydawniczy, 1971. Szymczak, Mieczyslaw. Slownik jezyka polskiego. Warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 1994. Sliwinski, Wladyslaw. Slownik semantyczno-syntaktyczny przymiotników polskich.kraków: Uniwersytet Jagiellonski, 1993. Tittenbrunowie, Krystyna, and Mieczyslaw Tittenbrunowie. Podreczny slownik ortograficzny ze skróconymi zasadami pisowni. Warszawa: Kastor, 1993. Tokarski, Jan. Schematyczny indeks a tergo polskich form wyrazowych.warszawa: Wydawnictwo Naukowe PWN, 1993. Towarzystwo Milosników Jezyka Polskiego. Ortografia polska. Wroclaw: Zaklad Narodowy im. Ossolinskich, 1972. Urbanczyk, Stanislaw. Polszczyzna piekna i poprawna Porady jezykowe.wroclaw: Zaklad Narodowy Imienia Ossolinskich, 1966.
Widawski, Maciej. The Polish-English Dictionary of Slang and Colloquialism. New York: Hippocrene Books, 1998. Wójcikiewicz, Marek. Pisze, wiec jestem Podrecznik kompozycji i redakcji tekstów. Kraków: Uniwersytet Jagiellonski, 1993. Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures University of Washington P.O. Box 353580 Seattle, WA 98195-3580 rileyskillman@earthlink.net [!] For maximum compatibility this page has been prepared without special Polish diacritic marks (webmaster). * The author is grateful to Katarzyna Dziwirek and Deirdre Skillman for their comments and suggestions.