Linguae Europaeae

by Szymon Kozioł  Szymon Kozioł is a junior in Political Science and Communication at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Szymon’s future plans include applying to become a Foreign Service Officer for the US State Department, traveling, and learning new languages. He wrote this blog post for 418 “Language and Minorities in Europe” in Spring 2023. 60th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between Poland and Vietnam (Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland)1.  www.flickr.com/photos/polandmfa/4343433086. Already starting in the 1950s “Vietnamese students coming for scholarships to communist Poland… with a peak of 800 beneficiaries per year at the beginning of the 1970s (Grzymala-Kazlowska, pg. 468), began arriving to Poland. This marked the first time in a while (with the exception of the Lipka Tatars), where a whole race, culture, and new language, started residing in Poland. The reason? Well let’s say it has to do something with Poland’s pa...

by Julia Gainski  Julia Gainski is a senior in Integrative Biology and German Studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Julia's future plans include traveling, applying to physician assistant programs, and learning new languages. She wrote this blog post in 418 'Language and Minorities in Europe' in Fall 2021. Poland has struggled time after time to survive as its borders consistently shifted due to unlawful rulers that have come to power. From Germany’s occupation of Poland in the Second World War to Poland being under Communist rule, Poland’s resilience, and ability to uphold their traditions, culture, and religion in the midst of dark times has shown the irrepressible strength that Poland portrays. Undoubtedly, Poland was drastically affected by these historical events and as a result, ethnic minorities have been further divided and impacted as well. There are four ethnic minorities that exist in Poland today which are: Karaim, Lemko, Romani and Tatar. T...

by Nicole Brozyna Nicole Brozyna is a senior in Psychology and Slavic-Polish Studies at the University of Illinois.  Nicole's future plans include entering the mental health workforce and applying to medical school.  She wrote this blog post in 418 'Language and Minorities in Europe' in Spring 2019. Image Credit: Edo Leitner, via Wikimedia Commons . Image is in the Public Domain. For centuries, Poland has experienced dramatic shifts regarding its borders and political climates. However, despite its history of inner turmoil and pressure from multiple rulers and aggressors, Poland has always been able to cling to its culture, traditions, and language. Moreover, as a result of all of these shifts, the country that has been multi-ethnic throughout its history ended up a variety of now relatively small ethnic minorities in several regions within the state. The Łemko people are one of these ethnic minority groups that still inhabit Poland today, along with the Crimean K...