Should You Learn Polish?

With only over 40 million speakers, why would anyone even want to learn Polish? A language that few people you know have studied and isn’t taught in most places?

There is definitely some truth to that.

Learning any language is fascinating, but before starting it, many people ask whether it’s worth it.

Doubts like, why should I study it? Is there any course to help you reach fluency? What are the career perspectives? Would it be easy to learn Polish? And the list is never-ending!

When selecting a language, most favor the well-known French, Spanish, and German. And some fancy, challenging ones like Mandarin, Korean, or Japanese.

We often limit ourselves to a few choices because of popularity metrics. But there’s an entire world that offers excellent value for personal and professional reasons.

Studying a language like Polish has many clear advantages. Those benefits outweigh any fears you may have.

About the Polish language

Like Slovak and Czech, Polish belongs to the West Slavic group of the Slavic branch of the Indo-European language family. It is also part of the subgroup of the Lechitic group, which is in Latin script.

Originally derived from Old Polish, Polish is the primary language and the mother tongue of the Poles. Around 98% of its citizens speak it as their first language.

It is also a recognized minority tongue in Hungary, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, Slovakia, Romania, and Ukraine. In addition, it is the official language of the European Union and 23 others.

The Council for the Polish Language is an organization that moderates and manages standard Polish. In short, it is the guardian and authority of the Polish language in all its forms.

Dialects of Polish

Like many other languages, Polish has several dialects linked to a specific geographical region. It is usually further subdivided into various sub-dialectal groups.

There are four major Polish dialects spoken in Poland:

• Greater Polish — west
• Lesser Polish — south and southeast
• Masovian — central and eastern parts of Poland
• Silesian — southwest

Despite accents, vocabulary, and slang differences, most Polish dialects are mutually intelligible. Speakers of a particular variety can understand other dialects with little to no trouble.

10 Outstanding Reasons to Learn Polish

I bet you have all those questions in mind, and hence, you stumbled upon this article. You came to the right place, as here, you will discover all the answers you need to know.

I am presenting you with ten reasons below that will help you decide to learn Polish.

1. Communicate with 41 million people

In Poland alone, around 38 million people, apart from the foreigners living there, speak Polish as their native language. Thus, 98% of the total population of Poland speaks Polish as their primary language.

This is the second most spoken language after Russian in the Slovenian region, and it is also a Slavic language. Thus, the demand is pretty high, especially in Eastern Europe.

It might shock you to know that millions of people outside Poland speak Polish daily. These include countries like Germany, the USA, the UK, Canada, Russia, Ukraine, Lithuania, Ireland, the Czech Republic, and France.

Most of the Polish diaspora moved long ago, even centuries ago. As a result, everyone speaks the country’s native tongue. Yet, they talk in Polish and are aware of their culture, which is a good thing.

There are over 40 million Polish speakers globally. So, learning Polish can help you befriend 41 million people worldwide.

2. A gateway to other Slavic languages

Do you know that roughly 400 million people speak one of the dozen Slavic languages in Europe and Northern Asia?

There is a benefit to linguistics relating to the same group. Once you master one language, you don’t have to endure the same struggles because of the many similarities that come with learning a second language.

Polish is a Slavic language, similar to other languages of the same group. Thus, the sounds, sentence structure, grammatical rules for cognates, and much more are alike.

So, once you acquire Polish, learning Russian, Czech, Slovak, Bosnian, Croatian, and Ukrainian will be more straightforward.

Just imagine opening the doors to these many new languages. 

Polish is the ideal language for those fascinated by Eastern European languages.

That’s because Polish uses Latin script like popular European languages like English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, etc. So, one doesn’t have to tackle the Cyrillic alphabet.

3. Study in Poland

Each year, thousands of students from far and wide choose Poland as a study-abroad destination.

Poland has seen a surge in international students. The stats for the last five years show a growth of 78%.

The reasons are simple.

Poland is recognized for high-quality education institutions and low tuition fees.

Even getting a visa is also comparatively easy. Poland also offers a variety of scholarships, and the Polish National Agency gives the most for Academic Exchange (NAWA).

People are friendly, and you always get help from the local population and senior students.

Living expenses are also lower in Poland than in France, the UK, Germany, Switzerland, and Scandinavian countries.

You can work in Poland during or after completing the program.

Still, if you don’t know Polish, finding a decent job in Poland may be challenging. Also, even if you find employment, salaries will be lower if you don’t speak the local language.

4. Better career opportunities

As we all know, being bilingual could be a prime factor in anybody’s career. This is why many say learning any language opens doors to many opportunities.

Once you learn Polish, you can access new business and job openings in Central Europe and even new possibilities in your own country. 

Your Polish fluency can put your resume in demand in the job market.

For example, you can work as a translator, interpreter, or tour guide. You can also find any position requiring this language in any company dealing with Polish speakers.

Indian investments in Poland are valued at over US$3 billion. They include many big businesses, such as ArcelorMittal, Escorts, Reliance Industries, TCS, Ranbaxy, KPIT Cummins, Zensar, HCL Tech, Infosys, Wipro, UFLEX, Jindal Stainless, Berger Paints, Glenmark Pharmaceuticals, CRISIL, and many more.

Several Polish companies, such as TZMO, Solaris, Ekolog, Geofizyka Torun, Famur Group, and CANPACK, operate in India.

Your Polish knowledge can help you land a job in these companies in India or Poland.

5. Long stay or settle in Poland

Besides English-speaking countries, it’s always recommended if you live in any country requiring you to learn its speech. This happens if you plan to stay there for quite a long time.

If something emergency happens while living in such countries, and you don’t know how to tell the officials, you will be in trouble.

You will have to wait for somebody who knows the language to come to your rescue. Hence, learning the respective countries’ languages is essential.

Either people won’t take you seriously, or they will try to understand you. Still, the moment they realize they can’t understand you, you will have no option but to wait for someone who knows the language.

You may not need to learn Polish now for your current job. But you can’t negate that a less popular tongue can add significant value to your C.V. if you intend to stay there for a long time.

6. Difficult, but you can learn

Polish is one of the most difficult languages for native English speakers. It becomes even more complex if you don’t know other Slavic cousin languages before studying.

Still, there are ways to simplify it using the right approach, resources, and method.

No language is impossible to master if you have the 5 essential P’s — patience, passion, persistence, perseverance, and purpose.

If you have all these qualities and motivation, the journey to Polish fluency is only a matter of time.

Since it is Latin, most consider it more manageable than lingos written in Cyrillic script, such as Russian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, and Serbian.

It will be handy if you are European to learn Indo-European languages.

There are seven cases: nominative, genitive, dative, accusative, instrumental, locative, and vocative. German grammar has four rather than seven cases, which makes it easier than Polish.

The three moods, gender rules, tongue-twisting pronunciation, and inflections are also complex. But once you cover everything, you will find Polish grammar more straightforward.

Instead of being upset about how complicated it is, enjoy the challenge. In the end, it will be totally worth it.

Polish also contains many words borrowed from Latin, Czech, German, Belarusian, and Ukrainian. It also took many words from French, Italian, and English. So, your existing knowledge can help you cover some parts easily.

7. Understanding Polish history

One cannot learn any language without educating oneself about its culture. Language and culture are inseparable.

This point is especially true for those who are into books. As far as Polish culture is concerned, it has a rich literature.

The first written records of the Polish language date back to the 10th century. By 1500, it was relatively dominant throughout much of Europe, which is why you can find a wealth of treasure.

Imagine reading their history and literature books in Polish. It’s an authentic way to dive deep into their culture and tradition.

You will gain greater insight into literature from distinguished authors like Henryk Sienkiewicz, Władysław Reymont, Czesław Miłosz, Wisława Szymborska, Olga Tokarczuk, and Dorota Masłowska.

On a side note, no matter how many papers you read in English or your native language about Polish literature and customs. Well, you still will have a block somewhere.

You will gain knowledge, but it is always better to learn impressive things through written material in their language.

You might not take advantage of the true essence of the books in English-translated scripts.

8. Good for the brain

Be it any language, well-known or lesser-known, acquiring any tongue is always seen as bliss for your brain – an exercise, to be precise. Learning them plays with your brain – well, positively.

Several studies have shown that bilinguals are more creative, good at multitasking, have better memories, and solve better.

It trains your brain to learn things faster, think efficiently, and be a critical thinker.

It also prepares you to let your guard down for some time, especially when you have to speak with a native in your target language.

The Polish language also increases cognitive abilities and makes the brain flexible. It also strengthens the brain’s natural ability to focus.

These are just some of the incentives for you to learn Polish.

9. Have an enjoyable holiday

While one can visit Warsaw, Lodz, Krakow, Wroclaw, and many other places in Poland without speaking a word in Polish, knowing the language makes the trip more fruitful.

Trust me; it is crucial to know at least a few phrases and words of the tongue you will travel to soon.

Imagine you are stuck at the local shop, train station, and sheriff’s office and can’t see a way out. One prime reason is the language barrier.

Poland has many places of natural beauty, such as the Mazury Lake District, Tatra Mountains, green areas, nature reserves, natural monuments, and forests. These all make the country an attractive place to visit.

These factors combine to make Poland more beautiful for a growing number of international students. They prefer the quality of education and the service they receive and decide to study there.

Learning a language is always better than waiting for an interpreter or tour guide to help you quickly leave the situation.

It’s always nice to understand the menu of any restaurant and order food. Also, finding the historical explanations is easy to understand and adjust because you can understand the language.

You will also master the pronunciation of places’ names, routes, and information about tourist sites. You will also take part in genuine conversations and earn appreciation for at least trying to speak Polish.

10. Watch Polish movies and TV series

While Polish films, TV series, and music aren’t as famous as those of English, Korean, Japanese, or French, they do have a few good ones.

The list of fantastic Polish flicks is endless, including the old classic Knife in the Water, Pharaoh, The Deluge, The Promised Lands, Nights and Days to Katyń, Cold War, In Darkness, Rose, and Corpus Christi!

You can enjoy TV series such as 1983, Kruk, Nielegalni, Blinded by the Lights, The Pleasure Principle, and many more.

These are available on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, HBO, Hulu, and other online streaming channels.

Conclusion

As the world becomes more globalized, learning a language is one of the most valuable skills in the 21st century. There are many convincing reasons to learn Polish.

But of course, as with everything, there are certain drawbacks.

For example, it is not an easy language. Obstacles include a 7-case declension system and a complex gender system. The knotty pronunciation will also be a headache.

Polish is also not widespread, with insufficient learning centers and resources.

But you can surely learn Polish if you have reasons, interests, and motivation. This isn’t a daunting task. And this is true for many languages.

All these factors also come with the perks of better career options, the opportunity to study in Poland, the cultural aspect, the pursuit of a hobby, and traveling. The list is endless.

Do you plan to learn Polish?

I’d love to know your reasons. Share your thoughts in the comments below.