III. Series B (1919–1923)

III. Series B (1919–1923)

1. About the publication

From the beginning of 1919, two separate journals were released: Poradnik Językowy (series B) and Język Polski (as a body of the Commission for the Polish Language of the Polish Academy of Learning (Komisja Języka Polskiego PAU)). Zawiliński classified the annual bound volumes of 1901–1916 as series A (1919, Issue 1, p. 1), while series B comprised the issues published in 1919–1923. The series identification was placed in the running head. The issues had a separate numbering: from 1 to 45; 10 issues were published per annum, in 1923 – 5. The editor recognised this series as annual bound volumes XVI–XIX of Poradnik.

The editorial office of Poradnik was located in Kraków, at 7 Podwale street. The journal continued to be published in the Jagiellonian University Printing House. Dispatches and advance payments were handled by bookshops. From 1920, the main dispatching centre of Poradnik was located in the Gebethner i Ska bookshop in Kraków. In late 1919, the financial standing of the journal worsened seriously due to an over triple increase in the price of printing and a lower number of subscribers than expected (600 instead of 1,000). Owing to the subsidies received from the Ministry of Religious Denominations and Public Enlightenment (Ministerstwo Wyznań Religijnych i Oświecenia Publicznego), the journal managed to avoid debt in 1919 (1919, Issue 10, p. 145), survive 1920 (1920, Issue 19/20, p. 140) and the next year (1921, Issue 28, p. 105). The circulation of the periodical was reduced to 900 copies in 1920 (1920, Issue 11, p. 16). Schools expressed interest in subscribing the journal as it was recommended for them by the Ministry and the Galician School Council (Rada Szkolna). Like in the previous years, those making advance payments were requested to encourage others to become new friends of Poradnik (1920, Issue 19/20, p. 140). Inflation, ever increasing prices of paper, typesetting and printing forced the editorial board to continually increase the amount of advance payments. Some subscribers were also in arrears with payment of the annual subscription fee (1922, Issue 31, p. 1). One of the editorial board’s ideas to save the journal was to establish Poradnik Językowy Enterprise Fund. In 1922, the amount of 30,500 Polish markas was raised, but it proved insufficient to cover the financial liabilities of the publication (1922, Issue 39/40, p. 136). Lucjan Borysławski from Ostrowiec presented his idea to establish the Society of Enthusiasts of the Polish Language (Związek Miłośników Języka Polskiego)*, based in Warsaw, and suggested that Poradnik Językowy could be its body (1920, Issue 12/13, pp. 39–40). The journal closed 1922 with an enormous deficit – advance payments throughout the year covered merely 1/3 of the cost of paper and printing. In these circumstances, the editorial board requested the subscribers to make an additional payment for the previous year (MP 1,000) and advance payments for 1923 (MP 10,000, increased later to MP 21,000). The advance payments proved insufficient. The cost of printing the double Issue 41/42 of 1923 was covered with private funds, owing to which the printing house undertook to print the subsequent issue (1923, Issue 41/42, p. 1, Issue 43/45, p. 44). The editor’s illness resulted in a delayed publication of the triple Issue 43/45. Zawiliński postponed the decision to suspend the publication, hoping that readers would make the outstanding payments and new subscribers would be found. However, Issue 43/45 was the last of series B. The publication was suspended for the third time.

2. Policy statement

The political situation in which the publication of the journal was resumed differed from that in which it was suspended. Poland regained independence after 123 years. There was a considerable demand for such publications in the Polish society. Zawiliński changed the subtitle into: “Monthly dedicated to proper use and purity of the Polish language ” (“Miesięcznik poświęcony poprawności i czystości języka polskiego”) to emphasise the function of Poradnik as a journal designed to safeguard proper use and purity of the Polish language. On the other hand, it encompassed the declaration that the approach followed before 1913 would be continued:

The experience gained during the three years of publishing Język Polski, when Poradnik Językowy had to play a secondary role, implied the need to return to the former Poradnik Językowy, which will inform about the issues related to our language, but – first and foremost – it will provide guidance and aid whenever required. We find the active exchange of ideas between the reading and writing participants and the editorial board of Poradnik the most valuable sign, which may be more beneficial than long deliberations and discussions.
1919, Issue 1, p. 1.

The support received by the editor in the form of subsidies proved that the government appreciated the editor’s efforts and the role of Poradnik in the linguistic education process. The journal dealt with the language used by postmen, the vocabulary applied by craftsmen, the terminology specific to courts, and the language of official documents. Assuming that respect for a language is underlain by knowing it and mastering its grammar, Zawiliński launched a series of papers dedicated to the sentence and its parts. He drew examples from works by the greatest writers (1921, Issue 21, p. 5). A lot of attention was paid to the new spelling rules adopted by the Academy of Learning in 1918 (1919, Issue 1, pp. 12–15; 1920, Issue 12/13, pp. 30–38). Readers were also encouraged to take part in competitions: to explain the expression: takie buty (so that’s it), to coin a Polish name for tutka, i.e. gilza (a cigarette tube) (1922, Issue 34, pp. 63–64)* – in the latter competition, the word obsłonka won, though it was ridiculed by journalists.

3. Sections of the journal

The previous sections of Poradnik were preserved, with a particular stress put on "Divagations". They focused on clarifying readers’ doubts and replying to their questions concerning orthography or grammar, while emphasising that “this section’s liveliness and vitality depends solely on the readers’ interest and sincerity” (1919, Issue 1, p. 1). In the annual bound volumes of 1919 and 1920, this section included contents which had previously been dealt with in “Queries and replies”, with numbered examples. Beginning with the annual bound volume of 1921, two separate columns were restored, and continuous numbering was used only in the “Queries...” section. By 1920, a total of 111 topics were raised in the “Divagations” section (in 1919 – 59, in 1920 – 52) and 169 ones in the “Queries and replies” column (in 1921 – 81, in 1922 – 69, in 1923 – 19). The following new columns were added: “Good point” (“Słuszne uwagi”) (beginning with Issue 11 of 1920), “Caught red-handed” (“Na gorącym uczynku”) (1923, Issue 41/42), “Dead men talking” (“Rozmowy umarłych”) (1919, Issues 6, 8), “Bibliography” (“Bibliografia”) (1919, Issue 1) and “Explorations” (“Poszukiwania”) (1919, Issue 1). In the first one, comments as regards proper use of specific word forms were shared. In the second one, minor (isolated) examples of linguistic failures were presented. The third one contained discussions about language between Bolesław Prus and Kazimierz Brodziński (1919, Issue 6) and those between Karłowicz* and Majer* (1919, Issue 8). The “Explorations” section, with which high hopes were associated, was supposed to “revive the journal and encourage readers to collect relevant material” (1919, Issue 1, p. 2). In “Bibliography”, references to 2 items were provided: Język polski i jego historia (Encyklopedia AU, Kraków 1915) and A. Brückner Walka o język (Lwów 1917). Individual annual bound volumes comprised from VIII to IX sections, in which 39 papers were published (in 1919 – 9, in 1920 – 11, in 1921 – 9, in 1922 – 8, in 1923 – 2).

4 Collaborators

Like in the previous years, the editorial board continued to request readers and enthusiasts of language to send material, errors found in books and magazines, queries and articles, “without which the journal cannot be a forum for a lively exchange of thoughts between the editorial board and readers, as no advice can be provided when nobody asks for it.” Readers were asked which grammatical or linguistic issues were of interest to them (1920, Issue 19/20, p. 140).

The editor was assured of their willingness to collaborate by: Adam A. Kryński, Artur Passendorfer, Kazimierz Król, and Stanisław Szober (1919, Issue 10, p. 145). Later on, Stanisław Dobrzycki*, Artur Passendorfer and Czesław Rokicki were invited to collaborate with the editorial board on a regular basis (1922, Issue 30, p. 148). In the annual bound volume of 1919, 9 texts were published in the “Papers” section, although the author is mentioned only for one of them (Jan Czubek). The authors of the papers were, among others, those whose names had appeared in the previous period (however, not necessarily in the Papers section): J. Czubek (1 paper), S. Dobrzycki (1), K. Król (1), A.A. Kryński (1), J. Łoś (1) and J. F. Magiera (1), as well as novices: Marian Chmielowiec (1), Juliusz Lange (1)*, Feliks Przyjemski (1), Czesław Rokicki (5), Karol Stadtmüller (1). Most of the texts which appeared in this column were written by R. Zawiliński – 24 ones (approx. 60% of all papers).