VI. After moving to Warsaw: serving schools (1932-1939)

VI. After moving to Warsaw: serving schools (1932-1939)

1. About the publication

The year 1932 began the Warsaw period in the history of the journal. Compared to 1931, the following changed: the publisher, the responsible editor, the address of the editorial office, and the printing house. Also, an editorial committee was established. From 1932, the journal did not come out in July and August (until 1931 – in August and September). It was also decided not to number annual bound volumes, so from then on the year = the annual bound volume. The following disclaimer was also introduced: “The editorial board reserves the right to introduce insignificant modifications and abbreviations to papers without authors’ consent” (1932, Issue 9/10, p. 176).

The original subtitle, i.e. “Monthly dedicated to proper language use” (“Miesięcznik poświęcony poprawności języka”), was restored, followed by “the body of the Society for Proper Use of the Polish Language (founded by Roman Zawiliński in 1901). ”Kazimierz Król was the first responsible editor to succeed Zawiliński and to be followed by Witold Doroszewski (from November 1932). The editorial board and, initially, the administrative personnel worked at 44/2 Tamka street. The editorial committee was composed of: Witold Doroszewski, Adam Antoni Kryński and Stanisław Szober. Following Witold Doroszewski’s appointment as Poradnik’s editor, and after A.A. Kryński’s death, the committee was composed of: Jan Rzewnicki, Stanisław Słoński and Stanisław Szober.

What was definitely the new editorial board’s success was increased prestige of the journal. Poradnik’s role in the education process was acknowledged by relevant authorities. The Ministry of Religious Denominations and Public Enlightenment released “122nd Communication on the publication entitled Poradnik Językowy:

The Ministry of Religious Denominations and Public Enlightenment wishes to draw the attention of inspectors, directors, heads, and teachers of all types of schools to the monthly: Poradnik Językowy, a body of the Society for Proper Use of the Polish Language, and encourages them to support it.
As Poradnik safeguards the purity and proper use of the language, fights errors, which lead to its contamination, and promotes the culture of our mother tongue, it should be available in every school library, be it a general education, primary, secondary or vocational one.
The subscription fee is PLN 8, and PLN 6 for members of the Society for Proper Use of the Polish Language.
The address of the Editorial Board and the Administration Personnel: Warszawa, Tamka Nr. 44, m. 2. /[No. II – 9864/32].
"Dziennik Urzędowy Ministerstwa Wyznań Religijnych i Oświecenia Publicznego" ("The Official Journal of the Ministry of Religious Denominations and Pubic Enlightenment"), XV, Warsaw 1932, No. 9 (item 122), p. 383. *

Circular letters encouraging to follow the linguistic advice provided in the journal were issued by other ministries, subordinate offices, chief education officers, and commanders of military units (1932, Issue 9/10, p. 175).

Following the change of the name of the Society for Proper Use of the Polish Language into the Society for Proper Language Use and Culture Propagation in 1934, beginning with Issue 8 of 1934, the subtitle of Poradnik read as follows: “a body of the Society for Proper Language Use and Culture Propagation (founded by Roman Zawiliński in 1901).” The committee composed of: Jan Rzewnicki, Stanisław Słoński and Stanisław Szober, worked until the end of 1935/36; the next one was composed of two individuals, namely Jan Rzewnicki and Stanisław Słoński (1936/37, Issues 1–2); the subsequent one – Witold Doroszewski, Jan Rzewnicki*, Stanisław Słoński, Stanisław Szober (1936/37, Issues 3–9); Witold Doroszewski, Stanisław Słoński, Stanisław Szober* (1937/38); Witold Doroszewski, Henryk Friedrich, Halina Koneczna, Stanisław Słoński, Józef Tarnacki (1938/39). From Issue 3 of 1936/37, the journal’s editor was a member of the committee. During W. Doroszewski’s stay in the USA in 1936/37, his duties as the editor were taken over by Stanisław Szober*.

The editorial office was initially located at 44/2 Tamka street, and then it was moved to 1 Smulikowskiego street (the administration department was also located there). The last address before the war was 43 Morszyńska street. Administrative issues were handled by “Nasza Księgarnia” Sp. Akc. ZNP*, and then by the Polish Teachers’ Union (Związek Nauczycielstwa Polskiego). At first, the journal was published by Galewski and Dau, then by Zakłady Graficzne “Nasza Drukarnia” (Issues 1/2–3 of 1938/39 were printed by the printing house of the Polish Teachers’ Union). The limit of one author’s sheet was exceeded in 1932. Consequently, the annual bound volume was 11.5 author’s sheets long (1933, Issue 3, p. 63). Beginning from Issue 8 of 1934, tables of contents were published on the cover (previously, they had been printed before the imprint). As there was much content to be published, the possibility of turning the monthly into a bimonthly was not excluded – on condition of a sufficient number of subscribers (1933, Issue 3, p. 63). From September 1935, Poradnik was published in accordance with the school cycle: in the period 1835/36–1937/38, 9 issues were published per year, in the school year 1938/39 – 10. Delays in the release of issues in February and March 1936 were caused by a printers’ strike (1935/36, Issue 7, p. 163). The year 1937/38 was not successful for the journal – it did not come out regularly and the volume of the last issue 7/9 was reduced (the whole annual bound volume contained only 126 pages)*. A total of 72 issues were published in 1932–1938/39.

To attract new subscribers, the old stocks, brought to Warsaw from Cracow, were offered as follows: “choose annual bound volumes or issues for PLN 3, absolutely free of charge” (1932, Issue 5/6, p. 108). In 1933, the number of subscribers was the same as in previous years. “The monthly has earned renown in our cultural life”*. Reduced proceeds from subscription fees could “render it impossible to continue the publication of »P.J.«.” This was prevented, however, by a provisional agreement between the Society for Proper Use of the Polish Language and the Polish Teachers’ Union, concluded on 8 May 1934*. Under the agreement, the journal was published and administered by the Polish Teachers’ Union in 1934/35. Issue 5/6 of 1934 was the last one published by the Society for Proper Use of the Polish Language.

By changing the publisher, the Society gained – as can be read in “Komunikat” (“Communication”) published in Issue 7 of 1934 – “an opportunity to have a direct contact with a great number of teachers. Teachers are a group that is probably the most important in our work”, not only because they shape the language used by children, but also due to their devotion to their work and aspirations. It was also emphasised that the form of the journal would remain unchanged: “we will continue to touch upon general linguistic issues” (1934, Issue 7, p. 105). Under the aforementioned agreement, the Society members could benefit from the reduced annual subscription and membership fee – from PLN 9 to 8. As specified in the communication published in Issue 5 of 1939, membership fees to be incurred by the members of the Polish Teachers’ Union who were also members of the Society would be paid as a lump sum by the Management Board of the Polish Teachers’ Union. Members of the Polish Teachers’ Union received Poradnik Językowy either through subscription or as a free supplement to Głos Nauczycielski (Teacher’s Voice) (1935, Issue 5, p. 101). The agreement with the Polish Teachers’ Union contributed to the journal’s popularisation among teachers, while the number of subscribers “from the groups of subscribers other than schools” decreased*.

The May’s agreement was replaced with an agreement signed on 29 November 1935. Its final shape was determined based on the experiences from the eighteen months of cooperation between the parties. Like the previous agreement, the new one provided for funds for the publication, did not violate the Society’s rights to the journal, and did not change its profile (limitation to linguistic issues). The Polish Teachers’ Union undertook to administer and publish the journal, and incur all related expenses. The Society received an annual lump sum of PLN 3 thousand from the Union as “a membership fee for its members joining the Society for Proper Language Use and Culture Propagation.” “As follows from the Board’s report for 1935, this solution greatly contributed to the accomplishment of the Society’s objectives. The circulation of »P. J.«, which dropped below the profitability limit in 1934, is now several times higher. ”Not only did the agreement bring financial benefits to the Society, but it also released the Society from the nuisance related to accounting (which the Society faced from the conclusion of the May’s agreement until September 1935). In 1935, the journal was run by Prof. W. Doroszewski, its editor-in-chief, “at the same level and in the same spirit as before” (1935/36, Issue 8/9, p. 223). Under the November’s agreement, annual bound volumes of the monthly were identified by the school year, from September of one year to June of the following one, with a break in July and August. The subscription fee was reduced for everyone, also non-members of the Society*. The 1936 delays in the publication of the journal in February (Issue 7) and March (Issue 8) were caused by a printers’ strike (1935/36, Issue 7, p. 163).

In 1935, the Silver Laurel of the Polish Academy of Literature (Polska Akademia Literatury) was awarded to: Prof. Kazimierz Król (former editor of Poradnik), eng. Jan Rzewnicki (member of the editorial committee) and Capt Józef Rossowski (collaborator of Poradnik) (1935/36, Issue 4 p. 104).

Poradnik Językowy was the most significant – initially ranked third*, and later first* – area of the Society’s activities (next to lectures and the Committee’s work). In accordance with the statutes of 17 January 1938, the General Meeting decided on the amount of the subscription fee to be paid for Poradnik Językowy and the rules of its publication, while the Board decided on the composition of the editorial board and authors’ fees:

III. OPERATIONAL MEASURES
[…]
3. The Society’s objective is to propagate proper use and culture of the Polish language by popularising its more profound knowledge.
4. The Society seeks to accomplish this objective by [ ...]
(b) publishing the journal entitled Poradnik Językowy and other publications aimed at practical discussion of linguistic issues and exploring the language [...]
V. MEMBERS OF THE SOCIETY, THEIR ADMISSION AND REMOVAL, THEIR RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS.
[…]
9. Members of the Society shall have the right to take advantage of all privileges [...], in particular to receive Poradnik Językowy against the payment of a certain reduced subscription fee [...]
VII. GENERAL MEETING.
[…]
15. The General Meeting shall determine ... the amount of the subscription fee for Poradnik Językowy, the rules of its publication [...]
VIII. THE MANAGEMENT BOARD.
[…]
22. The Management Board shall perform all activities related to the management of the affairs and assets of the Society [...], in particular it shall determine the composition of the editorial board of Poradnik Językowy and the rules governing remunerations for the authors of the texts published in Poradnik Językowy [...].
“Statut Towarzystwa Krzewienia Poprawności i Kultury Języka” (“Statutes of the Society for Proper Language Use and Culture Propagation”) *

(Combined) Issue 9/10 of May and June 1939 was the last issue released before the war. The outbreak of the Second World War stopped the publication of the journal for a few years. Adopting Zawiliński’s numbering system, this was the fifth and the longest break in the publication, as the journal did not come out for over 8 years.

2. Policy statement

In the initial period (1932), the form of the journal remained unchanged:

Poradnik will continue to safeguard the purity of the language and its proper use. We will seek to fight obvious errors and negligence, which lead to contamination of the language and its pauperisation, – we will impartially evaluate linguistic phenomena, with the well-being of the language we share in mind as both a stimulus and a steering curb for the culture of individuals and communities, – we will combat intrusive barbarisms, stigma of spiritual slavery, while keeping our eyes open to lively and creative elements of language development.
1932, Issue 1, p. 1.

The Editorial Board’s standpoint as regards the purposefulness of stigmatisation of linguistic errors was supported by Rzewnicki:

[…] a doctor has nothing to do when he is among the healthy, it is illnesses that provides him with a scope for activity. Who asks about this or that is someone who wonders and wants to write and speak properly; those who do not reflect, do not know they are sinning, are a hundred times worse. And they are the target for Poradnik, whose task is to awake their conscience.
Rz., “Głosy Czytelników”, Poradnik Językowy 1932, Issue 1, p. 16.

The journal’s role as a publication aimed at providing practical advice as regards proper language use was emphasised in the summary of the activities taken by the editorial board over the first year of operating in Warsaw:

We cannot judge ourselves. We have tried to be faithful to our scientific and ideological assumptions. In the following year, we will continue to strive to accomplish the adopted objectives.
Language is one of the forms of a human activity, and the notions of a standard and a value cannot be excluded from discussions about language. The nature of both a language standard and a language value is social, as language is the most important component of the civilisation bond between people.
Work on language involves both the society and culture, and this is how we understand our tasks.
1932, Issue 9/10, p. 174.

“Komunikat Redakcji” (“Editorial Board’s Communication”), published in Issue 1 of 1933, clearly implied a new task the journal was to face, namely dissemination of scientific knowledge of the Polish language. As language standards, conventions and rules are learnt at school, one of Poradnik’s objectives was “to coordinate Polish language teaching at all levels.” The editorial board appealed to teachers to join a discussion on Polish language teaching, share their linguistic doubts and send their own papers and dissertations to the editorial board.

Poradnik Językowy was also supposed to:

  • become a platform for sharing ideas in linguistic matters (as evidenced by the multitude of sections dedicated to practical linguistic issues),
  • draw attention to Polish used in everyday press, official publications and books translated into Polish,
  • unite all those (contributing to creating the language, being aware of it or not) who cared about the language.

From April 1933 to 1938/39, the journal was published with the following endorsement: “Poradnik Językowy is recommended for all types of schools by the Ministry of Religious Denominations and Public Enlightenment, by way of its Ordinance No. II – 9864/32, promulgated in the Official Journal of the Ministry, No. 9 of 1932.”

It was clearly emphasised that "Poradnik rejects any particular interests, any forms of reproaching the borders of the old partitions or issues that used to demean our dignity” (1933, Issue 1, p. 2). Two years later, Poradnik was attacked in Kurier Ilustrowany Codzienny (The Daily Illustrated Courier) (of 11 January 1935) for alleged “slandering Małopolska and promoting regional differences” (the word in question was ‘galicjak’ – a name used to refer to a person living in Małopolska, perceived there as a pejorative one). In its response, the editorial board reminded its declaration in this regard, included in “Komunikat…” (“Communication...”) of 1933, and commented the slander as follows: “We are not going to react to any attacks caused by ill will and the desire to do harm to our journal” (1935, Issue 2, pp. 43–44).

Coordinating activities intended for safeguarding proper language use with linguistic research rendered it possible to “fully exploit all cultural and educational values inherent in the language. The intention of the editorial board of Poradnik is that our journal, dedicated to proper use and culture of language, serves also as a means of coordinating Polish language teaching at all its levels – from primary school to university, and as a platform to share ideas in this regard by those who care about this most, namely teachers” (1938/39, Issue 3, p. 48). Linguistic knowledge was supposed to facilitate practical measures.

3. Sections of the journal

In 1932 and 1933, the journal was composed of the same sections as in the previous period*. A new section – “Obituaries” (“Wspomnienia pośmietne”) – was introduced in 1932. In 1932, this section was dedicated to Stanisław Odrowąż-Wysocki*, Adam A. Kryński and Roman Zawiliński. In the annual bound volume, this section was listed as the second item, while as regards the individual issues, texts belonging to this section were published either at the very beginning or end of a given issue, following regular columns.

The new arrangement of sections in Poradnik Językowy solidified at the end of 1933*. “Next to the sections existing before, among which the section dealing with replies to readers’ queries enjoys great popularity, a section intended to report on material culture was introduced and illustrated with drawings. This section drew a lively response from readers. In late 1933, the Editorial Board launched a regular column to report on the contents related to language found in the press. The ad-hoc observation section and that dedicated to replies serve purely practical purposes, while papers are of both a practical and scholarly nature"*. The following new sections were introduced in late 1933: “From the life of words and objects” (“Z życia wyrazów i rzeczy”) and “What is being written about language” (“Co piszą o języku”). Much space was devoted to orthography, but the editorial board sought not to limit the scope of the journal to orthographic issues only*. Two lectures delivered at meetings of the Orthography Commission of the Polish Academy of Learning (Komitet Ortograficzny PAU) were published (1935)* and “Oświadczenie prezydium Komitetu Ortograficznego P.A.U. wobec artykułu prof. J. Obrębskiego w Środach Literackich” (“Statement by the Bureau of the Commission on Spelling of the Polish Academy of Learning as regards Prof. J. Obrębski’s paper published in Literary Wednesdays”), signed by K. Nitsch and T. Lehr-Spławiński (1936/37, Issue 7/8, pp. 157–159).

As part of the popularisation activity pursued by W. Doroszewski, a new section – “From the mailbox of the Polish Radio” (“Ze skrzynki pocztowej Polskiego Radia”) – was introduced (from Issue 5 of 1935), whereas the “Queries and replies” section (published for the last time in Issue 7/9 of 1937/38) was replaced with “Explanations of words and expressions” (“Objaśnienia wyrazów i zwrotów”) (from Issue 4 of 1937/38). In Issue 4 of 1933, a new column – “Reviews” (“Recenzje”) – was added. In annual lists, this column was treated as equivalent to the “New books” one, and the texts published in both columns were identified under one name: “New books, reviews” (“Nowe książki, recenzje”). The last text in the "New books" section was published in the first issue of the annual bound volume of 1936/37. The column “Work on language abroad” (“Praca nad językiem zagranicą”) (Issue 1 of 1935/36), which did not appear in any subsequent issue, was intended as an advance copy. From 1932 on, annual reports on the activities of the Society for Proper Use of the Polish language, and then those of the Society for Proper Language Use and Culture Propagation, were published in Poradnik. The Gleanings section existed until 1936/37 (Issue 2).

Texts opening individual issues belonged to the “Papers” section – in 1932–1938/39, 164 such texts were released (1932 – 23, 1933 – 26, 1934 – 23, 1935 – 11*, 1935/36 – 22, 1936/37 – 23, 1937/38 – 13, 1938/39 – 23). Replies to a total of 724 queries were published. As regards the “Divagations” section, 72 disputable matters were raised (until 1933 the topics dealt with were numbered). The number of sections in annual bound volumes ranged from IX (1938/39) to XVIII (1935/36).

The Society supported the initiative to release a commemorative volume titled Prace Filologiczne (Philological Studies), dedicated to Kryński. The column entitled “A tribute to Prof. A.A. Kryński” (“Uczczenie pamięci prof. A.A. Kryńskiego”) (1933, Issue 1 – 1935, Issue 3) included an appeal for donations for this project, signed by Stanisław Szober. The names of donors were published in this column and requests for financial support were repeated.

4. Collaborators

For the last time, readers were requested to “send texts, contributions” in Issue 4 of 1932. Their queries were replied to – as in previous years – in the next issue (or by post if the reader enclosed a post stamp)*.

The following authors wrote the greatest number of papers: Józef Rossowski (27), Stanisław Szober (26) and Witold Doroszewski (W.D.) (25). Henryk Friedrich wrote 11 texts for the “Papers” section, Jan Rzewnicki (Rz.) – 9, Halina Koneczna – 4. Józef Żebrowski and Jan Tokarski published 7 texts each, Józef Birkenmajer and Stanisław Skorupka – 5 texts each, Stanisław Westfal and Ananiasz Zajączkowski – 3 texts each, Henryk Grappin, Witold Taszycki and Maria Załuska – 2 texts each, and Michał Abiński, G. Alkor, Tadeusz Boy-Żeleński, Wiktor Godziszewski, Bolesław Hryniewiecki, Franciszek Ilešić, Eugeniusz Jaczewski, Irma Kryńska-Polakiewiczowa, Adam A. Kryński, Artur Passendorfer, Tadeusz Pizło, Władysław Pniewski, Czesław Rokicki, Tadeusz Sinko, Stanisław Słoński, Józef Sykulski, Alfons Szyperski, Zygmunt Szweykowski, Bolesław Ślaski, Henryk Ułaszyn, Stanisław Westfal, Wid, Stanisław Wyrobek, and authors signed with initials: jw., A.S. – 1 text each. Two papers were signed by two authors: one by R. Zawiliński and J. Rzewnicki, and the other by K. Król and J. Rzewnicki.

In 1932–1939, a clear generational change took place. New names started to appear next to those of the authors who had published their texts earlier (A.A. Kryński, J. Rzewnicki, R. Zawiliński*, or H. Ułaszyn). They were both linguists born in the early 20th century, e.g. H. Grappin, S. Słoński and S. Szober, and their younger colleagues, who received their education in independent Poland: H. Friedrich, H. Koneczna, S. Skorupka and J. Tokarski.

Replies to readers’ queries were provided by: Witold Doroszewski (W. D.), Jan Rzewnicki (Rz.), Stanisław Szober (Sz., S. S.). “Divagations” contained texts written by linguists (W. Doroszewski, E. Klich, H. Koneczna, S. Szober), as well as experts representing various fields of science and various professions: Stanisław Wyrobek was a judge, Karol Stadtmüller – an engineer, Franciszek Moskwa – a tradesman (a merchant), Zofia Markowska – a teacher of the Ukrainian language. What they all had in common was concern about the language and the belief that their efforts were worthwhile.