Czy wpływ języka angielskiego na język polski jest zjawiskiem pozytywnym czy nie? - Is English language influence on Polish good or not?

In my opinion is that we should take heed in the face of foreign languages influencing our native language. Undoubtedly English spreads extremely quickly in Poland. According to me this phenomenon is not good at all. The growing popularity of English caused the fact that we overuse some words, for instance, weekend, big market, fast food, joystick or businessman. Maybe I have an obsession about it but I really do not like it. It is not that our native language is contaminated by foreign vocabulary only. Umberto Eco once said that such countries as the US are superpowers and that is why we must accept English as a lingua franca. Yes, indeed but the point is that we have to take into account that we live in Poland and first and foremost we are Poles. English is an international language which can help you in any situation: while abroad, at work, in social contacts, etc. I do not deny that. What I only mean is that each of us should communicate in Polish. For an ordinary citizen who does not speak English, it is very difficult to understand some billboards in the street. As far as we, students of Grammar School are concerned, we quite often use such colloquialisms as: 'Ale full ludzi', 'Ale man', Dzieki za help'. What more I have heard some time on the radio a girl speaking about her 'hometown Wowbrzych' instead of Walbrzych. English is everywhere, even some shop windows have inscriptions only in English. So why do we use English in everyday life? The answer is simple: we use it because we want to be modern, and to show how cosmopolitan we are. We want western models to become ours. However, we must be aware that the influence of English on Polish is a menace to our mother tongue, our tradition, customs and identity. Be a true Pole and speak Polish then!

[Arkadiusz Szymczak]