Published: 2025-12-10

My student is non-binary: gender neutrality in teaching Polish as a foreign language

Maciej Szott Logo ORCID

Abstract

The concept of gender-neutral language is developing rapidly in contemporary Polish, with elements of gender neutrality becoming increasingly present in general usage. This trend necessitates a response from those who develop materials for teaching Polish as a foreign language. The aim of the article is to analyse selected proposals featured on the website zaimki.pl, the primary source of information on this topic, and to attempt to systematize the word formation rules that underlie them. The discussion covers the (neo)pronouns and neuter grammatical gender, neuter personal nouns and constructions that use the epicene osoba (person). The grammatical mechanisms involved in forming these elements are described, and their potential for inclusion in Polish as a foreign language curriculum is assessed. The findings indicate that while some aspects can already be successfully integrated into teaching, others present challenges that currently hinder their implementation.

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Szott, M. (2025). My student is non-binary: gender neutrality in teaching Polish as a foreign language. Forum Lingwistyczne, 13(2), 1–16. https://doi.org/10.31261/FL.2025.13.2.03

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Vol. 13 No. 2 (2025)
Published: 2025-12-29


ISSN: 2449-9587
eISSN: 2450-2758
Ikona DOI 10.31261/FL

Publisher
Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Śląskiego | University of Silesia Press

Licence CC Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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