Until 31st December, one can vote for a word or expression which, in their opinion, has great resonance for the year 2019. Słowo Roku 2019 (Word of the Year 2019) will be announced at the beginning of January by the UW linguists who organise the event.

What Polish word has attracted a great deal of interest over the last 12 months? Everyone is invited to either choose a word or expression from the list posted on the website http://sloworoku.uw.edu.pl/ or submit own proposals.

The candidates for the Word of the Year might be nouns, adjectives, verbs, etc. However, organisers will not accept surnames, proper names of people, places and institutions.

The poll is organised for the 9th time. The winner of the last edition is “konstytucja” (constitution).

This year proposals include, e.g. “klimat” (climate), “nauczyciel” (teacher), and “strajk” (strike), “wybory” (elections), “nienawiść (hatered), “hulajnoga” (scooter), and “równość” (equality).

Other countries such as the United Kingdom, Germany, France and the Czech Republic also choose their word of the year. Recently, the editors of “Oxford English Dictionary” have named “climate emergency” as its 2019 Word of the Year. Collins Dictionary, for example, picked “climate strike” as its word.

UW linguists are among a panel of experts who choose the word. The panel includes: Prof. Jerzy Bartmiński (Maria Curie Sklodowska University in Lublin), Prof. Jerzy Bralczyk (the University of Warsaw), Prof. Katarzyna Kłosińska (the University of Warsaw), Prof. Ewa Kołodziejek (the University of Szczecin), Prof. Marek Łaziński (the University of Warsaw), Prof. Andrzej Markowski (the University of Warsaw), Prof. Jan Miodek (the University of Wrocław), Prof. Renata Przybylska (the Jagiellonian University, Cracow) and Prof. Halina Zgółkowa (Adam Mickiewicz University in Poznań).

News

Temporary Change in Małgorzata Gajda-Łaszewska’s Office Hours

June 10, 2025

Dear Students, Małgorzata Gajda-Łaszewska’s office hours on June 11, 2025, will be held online instead of in person. Dr. Gajda-Łaszewska will be available from 2:00 p.m. to 4:45 p.m.

Year 2024/2025

June 12: Beyond Homeland(s) and Diaspora: Russian-Israeli Literature at Multiple Crossroads

June 6, 2025

We would like to invite you to a special guest lecture by Maria Rubins of University College London who will present a talk titled “Beyond Homeland(s) and Diaspora: Russian-Israeli Literature at Multiple Crossroads”. This lecture will examine the transnational, hybrid and translingual character of contemporary Russian-Israeli writing and its unique position within the evolving landscape of Russophone literature on the one hand, and Israeli culture on the other.

Year 2024/2025

June 5: Scaling Migrant Worker Rights. How Advocates Collaborate and Contest State Power

May 30, 2025

We are pleased to invite you to the second lecture of the Western Hemisphere Lecture series in the 2025 Spring semester! In the United States, immigration policy has undergone substantial changes in recent years. These changes have been particularly evident since the beginning of President Donald Trump’ recently inaugurated second term. In her analysis, Professor Xóchitl Bada will address these changes by focusing on the experience of migrant workers.

American Studies Colloquium Series

May 29: Surveillance and AI in the Military (and Beyond)

May 29, 2025

We are pleased to invite you to the last lecture of the American Studies Colloquium Series in the 2025 Spring semester! This lecture focuses on the revelatory power of media technology, particularly AI and other new media innovations. Beginning with an analysis of contemporary military surveillance projects, the presentation looks at the role of drones and similar technologies in making new enemies visible.

Year 2024/2025

May 27: Intersections of Queer and Class

May 27, 2025

We would like to invite you to a discussion meeting introducing the book “Reading Literature and Theory at the Intersections of Queer and Class” (Routledge 2025). We will talk about various crossovers of queer and class in American and German literary texts to explore, among others, queer precarity, intersections of queerness and class privilege, interclass queer sexuality, and lesbian response to class inequalities.