Osoba niepełnosprawna czy osoba z niepełnosprawnością? Konsekwencje niejawnej polisemii
Nonexplicit polysemy and its implications: the case of choice between Polish osoba niepełnosprawna 'lit. person disabled' and osoba z niepełnosprawnością 'lit. person with disability'

Summary/Abstract: Native speakers of Polish, including persons with disabilities, differ in their choice to use either Polish equivalent of Person First style, i.e. a phrase with a modifying prepositional phrase: osoba z niepełnosprawnością, or the form with an adjectival modifier: osoba niepełnosprawna. In the article it is suggested that the tendency to avoid osoba niepełnosprawna is due to its two linguistic features. One is its subtle polysemy, hitherto unnoticed, due to either intersective or subsective reading of the adjective; the other is the adjective's potential for negative valuation due to its morphological structure. These features are analyzed using a selection of theoretical approaches, including some analyses of Polish classificatory modifiers, as well as elements of Construction Grammar. I further use argumentations presented by disability self-advocates who have expressed their reasons for preferring either term as evidence for the various senses identified.

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