POSŁOWIE CZY POSŁANKI? O NAZWACH PIERWSZYCH POLSKICH PARLAMENTARZYSTEK
POSŁOWIE OR POSŁANKI? ON THE NAMES OF THE FIRST POLISH PARLIAMENTARIANS

A LINGUISTIC STUDY

Summary/Abstract: It is said today that the Polish language favours men. However, the gender-specific asymmetry and the grammatical privileging of masculine forms have their historical justification. Like other Indo-European languages, Polish developed in a patriarchal society in which men played important social functions and occupied high positions. Polish women got electoral rights in 1918. That is why the Polish language from before the beginning of the 20th century simply did not need a female equivalent of the term “poseł” [MP] (there was no designator for this lexeme in the non-linguistic reality). In the article, I analyse words that, at the beginning of the 20th century, were used to call women elected for the Polish parliament.

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