Polish Language Council Mandates Orthography Revisions Effective January 2026

The Council for the Polish Language, known as Rada Języka Polskiego, operating under the Presidium of the Polish Academy of Sciences, has formally enacted significant modifications to national orthography standards. These changes are scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2026, following an announcement made on May 10, 2024. The comprehensive overhaul is designed to streamline and standardize writing principles across several complex areas of Polish grammar, with the stated institutional objective of decreasing language errors and facilitating a more intuitive grasp of correct written expression.

One of the most notable adjustments concerns the orthography of demonyms—the names designating inhabitants of specific localities. Previously, terms such as 'warszawianin' for a resident of Warsaw were mandated to be written in lowercase. The new regulation stipulates that these must now begin with an uppercase letter, resulting in forms such as 'Warszawianin'. Additionally, the Council has addressed the capitalization of commercial entities and their associated products, requiring consistent initial capitalization for company and brand names of industrial goods, as well as for individual units of those products. For example, the name 'Ford' will now always be capitalized, whether referencing the manufacturer or a specific vehicle.

The structural treatment of certain verbal particles is also undergoing a significant shift, specifically regarding the conditional particles '-bym', '-byś', '-by', '-byśmy', and '-byście'. These elements, which previously attached to conjunctions, must now be written as separate words, altering constructions like 'Zastanawiam się, czy by nie pojechać w góry'. Conversely, the negative particle 'nie-' when paired with inflected participles will transition to an exceptionless, conjoined spelling, removing prior allowances for separate writing.

To ensure a smooth transition for the educational and publishing sectors, the Centralna Komisja Egzaminacyjna (CKE) has established a provisional grace period. For all external examinations conducted between 2026 and 2030, including the eighth-grade assessment and the Matura final high school examination, both the legacy orthographic conventions and the newly established rules will be accepted as valid. This five-year window is intended to allow institutions, including textbook authors and software developers, adequate time to integrate the changes. The revised orthography will become the exclusive, mandatory standard for all written Polish beginning on January 1, 2031.

The Council's authority to establish these orthographic and punctuation standards is confirmed under Article 31, Section 1 of the Polish Language Act of October 7, 1999. While historical reforms, such as the one initiated in 1935, involved fundamental changes, the current 2024 announcement focuses on conventional spelling rules, deliberately avoiding alterations to the marking of Polish vowels and consonants, such as the 'rz'/'ż' or 'ó'/'u' distinctions. The core aim remains the practical simplification of writing, enabling authors to concentrate on semantic content over complex orthographic minutiae.