Św. abp Józef Bilczewski: biografia językowa i jego wpływ na sytuację językową w Wilamowicach

Abstract

Józef Bilczewski (1860-1923, the Archbishop of Lviv, was born in Wilamowice, a small town located on the borderland of Silesia and Lesser Poland, which is inhabited by an ethnic group called Vilamovians. They are the descendants of settlers of Western origin who came to this place in the 13th century. The Germanic Vilamovian language (Wymysorys), which is spoken in Wilamowice to this day, is one of the most important markers of Vilamovian identifi cation. It was the primary language of Bilczewski, at least until he fi nished primary school. After that, he spoke fl uent Polish and German. As a result of later education, Polish became his primary language, and this did not change until the end of his life. The Wymysorys language remained the language of family contact. He must have also had a good command of the German language -he used it as a student, a scholar, and the Metropolitan of Lviv. Bilczewski also had a signifi cant infl uence on the language situation in Wilamowice. He supported and founded a kindergarten and school, which were to strengthen the position of the Polish 1 Praca naukowa fi nansowana ze środków budżetowych na naukę w latach 2016-2022 jako projekt badawczy w ramach programu "Diamentowy Grant" z funduszy Ministerstwa Nauki i Edukacji. Projekt "Góry, pagórki, przykryjcie nas -Wilamowianie wobec powojennych prześladowań".