The Polish Language Council (Rada Języka Polskiego in Polish) is the official language regulating organ of the Polish language. It was formed on September 9, 1996 as a Commission of the Polish Academy of Sciences on the power of the law enacted by the Polish parliament ("Act on the Polish Language", "Ustawa o języku polskim" of 1999-10-07).
The council is composed of 36 members, including linguists, scientists, other specialists (e.g., in law, history of art, computer science, medicine, physics). It is tasked with advisory duties.
The stated tasks of the council are:
- analysis and evaluation of the condition of the Polish language and advising on the state language policy;
- promoting knowledge about the Polish language, its variations, standards, and the criteria for evaluation of its usage; organization of discussions and conferences to this aim;
- making decisions on disputes over elements of the language (vocabulary, grammar, spelling, punctuation, and syntax);
- establishing rules for spelling and punctuation;
- finding solutions for usage of the Polish language in science and technology (primarily in emerging disciplines);
- evaluation of the names for new commercial products and services;
- taking care of the language culture in Polish language schools;
- expressing views on non-standardized given names for children;
- review of texts published by the Polish media and public administration.
Among the most notable current members of the council are:
- Jerzy Bartmiński
- Andrzej Blikle
- Jerzy Bralczyk
- Tadeusz Konwicki
- Andrzej Markowski
- Jan Miodek
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