Gorals
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The Gorals, also known as the Highlanders are an ethnographic subgroup primarily found in their traditional area of southern Poland, northern Slovakia, and in the region of Cieszyn Silesia in the Czech Republic, where they are known as the Silesian Gorals. There is also a significant Goral diaspora in the area of Bukovina in western Ukraine and in northern Romania, as well as in Chicago, the seat of the Polish Highlanders Alliance of North America.
A Goral with bagpipes from the region of Podhale in Poland
Zbójnicy, colored wood engraving by Władysław Skoczylas
Gorals from Zakopane (1967)
Young Gorals of the Beskid Mountains (Żywiec)
Polish language
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Polish is a West Slavic language of the Lechitic group within the Indo-European language family written in the Latin script. It is spoken primarily in Poland and serves as the native language of the Poles. In addition to being the official language of Poland, it is also used by the Polish diaspora. In 2023, there were over 40.6 million Polish native speakers. It ranks as the sixth most-spoken among languages of the European Union. Polish is subdivided into regional dialects and maintains strict T–V distinction pronouns, honorifics, and various forms of formalities when addressing individuals.
The oldest printed text in Polish – Statuta synodalia Episcoporum Wratislaviensis printed in 1475 in Wrocław by Kasper Elyan.
A formal-tone informative sign in Polish, with a composition of vowels and consonants and a mixture of long, medium and short syllables
The Jakub Wujek Bible in Polish, 1599 print. The letters á and é were subsequently abolished, but survive in Czech.
Common handbag in Polish is called a torba, a word directly derived from the Turkish language. Turkish loanwords are common as Poland bordered the Ottoman Empire for centuries.[failed verification]