Polish Speakers In Austria: A Large Community?

Polish is spoken by most of the population of Poland, and by sizeable populations in Ukraine, the United States, Belarus, Lithuania, Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom, Israel, Russia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Australia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Brazil, Argentina, Austria and Hungary. It is difficult to measure the number of Polish speakers in Austria, as many Polish people have moved to Western European countries since Poland joined the European Union in 2004, and many of these workers tend to return to Poland after a short period.

Polish is spoken by sizeable populations in Austria

It is difficult to estimate how many people of Polish descent speak Polish as their first language. Often, statistics relate to people of Polish descent who may be third or fourth generation.

Polish has been taken far and wide with many waves of emigration from Poland. There was a big wave of emigration in the late 18th century, and for various political and economic reasons, Polish people have tended to emigrate ever since, including another large wave after the Second World War.

Polish is spoken by most of the population of Poland, and by sizeable populations in Ukraine, the United States, Belarus, Lithuania, Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom, Israel, Russia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Australia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Brazil, Argentina, Austria and Hungary.

Many Poles emigrated to Austria in the late 18th century

Polish is spoken by most of the population of Poland, and by sizeable populations in Ukraine, the United States, Belarus, Lithuania, Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom, Israel, Russia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Australia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Brazil, Argentina, Austria and Hungary. Since Poland joined the European Union in 2004, many Polish people have worked in Western European countries. This makes the Polish-speaking population even harder to measure, as many of this recent wave of workers tend to return to Poland after a short period.

Austria was the least suppressive of the Polish population, mainly because of its multiethnic tradition and its tolerance compared to the strong suppression of Polish culture in Prussia, later Germany, and in Russia. Despite such a level of tolerance, Poles were quite active in demanding independence and political rights, including the notable Kraków uprising of 1846. Poles joined the Revolutions of 1848 to support other nations' fights for freedom against Austria, most notably the Hungarian Revolution of 1848 and the First Italian War of Independence. Polish General, Józef Bem continued the conflict against the Austrian rulers and gave great difficulty to the Austrian Army in Hungary.

Polish is spoken by most of the population of Poland

Poland joined the European Union in 2004, and since then many Polish people have worked in Western European countries. This makes the Polish-speaking population even harder to measure, as many of these workers tend to return to Poland after a short period.

In Austria, there is a notable concentration of Poles in Austrian Galicia, which reflects its status as a part of Poland 'irredenta'.

Poland joined the European Union in 2004, which led to many Polish people working in Western European countries

Polish is spoken by most of the population of Poland, and by sizeable populations in Ukraine, the United States, Belarus, Lithuania, Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom, Israel, Russia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Australia, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Brazil, Argentina, Austria and Hungary. There are 783,000 Polish speakers in Germany, 615,000 in Lithuania, 125,000 in Israel, 67,400 in Russia, 33,600 in the Czech Republic, 18,700 in Ukraine, 3,500 in Hungary, 3,120 in Slovakia and 2,080 in Romania.

There has been a long history of emigration from Poland, with a large wave in the late 18th century and another after the Second World War. This has led to Polish being spoken in at least 50 territories, with a population of roughly 43 million speakers worldwide.

It is difficult to estimate how many people of Polish descent speak Polish as their first language

Often, where statistics are available, they relate to people of Polish descent who may be third or fourth generation. It is difficult to estimate how many such people speak Polish as their first language.

Polish is spoken by most of the population of Poland, and by sizeable populations in Ukraine, the United States, Belarus, Lithuania, Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom, Israel, Russia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Australia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Brazil, Argentina, Austria and Hungary.

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