LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Lietuvos lenkai; Visuomenės ir tapatybės pokyčiai; Daugiakalbystė; Kalbinė ir kultūrinė kompetencija; Poles in Lithuania; Changes of society and identity; Multilingualism; Linguistic and cultural competence.
ENThe article outlines the presence of the Polish language in Lithuania from the beginning of the adoption of Christianity in the Western rite church. Linguistic and cultural contacts, infl uences of the Belarusian, Lithuanian and later Russian languages have developed a special variant of the Polish regional language. Social changes in the twentieth century infl uenced the shaping of the national identity of Poles living in Lithuania. Currently, Polish youth in Lithuania is multilingual, theirs language and cultural competence depends on education and the degree of assimilation. The national identity of Poles from Lithuania is closely related to regional identity. [From the publication]