O kategorii płci i rodzaju w polszczyźnie

LTReikšminiai žodžiai: Kalbinės kategorijos; Biologinė lytis; Lytis; Gramatinė giminė; Linguistic categories; Biological sex; Gender; Grammatical gender.

ENThe article is concerned with the selected aspects of the relation between sex and gender in the Polish language. The starting point for the discussion is the notion of sex - formed on the basis of the existing (and visible) biological differences in the world of humans and animals, grounded (and reproduced) in culture (i.e. the notion of gender). The aim of the discussion is to realize how these notions are encoded in the Polish language. It has been assumed that the category of biological sex underlies the linguistic category of gender understood, however, broadly, i.e. as a set of heterogenous linguistic forms interrelated by the common content, i.e. the meaning of sex/gender. The description of the category understood this way requires a holistic view of language as a tool for expressing thoughts (relative to its various levels, including the context of use) and also using the procedure "from meaning to form". In the article, the author presents different types of markers of masculinity and femininity in the Polish language, i.e. lexical, morphological (inflexional and word-formative), textual, and contextual. It has been determined that in the case of concrete instances of language use, one deals with various combinations of the above mentioned indicators. The most effective (unequivocal) way to express grammatical gender is to use appropriate lexical means, i.e. primary words for sex/gender (kobieta - mężczyzna) [man and woman] and given names (Adam - Ewa). Morphological and syntactical markers are effective only in the case of expressing the feminine gender (except few instances), e.g. Lekar-ka czekał-a w gabinecie; Spotkał-a-m Nowak-ową [The doctor waited in the doctor's office; I , have met Mrs Nowak].Morphological and syntactical markers of the masculine gender are ambiguous, e.g. Udało mi się zapisać do lekarza w nieodległym terminie, Lekarze składają przysięgę Hipokratesa [I was able to make an appointment with a doctor at a near future date; Doctors take the Hippocratic Oath], and, as such, have to be supported by lexical, contextual, or constitutive hints indicating the biological sex of the referent. For example: Udało mi się zapisać do znajomego lekarza w nieodległym terminie, Lekarze i lekarki składają przysięgę Hipokratesa [I was able to make an appointment with a doctor whom I know at a near future date, Doctors and female doctors take the Hippocratic Oath]. The author concludes that one has to include not only the strictly linguistic categories in the way of expressing the biological sex in language, but also pragmatic categories such as the type of the communicative situation (official or unofficial), the intention of the utterance (e.g. hiding or emphasising the biological sex, the importance of such a piece of information in a given act of communication). Psycho-social factors are also important. This includes the acceptance (or lack of it) of a certain way of expressing the gender (e.g. the usage of feminine word formations such as prezeska [director] or socjolożka [sociologist]). [From the publication]