Warmian dialect as the material of literature in Joanna Wilengowska’s story Król Warmii i Saturna

Katarzyna Sobolewska

Instytut Języka Polskiego Polskiej Akademii Nauk, Warszawa
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1348-787X


Abstract

The article is devoted to linguistic and stylistic analysis of Joanna Wilengowska’s story
Król Warmii i Saturna [The King of Warmia and Saturn], which was examined using
philological methods. The aim of the analysis was to determine how elements of Warmian
dialect function in this text, in which parts and in what form they appear, what content
they communicate, and what role they play in the work. The study showed that the
systemic Warmian forms included in the standard Polish text give it a distinct regional
flavour, yet they do not overshadow it. They introduce important content elements of the
narrative: they present the cultural landscape of Warmia, differentiate the characters, and
reflect what is retained in their memories. They also serve to describe the fate of Warmia,
full of injustices and traumas suffered during the war and the post-war period of violent
integration. In addition, some of them form the idiolect of the family described in the book,
their intimate language of everyday communication.


Keywords:

Warmian dialect, dialect stylization, Warmian literature


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Published
2026-06-30

Cited by

Sobolewska, K. (2026). Warmian dialect as the material of literature in Joanna Wilengowska’s story Król Warmii i Saturna. Papers in Linguistics, 28(2), 239–247. https://doi.org/10.31648/pj.12521

Katarzyna Sobolewska 
Instytut Języka Polskiego Polskiej Akademii Nauk, Warszawa
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1348-787X