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Table of Contents
Polish in The Netherlands
Language
Language designations:
- In the language itself: Polski
- ISO 639-3 standard: pol
Language vitality according to:
| UNESCO | Ethnologue | Endangered Languages | Glottolog |
|---|---|---|---|
| Unavailable |  | N/A |  |
Click here for a full overview of the language vitality colour codes.
Unfortunately, Ethnologue and Glottolog do not provide information on Polish in the Netherlands specifically, only the Polish language as a whole.
Linguistic aspects:
- Script: Latin
Language standardisation
In the 12th century, the Polish language adopted the Latin script 1). However, due to certain sounds in the language, the Polish phonology could not fit within Latin script. It was not until 1440 when Jakub Parkoszowic (Jacobus Parcossii) attempted to introduce an orthographic reform. It was titled the “Treatise on Polish Orthography” (Traktat o ortografii polskiej) 2).
In 1549, Jan Seklucjan (Joannis Seclvcianus) lamented how difficult it was to read Polish. He wrote “A short and simple study of reading and writing in the Polish language” (Krótka a prosta nauka czytania i pisania języka polskiego). 3) In response, Stanisaw Murzynowski wrote the “Polish orthography, that is learning to read and write the Polish language, as much as Poles need, written in sufficient but few words” (Ortografija polská. To jest nauka pisániá i czytaniá języka polskié(go), ilé Polákowi potrzebá, niewielem słów dostatecznie wypisaná). 4) In it, he introduced 51 graphemes that were used to indicate the sound used to pronounce a certain letter, chosen depending on the sound needed.
The bigger developments in orthography would happen in the 19th century. In 1890, the Academy of Learning was established and they published their resolutions. However, numerous scholars, experts, and linguists protested against them and suggested a variety of changes 5). Twenty-six years later, more changes were suggested by the Provincial Council of State, though denied until two years after the fact. It was only in 1936 that the final major orthographic reform caused by the Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences happened in Poland 6). However, in 2024, the Polish Language Council stated they will be making more orthographic changes to Polish by 2026. 7)
Demographics
Language Area
No visual information exists about this information yet. However, Polish has had strong connections with the Netherlands for many centuries, even long before the Second World War. 8). Out of the population in the Netherlands, 0.4% uses L1 Polish at home 9), and that in 2025, there are likely 300,000 Polish speaking people living in the Netherlands 10).
Speaker numbers
In 2022, there were over 40 million speakers of Polish globally 11). As was stated before, there are likely around 300,000 Poles in the Netherlands as of 2025 12).
Education of the language
History of language education:
Between 1900 and 1945, there was an influx of Polish migrants. Up to 6000 Poles came to work in the mines in the province of Limburg 13). In 1990, another influx of Polish migrants occured, leading to about 120,000 people with a Polish background by 2017 14). This contemporary Polish school was established in 1994 in Tilburg, and its classes take place on Saturday morning every 2 weeks. The classes are attended by chilren from exclusively Polish speaking and Polish-Dutch families.
Since 1998, over 1000 schools are now participant in the educational program ‘School of Dialogue’ founded in the Netherlands in the city of Utrecht15), which is a school that puts the individual in the center, wanting to learn about that person, recognizes the value of diversity, prepares people to engage in dialogue, remembers the multicultural past, faces the truth, and is ready to build intercultural bridges. 16). Since its introduction in Poland in 2019, the embassy has been supporting the implementation of this program to the effect of an ever-growing amount of Polish schools participating. Thus, there have been more options for Polish education in the Netherlands.
Legislation of language education
European legislation on minority language education
On the 5th of November in 1992, the Netherlands signed the European Charter of Regional and Minority languages. They ratified it almost 4 years later, on the 2nd of May in 1996. It was only less than 2 years later since the legislation was put into action. Specifically, this took place on the 1st of March in 1998. However, there is no explicit mention of the Netherlands providing protection under the charter to Polish. This is because, since 1992 the Charter defines a minority language as a language that is traditionally used within a given territory of a State by nationals of that State who form a group numerically smaller than the rest of the State's population, and a language that is different from the official language(s) of that State. 17)
Similarly, under the Framework Convention on the Protection of National Minorities, there are no policies that directly provide protection for the Polish language.
National legislation on minority language education
Unfortunately, not much information is available on direct legislation of Polish in the Netherlands.
However, there are several Dutch legislations that indirectly permit Polish education in the Netherlands. One of these is the freedom of education, which refers to the freedom to found schools, organise the teaching in schools, and determine the principles on which they are based. 18)
Support structure for education of the language:
Despite the lack of legislations that directly address Polish, there are many schools that teach Polish in the Netherlands, such as the aforementioned school in Tilburg. There are also options for online courses, which are primarily made for adult education in basic to advanced Polish.
Additionally, there is a large amount of learning materials for Polish language learning available, which can be found online on TaalTaal, Polish Culture NL, the University of Amsterdam catalogue, and Amazon.
Education presence
There are approximately 30 schools that offer classes in Polish language and culture to 2000 children with a Polish background. 19) Additionally, online tutorship is available for all levels of education on websites such as Apprentus 20).
Primary Education
The Polish School Lokomotywa is a supplementary school in Amsterdam that offers classes in Polish language, culture, geography, and history for children who are 5 years and older and, at minimum, possess the basics of Polish. 21).
Besides this school, there are many other schools in the Netherlands that offer Polish education for children, which are a part of the Forum Polskich Szkół w Holandii (Forum of Polish Schools in the Netherlands)22).
Higher Education/University Education
The University of Amsterdam offers courses in Polish language and culture, able to be taken as a beginner in the language. You can take these courses as part of its Polish minor programme, or as elective courses for the Bachelor in European Studies and the Bachelor in Linguistics 23).
Adult Education
Institutions like NPTaal and Polish Culture NL offer online courses for adults, specialising in Polish and Dutch language education 24)25). Their courses offer basic courses and more advanced courses alike.
Online learning resources
Organisations
- The Federation of Polish Student Societies in The Netherlands, who integrate Polish students, support their personal and professional growth, and foster connections between talented individuals and leading Polish companies.
Online Learning Resources
- TaalTaal, where you learn Polish either individually or in a group.
- Polish Culture NL, where you can learn about Polish culture and building a cultural bridge between Poland and the Netherlands. They organise events where you get lessons in a small, personalized group from an experienced teacher 26).