Wkład Profesora Józefa Kąsia do polskiego językoznawstwa .......... 37

PROFESSOR JÓZEF KĄŚ’ CONTRIBUTION TO POLISH LINGUISTICS

The article focuses on the scientific achievements of Professor Józef Kąś and his contribution to Polish linguistics. Kąś’s academic work falls within the fields of sociolinguistics and dialectology, specifically dialectal lexicography and the conditions of lexical interference. Regarding lexicography, Kąś is a co-author of the Słownik współczesnego języka polskiego [‘A dictionary of contemporary Polish’] and the author of three dialect dictionaries – the two-volume Słownik gwary orawskiej [‘A dictionary of the Orava dialect’], the monumental, twelve-volume Ilustrowany leksykon gwary i kultury podhalańskiej [‘An illustrated lexicon of the dialect and culture of Podhale’] and Ilustrowany słownik gwary i kultury spiskiej [‘An illustrated dictionary of the dialect and culture of Spiš’] (co-authored with Maciej Rak). Kąś’ enduring sociolinguistic achievements include a new approach to dialectal vocabulary and an accurate diagnosis of changes in the linguistic situation in the rural areas of Poland.