Jan Miodek


Jan Franciszek Miodek, is a Polish linguist, a prescriptive grammarian and a professor of Wrocław University. He is regarded as one of the most prominent educators and promoters of the standard Polish language.

Life and career

He was born on 7 June 1946, in Tarnowskie Góry. His father was Franciszek Miodek and his mother was Janina. In 1963, he graduated from the Stanisław Staszic High School No.2 in Tarnowskie Góry.
Since 1967, he has been working as a columnist at the Gazeta Wrocławska newspaper, running the weekly Rzecz o języku linguistic column. Since 1989 he has held the post of the head of the Institute of Polish Philology at the University of Wrocław. Between 1987 and 2007, he hosted a popular weekly TV program Ojczyzna polszczyzna devoted to the Polish language. He also created such programs as Profesor Miodek odpowiada and Słownik polsko@polski.
Since 2015, he has co-hosted the Polska z Miodkiem program in which he discusses the etymology of various words in the Polish language.

Awards and honours