Jerzy Bartmiński

Biography

Jerzy Bartmiński (born 19 September 1939 in Przemyśl to a Polish family of Galicia craftsmen) moved to Lublin in 1956. He studied Polish philology, and in 1971, he earned a PhD, focusing his research on the language of folklore. As a young scholar at UMCS Lublin University together with his wife and children he established one of the first groups of home church Catholic Renewal movement in Poland. In the 1980s, he took part in anti-communist activities as a member of Solidarity and was a University leader of this movement in Lublin. He was repressed after declaration of the Martial law in Poland in 1981. Later, Bartmiński was one of the founders of "Solidarity of Families" movement and foundation, focusing on reactivation of social bonds in post-communist society, support for poor families, and educational support for children.

Professional life

Bartmiński is member of Polish Academy of Arts and Sciences, professor of Polish philology at the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University in Lublin, Poland. Since 1976 he has been leading the research team now organized as the Department of Textology And Grammar of Contemporary Polish Language. For several years Bartmiński has been the chairman of jury of folklore songs festival in Kazimierz Dolny, one of the biggest events of this kind in Central Europe. Bartmiński is a member of the Polish Language Council.

He has authored over 300 publications and books. One of his recent books (2007), Linguistic bases of the perception of the world (Jezykowe podstawy obrazu swiata), is considered to be among the most significant Polish publications in the disciplines of the humanities.

His research interests focus on textology, linguistic axiology, and ethnolinguistics.