Kilka uwag o pleonazmach i tautologiach z perspektywy historyka języka

Abstract

Some remarks about pleonasms and tautologies from the point of view of a historian of language Summary The problems associated with redundance constitute an object of interest among the researchers of the modern Polish language. From the point of view of a historian, all of these problems are, or perhaps “should be” crucial, for redundance is a conditio which facilitates the existence of such an entity as language – in time. However, a historical perspective which could demonstrate at least the scale of this phenomenon in the entire history of the Polish language heretofore has not been provided. The article is devoted to instances of pleonasm and tautological structures, their variability and stability. As it turns out, many of them are relatively permanent; they have functioned in the Polish language for centuries. Even though they have received criticism in e.g. dictionaries of modern Polish usage, treated as erroneous in various teaching-related publications, they continue to appear in the spoken language and in texts which represent various styles, e.g: w dniu dzisiejszym (which has been a part of the Polish lexicon since at least the 16th century), cofać się do tyłu, miesiąc kwiecień etc. This fact prompts us to re-evaluate their status.