Pitt professor Oscar Swan does what he can to bring Poland to Pittsburgh.

Swan, professor… Pitt professor Oscar Swan does what he can to bring Poland to Pittsburgh.

Swan, professor of Polish in the Slavic languages department at Pitt, was recently awarded the Polonicum Award by the University of Warsaw in Poland. Each year, the award is given to an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the advancement of the Polish language and culture.

Swan is the first American to receive the honor.

The Polonicum Award will be presented to Swan at a ceremony in Warsaw on Nov. 19.

Educated at Princeton University and the University of California, Swan has been teaching Polish for more than 30 years and has written 16 books and numerous articles about the language.

Swan said that Poland is becoming a much more desirable place for students and young professionals from around the world.

“Poland is no longer a cultural hardship outpost for students but one of the more enjoyable countries to visit, in that it has all the modern conveniences, but it has not yet been completely Westernized, and it is a lot less expensive than France, Germany or England,” he said in an e-mail.

“People wonder whether the Polish language has become less important now that it has joined the European Union. Actually, the opposite is true, since Poland is now one of the larger member nations with a population of some 40 million people,” Swan said. “And it is showing that it is determined to take an active role in EU business.”

Swan noted that there are various opportunities offered by Pitt to students who want to hone their Polish skills.

“Pitt has taken the lead in making the study of Polish in Poland possible [through] its intensive summer language institute, its semester-long exchange program with Lodz University and through several scholarships for summer study administered by the Nationality Rooms program,” he said.

Swan believes that Polish immigration throughout Europe and elsewhere has helped spread interest of the Polish language and its importance in a globalized economy.

“It’s no longer a matter of preserving the Polish language and culture in an isolated and indifferent environment,” he said. “Rather, the people and the culture to a large extent are coming to meet us. Younger Polish people are currently flooding the job markets in countries like England and Ireland.”

Swan is currently working on a grammar textbook for McGraw-Hill Publishers as a result of the increased popularity of Polish.

While Polish immigration throughout Europe is widespread, local immigration is also a trend.

“There is a constant stream of new Polish immigration to Pittsburgh, as well as some movement in the opposite direction,” Swan said.

He pointed to a number of Pitt graduates who have worked in the Polish education and finance sectors and the success they have had.

“Three of my second-year students have recently returned from summer study in Poland, and all of them have developed an admirable lack of fear of speaking because Poles are actually extremely receptive to foreigners making an attempt to communicate in their language,” Swan said.

Swan also runs an online course in beginners’ Polish, which is used by people all over the world.

“Whenever the University server is down for maintenance, I immediately begin receiving panic messages from people in places like Korea, Pakistan, Uruguay, wondering why their course has been suddenly cut off,” Swan said.