The Polish language is a West Slavic language, and thus descends from Proto-Slavic, and more distantly from Proto-Indo-European; more specifically, it is a member of the Lechitic branch of the West Slavic languages, along with other languages spoken in areas within or close to the area of modern Poland: including Kashubian, Silesian, and the extinct Slovincian and Polabian.
The separation of Polish as a language is conventionally dated at the second half of the 10th century, linked with the establishment of Polish statehood and the Christianization of Poland. The history of the language can then be divided into the following periods periods of development: Old Polish (staropolski) with a pre-literate, pre-Polish era up to 1136, the literate era from 1136 with the Bull of Gniezno up to the start of the 16th century; Middle Polish (średniopolski) from the 16th century until the end of the 18th century (1772) with the first parition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth; New Polish (nowopolski) from 1772-1939; and Modern Polish, since World War II.
