Hipsters and coffeehouses in the post-modern times : Polish fashionistas influenced by English

Keeping up with the rapid civilization development, the Polish language of the post-modern times evolves faster than before. So expanding a language reflects new social and cultural trends. Linguistic behaviours are easy to grasp within certain subcultures. English, as lingua franca of the present serves as a communication tool not only for native speakers, but also for people speaking English as a foreign language (“the Expanding Circle”, KACHRU 1992). Using English words and expressions in everyday communication has become a growing tendency in Poland. Such a phenomenon can be observed among hipsters, the representatives of the post-modern society of the globalisation times, heavily marked with consumerism, individualism and cultural commodification. This subculture sets new trends (P “trendsetting”) which are understood as a specific lifestyle – non-mainstream (P “niemainstreamowa”) art of life and off-culture (P “off-kultura”), as well as a vintage and old-school dress (P “oldskulowe Ray-Bany” etc.). Such incorporation of English into Polish is influenced by the admiration for the SL culture. It is also the linguistic reflection of both globalisation and trendsetting. The aforementioned borrowings are noteworthy and may serve as a rich source of analysis.