The devil’s in the detail : transcription of particles in scholarly editions of the 16th- and 17th-century Polish texts

The article deals with the question of transcription of particles such as li, ci/-ć, że/-ż in the 16th- and 17th-century Polish texts. These tiny parts of speech are rarely used in the modern Polish language and tend to be misunderstood by younger users of the language. They can also pose a minor but very real problem for editors working on scholarly editions. Zasady wydawania tekstów staropolskich offer very limited guidance in this case and editors, often literary scholars not specialized in historical linguistics, have to look for their own solutions. The article offers a short survey of the newest research on particles and puts it in the context of goals and practices of modern scholarly editing.