are extinct. The precursor to modern Polish is the Old Polish language. Ultimately, Polish descends from the unattested Proto-Slavic language.

The Book of Henryków (Polish: Ksiega henrykowska, ), contains the earliest known sentence written in the Polish language: Day, ut ia pobrusa, a ti poziwai (in modern orthography: Daj, uc ja pobrusza, a ti pocziwaj; the corresponding sentence in modern Polish: