EN
This paper discusses the issue of using the term norma językowa (a language standard) in the Polish prescriptive literature of the fi rst half of the 20th century. It shows how this terms was developed and how the concept behind it had been called before this name was fi rst used. It also points to the terms naming the groups of language users referred to by the language enthusiasts of those days, originally as recipients of warnings against language errors, and then as those who should propagate language culture. Hence, terms such as warstwy wykształcone (the educated class), inteligencja (the intelligentsia), osoby posługujące się polszczyzną literacką (people using literary Polish) are discussed. Finally, the criteria for evaluating the linguistic elements (the usage, language of writers, tradition) applied at that time are indicated.