This volume is based on the papers presented at the conference entitled “Languages and Cultures in Research and Education”, held in Cracow from 19 to 20 May 2009, organized by the Chair of Hungarian Philology of Jagiellonian University on the 20th anniversary of its foundation, as a commemoration of the Year of the Hungarian Language.    The conference was dedicated to the celebration of the scientifi c career of Professor Ralf-Peter Ritter on his 70th birthday. In view of the wide range of his scientific interests and the special occasion on which the conference was held, the conference topics covered subjects connected with researches on historical linguistics lato sensu, as well as research on the Hungarian language and literature. The selection presented therefore contains, above all, articles on Indo-European and Ugro-Finnic linguistics, the history of science, and Hungarian literature.    On the occasion of the publication of this volume, the editors would like to thank all the contributors and conference participants, as well as the Jagiellonian University’s Faculty of Philology, whose generous help and fi nancial assistance made this publication possible.