Love / Polish Girlfriend gone missing [154]

Tough news, but look on the bright side, you really dodged a bullet and now this new guy will be the poor bastard on the receiving end of her lies and manipulation.

Final warning: I wouldn't be _hugely_ surpised if one of the reasons for the obfuscations were that she was thinking of you as an insurance policy. If things didn't work out with mr new dreamboat she could still make up some story you'd believe and waltz back into your life as if nothing had happened. If she ever shows up again, waste no time in kicking her to the curb.

In the meantime, it's a new year, time to go out and build a new life. Best of luck!

Love / Love my polish girlfriend alot but under pressure from family [166]


The problem is, too many new arrivals (with no interest in assimilating) in too short a period of time simply transports many of the values and conditions that caused the unemployment at home.


They tend to all boil down to a low level of social trust (a necessary condition for a society to become and stay wealthy).
Generally levels of social trust all over the middle east are pretty low.

Language / Do Polish Movies Help learn the language? [60]

Yes, hearing a 50+ year old chainsmoking guy mumble "wsadź mnie .... mocniej ... mocniej" is ..... an experience (not one that I ever want to repeat, but an experience).

Life / Homosexuals in Poland / Hands off (PETITION) [797]


Irrelevant. If the church wants to be consistent, then it needs to say that infertile people shouldn't monopolize a fertile partner (and fertility tests should be carried out before the church gives it's blessings to a couple).

But most people don't want the church to be consistent about much of anything, they want it to reinforce and comfort them in their biases.

Life / Homosexuals in Poland / Hands off (PETITION) [797]


Does the church give its blessing to infertile couples?

Life / NANNY STATE in POLANd vs RABBLE? [25]

So do I, I just couldn't resist a cheap shot against PiS....

Life / Homosexuals in Poland / Hands off (PETITION) [797]


IMHO the real reason the RC church will never acknowledge homosexuality as normal has nothing to do with scripture (which catholics take a selective view toward anyway) but with a simple fact: if the church says being gay is okay, then it has to deal with it inside the church, which is the _last_ thing it wants to do.

(for clarity: I'm not talking about pedophile priests, another issue the church is in deep, deep denial about).

Language / Do Polish Movies Help learn the language? [60]


Nana does not mean 'niania', it means 'babcia'.
That's what's wrong with translating 'nana' as 'niania'.

Life / NANNY STATE in POLANd vs RABBLE? [25]

Nanny State = Państwo solidarne?

Life / Homosexuals in Poland / Hands off (PETITION) [797]


What are you referring to, breathing? living? working?

be more specific.

Food / POLISH HANGOVER PREVENTIVE? [7]


Many years ago I was at some all night party (I forget which maybe carnival but not the last night). There were 10 of us at a table and most people brought a (half liter) bottle or two (to date this more accurately, Premium was the big vodka then).

buteleczki.opole.pl/okno.php?zdj=./img_bottles/xpwvethuhcbnvwfijqbmfmj i.jpg

Anyway, as each bottle was emptied it was placed on a little ledge above the table. A few times extra people from other tables helped us with a round but more often half or less of the 10 saw to the honor ourselves.

There was also food served throughout, ever half hour or so a new dish was brought around (and people also brought some stuff themselves).

There was also a lot of dancing (live do-kotletów band).

By the time the thing broke up (sixish a.m.) there was over a dozen bottles for out table of ten. I had been doing shots all night long (but also eating and dancing) and didn't feel drunk and felt wonderful when I woke up in the early afternoon.

Language / Do Polish Movies Help learn the language? [60]

Okay I'll gently steer it back .....

When I was still actively learning Polish I found that movies in languages other than English with subtitles helped me a lot more. With a movie in English I could tune out the subtitles but if the movie was in Chinese or Hungarian I really had to depend on the subtitles to make sense of what I was seeing.

Oh, and I also thought the dubbed version of Friends on Canal Plus was good for language learning.

Language / Do Polish Movies Help learn the language? [60]

Huh? With dubbing you only hear one soundtrack. It's not the original but it's one. It's the dreaded lektor that gives you two unintelligible soundtracks at the same time.

Language / Do Polish Movies Help learn the language? [60]


Yes both subtitles and mr. lektor require that most dialogue be shorted by about a third on average.

The translation method that allows for the best translations _as_ translations is dubbing, but Polish people are prejudiced against that.

Language / Do Polish Movies Help learn the language? [60]


Also there's a tendency to raise the register. I remember people getting upset at the lektor using crude language (no matter that the original was crude, the Polish version was supposed to be nice and ladylike). That was a while ago and while I disagreed at the time, I do wish more people worried about crude language now.

Language / Do Polish Movies Help learn the language? [60]

But be careful. I hardly see an English language movie with Polish subtitles where there aren't serious problems of translation.
Basically, what I've read elsewhere is that the people in charge don't care about quality and consistently go for low bidders who work fast, rather than people who know what they're doing.

Polish to English subtitles also have problems, not in content so much as style. There's a tendency toward stilted, unnatural or dated usage.

One quick example (paraphrased except for the relevant part):
"Like my nana used to say "you need to get laid"."
"You're nana used to say that?"

translated:
"As my nanny used to say "you need sex"."
"Your nanny used to say that?"

Nana is actually an informal word for grandmother and the humor of inappropriate grandmotherly advice becomes kind of creepy paid caretaker advice .... babcia would have been a better choice than niania.

Language / Do Polish Movies Help learn the language? [60]

The best programs for improving language ability.

Soap operas.

The language is usually day to day standard, enunciation is usually clear, the plotlines are generally guessable, and there's tons o' repitition

Beata : I have to talk to Magda about her boyfriend.
Beata : Magda, I have to talk to you about your boyfriend.
Beata : I spoke to Magda about her boyfriend.

Magda : Beata came to talk to me about Jacek.

Jacek : Magda, did Beata say anything to you about me?

Also there's lots of interesting cultural information hidden away in the story lines and the things that the characters take for granted.

News depends as journalistic language tends to be full of weird usage that people don't use on a daily basis.
Comedy is the worst as it is liable to depend on linguistic creativity and the humor is liable to go missing even when a viewer from another culture understands the language.

Food / POLISH HANGOVER PREVENTIVE? [7]

I'd heard that flaki works (after drinking before bed)

I've also heard that the Hungarian herbal liqueure Unicum works for that (generally very good for stomach ailments and cold prevention too)

I think for your uncle, going to the wedding was just an excuse to kick back a glass of melted lard.

News / ENGLISH STILL PROFITABLE IN POLAND? [78]

First, I wouldn't suggest that anybody move to Poland if they're not serious about learning the language. No matter how many people know (or think they know) English if you don't know Polish here, you're marked out as a victim (or burden to people who have to coddle you and do things for you).

Second, I would have thought the market is saturated but I only teach at the uni and am not interested in private stuff.

My intuition tells me that 'more and more' people signing up for courses indicates that the courses aren't doing much good.

UK, Ireland / POLES SUPERIOR TO BRITS? [260]


Gołąbki are just Turkish dolma adapted for local ingredients (cabbage instead of grape leaves, and the earliest versions used buckwheat or barley instead of rice).

I especially like them Hungarian style with a spicier sauce than Polish versions and sour cream slathered on top.

UK, Ireland / POLES SUPERIOR TO BRITS? [260]

My opinion: Talk of one group of people being "superior" to another never leads anywhere good.

And everyone of your points is either highly disputable or a double edged sword.

"-- Polish women make better wives ..."

They also expect a lot more control at home and over their husbands and are no more faithful than Polish husbands.

"-- Poles attach greater importance to the family"

So-called family values are good up to a point, but when they're too important (arguably the case in Poland) they lead to nepotism (you don't hire the most qualified, you hire your cousin) and corruption (the public aren't family so it's okay to cheat them).

"-- Polish food is far superior to the cotton-fluff stuff"

Polish food is higher quality than most of western europe, but the variety is less than amazing. You can eat very well in England as long as you limit yourself to non-English food.

"-- Poles attach greater imporatnce to time-honoured traditions"

Again, respect for traditions is good up to a point, but can also lead to stifling innovation and progress and the continued existence of ideas (like 'national superiority') that really need to die.

"-- Poles are far less mean and penny-pinching and more hospitable"

Less penny-pinching? Excuse me (HA HA HA HA HA HA!!!!) hospitality can be nice but also takes intrusive bullying forms (forcing guests to eat and drink long after they want to stop). There's also phony hospitality "gość w domu, masło do lodówki" or "gość w domu, pilnuj żonę" (see point above)

"-- Poles have always adhered to the maxim: ... the belief that a fight for freedom anywhere in the world is a struggle for a free Poland"

Like supporting Georgian aggression against Russia?

"-- Poland has traditonally been a haven for dissenters"

Yes, Radio Maryja just _screams_ "tolerance".

"-- By and large Poles in the Isles do not dance naked on pub tabletops, vomit on other customers, urinate on the walls of defecate in corners....."

No they reserve that behavior for private parties (probably a good point overall)

Food / Tatar - a raw meat dish [28]

From the mistakes-you-make-only-once department:

Many years ago, I bought what looked like fresh tatar on Saturday morning from a meat stand. Little did I realize that it was probably from Thursday and the weather hadn't been that cold. I bought it thinking to make hamburger steak (which might have been okay) but a 'friend' said it looked like tatar so I had it that way (minus egg or sardine or pickle or vodka). About 36 hours later I became sick as a dog with a splitting headache and really bad case of the shakes. Strangely I don't remember throwing up though I assume I did.

I still enjoy tatar but only from places I trust (and lots and lots of vodka, did I mention lots of vodka?)

Language / Polish Conditionals (okresy warunkowe or zdania warunkowe) [23]


There is a single conditional in normal Polish usage.

Gdydym miał pieniądze pojechałbym do Hiszpanii.

=
If I had the money, I'd go to Spain.
and
If I'd had the money, I would have gone to Spain.

There used to be another

Gdybym był miał (??) "If I had had..."

but I don't think it was ever widely used and is very much out of usage now (I don't think I've ever heard or seen it, it's even deader than the pluperfect which I've heard a time or two from old fashioned literary types.

Love / Ask for permission before marriage (I'm from England, she's from Poland) [25]

I agree with westy, ask her first and if she answers 'yes' then ask her parents (together) for their blessing (not permission).

Love / Ask for permission before marriage (I'm from England, she's from Poland) [25]

As her current owners, I guess they should be asked before you take possession.

Food / Polish Cake for Christmas [30]


No. Even sernik and makowiec that Polish people think is fresh, very well made and moist enough is on the dry side for me.

And strong coffee doesn't help (me) either. I think you either grow up eating makowiec in which case you like it or you don't in which case you mostly ... don't. It's just not a taste that's easy to acquire as an adult (most non-Poles agree with me IME).

Food / Polish Cake for Christmas [30]

A lot of Polish cakes are wonderful, but I have to say that makowiec doesn't really do it for me.

I even like poppy seeds (mixed into the dough in other cakes) but I don't much care for the thick mass used in makowiec which is almost always too dry (most sernik too). A friend's mother makes what I can tell is excellent makowiec but one small piece is enough for a long time.

Language / IS "MY Z BRATEM" OK FOR "MY BROTHER AND I"? [28]

benszymanski,

I only mentioned the traditional rules to bury them (for a linguist 'correct' means 'consistently used spontaneously by native speakers', for traditional grammarians 'correct' means 'a rule written in a book'.)

Most of the time in everyday speech, Americans say:

I went to the movies.

and

Me and my brother went to the movies.

if they're being extra formal, maybe

My brother and I went to the movies.

They don't say

My brother and me went to the movies.

or

I and my brother went to the movies.

The rules need to be written out of the facts of usage.

Language / IS "MY Z BRATEM" OK FOR "MY BROTHER AND I"? [28]


Yes, that is the traditional correct form, but

"They'll meet my friend and I" isn't.

Food / ALCOHOL CONTENT OF US BEER? [18]


If you want a splitting headache.