History / World War II - a tragic story for Poland and the World [489]

panzerwurst hahahaha

brilliant ;)

Language / Why do you have this weird grammar with y and i? optYka? magazYn? zYsk? why? [30]

Tomaco

I have found plenty of infromation on history of Czech language in wikipedia (Czech version) just after writing my posts - but it's true I have gathered some knowledge before in many various places but much of it was on the internet - for example language forums - using your imagination, trying various ways always gives some results - you need to develop some knowledge of langauge related terminology to help you in your personal research (however part-time it would be) if you haven't already have some good foundation to it

oh and you can always aks about language related things in here (weather Polish or any other) - there are many language freaks here - some are actually linguistic professionals - I am not - just sort of etymology freak of me

I know some Czech btw

Language / Polish Language Pronunciation - Example Words and Phrases [178]


Polish pronounce 'rz' in 'trzy' as 'sz' - i think many people could have trouble understanding what you mean if you say 'trzy' with a voiced 'rz'

this is easily explained by a rule that says that voiced wovels become their voiceless counterparts if next to another voiceless consonant

gadka is pronounced like gatka (d becomes voiceless because of neighbouring k)

Language / Polish Phrase - "motka nie-fienso", does anyone know the proper way to say this? [4]

My guess is what she says is 'Matko Niebieska' - Mother in Heaven (Holy Mary)

it is a guess though what you've written is quite dubious

Language / Why do you have this weird grammar with y and i? optYka? magazYn? zYsk? why? [30]


Tomaco

I am now sorry for what I have written - I shouldn't have been harsh to you - my apologies - you have a right to be mistaken or not very well informed - after all all I know is because I have learned it somewhere and somehow -

so in the end I just would advise you to learn about these things - you could well be for a surprise here and there

Language / Why do you have this weird grammar with y and i? optYka? magazYn? zYsk? why? [30]


The thing is as far as I know the Czech were using sz, cz transliteration before they adopted the birdies or whatever it is called in English over s c n - it happened during and after 15th century

Language / Why do you have this weird grammar with y and i? optYka? magazYn? zYsk? why? [30]

Tomaco


oh you Slavic purist Tomaco guy

listen there are features of Polish that are not present in other Slavic languages (phonetics - nasal vowels; grammar - quite a lot - because other Slavic languages lost them - there are also features in Polish that evolved in the language in time and are particular to Polish - these are ś, ć, dź sounds for example not prestent in most other Slavic languages - do you think that it is any German influence??? where do you find such phonemes in German - if you could call any Slavic language germanized it would be Czech that copied a lot of German patterns including numerals ( zwei un zwanzig, dva a dvadcet vs dwadzieścia dwa, dvadcat' dva (Russ), there are a lot of Czech words that are direct copies of German words (e.g predstavovat from German vorstellen where Polish is wyobrażać sobie which goes along the lines of Latin influenced languages (an image-to imagine) Czech language was sort of artificially dragged back to Slavic roots resulting in such words as hudba, divadlo, plyn - that you cannot possibly know have anything to do with music, theatre or gas if you don't know the language - and you talk about peculiarities

there are peculiarities in every language simply - if you exclaim at some peculiarities in Polish you just simply state that you don't know much about any other languages including your own

News / Poland and Germany - Germany unhappy with the present border with Poland? [88]


who support those who live by the sword need to pay consequences for what who live by the sword do - the law of karma - if you don't have proper judgement of what is being done in your name don't moan afterwards



I should add significantly - the things you mentioned were anything but significant for German war effort

UK, Ireland / How can I receive child support from a Polish man living in UK? [33]

if he acknowledged his parenthood of the child it should be no problem getting the court to order him to support the child - however Polish legal authorities often have a hard time finding Polish person living abroad and getting the person to really pay his contributions - I am not quite sure about the state of the state child support fund - there was no such thing for 2 or 3 years in place and then it was reinstated in some form around 2 years back - anyway if the father cannot afford supporting the child the state fund does pay you some support (not very high though) - I am not quite sure weather it is the same case with the situation when Polish legal authorities cannot find the person in question abroad (but it seems logical)

I have no idea if there is any sense going to an English (or Scottish) court - it would be quite problematic and anything but cheap for you - so try to investigate every opportunity for dealing with the issue before a Polish court

my knowlegde of these things is quite superficial though and maybe I am mislead on some points - so you should inform yourself with a professional lawyer - there may be some lawyers in NonGovernment Organizations - for example Liga Kobiet or simmilar that perhaps could advise you on the matter for free (gratis)

Language / Why do you have this weird grammar with y and i? optYka? magazYn? zYsk? why? [30]


Germans also use w for v, and v is pronounced mostly as f (as in vogel) in German

i have some idea why it w was chosen over v - not sure if it bears any veracity though - in old manuscripts and letter carvings V was often used to mark U sound - have a look at some medieval tombstones - (at least when capitals were used) so I guess it was used as a disambiguity means

as for sz, cz, dz, dź, dż digraphs - it is a matter of tradition - if you adopted some system it is sometimes counterproductive to overturn it for another

well as far as I know Czech does use y sign and sometimes the sound of it is a bit different to i sounds (well I am not quite sure about it)

btw sz cz groups are unpronouncable in Polish, rz is though and there is a couple of words that have rz that is not pronounced as ż but as two seperate sounds (for example marznąć, mirza but marzyć has rz=ż)

maybe it sounds weird to you but this is the way this words (magazyn etc) are spoken in Polish (we after all have a distinct sound of y not quite similar to i - so do the Russians btw) - these words were polonised this way long ago they sound better this way in Polish - btw if magazin was spoken as native word you wouldn't recognise it in speech actually - magazyn can be picked up more easily I guess by foreigners

there are no native Polish words that use v (v sign is called fau following German lines)

Language / Polish Language Pronunciation - Example Words and Phrases [178]

Tseh-zah-ri - hyphens indicate syllables italics the accent (stress)

Language / Using państwo and surnames. [8]

yes - I guess you just wanted to get rid of any doubt - anyway you got good ear for Polish

(both of the examples you've given were correct)

Language / Już and jeszcze [36]

but you can encounter colloquial -' Pijesz jeszcze jednego żywca?' - Will you have another żywiec

Language / Polish Language Pronunciation - Example Words and Phrases [178]

Sean - definitely not moog - it's not mógliśmy but mogliśmy

Food / Can anyone teach me an easy and fast Polish dish? [40]

I think you can try making naleśniki (sort of pancakes) they are quite easy - I am no cook myself but I can make naleśniki

if you cook for one person take half litre of milk (one pint), add about one glass of wheat flour, mix it well with the milk - it should form pastry - then you add one egg - mix it again - and finally add salt - you have to figure out yourself but one teaspoonful should be enough - a bit too little salt is better than a bit too much - the pastry should not be thick - you should be able to pour it out onto a frying pan

pour some cooking oil onto a frying pan and heat it until you see a little bit of an oil fog above its surface - then you pour pastry over the frying pan so it covers the whole of it but rather with a thin layer - you have to check if the down side is ready it can be golden but not dark brown - when it's ready you have to turn the pancake - having some experience you can do it quite easily throwing it out of the pan so that it turns in the air and then you catch it back with the pan again

the amount of ingredients should give you up to ten pancakes depending on how thick you make them (the thinner the pastry the thinner pancakes you can get)

when ready you can fill the pancakes with various fillings or just smear them with say jam or maple syrup
spinach filling is very delicious - in Poland you can buy frozen spinach with cream which is best for the purpose - you just need to chop two garlic claws??? into very little bits and add it into defrozen spinach pulp (if you buy spinach sans cream you can add some half glass of cream) - the spinach now needs some salt and pepper and short boiling in a frying pan (you can add some cooking oil but it's not absolutely necessary)

when the filling is ready you just fill the pancakes with it

smacznego :)

Travel / Prague to Auschwitz/Krakow - safety? [10]


I don't know about discrimation - but you can expect people to stare at you sometimes - as if they have never seen darker complexion

Language / Polish Language Pronunciation - Example Words and Phrases [178]

moglishmi vs mogwishmi

bilishmi vs biwishmi

the accent is on the penultimate syllable of the verb root here not the penultimate of the word (in both these cases the penultimate is the first one)

Travel / Foreign ATM & Credit Cards vs. Polish Kantor [9]


Canadian dollars as other not as wide-spread currencies can be different from the main currencies in kantors - kantors have better rates for main currencies (as well as for Czech and Slovak korons, Danish and Norwegian kroner and East European currencies) than banks

Love / First date with this Polish girl! Some advice required on what to say and what to do. [35]

czego się napijesz is really good but still you are not supposed to know such things - memorising phrases wihtout knowing much background (when and why you should use such and not such etc etc) is a sign of not being genuine - be yourself and just greet her with cześć from time to time it is informal and friendly enough - you don't want to be formal with someone who you want to be closer with, do you?

btw if a Pole wants to ask another Pole if s/he is thirsty, s/he says 'Chce ci się pić?'

literally Do you want to drink? just to show you literal translation very often don't do the thing

Love / First date with this Polish girl! Some advice required on what to say and what to do. [35]

tell her just cześć when you meet her :) - pronounced cheshch - a Polish accent enough for long enough - believe me :)

Life / I live in Warsaw and my hot water is brown!!! [32]


well in many rural areas (where I live for example) tap water is really drinkable, as well as in some bigger cities (I was told tap water in Częstochowa is very good) - but there are cities and areas in Poland where tap water should be avoided - the whole of Śląsk i guess, Wrocław, Warszawa and perhaps Kraków too, (I guess this is going be the same with Szczecin and Poznań) - the thing is many cities in Poland draw a considerable portion of water from running waters (rivers) - this is the case of Wrocław and Warszawa (but also a town of Brzeg) - (I guess noone in his good mind would try to drink water from Odra - the treatment of this water (filtering mostly) doesn't make it really drinkable - the only way would be to distill it - expensive also because you need to fill it with minerals before you let it into the pipe system - not very healthy drinking distilled water)

History / Russia: Poland responsible for WW II [300]


well I was being sarcastic - I am one 'uneducated' - but you wouldn't believe how this conspiracies are twisted in some Polish minds where PiS becomes the KGB and is believed and expected to conspire - where it is seen as a threat to democracy - no logic in such accustations - just picking up headlines and news flashes

and all of those prominent intelectuals who say that those who vote for PiS are 'cattle'

btw Polish shipyards that have been sold recently and the buyer could not be named at first - then it was presumed to be a company from Qatar - and now it turns out to be Sapiens incorporated with not so Arabic but rather quite Semitic appeal

History / Russia: Poland responsible for WW II [300]


Seanus btw a couple of years ago there were figures in Polish press and politics who claimed that Kosovo dealings were done by German inteligence services, that Germany somehow provided UCK (KLA) with firearms etc etc - at the same time there happened a takeover of criminal world in Germany by Albanian mafia - quite bloody in fact -

such views were and are ridiculed more often than not and then - you are going to be portrayed as a conspiracy theorist which is ridicule pure by definition (in the eyes of many 'educated' people) - of course there are no conspiracies - all is transparent and clean/r - only people die sometimes misteriously - for example commit suicide shooting themselves three times in their bellies (Mr Sekuła's case)

Lech Kaczynski survived quite a nasty road accident when apparently someone messed with brake hydraulics in his car (it happened in the middle 90's)

other people who were seen as dangerous to forces that cannot be named would die - Michał Falzmann, a NIK (Polish state auditing agency) inspector who investigated the FOZZ affair, followed by Walerian Pańko, the president of the agency and Falzmann's boss (Pańko died in a car accident in some not very clear circumstances)

but you know there are no concpiracies - you are a fascist if you believe there are any

Law / Questions about gaining a Polish citizenship and the process of getting one. [29]


Schengen Zone are countries that do not have the border control (it can be reinstated though for short periods of time) - you can cross the borders anywhere you like. You can drive a car through Polish-German Polish-Czech Polish-Slovakian border and noone will stop you (normally) to check you pass and the like. Poland is a part of Schengen Zone and I guess all the rules of Schengen Zone for apply

check with American State Department on visa requirements for travel in the EU

Poland is a party to the Schengen agreement. As such, U.S. citizens may enter Poland for up to 90 days for tourist or business purposes without a visa. The passport should be valid for at least three months beyond the period of stay. For further details about travel into and within Schengen countries, please see our fact sheet. - This is a quote from the American Department of State

another quote:

Please note, that while business and tourism visits of less than 90 days to the Schengen countries are visa-free, if you are traveling to Europe for any other reason—employment, study, internship, etc., your host country may require a visa for that purpose, to be obtained before you leave the U.S. Please check with the Embassy or Consulate of the country(ies) you are going for their specific requirements.

Although European Union regulations require that non-EU visitors obtain a stamp in their passports upon initial entry to a Schengen country, many borders are not staffed with officers carrying out this function. If an American citizen wishes to ensure that his or her entry is properly documented, it may be necessary to request a stamp at an official point of entry. Under local law, travelers without a stamp in their passports may be questioned and asked to document the length of their stay in Schengen countries at the time of departure or at any other point during their visit, and could face possible fines or other repercussions if unable to do so.

Life / I live in Warsaw and my hot water is brown!!! [32]


the filter does not filter calcium out considerably - though it does stop heavy metals they say

Language / Questions about Polish language and grammar - I can help you [16]

czołem is literally - with a forehead (from czoło - forehead) (czołem is Instrumental singular of czoło)

it is used as a greeting (it's not that often used but some people do like it and do use it) often in a combination like here - cześć i czołem

i don't know the origins of czołem as a greeting - it must be though quite old

ciacho - literally cookie (augmentative of ciastko or ciasto) - is used to describe handsome men

Language / Using "to, co" as a relative pronoun [3]

yes in proper Polish grammar those two decline regularly in situations you have presented - they actually should always - lower and lower level of education in Poland however makes things as 'znalazłem to, co szukałem' and 'co szukasz?" instead of czego szukasz common - actually I am not without fault here

Language / Jest/To jest - to jest is often abbreviated to just to [24]


it simply does not in Polish Tomek. You should not tranlate anything literally - it often creates gibberish - no matter what direction you translate. I'm not in the shape to search for logical background (it must be subtle if there is any) between the differences in Polish and English construction)

Language / "Leje jak z cebra" [11]

hi tomek

ceber is a kind of bucket (a wooden one)

so it can be put as 'leje jak z wiadra'

you know what it looks like when you pour or splash water out of a bucket

it is of course kind of exageration - it never actually rains like this

Travel / Need assistance planning my travel in Poland [11]

I think you should go for a bus - should be quicker an the same price

anyway here's the link for PKP connection search in English: rozklad-pkp.pl