Language / "just" and "either" in Polish [17]

Thank you for your replies ;-)

Travel / How is the road from Berlin to Warsaw then to Mazury ? [6]

So, I'm back from my trip and put the story here so it may help others.

From Berlin I drove east and stopped at Poznan for a night. Next day I went on towards Warsaw, past 2 toll payments (11 zl. each) then miles before Warsawa I followed the recommendations of my GPS, left the highway and started driving north-east towards Mazury.

I can't remeber the names of the cities and villages I went through but all roads were in good state. They had been restored. The only annoyance were Lithuanian truck drivers who drive like crazy on those small roads, skipping cars in front of them, while another car is already visible coming the opposite way. Creepy.

I stayed a few days in Pisz. One day I drove to Ketrzyn (and from there to Swieta Lipka and Gierloz). So I took the road from Pisz to Ketrzyn, going through Mikolajki and Mragowo. It's a good road as well. No problem.

After my stay in Mazury I drove to Krakow. I went through Warsaw, then stopped at Kielce for lunch. Good highway ans smaller roads as well.

Travel / How is the road from Berlin to Warsaw then to Mazury ? [6]

Actually I will follow the highway from (near) Berlin and I go to the south of Mazury (Pisz).

Online services I consulted, and my GPS, recommend going through/by Warsaw, but they all render different durations and different average speeds for the parts of the trip starting near Mazowiecka so I'm a bit confused as to which way exactly I should take to get the shortest trip.

Thanks ;-)

Language / Confusion about genitive plural [30]

I was confusing. The "r -> rz" alteration only occurs with "animated male" nouns. Inanimated male nouns do not change. Indeed so says my Polish lessons book.

Thanks Magdalena for forcing me to review it ;-)

Language / Confusion about genitive plural [30]

Merged: Genitive plural of "mur" (the wall)

In nominative, the plural is "murzy" but in genitive, does the r -> rz conversion remain and does it also end with "y" ?

Is there a rule where the alterations from singular to plural in nominative case remain in other cases?

Thanks

Life / Things to be afraid of in Poland? [109]


That, actually, is interesting. I'll go by myself to Mazury for a few days this summer and would like to know the risks. I'll stay in a hotel in Pisz and will drive to visit a few corners like Mragowo, Gizycko... What do you recommend doing more than you would in Western Europe to reduce the risks of theft?

Travel / Small Baltic coast places - where to stay ? [25]

Thanks for your replies. I made my choice.

Life / Are there many atheists and agnostics in Poland? [47]


Hello. I got your point but it's not common sense for everybody. You would be surprised! I have a friend who is a psychologist. For several years she worked as an expert for the justice court, to expertise criminals and conclude whether they committed a crime because they are bastards, psychos or people who have a completely different perception of what's wrong or right. Some people are perfectly healthy, intelligent and logical, however they're at the complete opposite of what society generally allows or disallow, even for the most serious crimes.

If your own morals and behaviour allow you to live peacefully with your neighbours, it is just fine ;-)

Life / Pope Jan Paweł II [16]

Can't watch the Jon Voight one as I don't have TVP1 here. Maybe one day I'll rent the DVD.

I liked the one with Adamczyk as well. Did you watch the DVD? The bonus is interesting as the actor explains the reactions of people during the making, and also his meeting with the Pope when he was introduced to him as the actor who was going to incarnate him.

Life / Are there many atheists and agnostics in Poland? [47]

I almost find funny (to some extent) that anticlerical people, in Western countries where there is separation of Church and State, regard religions as if they were like small clubs for a few people, therefore not understanding why one should rule over society.

The point is that all big religions or doctrines, be it Judaism, Christianism, Islam, Buddhism, Confucianism shaped entire civilizations for milleniums. The above example with religious holidays in our countries shows the source of our culture, as does law which is greatly inspired by the moral principles of religion. Two centuries of post-revolutionary secular society couldn't really wipe anything, as it's deeply rooted in us.

Whether you are aware of it or not, even if you describe yourself as atheists because you don't believe in God and never go to Church, you are Christians anyway because you are the product of this society and there is a great chance that your moral principles are in accordance with it, because you were educated to behave in society according to the traditions, and according to the law (I say "Christians" here, thinking of the vast majority of native Europeans - there are of course exceptions but you got my point).

News / Organized Crime: Polish Gang Is Making Profitable Business Of Robberies [60]

I think it's easier because it's a continental country. It's interesting that you mentioned they were coming through Belgium. Unfortunately, our country is indeed a center for many traffics of all kinds (drugs, weapons, forced prostitution). There was again an article about it this week but people knew that already. A few months ago, there was also an annoucement that Albanian mafia (or Bulgarian, can't remember exactly) was chosing Belgium as one of its bases in Western Europe.

Probably because we have airports, sea ports, a very dense network of highways. So the country is the crossroad between north, south and east. Not to mention the government that lacks the financial resources to establish efficient services to counter organized crime. They're overwhelmed but do their best. It's not enough though...

News / March of Tolerance in Krakow [478]


Yes there are. According to them, genetics make some individuals predisposed for homosexuality. What will then catalyse it (or not) and make a person become homosexual is the relation she will have with the environment while growing up and building her identity as the image of herself given back to her by the environment. A friend of mine (she's a psychologist) says that in many cases where a man is gay, it's a trauma caused by having the combination of an absent or despising father with an authoritarian and over-protective mother.


The examples you quoted are indeed extreme. I don't stand by this extremism. I consider my views as rather moderate, as the "all-free society with legal amendments allowing each specificity to be lived to the maximum" is just the opposite form of extremism. That was the point of my comments in this thread, and I certainly don't want to forbid those gay people from demonstrating or celebrating in public. ;-)

And I will stop here.

News / March of Tolerance in Krakow [478]

Homosexuality is not just biological, it is caused by environment as well, usually the behaviour and relation between parents and children. To claim that it is 100% genetic is just as ideological as the social acceptance or reject of it. And what about transgender, is it genetic? :)

There is no coherent society without norms and you can't expect to have a functioning society on the long term if it is built on a "help yourself" model, where everybody will choose behaviours like if they were picking from a restaurant menu. I'm not saying that people who don't comply with the mainstream should be abducted, sent to Auschwitz and cut into tiny pieces (certainly not!), I just mean that the mainstream should prevail culturally, legally and morally. Tolerance but not normalization. And at a time where people easily cross the border between freedom and anarchy, I will also regret the fact that "respect for difference" is too often used to merely tolerate mediocrity.

Life / Poland High school curriculum [48]

I have a suggestion. As I can see visitors of this site come from all over the world, let's all describe what our high school studies consisted of. It would be interesting to see what is available to students when they chose their high school options, and what students prefer to choose, in different countries.

OK, so I'm in the French-speaking part of Belgium and graduated from high-school in 1989. Here is what I had, expressed as hours per week (one hour actually being a "period" of 50 minutes). It was a "public", or "state" school, meaning no fee and everybody allowed to attend (no selection). It was what we call the "general studies", lasting six years from the age 12 to 18 normally:

1. Mandatory common stuff:
- History + Geography = 3 hours per week
- French = 5 (as mother tongue)
- Philosophy = 2 (you could chose Catholic, Protestant, Jewish, Muslim or atheist)
- Sports = 3
- Drawing and painting = 1 (only during the 3 earliest years of high schools)
- Music = 1 (only during the 3 earliest years of high schools)
- Computer sciences = 2 (only during the 3 latest years of high schools)

2. Mandatory math and sciences
(you're allowed to choose if you want 3 or 5 or 7 hours per week for each)
(sciences go with + 1 hour of laboratory practice)

3. Foreign languages
(available at 4 or 2 hours per week, and you must choose at least one language at 4 hours per week - the possible choices were: English, German, Dutch, Italian, Spanish)

4. Options
(that's the stuff you can choose additionally if your previous choices for math/sciences/languages still allowed you to fill your timetable with more hours)

- Geography = 4 (in addition to the above-mentioned mandatory common lessons)
- Sports = 4 (in addition to the above-mentioned mandatory common lessons)
- Economics = 2
- Latin = 4 or 2
- Ancient Greek = 4 or 2

Now some things changed since then. I think you can't choose so many options anymore.

And I have a question about Polish high schools: do you ever learn Latin? If so, do many pupils still learn it?

Life / Poland High school curriculum [48]

Sport is good for the development of the body and learning about team working. But regarding the problem mentioned by Outintheyard, maybe school should first teach them about eating healthy food ;) That's another story...

News / March of Tolerance in Krakow [478]


Well, that's the problem. It is NOT normal, as it is the result of some psychological flaw. I have personally no hate or disgust against gays. I'm just against the fact that some governments tend to normalize it.

More globally, I have to say I'm now really fed up with that "dictatorship of minorities" which is just to reduce the social frustration of a few individuals, which they encounter as the result of some aspect of their identity.

There was a project in Belgium, to start teaching elementary school kids that homosexuality or transgender is "normal". Yes, to elementary school kids! I can understand the noble goal of this - to praise tolerance - but is it really the smartest thing to do with kids in the process of building their own personality?

Unfortunately, this is the society of fashionable political correctness. Homosexuality is an example but there are many others. Anyway, in Europe today, if you are white, christian, with a job, a family, and if you are a law-abiding citizen because you were educated to be, you should almost be ashamed of yourself and apologize...

STOP! I'm OK for not discriminating against minorities, but don't ever integrate that to the norm. The norm is the majority. Keep society on its track! That's how it was built and still stands.

Life / Poland High school curriculum [48]

I'd like to say that there are more important things to teach teenagers than sports, in the high school context. Like things which would help them being intellectually richer, in order to open their mind, be aware of other people, other cultures, better learn to relate to other people in general, and evelop their skills of analysis which would be useful in various jobs in their adult life.

I believe that, as with religion, sport should be left to the kids' (or parents') initiative outside the school scene.

But please give some feedback about the available curriculum in Polish high schools. It's very interesting indeed. And do you think that the quality is declining, improving, or staying the same over the years ?

Food / Tatar - a raw meat dish [28]

My Polish friend prefers veal tatar.
I prefer beef. Pork? Never heard of it...

Life / Looking for some good Polish bands like Oasis, Panic! etc. [19]

Any fans of Dżem ?

(I'm not, it's just to see...)

News / Problem getting Polish TV by satellite [14]

Thanks for the link Harry, but it didn't help.

Strangely enough, the German channels suddenly came back today. Polonia came back one day during last week then disappeared the morning after. Friday, CNN mysteriously vanished for one day then came back.

Something definitely goes wrong on this satellite for the time being.

TVP3 is the only one of the Polish channels that remained available all the time. Well, I assume that Polonia, Kultura and Historia will come back sooner or later...

News / iPhone to be Released Officially in Poland? [21]

What's the market share of Apple computers in Poland ?

I compared the prices while visiting Kraków in February. At the Galeria Krakowska, there is an Apple retailer and a Saturn shop which also sells them. They seem to be sold at the same price as over here. Who can afford it ?

I'm a great admirer and user of their computers but have no interest in getting an iPhone.

Language / Understanding Languages [24]

I can see somebody has brought the "Bardzo mi przykro" thing up again. ;)
At the Polish classes, our teacher (a Polish lady with a PhD degree in Slavic languages from some Polish university) taught us another example :

- Miło mi

BUT

- Bardzo mi miło

Are these correct ?

Language / Common mistakes made by foreigners in Polish [90]

As a native French-speaker, I have a constant problem with 'r'.

I've had it since I learnt a bit of Spanish in high school. That's 20 years ago. I was never able to pronounce it correctly.

Now, with Polish, I also have a problem to distinct 'przy' and 'prze' when heard. I can pronounce them well but sometimes I don't clearly hear it when somebody else speaks.

For the good news, my teacher said I pronounce the 'ą' and 'ę' perfectly and I can pronounce with adequate difference the 'ż / ź / rz' sounds.

Something that took me some time to speak out fluently is words containing series of sounds 'sz / cz' following each other, especially if is repeated in the same word but now I'm OK. For example: 'szczypczyki'.

As for declensions, the principle was easy to understand as I learnt Latin and German in high school, but I often have problems finding the correct ending depending on the case. I mean, finding the right case is OK, but finding the right spelling among those which are available for the specific case isn't easy. For example, is it 'a' or 'u' ? Or is it 'y', 'i' or 'e' ? not to mention that some consonants may change before the vowel...

The only grammar concept that was new to me was the difference between 'imperfective' and 'perfective' verbs, but it was easy to understand.

All in all, I'm happy to learn Polish and it is a beautiful language. Its sophistication adds to its refinement.

News / Problem getting Polish TV by satellite [14]

Thread attached on merging:
Problem to get Polish TV on satellite recently

Hello,

I'm based in Belgium. So far I was watching Polish TV from the Astra 19.2 satellite.
So I could get freely TVP3-Warszawa, TVP Polonia, TVP Kultura and TVP Historia.

On the last few days, I couldn't get many channels anymore, including German channels, because we had a terrible weather, with storms and stuff.

Now everything is better except I don't have Polonia, Kultura and Historia anymore. On the German side, I lost most public channels as well.

Has the channel assignment changed, or broadcast rights ? I checked a website providing updates about what's available from satellites but it doesn't say anithing about it.

I was not able to check if I could get them from another satellite because I would have to change the orientation of the antenna and it would face the neighbour's wall unfortunately.

Do you know something about it?
Thanks.

Ha! I couldn't find my thread about it. Just found it back.
BTW I apologize to the admins for posting twice. I got an error message when posting the first time so thought it hadn't worked.

No, I don't pay. these channels were (and supposedly still are) freely available on this satellite.

Travel / Polish Airports and Air industry are pathetic [32]

3 weeks ago I flew to Krakow and the airport was OK. I had nothing to complain about. Even the restaurant upstairs was good (for airport food). My Polish friend there told me they were to build a new airport, 3 times bigger than the current one, to digest the growing flow of tourists.

Come on, if you are really pleased to visit Poland, it's worth a little effort to accept the highs and lows of what is only a transit place, after all.

News / The legal definition of Vodka in EU - Poland not happy [16]


Because these places are full of tourists and they like to be served what they are used to, which is the crap they find in their native countries, the mediocre products invented for their own national markets according to their taste. Be it vodka or any other typical product from just any country, it's a common phenomenon.

I wanted to add this. Here (in Belgium), I'm used to drinking Zubrowka, Wysent and Zoladkowa which I buy from a small Polish shop. They are indeed cheaper and better than the Smirnoff, Eristoff and the like...

One night however I had ran out of vodka and was expecting friends at home. I ran to the night-shop on the corner and they only had Smirnoff. So I bought it and put it in the freezer to cool it efficiently, as I usually do with vodka. When my friends arrived, I removed the Smirnoff from the freezer and the liquid inside was completely frozen. So what's in the bottle ??? Please don't call it vodka.