Language / affectionate term in Polish [59]

I've a Polish friend and she likes to call me buraku (as well as slonce, kotku and some other ones already mentioned.) I was wondering, is this common? Or just her being crazy :P

I recall her saying it meant beetroot in english, that right?

I love the variety of affectionate terms in Polish and the use of diminutive forms to convey affection. I'm not sure we manage quite as well in English, what do you think?

Language / Meeting girlfriends family and friends- phrases and wedding [10]

Heh, yes he's really something. Especially when everyone is merrily dancing in a circle and he's having his own private rave.
Oh that made me laugh, funniest video I've seen in a while - let's just hope that's not you Dawidku, especially with the kilt already grabbing people's attention :P

By the way, Polish weddings sound like such good fun. I may have to marry a Polish woman based on these descriptions!

Language / An issue in threads about translating between Polish and English [16]

I agree with you, glowa, in that Polish sentences can have so many variables - formality as already mentioned, gender, case, word order etc. - whereas English words and their positions in sentences change so little. So it seems there is wide scope for error in translating from English to Polish, and less so the other way round. You're right to point out the hazard of relying on such translations for formal communication, meaning letters and so on.

Though I'm sure I'm not the only one who's hugely grateful for the effort the translators put in!

Language / An issue in threads about translating between Polish and English [16]

Yes osiol, I don't disagree.
I meant to point out that while English is not at all easier or simpler as a language, there are perhaps more alternate translations of a given sentence from English into Polish than in the other direction. Though I do accept that formality is equally important to what we say in either language, and that it's not always a case of black-and-white distinctions between formal and informal words or structures. And the bit about word order was certainly wrong, apologies for getting carried away with my point.

Thanks for some interesting ideas, especially about different languages 'evolving' towards a similar complexity due to our common species.

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

Merged:Pronunciation of 'lunch''

I came across the word 'lunch' while reading Polish, and wondered if you pronounce it according to Polish rules of pronunciation. It seems to me that this wouldn't be a very pleasant word to say if this is the case. Or do you pronounce it as in English? Or neither?

Thanks.

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

Thanks wsypianska, that's cleared that up.
And about 'rarely', I don't think you're the only one! I've a Polish friend who kept messing that up until I told him its just two syllables, like Wroclaw wrote. Its just the spelling that puts you off.

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

Thanks; admittedly, the title does look kind of funny :)

Language / Learning Polish - need courses or books !!! [17]

Or try 'Colloquial Polish' by Bolesław W. Mazur, published by Routledge.

I have not tried any other books yet, so I have little to compare it to, but it's certainly a quicker way to make progress than scavenging around on the internet. And it's helped me make steady progress over the last few weeks. The author manages to present the complex grammar in a clear way without dumbing anything down, and there's plenty of vocab too.

Just a suggestion :)

Language / Too comparative ! [14]


I think you're after 'więcej' there.

Language / About presentation in Polish [12]

Essentially, just stick Czy before a statement to turn it into a question with a yes/no answer.

Pan jest anglikiem. (You are English)
Czy pan jest anglikiem? (Are you English?)

For other questions - who, why, when etc. - you'll need the appropriate question word rather than Czy. (these three are który, dlaczego, and kiedy, to get you started).

So the word itself is meaningless, or at least has no direct translation in English.

Language / "Jest Mi" vs "Jestem" - the difference [11]

Jestem ... - I am ...

Jest mi ... - (lit.) "it is ... to me" OR "it is ... for me"

Two ways of expressing your condition, though it's a bit more complicated than that. Just thought I'd try to summarise it.

Language / Too comparative ! [14]

An important distinction:

bardziej - "more", used to express degree, or intensity, of something

więcej - "more", used to express quantity.

Language / Feminine nouns ending in 'c' [9]

Ok, so apart from noc, there are no common words ending in 'c' which are feminine?