Language / WHY IS @ CALLED MAŁPA IN POLISH? [13]

As usual, Polish, German, Swedish etc. win out on descriptive directness! The 'at-sign' is only useful as a label if the user knows at @ stands for 'at' in English -:) It does in fact look curiously like a paw print now, doesn't it!

Language / When to use Ręka / Dłoń [14]

Merely curious then as to whether a Polish native speaker distinguishes in Polish colloquial or specific language between the English 'leg' and 'foot'! Some languages such as German, normally so exact, often translate 'Fuessse' (feet) as 'legs' which in German would be 'Beine'. A well-known autobiography after WWII was translated from the original 'So weit die Fuessse tragen' into English 'As far as my legs will carry me'. A German speaker once told me that if the author had written 'So weit die Beine tragen', it would sound odd in German.

Could someone enlighten me as to my question about Polish 'leg' vs. 'foot', while we're still on the subject of anatomy--:)?

Language / When to use Ręka / Dłoń [14]

I've encountered 'dłoń' only in poetry, e.g. Tuwim, Iwaszkiewicz etc., never in standard speech or even contemporary non-fiction prose or journalism. Perhaps in earlier fiction, i.e. novels, novellae and so forth, it could be found.

News / Polish-Hungarian friendship - reality till today or just a phantasmagoria [144]

I'm not too familiar with post-Orban politics in Hungary. Does the present administration in fact wish a continued dialogue with the Tusk/Kaczyński government?

I read Hungarian better than I speak it, but I can't get ahold of newspapers from Hungary. Polish newspapers from Poland vs. Polish-language newspapers published here in the States, on the other hand, are quite easy to come by, as well as magazines such as 'Wprost' and 'Polityka'.

Language / What do you find difficult about learning Polish? [98]

Actually, to the question 'Jak się masz?'/'Jak się Pan(i) ma (miewa)?', for example, the best answer is often simply 'Dobrze!', short and simple!

More colloquial is 'Jak leci?', lit. 'How's it flying?', to which a simple 'dobrze' would usally be sufficient. If you want to give a non-commital answer, then 'No, tak sobie.'

Language / What do you find difficult about learning Polish? [98]

Guilty here too !

Even for us native English speakers, English spelling is often chaotic, sometimes, pure guesswork as to how something is spelled, particularly if it's a new word. Punctuation though is fairly straightforward, compared for instance with Spanish or French.

News / POLISH FOREIGN MINISTER IN TROUBLE OVER JOKE? [29]

It's no funnier than Obama himself joking with reporters early last week that his daughters had bought the White House a new dog, 'a mutt like me', he quipped.

Both remarks, even when self deprecating, are pretty tactless!

Language / I know Russian language - will it help me learn Polish? [105]

Vika,

Did you grow up bilingually in both German and Russian? I'm asking because I grew up with German and English here in the States, what's more, I have no language interference in either German or English as well as speaking both without a detectable foreign accent.

I found though that when learning Polish, an unrelated language, I had few 'false friend' confusions as I did when learning Dutch or the Scandinavian languages which are also Germanic.

My Polish teacher cautioned me about learning Polish and Russian at the same time. I'm now glad I took her advice- -:)!!

Language / What do you find difficult about learning Polish? [98]

Indeed, Bondi! For a Hungarian native speaker, the travails of Polish sibilance must be almost too great to bear--:)!!

While, being quite honest, pronounciation was never a big problem for me, I continue to struggle with 'niedokonany'/'dokonany', it seems, for even the most primitive sentences!! Oh, my Polish colleagues understand perfectly, yet I know in the back of my mind that I could be saying it more precisely.

And it's exactly here that the argument, "Well, let 'em all speak English!" falls flat! Imagine the struggles a Pole has in expressing himself in English, no matter how good he or she thinks they are.

Genealogy / MIECZYSŁAW IS MIECISLAUS IN ENGLISH, NOT MITCHELL [4]

What about the Czech Christian name 'Vaclav'? In Prague, the famous square is called 'Vaclav Nemesti', in German, 'Der Wenzelplatz', in English 'Wenceslaus Square'. However, there's probably an English equivalent like 'Wensley' or something like that, right? -:)

The first line of that popular English Yuletide carol goes 'Good King Wenceslaus was born, on the Feast of Stephen....'
Just curious!

News / Polish politicians and foreign languages [27]

In that regard then, various Polish leaders are farther along as concerns foreign languages than most Russian heads of state (except of course for Putin, whose years in East Germany gave him a powerful leg up in that language!).

To the best of my knowledge neither the new crop of Russians nor most of the Old Guard Kremlinites from Khruschev on through Chermomidryn spoke any English, with the exception of Andropov and Kosygin.

Language / What do you find difficult about learning Polish? [98]

For me, the system of verbal aspects, 'niedokonany'/'dokonany', without a doubt! As a German speaker, cases didn't bother me that much, only insofar as cases which appear similar to German do not often correspond to Polish, such as Polish genitive vs. German dative in certain instances like the sentence 'Piszę list DO niego.' which is second declension in Polish, cf. 'Ich schreibe IHM einen Brief.' which is third declension in German. This sort of thing used to drive me crazy until I stopped "translating" i.e. intellectualizing, and just started expressing myself in Polish!

News / Polish politicians and foreign languages [27]

As I recall, roundabout ten years ago when Aleksander Kwaśniewski addressed the US-Congress on his first state visit to our country, he spoke in English, albeit quite haltingly and with an accent you could cut with a machete--:)

The brother of my first Polish teacher was interpreter for the Polish gov't. during the height of the Cold War, from 1964-68, and told my teacher that Gierek, Cyrankiewicz, Beirut and Gomułlka had ZERO English or even German skills, but all understood Russian fluently! Perhaps the upper crust in the aristocracy still spoke French. Other than that, I couldn't imagine. I mean if in Greenpoint, Bklyn. there are many immigrants who still after many years in New York can barely manage simple English, what must it be like for the rank and file in Poland??

So much for Polish politicos and foreign languages.

Language / bring (towards) versus take (to) - Confusing ... [6]

Cheers again, Krzyśiu!!-:) Wszystko w porządku, now it's clear.

Pozdrawiam, kolege.

Language / Survival Polish (must learn Polish) [14]

'Pomóż mi!', of course! How silly--:)--:) What else, if it's Dative (pomóż mi, daj mi, przynieś mi etc....)??

Cheers, dexi!

Language / bring (towards) versus take (to) - Confusing ... [6]

I guess then the distinction between 'to bring someone' vs. 'to give someone' in Polish is as it is English: 'Przynieś mi chleb!' vs. 'Daj mi chleb!'

Life / Help with Polish Nicknames / Diminutive Names [21]

Salomon = Salek, Karol = Lolek, Konrad = Radek itd....

Language / Survival Polish (must learn Polish) [14]

'Ratunku!' = Help! i.e. an alternative for 'Pomóz mnie!'??

News / Polish-Hungarian friendship - reality till today or just a phantasmagoria [144]

Don't laugh, but not too long ago there was talk about a sort of Middle European 'Nafta-style' agreement within the EU to isolate certain countries with similar economies and cultures into an economic "social club", among them Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovenia and one or two more. The common language would be English and the euro, the currency.--:)-:)! It even had a catchy name, but I've since forgotten.

Guess it never panned out.

Language / Survival Polish (must learn Polish) [14]

I remember seeing in an old Polish primer for Polish kids (NOT foreigners!) the word 'Ratunek'/'Ratunku'???? with a picture of a man crying out for help, so it looked. The book naturally has not a word of English as it was for Polish native speakers. What exactly does that word mean?

When in Poland, I was always loathe to use words or phrases I'd never directly learned from usage or experience and I never had occasion to call for help in Poland.

News / Polish-Hungarian friendship - reality till today or just a phantasmagoria [144]

Max, the one I heard was about the Swede and the Finn locked in a seven-hour poker game of the one staring down the other before declaring victory.Finally, the Swede can't stand it any longer and blurts out, thereby breaking the silence for what seemed an eternity, 'Pair of aces?'.The Finn's response, 'JUST SHUT UP AND DEALl!!!--:)

News / Polish-Hungarian friendship - reality till today or just a phantasmagoria [144]

Filios, first off I don't smoke! I tipple some, that's true, but only around the High Holidays--:)

While Poland and Hungary have certainly enjoyed good diplomatic relations, blood is thicker than politics. As my former example, Finland and her Scandinavian neighbors too have enjoyed relatively 'good' diplomatic relations over the past several decades, yet a Finn will adamantly remind you that he/she is NOT a Swede, Dane or Norwegian, but a Finn of distinct ethnic and linguistic heritage. An even worse insult though, I've been told, is to confuse a Finn with a Lapplander or Saami!

Language / (part 2) Polish Language Pronunciation - Sample Words and Phrases [311]

In German, by the way, 'Blech' means 'sheet metal. Probably, it came originally from the Slavic, like so many German words such as 'Grenze', the name/profession 'Kretschmer' (from 'kraczmar') etc..

'Blaha' though is Czech, having the same meaning, and is also a popular family name in Austria, little surprise, with their steep influx of Czech and Hungarian influence in their culture!

News / Polish-Hungarian friendship - reality till today or just a phantasmagoria [144]

"On the one hand they claim to be brothers with the Poles....."

.......yes, for political reasons we are all quite willing and ready to call even our hated enemies 'brothers', yet what does it really mean in the end? Brotherhood is an organization of expedience; when it's convenient for instance for the Germans to call the Dutch their brothers, the Finns and the Estonian etc. I'm as sure that they too will jump on the bandwagon of convenience as I am of my own name.

Don't be naive, Southern. Politics makes strange bedfellows (..and even stranger brothers--:) )

News / Polish-Hungarian friendship - reality till today or just a phantasmagoria [144]

I can empathize with Shelley's ex. Hungarians are exceptionally proud of their 'separate' ethnicity, language and culture. Why should they be confused for Slavs, as in fact, their individual identity has been that which has kept them going for the past thousand or so years, since Arpad first set foot on the basin which is today known as 'Magyarorszag'?

Language / Genitive case ("nie ma nic" vs "nie ma niczego") [71]

It's a little more complicated, unfortunately. 'u' is sometimes used in the masculine genitive singular, other times 'a'. For example 'gośćiU', 'zamkU', 'budynkU', 'stołu' etc..., yet 'panA', and numerous examples of each. With names of foreign origin, the genitive 'a' is usually employed, e.g. 'książka Ernsta Theodora Hoffmanna etc.

Books have even been devoted to just this phenomenom in Polish. Above but a measely attempt at illustration.

News / Polish-Hungarian friendship - reality till today or just a phantasmagoria [144]

The only difference there is that 'Prague Russian' was/is a code expression for occupied language and not a literary genre, a la Herr Kafka et al-:)

Charactaristics of so-called 'Prager Deutsch' are an elevated usage, out of keeping with true 'German' vernacular and an arch pronounciation, almost that of a foreigner who learned to speak German too correctly, so that it doesn't sound quite natural to a native German!

News / Polish-Hungarian friendship - reality till today or just a phantasmagoria [144]

Is the article referring with the antecedent 'his' ('his imprisonment') to Mr. Kundera's imprisonment or Mr. Dvoracek's?

I simply meant that 'The Unbearable Lightness of Being' was for me not only a deeply moving film, but also a time capsule of the 'Praha viosna'.

News / Polish-Hungarian friendship - reality till today or just a phantasmagoria [144]

Mr. Kundera seems to think so too--:)

News / Polish-Hungarian friendship - reality till today or just a phantasmagoria [144]

I'm quite familiar with the political tensions between various European states! You're correct in what you state, and precisely because of the geopolitical situation, certain cultural/linguistic minorities have always held sway.

Of course Czechs are more pro-Russian. Rather than demonizing Russians, The Prague Uprising of '68 actually deepened the relationship between the two countries, admittedly more a love than hate affair!--:)