How does Polish sound to you? How to make Polish sound more pleasurable?

Of course not. But why are you so "obsessed" with the Germans in this context? I still think that's wrong and that you just had bad luck. BTW: go to Paris and try to address the locals in English... :)

I agree! Only, it's usually the Germans, the Dutch and the Scandinavians who pride themselves on their English, not the French:-)

Also, a poster posted earlier this or last week that Germans usually address foreigners in English rather than assuming, i.e. allowing the foreigner to respond in German. To that, I interjected that this was usually a mistake. My own numerous experiences have confirmed this notion, and I see no reason to change it unless a real sea change in Europe occurs. I don't expect it any time soon, by the way!

Germans do not automatically address foreigners in English, you misunderstood. They only do that if someone struggles with German, and I guarantee you they only try to be helpful. It has nothing to do with arrogance. You should ask our native English speakers here how convenient it is for them to communicate in their own language instead of learning another one. I'd bet, they all appreciate it. You are the first one I've ever seen who complains about it. Where are you from, by the way?

Where I'm from is actually irrelevant. The truth be known, I'm from the US and I do definitely appreciate solicited help ONLY! Other than such, unsolicited 'help' in the form of assuming ease in using the other's native language, I find a trifle condescending, to say the least. Rather like presuming a person looks elderly they must therefore be unable to stand up with out aide or because someone walks with a cane, they need preferrential treatment. Plenty of folks out there get along great on their own!

Then in fact, I did misunderstand and apologize for the detour:-)

C'mon, being treated in a friendly way never hurts. Especially when you are abroad. :)


Actually, it's not. Why? Because most native speakers of English automatically assume that everybody speaks their language and that it is therefore not necessary to learn a foreign language themselves. Very generalizing point of view, I know, but it's pretty much spot on I think.

Spot on it is, point conceded:-) Appreciate yours and others input on that one.

Cheers again, mate! Hope to 'spar' again soon. lol

Truth be known, however, everyone's vanity needs to be tickled from time to time, what? Always nice if Europeans say, 'Oh, you speak my language so nice(ly), I wish I spoke English as well!', or words to that effect, instead of dumb numb flusteration at their cherished stereotypes of Homer-Simpson Yankee Doodle Dopes being wrecked before their eyes.

The crying shame here is that most great US-culture, e.g. classic black and white Hollywood cinema, hard-boiled fiction such as Hammet and Chandler, the old Jack Paar shows, American literature is wasted on the Europeans. They're left regrettably with the present day shit and we wonder why theor views are so odd, as if all America was as it's shown in 'The Great Lebowski' etc.

I think the harshness of a language depends on how it's spoken by a person. Like if you speak polish with rolled r's and hard Ch's and h's it will be harsher than someone who flaps their r's and soften their ch's and h's. I see polish as one of the harshest slavic languages mainly because east slavic languages I think are soft because of all the palatalization letters.

Chrzan is a word thats sounds really harsh.

'Harsh', like 'pretty' for that matter, is so subjective. Frankly, I think it's what we bring to a language, colored by our own experience of hearing that language spoken by those to whom we seem to take a liking. German, for instance, I always liked, mainly as my associations with speakers of that language had usually been positive: energetic, diligent, intensely focused and serious etc.. Spanish, at least until my early twenties when I realized how practical it was too, I mostly took dislike to, mainly due to my association with Hispanic migrants with whom I'd more or less grown up and gone to school. Here, my early associations were with: laziness, indolence, apathy and slowness. Only years later, through maturity and enlightenment did I realize the foolishness of such thinking:-)

Polish, on the other hand, always struck me in a positive way, as the nation of Mickiewicz and above all Chopin. Polish to me reflected its speakers: hardworking, earnest, often emotional, given to outward displays of tears, defiance and as great lovers of language, particularly their own.

Dżdżownica, unless you have a stammer in which case it could be dżdżdżdżownica.

A Pole with a stammer. Sounds almost funny. Normally you stutter over consonants moreso than vowels, so with such a consonant-heavy language like Polish......whewww!

:-)

Didn't mean to be unkind. LOL