Sad life of a Polish migrant in the UK. Ch. 4 - Language

The English that they teach us at school is not the same English as is spoken. This situation resembles Japanese Heian era - everyone had to speak Chinese, only Chinese people would not have understood this version of Chinese.

One realises that very distinctly when one lands in Nottingham and tries to get a bus. The locals will gurgle something unintelligible which leaves one with the question what language d they in fact speak, for the Mercy of God?

With time the accent will grow more familiar. If one reads the magazines and , it will come much quicker with the greater vocabulary.

The language remains a barrier for a lot of Polans in the UK - generally people who are not fluent will not try to get a better job, even if they have good qualifications.

But as the familiarity increases, one begins to enjoy the better parts of English - as written by Dot Wordsworth in the Spectator, for example.

It would be all a thing of beauty, of not the notorious Daily Mail and their likes, who had managed to convince the locals that speaking one's woen langguage somehow offends them...

This happened to me today - my man and I have lunched in the town, and when we were paying for parking this old geezer with watery eyes of an alcoholic just came to us, and starter staring very intently - like when they want one to move but without saying 'excuse me'. We ingnored him, so he just came straight to us and interrupted us 'I DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT LANGUAGE, I DON'T UNDERSTAND THAT LANGUAGE!!!'.

We said:
'No?'
'Oh!'
'Yes?'
And to that he said: 'nie romumiem!'
We said:
'Ha ha ha!'

Points to ponder:
1. Why would I speak so that everybody can eavesdrop?
2. If Brits come to Poland do they speak Polish?
3. Was that polite to interrupt us, even though we were 'just Poles', or 'just immigrants'?

Polish immigrants choose that life, nobody is pointing guns at their heads to go to the UK and leave their beloved Poland behind.

1) Good point. You are not in a classroom

2) Some do, some don't. I can speak it fairly well but I have been here for 5 years.

3) I wouldn't class it as polite but he was just curious.

The onus lies on Tusk to create what opportunities he can and for Poles to take more initiative and responsibility to carve out their own chances.

of course, so now you have the opportunity to discover the real language. I would be excited:)

also my experience - hehe - and I though that my English was quite alright before coming to England ;) well I got used to most sorts of accents though never came to terms with the cockney and didn't think highly of that habit to omit h and t (sometimes even k)in pronounciation that make you think younger English generation suffer from pandemic asthma :P

(consider pronouncing the word 'hot' in that matter brrrrr gives me shivers ;)

This is the same as most languages; you won't learn Silesian Polish from a textbook either.


"eh up miduck, ayya gerrin' t'buzz t'Buwwuw an'all? gorreny spare fags, like?

Translation for ksysia:

"Hi, are you catching the bus to Bulwell as well? Do you have any spare cigarettes?"

Simples! :D

heheh - this one's good :)

t'Buwwuw's bit the best (the beast) heheh

smarrerweeim?

I scary, I understood it perfectly and Im not even from Notts :D Is it really English they speak over there?

I'd say it's more like Wookiesh hehehe ;)

They're a friendly bunch as are they in Sheff and Derby..I quite like the accent..

btw Shelley do you also tend to ommit h's and t's in your pronounciation or is it south England thing? :P

You know this thread has something in common with the other chapters that Ksysia has wrote about. That would be that british people don't care.

Good bye, go home and don't come again!.

Sorry if I am being daft, but I don't really get what happened.

THE TRAINSPOTTER(SKIS):p GUIDE TO STARTING A NEW LIFE!:D

Choose life, Choose a F*cking country to start your new life in, Choose to learn the proper way of learning f*cking English and not by some stupid text book you learn at school,(although it may help to a certain degree but not completely) Choose learning how to speak the f*cking dialect in order to survive the blasted country (!) Choose a job that will pay you well,Choose studying to be something better! Choose not to socialize with those who cant accept you for who you are, Choose not to f*ck the natives off of that country by saying things like for example "oohh you british people are lazy", lalala , Choose to enjoy life, Choose to save your money, Choose to settle down and have a family, Choose a woman that is willing to try "POLE DANCING " with you..ahem...:P,Choose a drink, Choose to relax and chill, Choose to party, Choose to travel from time to time, Choose where to plan your next life elsewhere!

Life is only memories CHOOSE IT WISELY:D

( I tak oto zakończtła się grafomańska kariera Ksysi)

CORRECT!!!!!!!

that's just what I thought - Britons, possibly as a Germanic trait, live in a society that they have to continuously control. They check one another out, eavesdrop on one another. That's why all the houses look the same and there can be only one fashion at the time. Paranoia on paranoia whipping paranoia up


'would be' - so you do or you don't?


You have some basic leftover sense then, but it's still not enough to count as politeness. Britons don't speak Spanish in Barcelona, French in France et c. British workers don't speak Arabic in Oman and definitely did not speak German in Berlin in 1990s, because they still don't.


I hope your brown lady was good.
Yes, I'm sure that you have the authority to tell other people where to live, how and how long.

1. If it's a private conversation, you don't have to, but I agree that one should at least have a basic level of English when going to the UK or to Ireland. Or the native language of the country one plans to live in. You can complain about this, but I also know quite a few Poles, who after years of being in Dublin not even manage to push out one decent word of English more than "Yes" or "No". The problem here is that they don't need to speak English: they are with so many here in Dublin that they can go to Polish shops, Polish pubs and hang out only with Polish ppl. While I am tolerant, I think this is a disgrace. You're living in the country and you should be able to speak the language. Simple as that. Goes for all countries, not only the UK or Ireland.

2. Like somebody already said: if it's on hols, then it's a matter of politeness to be able to speak at least some standard lines or words in the native language. I think most ppl would appreciate that anyway. Unlike popular belief in my country ppl actually appreciate it that you can say a few words in Dutch instead of just starting in English, French or German, having read that anybody in Holland can speak those languages. Just common courtesy, I would say. If you're planning to work and live in Poland, it's essential to know the language.

3. It's not polite indeed, however, I don't think he meant bad with it. I think in his drunkeness he heard a weird language and he wanted to know whether it was Russian, Polish or any other language. It's not a "Poles"-thing. Ppl should not overreact in sits like this: not everything is inspired by racism or hatred.

M-G (thinks Poles are way too insecure about issues like this)

1. If you are with speakers of your language then you can. However, if you got even one person in your group who doesn't speak your language then use English language so (s)he can understand what you are talking about.

2. They should know some words before coming to Poland. Yes, Polish language is hard language and it takes time to learn it. However, if they are in Poland for 5+ years and can't order a sandwich then they should be ashamed of themselves.

3. He was just drunk. Ignore him. Or just tell him something because he will forget it till he will be back to his senses..

English is the most widely spoken language in the world.
I remember two Thai people speaking English together and I could not understand a thing :)

A Polish friend had studied English and went to London years ago, London being the capital of England, where English is the main language and she was also shocked at the way they speak.

But it must be noted, due to Polish people being fairly recently moved about Poland, there are very few dialects in Poland, adding to the impact of going to a country where there are many.


I think that is the problem there, not the nationality.

I enjoy your threads and topics, I think you show a balance in your views from your own experience.

OK forxtrot- you are missing the point. As I said, people who don't speak English fluently don't try for good jobs, I, as it appears, speak English, and honestly, if there is at least one Briton in the group there is not chance of hope that they speak another language, so we just speak English with them.

But, my point was, why should I lean to the demands that I speak with my Polish boyfriend in English on the street so that every low life can control my conversation? I wasn't talking to the low-life, the chap has no right to understand my pleasantries towards my partner.


I don't think so.

Another chapter is coming!

polomintz:
CHOOSE IT WISELY:D
I hope your brown lady was good.
Yes, I'm sure that you have the authority to tell other people where to live, how and how long.

One day someone will!:D History has a nasty way repeating itself:D lol

Im gettin tired of people coming here and telling us how we should lead our lives,etc and vice versa! I hate when you get some less intellegent minded person from some country telling us were lazy b*stards,, you should get a job, you should do this and that, lalalal ....em hello! your doing and taking our jobs! not your fault true! governments fault correct!

anywaayyyyyy!!!!!!!! i dont wanna go into that subject!!!

im just a having a wee laugh! dont take it personally

thank god most brits have a good sense of humour and were famous for it:D

yes you're kind of daft - can't follow a simple dialogue


a ona miała na to jakoś zareagować że się tak z głupia frant zapytam


oh so this is what you really wish for Poles - good to know :)

oh Lord, I am so vicious today :P

lololololololol:P

god too much drink talk there lol

aye hehehehehe

ach! poles are generally nice people! I just enjoy ripping the p*ss out of not just poles but every nationality! I rip the p*ss about my nationality!

Ive came accross some really sorry soul, sweet types who cant speak english, theyve got history of all sorts that break my wee heart! Ive helped quite a lot of people get jobs and get lives sorted out, ive came accross some bad apples who took advantage of my nice side! One of them in particular was a guy named tomek or something - he couldnt speak english very well so we used online translators,books,etc. I bent over backwards for the guy, i walked from north west end of glasgow to the east end to help him get a job, i done everything and the little sh*t told me go and F*ck yourself i got a job now thanks bye!

charming lol:P

ah well! cest la vie

the rest of them, i still keep in touch we all help each other out from time to time!

its all good:D

Its a Sarrrff thing, my parents were quite particular how we spoke so I dont have a strong accent considering Im from Manchester (Do I Mr W?)

Yes,this with the language is sensitive subject.Some people do not like to hear polish,russian and serbian.They dislike these languages,the sounds.I doubt if the English had problems with listening to french or german.

I am also a bit annoyed when I hear girls talking in russian in my country(although i understand what they say) because it seems like conspiracy since russian girls get involved with countrymen so it seems like they do sth not to be understood or sth like that.It is cultural.

i love how polish people talk especially the men - its sounds like a mix of, electric razor,lawnmower and a vibrator :P

hheehe

i remember talking to a few girls at a night club and they were like try getting a polish guy to speak whilst hes down there:P so i pulled this polish guy a good while back on a drunken night out and got him to speak polish down below:P

ahem:P
rrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr ROFL

You took him to Australia?

Why do native Poles always say good bye as "bye bye"?

Nobody says that in England, i assume its the weay they teach to say good bye in Poland. Ever heard a Native Pole with a Northern Irish accent? thats quite amusing.

Everytime i open my mouth in Polish they mostly p1ss them selves laughing, im used to it by now.

... are we not supposed to? so is it better to say 'bah bah', or 'ba iiia'?

I say "bye bye" frequently - but then I am not English.