Life / Abrupt Poles explained ! [51]


I wasn't criticising your linking the article (which was a good idea the more people know about this kind of thing the better).

I was criticising the author of the article and/or Dr Zinken for suggesting that these findings are in any way new when others have written about the same phenomena before.

Life / Abrupt Poles explained ! [51]

This is hardly new or cutting edge research, I've read about a half dozen articles that cover the same or very similar ground.

IME most Polish people I've asked agree with the interpretation of Anna Wierzbicka who wrote (in the 90s?) that the imperative in Polish is felt to be more polite than most of the alternatives in that it involves addressing the person directly and openly asking for what you want rather than unrelated speculation.

I guess this kind of basic info needs to be repeated frequently.

The old rule is still true: It's often impossible to be polite in two different cultures at the same time.

News / Nergal should rip up Koran - Wałęsa [11]


Missing el punkto, as usual.

It's safe to **** all over catholocism, catholics no longer have a minority of violent psychos prepared to do violence to protect the faith.

Islam most certainly does have a minority of violent psychos who will hurt/kill anyone they think is insulting their faith.

But don't let your catholophobia get in the way of understanding what he said.

Nergal is the real life equivalent of an internet troll, a bunch of infantile button pushing - the more people ignore him the better.

Language / zostać: to remain *and* to become? [3]

Zostać gdzieś to stay (a place) = Został w domu. (He stayed home). That is it's followed (usually) by a preposition and a noun in the locative case.

Zostać czymś/kimś to become (something/someone) = Został nauczycielem. (He became a teacher). It's followed by a noun in the instrumental case.

In practice it's not confusing at all.


No, it would not communicate anything. It's gibberish. Other expressions would be used in those cases (I'll leave it to the natives to come up with better translations than I would).

USA, Canada / Who is better informed, the expat or the Polonia crowd? [144]


And you just can't wait for Poland to have economic problems! What a horrible excuse for a Pole your are, wanting and licking your lips at the prospect of an entire country to suffer economically so "your" party can win an election. You sicken me.

USA, Canada / Who is better informed, the expat or the Polonia crowd? [144]


Yeah, that damned Tusk and his scam artists..... That must be why Poland has been hit so hard during the current world economic crisis! Just look at the evidence:

thenews.pl/1/12/Artykul/108492,Standard-and-Poors-Polands-economic-outlook-remains-stable

USA, Canada / Who is better informed, the expat or the Polonia crowd? [144]


It was exceptionally stupid, even for a poster who's never been shy about writing stupid things.


Yeah at some point during the PiS government I realized that they were trying to re-create a Poland that never existed (and they didn't realize that). Of course they failed and short of catastrophe they'll never be elected again (as they radicalized many apolitical people against them). They still have their core constituency but it's not enough to win a major election as long as other parties seem roughly more interested in moving to the future rather than turning Poland into a big open air skansen.

Language / What do you say in a doctors surgery to ask "Who is next in line?" [19]


In Poznań, just like you. I can't say that I think Poznanians are especially rude compared with other Poles.


We have a winner!!!!! I often say that life in Poland can be a wonderful training course in learning to be assertive (something wimpy anglophones are often not good at). I've learned the hard way how to keep people from walking all over me and I'll always be grateful for the excellent training I've received in Poland on how to stand up for myself and not take no for an answer (ironically the better I've become at it the less I've needed it). This probably means I'm deeply unsuited for life in an English speaking country anymore. But since I have no plans on moving back to the US that's not much of a problem.

Language / What do you say in a doctors surgery to ask "Who is next in line?" [19]

It seems to me that mostly I just hear "Kto ostatni?"

For the OP: The point isn't to ask who's next, it's to find the last person in "line" (if you can call random scatterings of people a line) so you know when that person goes in you're next. This won't stop outsiders from trying to push their way to the head of the line with (usually false) stories about how they had been waiting and had to step out for a minute. It's best to let the other Polish people who've been waiting bring them to heel. You have almost no chance.

Food / Polish Duck Soup [117]

I live in Poznan and have had more than one serving of czernina at this place:

zlotakaczka.poznan.pl

What surprised me the first time was how sweet is was. I remembered a co-worker in the US who tole me her immigrant father made it and told her it was 'chocolate soup'. She loved it until she found out what it was really made of at which point she refused to eat it anymore.

It does have a kind of chocolatey taste.

USA, Canada / Who is better informed, the expat or the Polonia crowd? [144]


Shouldn't that be addressed to Harry who is openly proud of his ignorance of Polish?

Life / Is Poland a poor country? [578]

What I always say is that Poland is not an especially poor country but the great majority of Poles feel subjectively poor. This has little to do with actual privation and a lot to do with not being able to afford the newest and most expensive products in every single area.

Partly this is the Polish tendency to divide the world into two spheres, rich (the absolute richest countries in the world) and poor (everybody else).

Driving a car for five years instead of trading in each and every year is hardly a sign of true poverty. Endemic malnutrition and lack of basic infrastructure like running water and electricity are.

Language / Too many English words in the Polish language! [709]

If we're taking nominations for ugliest, most ungainly incorporations of English into Polish, I hereby offer the following for your consideration:

"czy mógłby ktoś reupnąć" (could someone reupload?)

UK, Ireland / My dream about UK. Please help. [86]


Or "I was in a car accident which caused a break"

brake = hamulec

break = przerwa

Life / Polish word for 'queue' [18]


If a Polish person accidentally bumps into you on the sidewalk they apologize. If an American bumps into you (and you're American) you both apologize. If a German person bumps into you they'll harumph about your nerve for getting in their way....

Life / Polish word for 'queue' [18]

The mainstream word for line is kolejka.

One reason Polish people don't like waiting in line has to do with the communist past, when scenes like the one below (for toilet paper) were common.

Also, Polish people have never used lines for getting on public transport. Suck it up and deal.

Language / Wesołego Alleluja or Wesołych Świąt? [30]


Wesołych świąt most certainly does not mean "joy to the world" (which would be radość światu, which sounds kind of dumb and awkward).

Wesołych świąt means "(I wish you) happy holidays". The plural IIRC refers to the fact that both major Christian holidays (Christmas and Easter) are celebrated for two days (at least!) in Poland.

Language / Wesołego Alleluja or Wesołych Świąt? [30]

I've never heard Wesołego Alleluja in Poznan, just Wesołych Świąt (maybe Wielkanocnych added).

Sometimes people forego all of that with friends and just wish each other "Smacznego jajka i mokrego dyngusa" (tasty egg and wet Easter Monday)

Food / BABKA: Bread or Cake? [9]

I was mostly thinking of babka poznanska, which is maybe not one of the 'real' babkas and I was thinking of taste more than texture.

Food / BABKA: Bread or Cake? [9]

I consider it a cake.

The closest in terms of texture and taste for me would be pound cake (southern US) version.


Don't. Start.

Life / Do trailer park people exist in Poland? [18]

The closest thing to trailer parks in Poland might be 'baraki'

Some of these are old buildings converted (awkwardly and poorly) into living spaces. As with US trailer parks you get a mix of social dysfunction and better-functioning people without much money.

There are also containers (self explanatory). Controversy has been caused by plans to move those who can't provide themselves with housing from prime downtown buildings into container apartments.

Life / Do trailer park people exist in Poland? [18]

No, they're everywhere, especially cities, but generally a lot better behaved than british chavs or us trailer trash (or whatever term you prefer).

Love / Prevention of child abduction by Polish mother. [232]


Ding, ding, ding!

My best guess is she re-started a relationship with some old boyfriend while there and she doesn't want you on the birth certificate because that would get in the way of playing house.

Or ... she knows/suspects you aren't the father. I'd insist on a DNA test to settle the paternity issue one way or another.

Travel / Traveling within Poland into my destination city - Lublin (from Warsaw airport) [43]

I've taken 175 many times with no trouble. The express bus used to have a bad reputation but I don't know if it even exists anymore.

Just make sure the taxi has a phone number and the name of a company on it and you should be okay. Airport to Centralna shouldn't be any more than 50 zloties.

Also be careful getting on (and off) of trains with luggage. The one time I was targeted by Polish pickpockets was moving with some heavy luggage through a train corridor (in Berlin). But I became aggressive and was able to retrieve my wallet no worse for wear.

If you're staying with people you know it's not unreasonable (in Poland) to ask them to meet you at the airport and help you arrive safe and sound....

Generally Poland is much safer than anywhere in Latin America in terms of pickpockets and thieves targetting foreigners. Stay generally aware and you should have no trouble.

Language / Do the Polish words for 'please' and 'piglet' sound very similar? [24]


With two, both dż's are clearly audible.

Language / Do the Polish words for 'please' and 'piglet' sound very similar? [24]


The first two are homonyms in modern standard Polish. The second two can and often are distinguished but many Poles don't pronounce them differently in rapid casual speech.

prosiaczek is a diminutive form of piglet (piggy? piggly?)

If a foreigner says prosię then locals realize they're trying to say proszę.

Learn how to pronounce them (the tongue is flatter and the lips are spread more for prosię and the tongue is more pointed and the lips are more rounded for proszę but don't worry about trying to hear the difference (especially in real time).

Life / Cable TV connectors / Digital TV plug in Poland [9]

Have you tried reading the instructions?

If you put the make and model into google you can probably find the instructions in several languages.

Don't recall a regional code here.....

Life / In case you didn't hate Polish drivers yet.... [15]

Why would they fake this unless they want the public to hate Adam "It's not my fault" Kornacki?*

*more than they already do, that is.

Work / Briton teaching freelance - and the law in Poland [21]


To avoid the paperwork (and to not have to pay me more). I don't know how it works now (I stopped doing that kind of lesson over 10 years ago).


You might want to rethink the whole Poland thing then, there's no way to live for any length of time here and not break some rules, probably a lot of them. Rules are everywhere and many are unworkable and/or clearly irrational so people don't follow them. If that really bothers you then you won't be happy here.

If I were you (which I'm not) I'd just suggest an informal arrangement that wouldn't require the ridiculous amount of paperwork and inconvenience that doing everything by the book entails. If you're shy just express regret that it's impractical to get the NIP zameldowanie et and see what they suggest...