Language / Wishing someone to "have fun" in Poland [11]

"Dobrej zabawy!" is by far the phrase I heard most:-) "Bawisz się u........?" = Did you have a good time with...? was also a construction I remember, though I was told it's highly colloquial and only used amongst close friends/family.

News / Demonstrations in Poland in defence of democracy. [2554]

Wulkan, the latter was simply Ms. Merkel's tragi-comically bungled attempts to establish a "kinder, gentler" Germany for the benefit of her neighbors, at the same time conveniently forgetting the innate needs of her own countrymen:-)

Not the entire West is nearly that naive, even stupid!

And now things are slipping further and further RIGHT!!! Frauke Petry might well become the next Chancellor.
Something to shudder over.

Well, happy nightmaresLOL

News / GERMANS WANT TO GERMANIZE KOPERNIK (COPERNICUS)! OUTRAGE! [1016]

Quite, Ironside! Obviously, Butterfly 5 has either been mixing his drinks some, or remains blessedly ignorant of historical fact:-)

Off-Topic / Protestant countries developed faster than Catholic countries [14]

Don't forget either that the so-called Protestant countries had of course originally been Catholic, as was rest of Europe (....and, though not including the former Constantinople prior to the Seljuk Muslims invading and taking it over, renaming her Istanbul!!). While France, a staunchly Catholic country, was among the first on the continent to industrialize, Italy, Spain and much of the rest of Southern Europe remained poverty stricken until almost the present day.

I hence find the correlation between the "creative", "more rapidly scientifically advanced" North of Europe (being typically Protestant aka Anglican or Lutheran) vs. the "slower", "less creative and thus lazy" South to be more or less blatant, if outmoded, stereotypes founded more in sheer bigotry than provable fact:-)

History / How come Poles like Russians but not Germans? [216]

There already was one, Marsupial, for nearly fourty years known as the Berlin Wall! Ever heard of it?
:-)

I reiterate that in my experience a great many Poles can deal with the Germans much more easily than the Russians.
For example when lots of Poles choose a foreign language in school (other than English, of course, which is required!!), the majority will choose German, not Russian.

This clinches it, I think.

Genealogy / 5'9" tall is a normal for Poland Male height? [17]

I agree here, Wulkan. Many Polish males have a larger body frame than many other Europeans, except perhaps for Germans:-)

Genealogy / 5'9" tall is a normal for Poland Male height? [17]

@In-Polska, that may also be due to a vitamin deficiency, of which there was considerable, especially during and immediately after the war:-)

Genealogy / 5'9" tall is a normal for Poland Male height? [17]

On average, I would say so. As they have a large degree of Germanic background, Poles tend to be taller than, say, most French, Spaniards or Italians, but often somewhat shorter than the majority of Scandinavians:-)

Language / Polish vs Russian: Which language sounds cooler? [21]

Russian sound more beautiful sung than spoken. Polish sounds beautiful when either spoken OR sung!
:-)

Language / Polish vs Russian: Which language sounds cooler? [21]

We all have our cross to bear, gumi! Some of us simply make more of a point about it, that's all:-)

Language / Polish vs Russian: Which language sounds cooler? [21]

Although I began with Russian, I've always felt Polish to be a more melodic language than the former. Russian sounds like the oozing of a viscous river, Polish like birds chirping, what with its cadences and occasional nasals:-)

Classifieds / ANY FOREIGNER (NOT POLISH) FAMILY ADVOCATE IN WARSAW [39]

Maybe, but still if two people are speaking imperfectly a language other than their own, there are bound to be culture clashes:-)

Classifieds / ANY FOREIGNER (NOT POLISH) FAMILY ADVOCATE IN WARSAW [39]

Not to mention often because of the language aka culture barrier, Honest Pole:-)

Off-Topic / Russian or French? Learning another language besides Polish [12]

Amen, Lab! Again, Russian is much more valued as well as valuable today for a Westerner such as yourself:-)

History / Teaching our kids about Poland's History [57]

Nice point,Lew Lwowski! Indeed, recent Polish history is sometimes seen as a mere extension of the end of WWI. Poland suffered terribly at the hands of both the Germans AND the Russians. Katyń is but one tragic instance!!

Off-Topic / Russian or French? Learning another language besides Polish [12]

I'd go for Russian, but that's only my point of view! Russian, like German, is of immense practicality in the sciences - the future of any nation. While a number of Russian scientists do insist on trying to discuss their work in English, this is usually a mistake! Plenty though, will readily use their native tongue, thus adding to the comprehensibilty rather than the lack thereof when at international conferences (..seconded normally by a battery of interpreters)LOL

Russian's also close to Polish morphologically, though lexically and orthographically, it diverges considerably:-)

History / Teaching our kids about Poland's History [57]

No comment as to the French:-)

History / Teaching our kids about Poland's History [57]

Not sure I see your entire point, InPolska. Are you then defending "nature" (birthright etc.) over "nurture" (upbringing irrespective of birthplace)? Mme. Curie was for Poles good ol' Manya Skłodowska long before she met Pierre! Mr. Łobaczewski was a Pole because present-day Russia belonged during the late 18th century to what is now considered "Poland", i.e. Polish territory. Chopin's father was obviously French, though his mother was Polish by birth and national origin, and to Poles his spirit belongs to Poland, not France; he remains "dusza Polski" to all:-)

Perhaps I'm a bit thick, that's all, I just didn't quite grasp what you were driving at.

Feedback / What made you join Polish Forums & whats attractive here? [29]

I find it helpful to learn what's happening in Poland aka Europe from a perspective closer to the facts than much US media.
Hey, we've been wrong about Iran, Israel and so forth! Does it mean we're any closer to reporting the truth about Poland??
Always best to go to the source:-)

History / Teaching our kids about Poland's History [57]

Właszki.

I'll be the first to admit, Poland's gotten a rotten rap throughout history! As history is nearly always written by the winners, Poland has sadly been relegated to the sidelines, rather than allowed her rightful place alongside her only slightly less maligned neighbors.

If for example Germany hadn't the incalculable history of achievment that she has, she'd have been consigned to dustbin of the past following the completed Morgenthau Plan faster than you can say "złoty"LOL

Fact is however, that the arrogance of accomplishment has empowered the English, the French, the Germans and even the Russians to gloat over Poland as the proverbial backwater bumpkin, fodder for the rich, while barely acknowledging the fact that Chopin, Kopernigk, Lobaczewski and Mme. Curie were neither French, nor Russian, nor German, but Polish z krwi i kości!!!!

It's all PR, Właszki and you might as well know it:-)

News / Poland's Organized Crime [58]

You call it "Geschaeft", ktoshie, I prefer "Gehudel u. Geschmudel", so long as we're stickin' with German:-)
Anyhow, the title of this thread sorta cries out for sarcasm.

I mean, how else would you explain why certain folks get cumfy sinecures for which they scarcely qualify, while others with degrees from Harvard have to hold doors at Macy's, calling themselves glorified "GREETERS" for the one-time "butler material" (now hedge-fund kingpins)?? Luckily, I bought into the sinecure racket myself years ago, but that was sheer luck rather than pluck. Qualifications ONLY????! Come on, don't hand me a line!

A Polish colleague of mine fancies himself an "English teacher" when the dude speaks the language as though he were right off the boat. A native English teacher colleague in our deparment was just let go...again, with an Ivy League degree.

Kinda smells, don't it! ('Scuse the bad grammaLOL)

News / Poland's Organized Crime [58]

Organized crime in Poland?

You mean there's snow in Antarctica?? Coulda knocked me over with a feather!
LOL

I think the thread title's just another term for "business as usual in Eastern Europe:-)

Language / Is Polish an easy language to learn and is there a way of learning it easily? [105]

I see your point now, Labrador.

Back on topic please - learning Polish language

Language / Is Polish an easy language to learn and is there a way of learning it easily? [105]

Labrador, as you must already be well aware, Canada has in general a far higher level of standard schooling than the US! It is therefore relatively pointless to compare our two countries. If what you mean by your statement is that I'm guilty of generalizing, you are probably correct.

Don't forget, generalizations are merely inherent truths that have overstayed their welcome:-)
You mentioned you live in the UK. Surely, the number of British native speakers of RP has dwindled considerably over the past several decades.

As far as learning a foreign language, in order to sound at least "educated", a familiarity with structure as well as proverbs from a language is key.

Language / Is Polish an easy language to learn and is there a way of learning it easily? [105]

Right, InPolska!

As most Americans are grossly UNDEReducated in the matter of foreign language (not to mention their own) and have usually never been required to study either Latin or Greek, most have zero understanding of case, syntax or register:-)

While nothing particularly "new", if anything, it's gotten much worse with the advent of digital technology aka i-Phones ("idiot"Phones for longLOL) etc..,hard on the heels of the TV-generation of eternal couch potatoes, deadening their brains in mindless garbage!!

Europe might not be all that much better, but it surely can't be a damned sight worse.

Classifieds / ANY FOREIGNER (NOT POLISH) FAMILY ADVOCATE IN WARSAW [39]

Correct, ktoś@ However, try explaining such to most Americans, even supposed college grads:-)

I was merely elucidating for Jamshaid a transference error which might impede lexic comprehension to an "unannointed" native English speaker!

Appreciate your input.

Language / When would I use either -ę or -m in Polish? [12]

"To become acquainted with" would be the customary translation.

Language / When would I use either -ę or -m in Polish? [12]

He-he! Funny, Wulkan.

Language / When would I use either -ę or -m in Polish? [12]

Verb classes in Polish are to be sure a challenge, particularly those with "exceptions" which would seem to depart from the so-called rules, for example "znać" (to know a person or place) - first person "Ja znam" vs. "(za-)poznać" (to meet, recognize) - first person "Ja znaJĘ" etc.

Here, it's often difficult especially for a first-time out learner to figure out whether the rule departs from the exception or vice-versa!

Whoops, I meant "poznaJĘ":-)

What a blooper!

Language / When would I use either -ę or -m in Polish? [12]

Nice link, Chemikiem!

I've known several bilingual Polish Ukrainians who've sworn up and down that it's "Ja rozumię" vs. (CORRECT) "Ja rozumiEM"

:-)

The foreign-born learner such as I must learn to wade through dialect-induced error interference, even among certain native Polish speakers, in order to learn and retain proper Polish.