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

One justification often given for using so many English words in Polish is that makes the language easier to learn. Hah! The meaning of most established English loans is changed so much that using the words in English (with the meanings Polish speakers think they have) will lead to confused and unsuccessful communication.

Deweloper, menedżer, leasing, playback, happening, showman etc are not used in English with the meanings they have in Polish.

The wise Polish learner of English will treat modern English loans into Polish with suspicion - assume they're false friends until proven otherwise....

Also, while a certain kind of Pole thinks that using lots of English words in Polish makes them sound sophisticate most native speakers of English are more liable to think they sound ridiculous.

When I hear someone on tv say "mamy dziesięciu riserczerów" I mentally classify them as a burak with delusions of grandeur.....

Life / Polish Hoarders? [42]

A few years ago on a radio program a recycling person said that the main purpose of recycling is to make people feel good, it doesn't have much environmental effect one way or another. He was in favor of it, but didn't have any illusions about how helpful it was....


I'd say it's proto-hoarding. As long as a person can still throws things away and distinguish between things that have some use and garbage they're not hoarders.

Real hoarders have trouble distinguishing between this

Typically they think their problem is lack of organization rather than an inability to part with stinking, useless garbage.....

Love / Torments me my boyfriend had a relationship with a pole-how do I get over this [28]


Trust me, Polish people are _very_ low on the list of threats to the UK. Historically the do end up assimilating and blending into the local populations unlike groups whose main contribution are gangs, violence, inbreeding, parasitism and dysfunctional cultural traditions.....


You probably can't. Break up with him (no matter how you feel about him) and keep reminding yourself that it was _your_ feelings that led to the break up, nothing that any Polish person did to you.

Language / Polish Poetry: Should one only translate into one's own native tongue? [39]


I like Polish to be like Polish and English (actually American in my case) to be like American (I'm all in favor of keeping US and British usage very separate too. I'm not much into the whole exporting styles trip. That's just my personal preference. I understand that mine is the minority position but there's no arguing with taste.

And "maintaining the spirit of the original" has long been an excuse used by Polish translators producing rubbish that doesn't make sense in Polish....

Language / Polish Poetry: Should one only translate into one's own native tongue? [39]


As a person who's motto is 'good fences make good neighbors' I'd say 'yes'.


It is a major concern for all translators all the time.

I have some doubts bout teams of translators (too many cooks) but I like the idea of more than one translation that together can help the reader get an idea of the original - one only concerned with surface meaning, another trying to conserve some poetic style etc.

Language / Polish Poetry: Should one only translate into one's own native tongue? [39]


Generally _all_ written translation should be done into the translator's native language. You can be extraordinarily fluent and still not grasp certain fleeting bits of style and rhythm and secondary and tertiary connotations. This has nothing to do with fluency per se, there are lots of Polish speakers who are extraordinarily fluent in English, but they don't feel certain things the way native speakers do. It also goes the other way, I know I'll never have near the understanding of certain aspects of Polish as a native speaker does.

As for translating poetry, that's mostly a sucker's game. The highest possible reward is pretty low and the effort required is stupendous.


Well I don't understand why English rhythms should be carried over into Polish translations or vice versa.....

But then I'm not a poetry person. I like some stuff here and there but can mostly leave it alone.

Life / Polish Hoarders? [42]

I imagine it exists, but I'm sure it's far less common in Poland. Polish living conditions just don't lend themselves to hoarding behavior (they run out of rooom quicker).

I can't find it now but there was a trailer for a documentary on a woman dealing with her hoarder mother (who had been born in Poland). They try to draw a link between her childhood of scarcity and her adult inability to disitnguish between garbage and valuables. The local government is threatening to condemn the woman's house and so they perform a stealth cleaning which sends to the mother straight into a mental hospital.....

Life / What are these boxes I keep seeing everywhere in Poland [13]

It's a kind of tiger repellent. The very low number of tigers in Poland are testimony to its effectiveness.

Language / It's just semantics! - in Polish or otherwise [15]

In Spanish aventurero is a guy who sleeps around......

Language / It's just semantics! - in Polish or otherwise [15]

There are always several layers of meaning.

It's just semantics!

surface meaning = it (point being discussed) is only a question of finer distinctions of meaning that are not relevant to the overall problem (ie A person was eaten by a river dwelling reptile, arguing about whether it was a yellow snouted crocodile or a red crested alligator is a minor irrelevant point for most people most of the time)

slightly deeper meaning = stop bothering me with irrelevant details and/or distinctions

even deeper meaning = I'm wrong but don't care (very often it's used to deflect an argument the person who says "I'ts only..." is losing.

I have no idea how to translate it into Polish such that it would have all those meanings. To tylko kwestia semantyki (or something similar) is close enough on the surface but verbal disagreements are handled so differently in Poland (than in the US and UK) that a full translation is basically impossible...

Work / How can Americans of Polish descent get work in Poland? [22]

My advice is work those family ties (if you still have realtives in Poland).

Ask any relatives in Poland to look around, ask their friends etc for someone who can offer you a job (at least on paper). It seems odd or inappropriate by US standards but it's perfectly normal in Poland. They may or may not be able to help but they won't be offended or upset about you asking.

Without extremely fluent Polish (or internationally valuable skills) you're most likely going to be stuck teaching English at least in the beginning. Get those skills and some kind of paper qualifications ASAP.

You can also get hired by a large multi-national and manage to get sent to Poland but that's kind of a long shot.

Life / Which cities in Poland have the most expats, and why? [34]

Have a friend who (very briefly) taught in the English program. It took him over a year to get paid (disgraceful considering how much tuition the students pay). When they came back to ask again he told them to take a flying leap.

Law / I was fined for not having a tram ticket in Poland. How does this affect me? [68]


Person I was visiting didn't have a car at the time (loooong story) and I didn't have a valid drivers license (got it renewed in a side visit to home state) but by then it was too late.

It's a major life quality failure of most US large cities that public transport is such a goat committee meeting (goat rodeo would suggest something actually happening).

Law / Why do I have to show passport/ID for payroll in Poland? [3]


Because ... it's the law? How did you 'lose' your id and let your passport go out of date anyway? Is life a big challenge for you?

Food / 'Shortening' is used for baking and stuff [14]

Maybe it's not marketed anymore, but a few years ago I bought it a few times (mąka samorosnąca) but it never really worked.

I assumed maybe it was there as a misplaced marketing idea and had no meaning (like in the early 90's when Polish stores put credit card stickers on their windows but couldn't deal with credit cards)

Food / 'Shortening' is used for baking and stuff [14]

It's not just the shortening but .... everything. I've found it mostly impossible to make American style baked goods using local products*. My big problem was that the flour behaves differently (even if it's called self-rising - it's not). I assume it's something in the grinding and/or aging process. And there must be a trick to using baking powder and soda because I can never get the consistency of American cake, it's always too thick and soggy or too dry and crumbly. That doesn't matter much for carrot cake but I've never gotten a good white cake here even though that was pretty simple for me in the US.

One of the reasons for the enduring myth that szarlotka = apple pie is that it's very hard to describe the consistency of good pie crust in Poland because no Polish product has that consistency because you can't get that consistency with Polish flour. After a failed experiment or three I gave up and when I do want to use a pie crust I go the crushed cookie route which is generally acceptable for pies with no top crust, petit beurre works pretty well.

*note to defensive types - that's not criticism of Polish baked goods many of which are very delicious, just an observation by someone who occasionally misses the light, oversweet cakes of his homeland.

Language / Correct form of months when writing date? [22]

It's also fairly common in Poland to use Roman numerals for the month (but not day or year) and periods IME are far more common than dashes or slashes.

10.XI.2011

It's also possible to start with the year and end with the day

2011.XI.10

Food / 'Shortening' is used for baking and stuff [14]

IIRC Kasia is yellowish and Planta is white.

Planta is supposed to be for frying but it reminds me of Crisco a lot more than Kasia does.

Language / Pożyczyć vs. wypożyczyć, etc. [5]

In modern usage AFAICT

pożyczyć = general borrow/lend (perfective)

pożyczać = same thing (imperfective)

wypożycyć = borrow/lend/rent/hire commercially when the same item is to be returned as in library books, videos etc

wypożyczać = same thing but imperfecive)

Work / (IT field) moving from India to Poland -Wroclaw in May '11 [46]


Officially, maybe kind of. But almost all the hiring they do in Poland is for local bilinguals. Most f the workers who can get away with English only are sent to Poland from abroad.

Law / Visa Stamp if you overstay (American with a Polish Wife) [29]

If you have a pending application to legalize your stay as your visa is running out they should issue you a letter legalizing your stay until a decision is reached. That's what they did for me some years ago when I was in a similar situation I was even able to travel outside Poland (for something else) and get back in with the letter. This was pre-Schengen though and I don't know how that's been affected.

Life / Polish douchebags [6]


but those already have meanings that don't quite capture the douchebag spirit.... (in its current meaning, though palant captures the older meaning well enough)


A quick check on google indicates that a (very) few people are using duszbag ...

Work / (IT field) moving from India to Poland -Wroclaw in May '11 [46]


Okay, I'm clearly out of date.

Work / (IT field) moving from India to Poland -Wroclaw in May '11 [46]

Namaskaara,

Mostly bad news, I'm afraid.

For non-EU applicants I'm pretty sure the first work permit must be obtained in your home country (and can then be renewed in Poland) but it has to be for a specific job that you already have an offer for. I'm not entirely sure what the situation for spouses is, you'll need to contact the Polish embassy in India (warning: Polish embassy staff often give mistaken answers, don't believe anything they say without checking elsewhere).

And without very fluent Polish the job market is almost entirely closed. Knowing English without knowing the local language doesn't help you find a job in Europe generally and especially not in Poland. Only a very tiny percentage of non-Polish speaking IT people are recruited inside Poland. Youd have to have a really outstanding CV to even be considered.

olleyadhaagali!

Food / 3 Polish Lenten soups [7]

IINM the name of the soup in Babett's feast is øllebrød made with dark bread and dark sweet beer. I have a Danish cookbook (from the 1950's with lots of amazing stuff) that has a recipe though in a pre-global world it advised that the proper ingredients were hard to find outside of Denmark.

In Poland the darkest bread you can find and a dark, sweet beer (not necessarily acoholic like classic karmi) would be a good approximation.

Travel / Visiting Poland in May - what should I bring? [28]

Forget the gum. Along with everything else gum chewing is kind of looked down upon by Poles. They used to call Americans 'gum chewers' (not meant kindly).

Once more, fresh corn tortillas. The Poles I've known who've had them really liked them and they're not available (there's something called corn tortillas but they're not and they're awful).

Mexican chocolate! (the less processed the better!)

You could also try making a mango shake (mangos can be found though they're not cheap) with a raw egg in it (but don't tell them about that ahead of time).

Black beans (sometimes available but Poles don't know what to do with them).

Travel / Visiting Poland in May - what should I bring? [28]

If you bring food, then bring lots of corn tortillas. They are not available in Poland (and freeze and defrost well). Flour tortillas are easily available (though not cheap).

Tequila is available already (though expensive).

Some of the spices can be hard to find (esp in smaller towns). You might take ground cumin with you. You might bring some fresh chili peppers but most Polish people cannot handle them (spicy food isn't that popular, people prefer milder tastes).

Also maybe mexican limes (generally limes here are from brazil and are hard without much juice).

Language / Polish nationality insults in Polish? [67]

I've also heard 'czeski błąd' used for typo.

Travel / Would Polish visit Greece for it's islands or for it's history ? [30]

Getting here late, but I've been to Greece a couple of times and here's what I noticed (from Polish point of view though I'mnot Polish)

- Polish people are suspicious of people who act really friendly for no reason (Greek people selling things really get off on the wrong foot a lot of time). Service in hotels is sometimes also conspiculously friendly...

- They don't like the Greek hotel habit of charging for water with meals. Poles are mostly okay with not having anything to drink with a meal so pushing beverages isn't good policy with them.

- Seafood is hit or miss. Many Poles (esp middle aged and older) find shrimp or lobster to be kind of disgusting (not to mention squid and octopus). Most Polish people (even on vacation) aren't that adventurous with food.

- Most Polish people (unlike Brits) aren't into a lot of shopping for the sake of shopping or spending all day in cafes and restaurants. Lazing on the beach is fine, but most also feel they should be trying to learn something (and feel vaguely guilty if they don't). They also want and expect to be learning things in Polish. Listening to a tour guide speak English is not much an attraction. A Polish person with firsthand local knowledge (as in living there full time) is best.

- Places with a lot of British people aren't as enjoyable for them as places with more Germans and Scandinavians (that is German and Polish vacation behavior is more compatible than British and Polish behavior). Many Poles are suprised to discover this.

Language / Poland in different languages? [74]

Shouldn't tht be Bulanda ?