Life / How popular is Radio Maryja in Poland? [163]

Getting here late. My thoughts on RM

It really has little influence on a day to day basis. It's importance is greatly inflated by some politicians and media for their own reasons (some of which I can guess others are a not so clear).

I've always assumed it was mostly funded by Polonia abroad (esp the US) who have litle contact with the country and who are easily misled about the degree of moral decay going on. Or who aren't really informed about RM's activities.

I watch and enjoy trwam occasionally but not the way the programers intended. There are some wonderful odd 'artistic' segments on from time to time that are a delight to anyone with an appreciation for offbeat aesthetics.

News on trwam is very much like news from the communist times. The values are different but the style is the same.

Polish people mostly aren't very religious but are intensely political (never more so than when they claim to be bored or disgusted by politics). They get most enthusiastic about the church when it can tied to a political idea. RM is about as close to that as you can find in modern Poland.

Food / Lazanki recipe request please.... [12]

Here are łazanki

• 
  azanki.jpg
  

Language / The Future of Polish Language [179]

I love Hungary but my Hungarian beyond bare bones survival is very poor (mostly from lack of practice). I've also noticed that although English is supposedly more studied in Hungary German will get you just as far.

I think that for Hungarians (like Poles though they don't want to admit it) German is a lot more time efficient than English especially after the first year or so. The same way that French is much more time efficient for speakers of Romance languages than English is.

Life / The Ugotowani show ( Come dine with me) [5]

I've seen something of the British (odd but sometimes funny), German (booooring), Spanish (not quite as boring as the German) and French (who are amusingly critical of each other) versions.

What I noticed/think about the Polish version:

1. The food is mostly not very traditional Polish (here and there it is but there's entirely too much shrimp and tatar and salmon for me to take it that seriously as Polish.

2. I bet the producers are deliberately trying to provoke conflict between the contestants. I think the contestants are also getting a lot of help (pressure?) in planning their menus.

3. After the first few episodes where the contestants were amusingly cruel and two-faced with each other (seeming to deliberately low-ball the competition) they've gotten a lot fairer.

4. There is a _lot_ of whоring for Alma (and I like their stores even) and kucharek brand msg.

That said, it's generally funny enough and I usually watch and enjoy it.

Life / Any treatment centres for homos in Poland? [455]


I have a pretty dim view of that kind of parade too, but AFAIK that's not what happened today (for one thing assless chaps are going to be hell in Poland late November).

Equality marches in Poland are pretty staid affairs, that such even fully clothed appeals to general tolerance (and discretion) can incite violent behavior says a lot about those wanting to do violence (and those tht give them moral support).

Life / Any treatment centres for homos in Poland? [455]

In related news, fans of the Lech Poznan soccer team are worried that Poznan (and Poland) hasn't had enough negative international publicity and have decided to do something about it by hoping to attack the latest Equality March and saying things like "The pigs are protecting the fags" and "I came here to kill gays".

The march went on with heavy police protection.


poznan.gazeta.pl/poznan/1,36001,8690788,Raz_sierpem_raz_mlotem_teczowa_cholote____manifestuja.html

Life / Any treatment centres for homos in Poland? [455]


Warning, fabulousness may ensue. I repeat fabulousness may ensue. Be careful and on the watch for shirtlessness and dancing...

News / Will many Poles migrate to Germany in May 2011 (after opening labor market)? [157]


Certain countrie had no business being in the Eurozone at all, Greece, Portugal, Spain, Italy and arguably Ireland.
The EU's drive to expand the eurozone at all costs is stupid. Countries like Greece need to be able to devalue their currency (short term pain for long term gain) but if they don't control said currency they can't.

On the other hand the German 'bailout' of Greece doesn't help Greece at all but rather private investors who follow the motto : privatize profits and socialize debt. If Greece defaulted some private investors would have gotten burned but it wouldn't have hurt the Greek people as much as the bailout will.

News / Will many Poles migrate to Germany in May 2011 (after opening labor market)? [157]


IIRC he didn't have anything bad to say about Polish people, he even singled them out as examples of successful integration.

The problem immigrants are mostly muslims with low social capital who are very resistant to those things that would help them gain social capital (education and intergration) but not resistant to accepting state handouts.

It's a similar situation to that of gypsy populations in Slovakia and Hungary.

Life / What is going on in Polish Music [128]

Quite possibly the most awesome song ever written...

Life / What is going on in Polish Music [128]

I kind of like this in spite of myself....

Travel / Vegetarian places to eat in Krakow [30]

I think Denis Leary said it best: "Not eating meat is a decision, eating meat is an instinct!"

Vegetarianism is just fine for those that choose to eat that way. I don't regard it as inherently more healthy or moral or environmentally sound than an omnivorous diet though.

People who get upset at others' food choices are generally a royal pain in the аss no matter which side they take.

For vegetarian fare when eating out in Poland, also consider milk bars (bary mleczne). The atmosphere leaves something to be desired but the food is often very good, better than a lot of much more expensive places.

Life / What is going on in Polish Music [128]

Natalia Kukulska - Wierność jest nudna (Faithfullness/Fidelity is boring)

Didn't recognize the song but I fed some of the lyrics into google and that's what came up

full lyrics: tekstowo.pl/piosenka,natalia_kukulska,wiernosc_jest_nudna.html

Language / Easiest Language To Learn from English to Polish... [13]

Many Spaniards in mainland Spain don't pronounce S sounds either.[/quote]
There are socioeconomic and regional differences involved in both Spain and Latin America but the balance of importance is different. In Latin America region is more important. Both rich and poor Argentinians and Venzuelans drop s's while Mexicans or Bolivians (again regardless of class) don't.

News / 100 days of Komorowski presidency [41]

Government, as the man once said, is like fire - a dangerous servant and a terrible master.

The best that government can do generally is not f*ck things up for people too badly. That said, it's also the only realistic provider for certain services that modern civil societies need and that markets and families or individuals can't provide.

But whatever their faults (and they've got lots of them). I do think Tusk and company aren't dumb and learned that the Polish public likes government most when it does the least. Most of the Polish public is like kondzior - they'd rather work around dysfunction than deal with it directly.

Language / The Future of Polish Language [179]


quite right (I assumed it was obvious I thought the teachers in question were insane).

On the other hand, Americans tend to see all non-US citizens as potential immigrants who need to hurry up their personal process of assimilation. This is also insane and wrongheaded but the idea is definitely there among a lot of them.

Life / Any treatment centres for homos in Poland? [455]

No one can choose what they want. Who hasn't known this since ..... forever?

That doesn't mean that what people want is always genetically coded. This is just making DNA into a new God.
I wouldn't be suprised if there's a genetic component to lots of human behavior but that wouldn't be enough on its own.

Rather than the victim of genetics argument I think gay activists and their allies need to argue on privacy and freedom of association grounds (as well as property rights).

If two men or two women want to live together that's their right and as taxpaying citizens they need some degree of legal protection from the state in issues of things like communal property and inheritance.

Life / Any treatment centres for homos in Poland? [455]


In other breaking news, a team of Polish researches have determined that large mammals of the Ursidae family defecate in heavily forested areas.

I have serious doubts about the genetic argument but they seriously think they've 'discovered' that people can't choose what they want?

Language / The Future of Polish Language [179]


That's a perfectly reasonable argument and I agree.

On the other hand, a lot of people with a clear double standard (that they're not aware of).

Standards for their own language are very high. For Polish this might be the kind of person who wishes that Miodek would speak correctly.

Standards for English are .... whatever, who cares? it's just English. (again on its own, this is no problem).

The problem is the minority that thinks of afectless, awkward make-do international English is all there is to the language and to give equal legitimacy to that and native usage within the domain of native usage (if you follow that).

Another aspect can be found among some (not all maybe not most but some) native speakers who teach English in Poland and see their job as the facilitation of a language shift from Polish to English within Poland. A lot of this is unconscious but I've known a few teachers who thought that Polish speakers should follow the sensible lead of the Irish and abandon their language in favor of English.

Language / The Future of Polish Language [179]


I really don't believe that can be done and I'd like to see some samples of this kind of usage.

If a person pairs down their tenses to three or four, then people will generally understand them but I'd hesitate to call that correct. There are some relatively useless English tenses that no one would miss were they to disappear but that still leaves around 9 or so I can think of without trying that need to be used appropriately to be 'correct'.

"I tell him tomorrow" is understandable and just as incorrect as "ja mowię mu jutro"

Language / The Future of Polish Language [179]

Practically speaking noun, pronoun and adjective cases are much more important than aspect for the foreigner learning Polish.

You guys don't have so much imagination, I've heard much worse in real life that was understood in context (no, not from me).

And English is not immune to misunderstandings out of context. There've been a number of temporary posters here (mostly non-European AFAICT) that are very difficult to understand.

Language / The Future of Polish Language [179]


Basically, you quite naturally, have much higher standards for your own language than English.

Define usage: There is no native variety where article and tense or other usage is not extremely important. The parameters of variation work in very different ways than variation between native and non-native usage.

Any language can withstand massive breaches of core integrity and still be understandable. It's true that Polish speakers are by and large not used to non-native usage but a little exposure goes a long way toward mending that lack.

Language / The Future of Polish Language [179]

I'm in linguistics, trust me, there is no such thing. English in use by two non-native speakers is different from native use but there are lots of deviations from 'correct' usage in such communication even from Scandinavians and the Dutch (supposed European champs in second language English). That's not a problem in terms of communication but I'm not sure if the means of communication is "English" in the way that native speakers use the word.

To clarify a little, paring down usage to three or four tenses is not 'correct' in any real meaning of the term.

If you're referring to the old project Basic English, it was in fact Basic Fraud from a linguistic point of view.

News / 100 days of Komorowski presidency [41]

He's doing the undistinguished but generally acceptable job I was expecting him to do.

Polish politics is brutal and savage enough without the president jumping into the middle of the scrum.

The presidency works best in Poland as a mostly ceremonial position with a minimum of active politicking.

Language / The Future of Polish Language [179]

Ja myslę że jest podstawowy polski język. Można slychać tam gdzie sa obcykrajowcy, prawda często nie ma poprawny ale polacy rozumią. Ja był slychać często kiedy kupię od ludzi wietnamski na przykład kiedy jeszcze był stadion.

Nawet kiedy końcówki poprawne, zdania krótkie. £atwo rozumieć. To nie język jak pan Miodek. Ale można gadać z ludźmi, tak?

translation for the idiot mods who are completely anal about the English only policy even when it's inappropriate:

I think is basic Polish. Can hear there where there is foreigners. True often no correct, but Polish understand. I was hear it often when i buy from Vietnam people, fore example when was still Stadion. Even when the endings are right, the sentences are short. Easy to understand. It's not Miodek language. But you can talk with people, yes?

Should also mention that real foreigner Polish is not as its portrayed in the media with people using infinitives. If there's a basic form it's the third person singular present. ja widzi instead of ja widzieć

Study / School of Polish for Foreigners at the University of Lodz [43]

If this is the same school that used to teach foreigners who were going to be studying in Poland then it's the best.

They routinely took people with no Polish experience and within one year got them to the point where they could take university classes. That's very impressive. I've heard good things about Kraków and Toruń as well but having relatives close by would seem to close the deal in favor of £ódź.

The main potential problem is they might not know what to do with you if they perceive your level as higher than it is. If you learned Polish at home your accent might fool them into assuming more ability than you have. And AFAICT there aren't any programs anywhere for foreigners who know all the grammar and are interested in things like composition and style...

Whatever you do, though, don't go to Poznan. The program for foreigners seeking to learn Polish is very weak (very strange considering that overall the university has the strongest language programs in the country).

Language / The Future of Polish Language [179]


Not really true IME.

English is easy to start but very hard to get to a really advanced level. It starts easy and keeps getting harder.

Polish starts really hard, then gets harder and then starts getting easier.

And you can become functional in Polish (living in Poland) in no more than a year, probably a good deal. You'll often sound awful but people will understand you and mostly be polite about your efforts.

What many English learners never realize is just how off they sound to native speakers (who are mostly too polite to say anything).

Language / The Future of Polish Language [179]

Western European culture (in an artistic sense) has not yet recovered from WWII. Bits of brilliance here and there but hardly anything like a sustained tradition especially in those art forms their culture produced and created. How many young Italians are into opera? A five hundred year tradition dead and buried in a generation and only kept alive by non-Italians.

Most young western Europeans are profoundly alienated from their own cultures (broadly defined) and this is never a good thing. Central and Eastern European (including Polish) youth are less alienated from their cultures after WWII (oddly enough) but the alienation from the collapse of communism and the CCCP is starting to catch up with them.

News / Tusk cracks down on designer drugs ("dopalacze") in Poland [171]


Why who could _ever_ have predicted that? (besides all of us who predicted it, that is)

Language / I need to find a name for my cartoon character (similar to Chuck for a Buck and Sid)? [8]

Bocian? Not very original, but ...
or
Boty na złoty?

(where boty would be declined like an adjective)