Language / The lost literary languages of Poland [54]

@delphiandomine, probably because of its sometimes dizzying word order and sentence length.

Language / The lost literary languages of Poland [54]

Yet considerably greater and more visible/audible than, say, the two Baltic states, especially Lithuania, now basically a graveyard for traditional Jewish life (not to mention Yiddish)! Israeli school groups regularly visit Auschwitz and Majdanek. Furthermore, the fossilized histories of the likes of Ida Kamińska and other stars of the Yiddish-speaking legitimate Polish stage, are making a comeback, BIG TIME!!!

Work / Poland seeking more natural English speakers [54]

Just an aside. I remember here in New York when firms typically were looking for support staff who spoke British English.
Guess it was considered more status.

How times have changed:-)

News / Does democratic Poland guarantee it's LGBT citizens respect for human and civil rights? [1169]

I agree wholeheartedly, Englishman! That having been said, I must conclude that certain topics here on PF tend to bring out the more animalistic instincts among us, and regrettably, civility tends to go out the window:-)

Let it be said therefore, that I support the rights of those who live alternatively to live as alternatively as they jolly well please. Although I might not concur with their choices, certainly the Church ought not prevent them from joining Communion. After all, it was G_d who created them, not the bloody Church!!

Remember, man proposes, G_d disposes (Człowiek strzela, pan Bóg nosi kule.)

Life / Imagine a man killing 15 students in Poland. Would Polish flag be removed? [26]

Unfortunately, many in the South (and elsewhere) simply won't let the past pass away, hence it becomes the eternal present, nagging at our conscience and tugging at our coattails!

Classifieds / Flat in Krakow for German students for one semester [24]

Hear, hear! I second the good wishes, richi!

Good luck in Poland (..and, if possible, try learning at least a few phrases in Polish)!

Even if nothing else, a simple "Dzień dobry!" to your landlord will go a long way:-)

Work / First English teaching job in Poland (Katowice) [75]

I know many Yanks who've gone abroad of late, CELTA's in hand, and headed proudly for Poland!

Sorry there, mates! Yepski, Johnny O's true Brit (and true Yorkshire too, I'll bet)

Work / First English teaching job in Poland (Katowice) [75]

Witam, Janku! Welcome to PF, John!

I for one wish to congratulate you on your attempt to teach English in Poland. Moreover, with your clear enthusiasm, I think you'll do well, only I hope you know at least enough Polish to communicate on a basic level in class:-) I also taught in Europe, but in Germany. Before I left, my colleagues from the BRD Consulate told me that German was not a necessity, that most everyone, students and staff, spoke "enough English"LOL

Boy, were they ever wrong!

I recommend scoping out the type of school district in which you'll be teaching before you start. Be prepared too for some negotiating prior to beginning, particularly as an American visitor.

Work / How to find work in Warsaw "if u don't speak Polish" ! [176]

I consider myself/We consider ourselves confirmed:-)

Classifieds / Flat in Krakow for German students for one semester [24]

Jolly,

Just because you don't "see" the black market (Schmiergelder, łapówki..) doesn't mean by a long shot that it's not there!

That's why it's the black market; it's all under the table!!!

Work / How to find work in Warsaw "if u don't speak Polish" ! [176]

Same almost as in Berlin! Only there, the Vietnamese during the late '90's, had a hammerlock on the newspaper kiosk concessions:-)
None whom I encoutered spoke as much as a syllable of GermanLOL Normally, someone who did was there in the stand along with them in order to facilitate the transaction. Otherwise, SIGN LANGUAGE - the ONLY truly "universal" language:-)

Classifieds / Flat in Krakow for German students for one semester [24]

If there's a (potential) language barrier, then there most certainly is a need for the services of a qualified interpreter!
Richi's written English looks ok so far, but who honestly knows how good it'll be when up against a Polish landlord, doubtless not fluent in either English or German?

No, I still stand that some sort of interlocutor ought to be on hand all the same. Moreover, as I stated previously, how familiar with black-market bribery could a young German student be?? Things work in Eastern Europe differently from Germany!

Work / How to find work in Warsaw "if u don't speak Polish" ! [176]

Think he means "Polish AND Arabic"!

Maybe he means some immigrant dialect of Polish (or of Arabic, kind of like "Turkish-German" aka Kanakendeutsch)??

Classifieds / Flat in Krakow for German students for one semester [24]

@Jolly,

I wasn't even hinting that Richi, for that matter anyone whosoever, ought not pay some professional for their services (particularly if certified/accredited)!!!

Anyhow, seems as though everthing's gonna work out just fine:-)

Life / Imagine a man killing 15 students in Poland. Would Polish flag be removed? [26]

JohnnyReb, know of any Poles, for that matter ANYbody killed, solely because of who aka "what" they were or represented, in the name of the present Polish flag??

If you do (since you seem like such an expertLOL), please let us know:-)

Life / Imagine a man killing 15 students in Poland. Would Polish flag be removed? [26]

A poor, indeed RIDICULOUS, analogy from the get go, Nathans!

The Polish flag is a symbol of the hard-won Polish aka human struggle for freedom. The Confederate flag, much as though it were a swastica in contemporary post-war Germany, is a symbol of hate and racial division.

Case closed:-)

Classifieds / Flat in Krakow for German students for one semester [24]

True, but after all, what would a young German student know about entrenched Polish black marketeering (except if the student were a fifty+ former East German)?

LOL

No, having a local who knows the lingo as well as the renter's mother tongue is invaluable:-)
Try and imagine if they used English, he-he!!

German student: Hallo, can I here meet an apartment? (translation of: "mieten")

Polish landlord: No, but you can meet my daughter, she doesn't cost so much.

(guffaw, guffaw)

Language / How to know what level of Polish you have e.g. pre-intermediate [15]

Hoped it answered your query:-)

Language / Devoicing of Polish consonants not always correct? [11]

I've basically always heard them devoiced. S'ppose I'll have to listen more carefully next time:-)

Language / How to know what level of Polish you have e.g. pre-intermediate [15]

@trucker,

"Całkiem", of course! Must've slipped my mind:-)
@Nathans,
Thanks for the positive assessment. I have though seen both words translated as "quite", although surely "całkiem" is the more literally correct meaning in Polish!

No, polska mowa, trudna mowa. To prawda, wiesz?
lol

News / Does democratic Poland guarantee it's LGBT citizens respect for human and civil rights? [1169]

Don't forget, Johnnyboy, that the true "Christian" faith is actually Jewish in origin! And yet, I don't see Jews nearly as extreme in their castigation of sin as Christians are:-) How come? Although observant aka "religious" Jews deplore same-sex marriage, they are not the sort to preach fire-and-brimstone, fear and loathing.

Language / How to know what level of Polish you have e.g. pre-intermediate [15]

eh?, rarely does a language have a direct equivalent in another. "Bardzo" can mean "very" or "quite", it always depends on the context:-) "Już" for instance is usually translated as "already". In Polish, it can indeed mean such, though is also a particle filler, frequently left untranslated, e.g. "Już dzisiaj.." as the header in a Polish-language newspaper for the days events. A smooth translation into English is hardly "Already today"!!! This smacks strongly of 'translationese'. In fact, the idiomatically natural English would simply be "Today..". The "już" however is as important for flavoring in Polish as it is unnecessary, in fact, confusing, in English:-)

News / Does democratic Poland guarantee it's LGBT citizens respect for human and civil rights? [1169]

....and good ol' (not so)"free" France continues since a few years to ban burkhas, kijaabs, crucifixes and kipas from public life. But what does it prove??

Language / How to know what level of Polish you have e.g. pre-intermediate [15]

Frankly speaking, I'll leave that at the moment to a native Pole. Anybody who writes the non-existent "ogórka" instead of the correct "ogórek" (pickle), i.e. yours truly, ought to step back several kroki and get clear on their skills!!! On the other hand, INTO English from Polish?? Nooooo prob.

Language / How to know what level of Polish you have e.g. pre-intermediate [15]

No, adbut. I visited Szczecin one time, but that was easily twenty years ago! In toto, I guess I studied Polish for approx. four years with a private Polish bilingual native-speaker tutor. I use Polish daily as I'm an interpreter and translator. German's my strongest language (after English, of course:-)), but we do from time to time have Polish walk-ins who are looking for English instruction and I definitely have to intervene on more than one occasion.

Ya see there, adbut! Found a mistake already (and a whopper!!!): "przy klasówce" would be the correct way to write it, as it requires a Lokativ ending:-)

lol

Language / How to know what level of Polish you have e.g. pre-intermediate [15]

Dla mnie jest mówiene bardzo łatwe, porozumienie już trudniej a pisanie ale najtrudniejsze! Jeszcze muszę się przy klasówki dużo rozmyśleć, który czasownik czyli 'dokonany' vs. 'niedokonany' powinnem wybrać:-)

(non-Polish speakers or elementary learners!) Speaking is for me quite easy, understanding more difficult and writing the most difficult! When writing an essay for my teacher, I still have to think hard which verb, perfective vs. imperfective, I should choose:-)

Classifieds / Flat in Krakow for German students for one semester [24]

Richard,

Hire an interpreter on site who speaks Polish and German (NOT English!) and, ideally, who is certified!
Even though a semester might seem like a reasonably short stay, don't get stuck in a position where either of you are unfamiliar with

the other's language and you both get into trouble etc.

My e-mail is marekzgerson@yahoo

never heard back, richi.

Sent you an e-mail and was just curious as to what you've decided to do, that's about it:-)

History / Foreigners in Poland - 1980-1983 [9]

Being a doctor, I;m really not surprised. Medical professionals are needed everywhere! However, were he a run-of-the-mill tradesman, aka carpenter, electricians etc., i.e. a job/career any Pole could have, things might have been different:-)

UK, Ireland / Why English do not like Polish? [417]

Ergo the English have no dignity? Think you'll have to clarify that one:-)

Life / Multiracial Poles [154]

Is a Prado Brazilian by any stretch a Brazilian who like the Prado? Or is that a silly question?