Food / Vodka for a Polish Wedding [40]


In origin, but in the PRL lots of people made it in cities as well.


That's probably more the case, though some respectable-ish people in the PRL... dabbled (I heard about it because my university teacher's brother made it)

Food / Vodka for a Polish Wedding [40]

I prefer the cyrpus equivalent zivania/zivana, the only grappa type drink I actually enjoyed...

Food / Vodka for a Polish Wedding [40]

No, those are all commercially available and regulated alcoholic beverages bimber is like moonshine, by definition homemade and unregulated.

Food / Vodka for a Polish Wedding [40]


I'm not Polish at all but I'd heard of it (with the name bimber) before my first visit to Poland... mumble mumble years ago.

American education for the win!

Food / Vodka for a Polish Wedding [40]

how does a Polish person not know bimber?

pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bimber

A friend was recently at a wedding and received a bottle Stumbras (which is actually Lithuanian but supposedly very good)

At another wedding the vodka handed out to guests had.... labels for that wedding (a tradition in that part of Poland).

Language / Why don't you always pronounce the last ę as "eom" [4]


Short answer: Why should it be pronounced like the "classical english 'eom'" (whatever that is) Polish is a separate language and evolves in its own way.

At present most people most of the time pronounced word final -ę exactly like -e

other variants:

like final -e but followed by a short nasal u sound (like final -eł but with the ł nasalizaed: this is mostly restricted to się (when sort of stressed) and maybe dziękuję, doing this in everyday normal speech very much makes you sound like a retired classics professor

e with a bit of nasalization at the end (a bit like French -in but not as strong) what many people do occasionally

like -em (considered sub-standard)

most style guides (for Poles) say using one pronunciation all the time is not good, never nasalizing final -ę sounds too informal and nasalizing all of them sounds far too formal. the recommendation is to pronounce some like -ę and others like -ę (which words are pronounced which way is left to the discretion of the speaker).

IME (when asking people) some cases of word final -ę are more likely to be pronounced like -ę than others, maybe especially when otherwise the third person form would sound the same (piszę vs pisze for example)


I think maybe that's Silesian? I remember a show with Silesian characters who pronounced both final -ę and final -em (as a first person marker) something like uh, I don't know if there's an accepted way to write that...

Language / What are więcej przykładów of the Locative case - other examples in the Polish language [4]

The locative case is only used with a few prepositions, most of which can also be used with other cases.

The one exception (preposition only with the locative case) is I think przy (by, near to, at)

also

w (meaning in or inside) when w means 'into' is takes the accusative

w mieście (in the city)
w miasto (into the city)

o uses the locative (meaning about) but can also take the accusative (

o ścianie (about the wall)
o ścianie (off of, against the wall)

na uses the locative to mean on, when na means onto it takes the accusative

na wyspie (on the island)
na wyspę (onto the island)

po uses the locative to mean 'after' or 'around' the meaning with the accusative is more like 'up to' or 'for' (

po kolacji (after supper)
po kolację

These two links give examples of prepositions with the locative (they don't discuss the fact that four of them can also be used with the accusative

polskidaily.eu/przyimki-miejscowniku-prepositions-in-locative/

polskinawynos.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/przyimki-z-miejscownikiem1.pdf

This chart gives a more thorough accounting of prepositions with the various cases

polskinawynos.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/przyimkiprzypadki.pdf

Language / Pronunciation difficulties for Poles speaking English [40]


If read that someone (his wife?) edited his prose which would make sense...

Language / Pronunciation difficulties for Poles speaking English [40]

This is all without even getting into the _real_ problems of

rhythm: Polish is syllable timed with each vowel receiving its full value and stressed syllables aren't that much stronger than unstressed syllables. English stressed syllables are much stronger than unstressed syllables (the vowels of which are reduced to almost nothing).

intonation: especially contrastive stress, such as the difference between "I saw June yesterday" (neutral) vs "I _saw_ June yesterday" "I saw June _yesterday_" etc etc etc

Food / Making American cheeses (Polish and EU ones are terrible!) [100]


In the US it's called 'government cheese'

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Government_cheese

In the 80s for a time it was distributed to those on welfare or social security. My retired aunt got something like 5 pounds a month (in a single big block) well over anything she could consume and she passed it on to me (where it played a starring role in any number of student meals).

Life / Financial incentives to increase fertility in Poland [9]


no in sub-saharan africa.... and parts of the middle east there aren't drops either...

Life / Financial incentives to increase fertility in Poland [9]


and a pony? let's keep ideas in the realm of the feasible... if you pay that much you're going to be creating a black market in babies.... not a good idea

Life / Financial incentives to increase fertility in Poland [9]


They don't work. Something that might be more effective are things like tax breaks guaranteed free daycare from 8.00 to 22.00.

The bigger problem is that post religious societies (most of the world now including parts of places like Turkey and Iran) don't reproduce. Having children is, among other things, a way of recognizing a larger agenda than your own life. Societies that don't do that become sterile.

Give the society a mission (that can be helped by having kids) is more effective but no one knows how to do that now....

News / Former Polish MP caught driving without a license..... twice in one day! [17]


As a diplomatic (and conflict adverse) American, I prefer 'mistaken'. I think he confused one or two stories and is conditioned to think the worst of.... certain people.

But I did a bit of googling (and searched the tvp info site) without finding any case that came anywhere close to his claims, so.... mistaken.

Polonia / Poland vs Italy vs Spain for an expat? [19]


I think it's about the same in both countries, very low (and why should it be high, anyway?)

I've had classes with students from Erasmus from both countries and.... yeah, I was not real confident they understood much. There was one reasonably fluent Italian and that was it.

News / Former Polish MP caught driving without a license..... twice in one day! [17]

His new excuse is that he was targeted by political enemies...

inexact paraphrase: I was hunted down by (an assistant to a Euro MP) and his pictures were used by the media when, after being informed, the police stopped me in my car making a three minute drive to the garage... (not very exact but you get the jist of it).

"upolował mnie pracujący w Parlamencie Europejskim asystent pani poseł z Koalicji Europejskiej i jego zdjęciami posłużyły się media, gdy po doniesieniu na policję patrol zatrzymał mnie w aucie robiącego trzyminutowy objazd ulicami do garażu"

Nothing like following the law and realizing that even a three minute 'objazd ulicami' is illegal if you don't have a drivers license..... what a toooooool.

Law / Preventive police phone call in Poland [9]


Not sure and a few minutes of googling in Polish didn't much help... do you have the actual Polish name of the unit? That might help....

Law / Preventive police phone call in Poland [9]

sounds either like a scam or maybe they're legit and checking if the holiday apartment you're in is legit ....

Law / Court punishment Poland - work for punishment instead of jail [36]


natural talent and interest... I remember reading about how some famous blues guitarist (forget which one) grew up so poor that his first instrument was a discarded tobacco can - by practice he was able to get different sounds (basically chord progressions while he sang melody) from it.

also, look at the gypsy kids playing violin on the street, as small children they just produce random notes (or just random squawking), but after a few years their playing is surprisingly good without a single music lesson just constant practice and mimicry and by adults many become brilliant musicians... without a single formal lesson or without knowing how to read music

News / Former Polish MP caught driving without a license..... twice in one day! [17]


If you can't provide more details than that... then I don't believe it happened (or you're leaving stuff out).

Law / Court punishment Poland - work for punishment instead of jail [36]


Whatever language people speak privately is their business.
The need to become fluent in the local language is a very separate issue. I have no problem with those who speak only as well they need to (maybe a bit of pity for lack of intellectual curiosity) and I have problems with those who want everything translated for them (in government offices) and who expect everyone around them to accommodate their refusal to learn...

Polonia / Poland vs Italy vs Spain for an expat? [19]

You do realize the current PM is a socialist*, don't you? And that 'agenda' is called a 'constitution' (ie 'rule of law').... and the EU is fully on board with the Spanish government doing whatever it takes to stop Catalan independence (which has never really polled over 50%....)

I do remember that an election or two ago in Catalonia and independence party publicly proclaimed that the election was a de facto referendum on independence and said party lost ground.... so they regrouped with some fringe parties to try to push it through anyway.

I've spent a bit of time in the Catalan influenced fringes (some of my favorite parts of Spain) and can read newspaper Spanish without any real effort. I can figure out some written Catalan but the independence movement has ruined the language for me..

*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_S%C3%A1nchez


I refuse to apologize for having broad horizons and many, many interests. You should try it! It's a great way to keep the mind fresh!

Polonia / Poland vs Italy vs Spain for an expat? [19]


Catalan independence is neither proud, rightful or a cause...

There is no legal basis in the Spanish constitution (approved of by an absolutely majority of the Catalan electorate in 1980 or so) for an independence referendum without the approval of the central government.

Those leading such a referendum are lawbreakers, period.

And the EU has made it clear it does not want an independent Catalonia as a member. You're against Brexit but pro Catalonian independence (Catalexit? Catexit? Catalida? (blend of Catalan and salida) How do you square that circle?

Law / Court punishment Poland - work for punishment instead of jail [36]


Some have more natural ability than others, but.... no one ever hears about Norwegians who just don't have a knack for foreign languages...

Again, failure to learn a local language after 5 or more years = stupidity and/or laziness.

Law / Court punishment Poland - work for punishment instead of jail [36]


That's what I always say, failure to learn the local language by long term residents always comes down to some combination of stupidity and/or laziness. There is no such thing as people who just don't have a 'knack' for learning languages, there are those who do the work.... and those who don't.

Law / Court punishment Poland - work for punishment instead of jail [36]

More like a tribute to the politeness of the Poles in the face of incredible rudeness...

Law / Court punishment Poland - work for punishment instead of jail [36]


I think it's more the American preference for broad and shallow social networks over the general European preference for narrow and deep social contacts. Brits are, I think, okay with only knowing a few people (and knowing them pretty well) while Americans like to know as many people as possible but aren't big on deeper connections with them.

You can only build and maintain a large social network in Poland in Polish so Americans feel more internal pressure to use whatever Polish they can muster.

I'll add that it's only Brits who seem.... proud (for lack of a better word) of living for years in Poland and not knowing any Polish... I can't imagine that.

Law / Court punishment Poland - work for punishment instead of jail [36]


Same story, if they learn the language and how things work and get rid of the lingering desire to turn Poland into a copy of their home country they do fine. If they don't then they bumble along confused and angry until they get fed up and leave.

IME Americans have been generally a bit better at integrating themselves into Polish society than Brits... (say a standard deviation or so).


This is true of many countries in Europe and hardly anything special or unique to Poland.... if anything the rest of Europe is converging down to Polish levels (without any of the traditional protections that have existed and still exist in Poland).

theguardian.com/world/2019/may/15/cash-credits-and-crisis-life-in-the-new-european-precariat

Law / Court punishment Poland - work for punishment instead of jail [36]


should be "those
that do not integrate (for whatever reason)"