News / American GIs troops finally in Poland and, thank God, there's more to come [480]


This is a very good sign of President Trump stance towards the Kremlin. He could have said nothing on the issue which would indicate he is going to be rather "soft" with Moscow.


The progressive liberal Left is already apprehensive about that.

Language / Polish pronounciation of: cz vs ć/ci, sz vs ś/si, ź vs ż and dż vs dź/dzi - how to make these sound diff [79]


This sounds interesting. Can you give one or two examples illustrating this?

Language / Where did you start or the best techniques for learning Polish. [85]


Yes, do all three at the same time or leave it altogether ...

Language / Polish words that sound funny? [224]

W Saskim ogrodzie koło fontanny
Jakiś się frajer przysiadł do panny
Była niewinna jak wonna lilia
Na imię miała panna Cecylia
Tak z nią flirtował aż przebrał miarę
Skradł jej całusa, ona mu zegarek

This song was popular in the 1860s and the text referred to an authentic fact that happened in the year 1861. Originally it was:

Na Starym Mieście przy wodotrysku
Pułkownik Trepow dostał po pysku

Language / Polish words that sound funny? [224]

'Sheik' is a Polish word, too, although it is spelled "szejk".

Travel / Returning to Poland after 20 years in America [18]

No one has yet left Poland because of air pollution, brother.

History / Most important Poles and Slavs that ever lived [74]


It has crossed my mind, too. I thought that the Nobel prize commitee issuing the certificat for her used the name SKLODOWSKA CURIE on it since it was her legal name. But you say the commitee may have had other reasons for putting the SKLODOWSKA part of the name, so her marriage certificate could clear all doubts. Anyone ready for volunteering to search through France's archives?

Hey, I've just found another Nobel prize certificate for both of them, Marie et Pierre, where the name is Marie CURIE only.

History / Most important Poles and Slavs that ever lived [74]

Damn it! You may be right. On her Nobel certificate it is written MARIE SKLODOWSKA CURIE.

On the other hand, she undersigns her letter in French:

History / Most important Poles and Slavs that ever lived [74]


She was very patriotic, no doubt about it. But as to her name "Skłodowska", she might have legally changed it into "Curie" on marrying Pierre Curie. Thus, she couldn't have been angry about the "rotten" West calling her with such a name.

News / Frau Merkel today in Poland [70]


From Białystok which city is famous for its nationalistic crap.

News / Frau Merkel today in Poland [70]

She doesn't bring any nice things, she only wants to discuss the current EU business with our Great Dear Leader Jarosław Kaczyński. This meeting takes place in Hotel Bristol (click the image to enlarge), a luxury collection hotel in Warsaw.



The hotel was set up in 1901 by Ignacy Paderewski, a famous pianist.

Language / How long to to learn Polish? In hours? [64]


I am always very reluctant to make or receive a phone-call in English while in Poland unless the other person is someone for whom English isn't the native language. This tends to change dramatically, however, when I am abroad and not necesarily in an English-speaking country. This is because, I'd guess, of the fact that being immersed totally in my own language hinders myself in some way when I am restricted to a "narrowed" channel of communication such as the telephone. But being abroad, say in France, loosens my link with Polish considerably (although temporarily) and as a result I do not feel "blocked" to talk in English with a native speaker of English elswhere in the world.

Language / How long to to learn Polish? In hours? [64]

The method you apply seems to be very close to the one they teach foreign languages in the secret services of some countries. People there learn the language for several hours a day (7 to 8 perhaps), day after day, but I have forgotten how much time it takes them to speak it fluently. It may be several months to one year as far as I can remember. Anyway, intensity is the clue to their success or so believe their superiors in the secret service. I read an article on that somewhere some years ago, but can't remember where it was. If a secret service does that, it should be valid, after all they are not the people ready to recklessly waste time on anything.

Why not try to test some of your Polish in the section "Po polsku" of the forum?

News / Americans try to defame Poland yet again. [93]

I think it is not a universal agreement yet that the whole forum is a comedy show.

Language / How long to to learn Polish? In hours? [64]


2 to 3 hours a day? I am sceptical to that. Repetitio est mater studiorum, so it is not the time per day which matters most, but how much of that is going to be there in your memory after time passes by since I don't expect you to learn Polish for ever. Besides, there is this problem if you have learned things correctly so far. What are you going to achieve: listening, speaking, reading, writing or all of them?

Po polsku / Co sądzicie o prawie do wyborów w Polsce? Głosowanie za granicą. [18]


... na pewno!


Co rok, to prorok.

News / Americans try to defame Poland yet again. [93]


This passage from your a bit too lengthy post should definitely be underlined.

News / Americans try to defame Poland yet again. [93]

No, I said you didn't check your sources since you wrote:


And they couldn't alarm the UN in 1942 as the UN did not exist then.

News / Americans try to defame Poland yet again. [93]


Dunno why I am wrong.

News / Americans try to defame Poland yet again. [93]

Helas, it seems Jonathan Greenblatt doesn't check his sources, but neither does NoToForeigners. And then the whole world starts to blame the Americans for everything ...


How does Jan Karski fit into that?

Language / Patrick Ney - Is his Polish Legit? [35]


Paternal or maternal grandmother, never mind that, I should add that there's another Franco-Polish clown doing shows in cuisine on Polish TV as well. I've forgotten his name unfortunately, but both chaps can be very easily identified as frog-eaters by their silly accents. I suspect the TV channel (TVN?) which broadcasts the shows tells them to keep at least some of their French accent so as to make the shows even more sexy (did you know that French has recently been declared the sexiest language on earth by some unspecified, mysterious lobbying groups?).

Anyway, those two frog-eaters have published a book on cuisine for which my wife put a lot of difficulty to get it for free at a Tesco store. Finally she got it from them, but the book is of no use now as she has never cooked anything yet according to a recipe from the book. I will never understand women irrespective of the language they speak.

Language / Patrick Ney - Is his Polish Legit? [35]


If doing a show on TV is a "special" breed, he is a special breed.

Language / Patrick Ney - Is his Polish Legit? [35]



This happemned to me in the UK, too. Shorter interactions and telephone conversations wherein you pass as a native may testify that you have worked hard on the language you learn and you have succeeded!

Phonetics should be studied not only through listening and imitating sounds, but also by doing contrastive exercise and, last but not least, gaining some formal knowledge about the phonic system of the language. That was my way to "combat" the English vowels, diphtongs and triphtongs.

Recently I have heard a Hungarian woman in one of prof Miodek's TV programmes who spoke like a native. She introduced herself as a Hungarian, but did not say anything about her (Polish?) origins, however.

Language / "Wszystko w porządku?" - How do you Say? I can't hear the "w" sound. [5]

Both 'w' are devoiced (and may sound very weak) in front of the voiceless consonant.

Language / Polish regional accents? [141]


Pronouncing 'czysta' for 'trzysta' (tszysta) is a characteristic feature of the Greater Polish (wielkopolski) dialect.

Genealogy / Where is Ryski, Russia? Is that Ryki, Poland? [15]

'Ryski' may well be the adjective of 'Ryga', now the capital of Latvia but for a long time a city within the Russian Empire. Both surnames sound to me as typical of eastern Polish borderlands rather than originating from central Poland.

History / Silesia to Czechia [54]

They held it for two centuries to be exact. To se ne vrati, pane Havranek! Silesia should be Polish.

History / Give back Lwow to Poland and Kaliningrad to Germany - is it possible? [198]


What do you mean by "our people" and where are they?

History / Give back Lwow to Poland and Kaliningrad to Germany - is it possible? [198]


Except that your proposal is unrealistic, you are right that the Neise line as a border is not historic and its application resulted in halving the towns you mention.

The historic border between Silesia and Lusatia (Schlesien and Lausitz) is the Bobr-Queiss (Bóbr-Kwisa) line which lasted until the 18th century when the Prussians decided to adjoin some eastern Lusatian regions to Silesia.

News / What impact will Donald Trump's election have on Poland? [331]

The imminent impact of Donald Trump's election on Poland may come in a new American-Polish cooperation in exploring the Space.



Isn't our Great Dear Leader Jarosław Kaczyński hansome in that new American suit?