History / Friedrich Nietzsche - Polish or German ? [73]

If only to butt in once again. The question thread might as easily read: Immanual Kant - Scottish or German?

The man's own mother traced much of her ancestry to Scots Presbyterians who settled in German long ago, though Kant himself was born, bred and, as far as we know, NEVER LEFT, Koenigsberg, then quite definitely 100% German!!!

Is he more German than Scots to us, merely on account of the fact that his father's name is German, and he never took his mother's maiden name, probably of Gallic origin??

Seems a double standard, doesn't it?

Language / Poland in different languages? [74]

Hungarian is also far more inflected than any of the Slavic languages, having a staggering 32 working cases in normal use!!!

Polish with a mere seven pales by comparison-):)-:)

Language / WHY IS SMS MASCULINE ANIMATE IN POLISH? [9]

A useful explanation of the facts regarding the question posted in this discussion thread. The only thing which appears to be missing is 'why'?

Language / Interesting inconsistency between Polish and Russian [71]

For that matter, you guys, I've always found f.ex. Slovenian, a rather interesting language among the Slavic tongues, as it has certain words which appear unrelated to the rest: 'beseda' = word, whereas Polish, Czech, Ukrainian, Russian and Bulgarian have some word resembling the root 'slow-'. There are other such examples, just can't seem to think of them right now.

Work / English qualifications to start Teaching English In Poland. Is degree of some sort needed? [123]

'I speak in my West End Glasgow twang.......'

.......don't knock it, mate! Sean Connery and a number of others have become multi-millionaires because of, rather than inspite of, it-:)-:)-:)!!!!LOL

Never heard anybody complaining a fiddler's fart either about Michael 'Micklethwaite' Caine (to you!!)' Cockney slang.

Language / Interesting inconsistency between Polish and Russian [71]

Gettin' 'sarky' now, are we?-:)-:) LOL

Work / English qualifications to start Teaching English In Poland. Is degree of some sort needed? [123]

"I have been brought up and educated in UK English...."

Cardno 85, if that is the case, then I trust/hope/pray that it was due to a mere slip of the keyboard that you write "Is there... rather than 'Are there.." lots of specialised language schools......? If one of our Polish forum members made such a mistake, I could understand, but a native speaker?

Or is this simply Glaswegian slang in which you've been 'brought up and educated"??
Inquiring minds want to know!!-:)-:) LOL

Work / English qualifications to start Teaching English In Poland. Is degree of some sort needed? [123]

Oh, really DNZ?? So you're from the camp which says English is better than American, French is head and shoulders above Canadian-French, Austrian is inferior to German from Germany, European Portuguese has it by far over Brazilian etc.. ad nauseum, eh?

Figure you're at least partly kidding, so I won't pursue it. -:) I mean, sure, the Oxford accent of the Gielguds, Evans, Oliviers and so forth is so much more pleasing to the ear than the squawking jumble and whining twang heard throughout much of the States. But for every Yankee Doodle dumbel, for every rube from Rhode Island, there are quite a few cultivated speakers/users of the spoken American language who would take considerable umbrage at being thought less than worthy of propagating their language abroad.

Work / English qualifications to start Teaching English In Poland. Is degree of some sort needed? [123]

Actually, I should think that teaching both might not be an unreasonable compromise, how about you? Are you really going to sit there and tell us that British English is somehow genetically 'superior' to the American dialect?

Tut-tut, now-:)-:))!!

Work / English qualifications to start Teaching English In Poland. Is degree of some sort needed? [123]

Please don't think me an ungrateful peasant from the former Colonies! The debt our mother tongue owes to the likes of nearly all of the great literati, from the Great Bard of the Avon onward, Gilbert of Gilbert & Sullivan, Hardy, Joseph Conrad (one of yours, sorry he-he LOL) staight through up to the Beatles and Andrew Lloyd Himself, demonstrate the gratitude English must bestow upon its 'betters'-:)

There is though, the matter of Dickenson, Dunbar, Walt Whitman, Wolfe, Dreiser, Williams, O'Neil, Faulkner and a 'few' others, no measely practictioners of the writer's craft. And NONE from the English Isles, I might add.

Work / English qualifications to start Teaching English In Poland. Is degree of some sort needed? [123]

I supposed then the sun has really never set on the British Empire -:) LOL
The Brits lost the colonial battles to retain control over their old dominion, yet won the war by scoring imperial victory over American English.

A fine kettle of fish 'n chips if I ever saw one!!!

Work / English qualifications to start Teaching English In Poland. Is degree of some sort needed? [123]

A buddy of mine went on a scholarship from the Piłsudski Foundation to go teach English in Poznań some years back. Problem was, at least in the mid-90's, he learned only the bare mimimum of the language when he arrived there!! He confessed to having an awful time trying to make himself understood to younger beginners, even the better pupils. Furthermore, as Wrocław Boy implored, he was specifically asked to teach British Standard. He's Canadian, so therefore had no problem adapting, yet found the sheer prejudice against American English, even authors, staggering.

Sure hope things have changed a little-:)

Language / Interesting inconsistency between Polish and Russian [71]

Lukasz,

I recently called the Czech Rep. on some official business. Reached a (private!!-:)
firm and the youngish-, oh mid-twentyish, sounding operator answered. I tried
basic Polish, since my Czech is downright lousy and she started laughing a bit,
switching then to equally basic English. I asked then in English, if only to be
polite, mind you, whether she understood German. She answered tartly, 'Sir,
English is fine!' I then proceeded slowly, yet not condescendingly to explain
matters. 'Did you understand?', I finally asked, in normal native speaker caden-
ces. 'Please, sir. It's clear. Thank you for your phone call. I tell Mr. Pravicek you
called from New York!' (click - no Good bye!, Na sledanou! - nix, zippo, zilch)

The next morning when my co-worker arrived, he angrily told me that 'Prague
had f_ _ _ _ d it all up!' and 'got the dates wrong too!!' Immediately, I tele-
phoned the Prague office and spoke with someone else, who assured me that it was OUR fault. I responded cooly, 'Ma'am, do you perhaps understand German, since

English didn't seem to work the other day?' 'German was my first second language
all though school.' she replied. So I translated for about ten minutes exactly what
I wanted. Later that day, an e-mail came to my attention, apologizing for the
other person's rude behavior and for the, rather costly, misunderstanding.

The next time, advised friend Pravicek, PLEASE use an interpreter!

A little off topic, but what's kinda cool to me is when speaking in a closely related second language from the same family, fo example from Dutch into German, and saying things in the other language using root-related words which, however, sound ludicrous to a native speaker!

I once heard a Dutchman state in German that he (re-phrasing now in English) wanted to 'leave someone a phone message'. Instead, by using words in German which sounded like direct calques or cognates with Dutch, he ended up saying somthing like 'I'm transmitting an official decree..' or words to that effect. The German interlocutor couldn't help from chuckling over that one-:)

Polonia / Ever been to Sweden? [185]

Hejsan!

I've been to Boraas as well as to Goteborg. If you wish to e-mail in Swedish, my address is panlech31@yahoo
Marek Pajdo

Language / Interesting inconsistency between Polish and Russian [71]

For instance! Nice example, Magda! -:)

Language / Interesting inconsistency between Polish and Russian [71]

Yes, false! The Russian for that is 'something druzhya' (??) and refers precisely to those pesky, sometimes identically written, words in both languages,e.g. 'pismo' in Russian meaning 'letter written to someone' vs. 'pismo' in Polish which means 'a work, opus, written text or creation (close synomym 'dzieło') etc.

Language / Interesting inconsistency between Polish and Russian [71]

No, bolschoi spasibo! Didn't know that. Guess our 'friends' aren't as false as we think.-:)

Language / Interesting inconsistency between Polish and Russian [71]

Russian: pismo Polish: list
Russian: stol Polish: krzesło (?) or am I confusing Rus. 'stol' with Pol. 'stół'?

So close, and yet so far, our 'cousins' have strayed indeed, Magda-:)

Language / Interesting inconsistency between Polish and Russian [71]

dzięki, Magdo! I wasn't sure, glad though that my instincts are still intact (...if nothing else..)YIPPEE!!-:)

Next time I'm back in Prague, will definitely make sure not praise something/-one on their 'zapach'!!! (holding my nose as I speak) LOL

Language / Interesting inconsistency between Polish and Russian [71]

As a Polish 'speaker' (using the term loosely, LOL) with all but the most superficial knowledge of Czech, just wondering whether the word cited 'plavidlo' for 'ship' (in Polish 'statek', of course!) is related to the Polish (pan Slavic...??) verb root 'pływ-' e.g. 'pływać' meaning 'to swim'/'float', or am I seeing roots which aren't there-:)-:)?

Merely curious!

PS
When I once mentioned to my Polish teacher apropos imagining connections between words, she retorted: "You know, Marku, there's a cure for that.....It's called 'study'. Ouch!! Ask a stupid question and see what happens? (he-he)

Language / Interesting inconsistency between Polish and Russian [71]

How about Dutch and German, from a different Indo-European language family: left side is German, right is Dutch

Ausfahrt = exit uitvaart = funeral
ausstellen = to exhibit, issue uitstellen = cancel
belebt = busy, bustling, active beleefd = polite

the list goes on, e.g. Spanish and Portuguese, German and Dutch, Danish and Swedish, .....Russian and Polish ad infinitum

Polonia / Ever been to Sweden? [185]

Aha, like the guys and gals in Colin Nutley's 'Anglagaard'? Sounds like fun. Mind if I join you??? LOL

Czy jesteś Polakiem? Przeczytałem, że mieszkasz w Zakopanym. Czy mówisz po szwecku?

Forgive my sundry infractions against the Polish mother tongue (....yours not mine)-:)

Polonia / Ever been to Sweden? [185]

By car, foot, train, plane, horse and buggy? What mode of conveyance? -:) LOL

Polonia / Ever been to Sweden? [185]

Lebbe! (Your forum name rhymes with the Braunschweig clothing store "Flebbe")

Bist du Deutsche(r)? I trust you're kidding -:)!! LOL Also, I know there are no rules regarding vulgarity, but "sucks" is rather common (etwas ordinaere Sprache) Try another expression. English is a banquet when it comes to words and most poor suckers out there are starving.

Just for your information -:)

Language / The Polish language - it's bloody hard! [210]

Serwus, Gab!

Twój odpowiedź jest podobny jak kiedy byłem przed kilkoma latami na urlopie w Niemczech, a pytałem starszy ludzie o Hitler. Nikt nie pamiętał, nikt wśród młodnych nie chciał wiedzieć o te czasy.

You are probably more typical of your generation than most contemporary Germans are of theirs. -:)

Language / The Polish language - it's bloody hard! [210]

'Witam, Marecki!'....

Nawzajem. LOL-:)

Wiem, że czasy gomułkowskie są chętnie zapomnione od wielu dzisiajszych Polaków, ale jednak ważny jest, mówić o tyck tematach, nie prawda?

Pozdrawiam!

Language / The Polish language - it's bloody hard! [210]

GAB,

Kind of you to say so.-:) Well, I spent less than two days total in Poland, regrettably, was on my way from Berlin with a companion/friend from that city who spoke no Polish, so I was, oh, sort of her 'interpreter'. She was German, so probably the Poles would not have understood her English too easily. LOL

I originally studied Polish years ago for almost five years with a private tutor who grew up in Poland after the Second World War. I found it practical to know Slavic languages, since English is NOT the universal lingua franca when it comes to accuracy, most only think they speak it.

Dzięki.:) Pierwsza nauczycielka także podziwiała ludzie, którzy uczyli się tego języka. Ona mówiła raz, 'No, nigdy nie uczyłabym się języka polskiego, jeśli nie byłabym Polką. Za trudny jest!'

Ona jest urodzoną Warszawiaką a przeżyła czasu Gomułkiego w Niemczech, potem tu w Ameryce.

Language / The Polish language - it's bloody hard! [210]

Gab,

I'm a German speaker, it's true. My Polish, while fluent, is still subject to considerable error, more aspectual than idiomatic, as I rarely use idioms, except in German.

English I find useful in the Anglo-American orbit. Outside that realm, it tends to become slowly more and more unrecognizable. Why, I met a Pole who'd never heard of Mark Twain. Most Americans, at least on the surface, have at least a passing familiarity with Adam Mickiewicz. -:)

Language / The Polish language - it's bloody hard! [210]

How could you tell?-:) LOL

Can see English isn't yours. --:)

Language / The Polish language - it's bloody hard! [210]

Ślicznie podziękuję za miłe słowa, GAB! No, także jesteś tłumaczką tu w Nowym Jorku? Jestem tłumaczem i nauczycielem języków niemieckich i angielskich dla cudzoziemców.

Where inPoland are you from? Was only there once, in Sczcecin years ago, and found it lovely.

I agree with your experiences, by the way-:)

Pozdrawiam!