Genealogy / Polish nationality? Which of the following (if any) determine being Polish. [231]


No of course not, but the point being that if you "slip out" in Ireland you are entitled to be regarded as an Irish citizen - regardless of your parents. So technically, you are already Irish.

Spend all your life there and your parents don't keep any cultural links with their country, completely assimilate into Ireland and Irishness, and you're pretty much there.

Genealogy / Polish nationality? Which of the following (if any) determine being Polish. [231]


Yes, that's what I'm sort of saying too.


What?!

So you're saying that I feel Irish simply because my bloodline is strongly Irish, but not due to cultural/political reasons, reasons of birth etc?

Genealogy / Polish nationality? Which of the following (if any) determine being Polish. [231]

This "looks like" is BS and means nothing.

I arguably look German, my wife has been mistaken for French, my friend looks Spanish.

We are all completely Irish - how far do you need to go back?

Maybe a few hundred years ago we had non-Irish blood but our parents, their parents, their parents and their parents were certainly all Irish.

UK, Ireland / The number of Anti-English Poles... [228]

Well he might try and declare for Poland because he's not much use to England!

UK, Ireland / The number of Anti-English Poles... [228]


Are you sure they're not just unusual Polish shirts?

Same colours! ; )

UK, Ireland / Polish question: what's with the Germans, Brits? Foreign groups in Great Britain. [46]


Not really true though. They equate British with a predominantly English meaning I think and would rather be referred to as Scottish than British, like the Welsh as far as I know. English people don't mind being referred to as British generally.

However technically, the Scottish appear to be quite happy being British - or at least the majority do.

News / Polish leader urges EU to keep generous aid funds [32]


Well nobody told me!

UK, Ireland / Polish question: what's with the Germans, Brits? Foreign groups in Great Britain. [46]


Yeah, that's what I was getting at.


But that's what I was really thinking : )

UK, Ireland / Polish question: what's with the Germans, Brits? Foreign groups in Great Britain. [46]

But that's fashion created by Germans as opposed to german fashion ; )

Seriously! I'm not being pedantic, I took it to mean street fashion.

Paul Costelloe and Phillip Treacy are well known Irish designers but you would have to look very carefully to see the average Irish man or woman wearing their stuff!

UK, Ireland / Polish question: what's with the Germans, Brits? Foreign groups in Great Britain. [46]


Sorry, but what the hell is German fashion anyway ?!

Regarding the substance of your post, taking a wild guess here, three words:

Two world wars.

Real Estate / Polish system for flats/apartments. Owner have to pay a rent? [11]

Ah well this explains something anyway. I was pleasantly surprised to see that some residential areas that looked "a bit rough" to me were all very clean, neat and tidy. Maybe as much to do with the fact that the cleanliness is paid for as mere civic pride then!

Life / POLES FIND CZECH FUNNY! [42]

Sorry mods/admin - should have checked for an existing thread.

What prompted me by the way was when I attempted to translate some of Zetigrek's post in her Mr Poland thread - so apparently żenua is "zen" in Polish but the translator initially autodetected the language as Czech, and provided "woman" as a translation!

Well they do have certain zen-like qualities I guess ; )

Life / Passing your Polish language and culture to your kids [74]

+1

Especially if they learn both from a young age - they won't even notice that they are learning.

The Poles I know in Ireland all have kids that were born there - and they are all bilingual. In fact one is about to add French and Gaeilge to their skills - God help them.

Life / POLES FIND CZECH FUNNY! [42]

Thread attached on merging:
Do Poles find the Czech language funny in some way?

I've heard this before a few times. I've heard it (czech) described as like Polish but as a baby would speak it or like Polish but with strange old fashioned and sometimes "arseways" (for want of a better word) expressions and turns of phrase.

Can anyone confirm?

I believe that among Slavic languages Polish and Czech are the two that are the least dissimilar anyway.

UK, Ireland / Ive been in the UK for 6 days to relocate and im going back to Poland. [281]


Do you get stares though?

A pole told me that it was a saying in Poland that if you see a red haired person you should pinch yourself - i.e. that you are probably dreaming!

UK, Ireland / Ive been in the UK for 6 days to relocate and im going back to Poland. [281]


I know, fair enough. I was half joking BTW. It just seemed ironic that's all.

UK, Ireland / Ive been in the UK for 6 days to relocate and im going back to Poland. [281]


Ah yes, I see the post now. It must be. Fair enough on ukonly's part in this instance I say.


Err..so you do the same to a different country yourself? ; )

UK, Ireland / Ive been in the UK for 6 days to relocate and im going back to Poland. [281]


Who? where?

I don't understand.

Your experience was awful. The simple truth is that racism appears to be very much alive and well in Poland. Most Poles will agree (I'm not Polish)

In terms of race attititude, think of 70s Britain where e.g the B/w minstrel show was regarded as normal humour. 'Darkie' was considered ordinary slang, not as offensive by those who used it. It's this kind of world. Black people are still exotic and most Poles have little experience of them and can sometimes react in a suspicious or hostile manner - it's human nature.

I'm not excusing this disgraceful behaviour at all - far from it, but just commenting on it.

Yet, it is important to realise, for what it's worth, that not all or even most Poles are like this.

Language / Does anybody know of a list of Polish-English False Friends and True Friends? [60]

Thanks Zetigrek, that's great - very helpful!

(Although I would question whether a couple are really true friends e.g. słońce or
sprzedawać ? maybe you are seeing/hearing something that I'm not (!) however, certainly not complaining and these words are good to know anyway)

Life / How to Politely Refuse a Drink in Poland [72]


LOL - classic! Straight from a sitcom.

News / Poland hosts lowest proportion of foreigners in the EU [115]


Ok as you wish, just done that.

Neither come off well. By group if you mean so called "radical" clerics I suppose they come off worse - nothing wrong with that and I stand by it. You do realise I'm not referring to muslims in general?

To accuse so called christians of adding fuel to the fire and making a bad situation worse isn't very flattering either.

News / Poland hosts lowest proportion of foreigners in the EU [115]


NO. NOT. AT. ALL.

Why would you think that? I think they are both mad, bad and dangerous.

I thought that was clear enough?

There seems to be a habit on this site of people jumping to all sorts of conclusions and turning a splinter into an oak tree!

News / Poland hosts lowest proportion of foreigners in the EU [115]

Just adding fuel to the fire for "radical" (read, mad) muslim clerics.

Very disappointing. It's no better than something they would orchestrate and just gives them something to point their hypocritical fingers at.

Life / How to Politely Refuse a Drink in Poland [72]

Er...am I detecting that turning down the offer of alcohol has the potential for social awkwardness or disharmony in Poland?

WTF ?!

Tell them politely that you don't drink. Simple as. No other explanation necessary. Plenty of people don't drink.

If your hosts take offence at this and percieve it as rude, ironically, it is they who are being rude by dictating which form of hospitality you must accept or decline and by not considering your own habits/wishes. There are plenty of other ways they can be generous/hospitable or whatever.

News / Poland hosts lowest proportion of foreigners in the EU [115]

So there is hardly anyone of e.g Russian German Lithuanian Czech etc...descent in Poland then?

I am aware of the relocations but it still sounds odd that Poland can still remain so "pure" so to speak. I only really know about a dozen or so Poles well and at least three of them are not completely Polish for a start.

Anyway sorry, it's off topic really.

As above, I think the reason for low numbers of foreigners in Poland is simply an economic one.

News / Poland hosts lowest proportion of foreigners in the EU [115]


Yes - exactly what I am referring to. Which is why the ethnically homogenous description doesn't sound accurate.

News / Poland hosts lowest proportion of foreigners in the EU [115]

Didn't I read somewhere that Poland is one of the most "ethnically homogenous" countries in Europe? Not sure of exact wording. It sounds strange to me though considering the shifting borders and many neighbours.

For purely economic reasons I'm not surprised at the OP's statistic - most migration is dictated by financial opportunities that would not be available in the person's own country. Poland's economy makes it much less likely that the majority of western Europe for example would move there. Ditto, Romania.

Life / Some Polish people start imitating English. What are their reasons for doing this? [5]

I've had experienced this abroad before - but not in Poland as it happens.

Just young people messing about with what they think "sounds funny" - to be expected sometimes. I don't think it has particular significance in that it is English they are making fun of or that they are in Poland.

Language / Does anybody know of a list of Polish-English False Friends and True Friends? [60]

That is fantastic Mara exactly what I want - thanks very much!


Well a "cleaver" is a heavy duty butchers chopping knife type thing but they probably meant
"clever" in the smart ass way.


Yeah, wino is one of these and yes, derived from wine.

Careful though, in the US a "bum" is a wino/tramp but in Britain/Ireland it is an ass/arse!

What about true friends then? To make it easier, and to considerably shorten any list, you can probably exclude the more obvious Latin/Greek ones (e.g. psychology, hygiene etc) and stick to the more mundane.

Can anyone help again?

z góry dzięki !

Life / How to Politely Refuse a Drink in Poland [72]

Er...no thanks but I don't drink ?!

Not being smart, but is it anymore difficult than that?

I know quite a lot of people who don't drink (and I also come from a country known for drinking, Ireland) but nobody is offended by people turning down the offer of alcohol.