mafketis
11 Aug 2019
mafketis
9 Aug 2019
Language / Are there "Spelling Bee" competitions in Poland? (ie. Polish version of USA's "Scripps National Spelling Bee") [16]
and the tongue is more pointed (some, but not all, speakers pull it back to towards the roof of the mouth)
and the tongue is flatter
cz/dż/rz/ż/sz are pronounced in a stronger, more "rounded lips"
and the tongue is more pointed (some, but not all, speakers pull it back to towards the roof of the mouth)
ć/dź/ś/ź are pronounced in a weaker, more "stretched lips" manner
and the tongue is flatter
mafketis
9 Aug 2019
Language / Spelling of a Polish name? [38]
@billozz
Some possible spellings
Demieński, Dębiński, Bedeński (there's also Dębieński but that seems much rarer)
In Polish names, n before -ski is almost always ń
Good luck
@billozz
Some possible spellings
Demieński, Dębiński, Bedeński (there's also Dębieński but that seems much rarer)
In Polish names, n before -ski is almost always ń
Good luck
mafketis
8 Aug 2019
Language / Are there "Spelling Bee" competitions in Poland? (ie. Polish version of USA's "Scripps National Spelling Bee") [16]
the one that always defeated me was "stół z powyłamywanymi nogami"
yet I must be rather slow in pronouncing the latter
the one that always defeated me was "stół z powyłamywanymi nogami"
mafketis
8 Aug 2019
Language / Are there "Spelling Bee" competitions in Poland? (ie. Polish version of USA's "Scripps National Spelling Bee") [16]
It's not a one by one elimination but there are winners
krakow.pl/aktualnosci/228273,34,komunikat,v_dyktando_krakowskie__zwyciezca_popelnil_tylko_dwa_bledy.html
Not enough foreign words and not enough rarely used words that are spelled weirdly... it would end up in multiple ties too soon.
From what I saw, dytando isn't a competition between participants?
It's not a one by one elimination but there are winners
krakow.pl/aktualnosci/228273,34,komunikat,v_dyktando_krakowskie__zwyciezca_popelnil_tylko_dwa_bledy.html
Maybe Poland could do a Scripps-like competition using very long & rarely-used Polish words, or words of foreign origins?
Not enough foreign words and not enough rarely used words that are spelled weirdly... it would end up in multiple ties too soon.
mafketis
8 Aug 2019
Language / Are there "Spelling Bee" competitions in Poland? (ie. Polish version of USA's "Scripps National Spelling Bee") [16]
Polish spelling is too consistent to make spelling bees very interesting. There is something called dyktando (roughly: dictation) of a text with a bunch of uncommon words that utilize the spelling ambiguities that do exist. A major part of dyktando however is also related to things like punctuation, capitalization and word division.
Here's a video with the text being read whole (starting at 30 seconds) which lasts until 1.40 mark or so when she asks "Gotowi?" (are you all ready?)
Then the guy reads it sentence by sentence a few times...
Polish spelling is too consistent to make spelling bees very interesting. There is something called dyktando (roughly: dictation) of a text with a bunch of uncommon words that utilize the spelling ambiguities that do exist. A major part of dyktando however is also related to things like punctuation, capitalization and word division.
Here's a video with the text being read whole (starting at 30 seconds) which lasts until 1.40 mark or so when she asks "Gotowi?" (are you all ready?)
Then the guy reads it sentence by sentence a few times...
mafketis
6 Aug 2019
History / Why are Jews pestering Poland for "proper" WW2 monetary restitution/reparations? [750]
that sentence is plain demented... why should modern Poland bear the burden of compensating people for things that happened when there was no Polish state...
I suspect that this is a grift - trying to get Poland to pay in perpetuity to various shadow 'foundations' and the like.
poland-to-pay-holocaust-victims-for-property-stolen-by-nazis
that sentence is plain demented... why should modern Poland bear the burden of compensating people for things that happened when there was no Polish state...
I suspect that this is a grift - trying to get Poland to pay in perpetuity to various shadow 'foundations' and the like.
mafketis
2 Aug 2019
Law / Caught speeding - Do points go against PESEL in Poland? [7]
Is it impossible (or inadvisable) to have both? (genuinely curious I have no desire to drive in Poland so I don't think much about drivers licenses...
Is it impossible (or inadvisable) to have both? (genuinely curious I have no desire to drive in Poland so I don't think much about drivers licenses...
mafketis
1 Aug 2019
Polonia / What About The Poles In The Netherlands? [102]
Yes, the bastard van Gogh, getting a poor defenseless Moroccan immigrant thrown in prison...
Yes, the bastard van Gogh, getting a poor defenseless Moroccan immigrant thrown in prison...
mafketis
30 Jul 2019
Classifieds / Job search in Swarzędz and surrounding areas. [5]
I'm not sure of the pay but DHL and similar delivery services are on my street constantly... and some drivers are Ukrainians so functional rather perfect Polish should be enough...
where I was working as Class 2 driver for DHL. I am looking a similar job, if possible
I'm not sure of the pay but DHL and similar delivery services are on my street constantly... and some drivers are Ukrainians so functional rather perfect Polish should be enough...
mafketis
29 Jul 2019
mafketis
28 Jul 2019
History / Your favourite Polish Patriotic films [49]
a polite note to the mods.... please this comment to the polish patriotic movie thread where it better belongs
Człowiek z żelaza
In purely cinematic terms not as good as Człowiek z marmuru and a bit heavy handed at times (the best parts are the previously unreleased scenes from Człowiek z marmuru) but in social terms it was a stunningly brave movie - an artist taking on a genuinely repressive government and telling a story that officially couldn't exist.
I can't quibble about it as a movie - it's an invaluable work of art on the movement that would ultimately bring the whole filthy communist system down.
a polite note to the mods.... please this comment to the polish patriotic movie thread where it better belongs
I saw "Man of Iron" (Mezczyzna zelazy)
Człowiek z żelaza
Thought it was a bit heavy handed myself.
In purely cinematic terms not as good as Człowiek z marmuru and a bit heavy handed at times (the best parts are the previously unreleased scenes from Człowiek z marmuru) but in social terms it was a stunningly brave movie - an artist taking on a genuinely repressive government and telling a story that officially couldn't exist.
I can't quibble about it as a movie - it's an invaluable work of art on the movement that would ultimately bring the whole filthy communist system down.
mafketis
28 Jul 2019
Travel / Poland in photo riddles [3134]
what's a greatcoat? looks like an overcoat to me (nb I grew up in warm climes with an impoverished vocabulary for things you wear over shirts... the words jacket and coat were used more or less interchangeably...)
it is a greatcoat.
what's a greatcoat? looks like an overcoat to me (nb I grew up in warm climes with an impoverished vocabulary for things you wear over shirts... the words jacket and coat were used more or less interchangeably...)
mafketis
25 Jul 2019
Life / Political correctness in Poland [210]
To be fair, from what I know (which might not be that much) Neger is offensive in German... (I've only heard it used when the intent was to insult).
There was once a candy in the American South called 'n1gg3r babies' (mentioned in a book by Florence King)
Negerkuss
To be fair, from what I know (which might not be that much) Neger is offensive in German... (I've only heard it used when the intent was to insult).
There was once a candy in the American South called 'n1gg3r babies' (mentioned in a book by Florence King)
mafketis
24 Jul 2019
Polonia / Poland and France cultures are similar [112]
In his circles 'cucked' refers to people (or parties or governments) who care more about and prioritize the interests of non-citizens and/or migrants and/or non-assimilating immigrants than in the native born...
It's what Dickens(?) called 'telescopic philanthropy' especially common among progressives in the west at present...
en.metapedia.org/wiki/Telescopic_philanthropy
In his circles 'cucked' refers to people (or parties or governments) who care more about and prioritize the interests of non-citizens and/or migrants and/or non-assimilating immigrants than in the native born...
It's what Dickens(?) called 'telescopic philanthropy' especially common among progressives in the west at present...
en.metapedia.org/wiki/Telescopic_philanthropy
mafketis
24 Jul 2019
Travel / Poland in photo riddles [3134]
A skunk jumping in fright?
Exact species is not required. General one is enough.
A skunk jumping in fright?
mafketis
24 Jul 2019
Travel / Poland in photo riddles [3134]
some kind of flying bug very close to the lens? Don't ask me about the species, I'm not a varmint specialist
some kind of flying bug very close to the lens? Don't ask me about the species, I'm not a varmint specialist
mafketis
22 Jul 2019
Travel / Poland in photo riddles [3134]
It looks like the tail fluke of a giant whale preparing to dive deep back into the forested mountain after coming up for air....
Can you see that shadow in the air? What was it?
It looks like the tail fluke of a giant whale preparing to dive deep back into the forested mountain after coming up for air....
mafketis
22 Jul 2019
Travel / Which Poland's city is LGBT friendly? [43]
that is very terrible, and just reinforces the idea that what is needed are rational criteria rather than poorly understood talking points repeated ad nauseum
I'm completely in favor of adults being able to order their emotional and sexual lives as they please (including legal protections for their hard earned property) and completely opposed to the sexualization of children (either drag kids of child beauty pageants or even child actors) and/or trans procedures applied to those below the age of 18 (at least).
the puberty blockers are a pharmaceutical scam - it's a side effect of another drug and the American pharmaceutical industry (essentially an organized crime syndicate) is behind creating this secondary market - I'd explain in more detail but people whose arguments consist of talking points and memes.... wouldn't get it.
There's so many kids who are like 7, 9, 12 etc years old transitioning and many even od them taking hormone blockers
that is very terrible, and just reinforces the idea that what is needed are rational criteria rather than poorly understood talking points repeated ad nauseum
I'm completely in favor of adults being able to order their emotional and sexual lives as they please (including legal protections for their hard earned property) and completely opposed to the sexualization of children (either drag kids of child beauty pageants or even child actors) and/or trans procedures applied to those below the age of 18 (at least).
the puberty blockers are a pharmaceutical scam - it's a side effect of another drug and the American pharmaceutical industry (essentially an organized crime syndicate) is behind creating this secondary market - I'd explain in more detail but people whose arguments consist of talking points and memes.... wouldn't get it.
mafketis
19 Jul 2019
Language / How Polish sounds to other Slavs [32]
AFAICT (thinking about this for a long time) it's three things
intonation (esp Prague) - long vowels in unaccented syllables give Czech a kind of sing song quality (there's more but that's enough for now)
diminutives - Czech frequently uses something like (i)cz(e)k which is a single diminutive but sounds to Poles like a double diminutive so psíček sounds like pieseczek rather than its real equivalent - piesek
Czech neologisms - lots of times the result of normal Czech word building ends up sounding funny to Poles so (to use a famous example) the Czech word for theater (divadlo) sounds like dziwadło (weirdo) to Poles (the czech root is about watching - I'm not sure if it's related to the root in dziwny or not...)
the cumulative effect of all these (and maybe a couple of other factors) mean that Czech sounds childlike and funny to Poles - Polish sounds funny to Czechs (absurdly wordy among other things) but not especially childlike.
Yes, I now think I realize why Poles find Czech childlike
AFAICT (thinking about this for a long time) it's three things
intonation (esp Prague) - long vowels in unaccented syllables give Czech a kind of sing song quality (there's more but that's enough for now)
diminutives - Czech frequently uses something like (i)cz(e)k which is a single diminutive but sounds to Poles like a double diminutive so psíček sounds like pieseczek rather than its real equivalent - piesek
Czech neologisms - lots of times the result of normal Czech word building ends up sounding funny to Poles so (to use a famous example) the Czech word for theater (divadlo) sounds like dziwadło (weirdo) to Poles (the czech root is about watching - I'm not sure if it's related to the root in dziwny or not...)
the cumulative effect of all these (and maybe a couple of other factors) mean that Czech sounds childlike and funny to Poles - Polish sounds funny to Czechs (absurdly wordy among other things) but not especially childlike.
mafketis
18 Jul 2019
Travel / Poland in photo riddles [3134]
alive but unwary.... then lunch
was the marmot alive or dead when the man found it?
alive but unwary.... then lunch
mafketis
18 Jul 2019
Language / How Polish sounds to other Slavs [32]
Because of the way different slavic languages acquired their 'educated vocabulary (for science, law, the arts and education etc) separately rather than together (like the Romance languages did) every Slavic language sounds kind of ridiculous to speakers of other slavic languages (to different degrees). The Slavic language that most amuses Poles is Czech because of the way czech roots are used (divadlo for theater?) and Czech intonation sounds kind of childish to Poles.
When I was in Croatia for a couple of days it seems a little odd but not crazy - Slovenian though was full of hilarious signs, one of my favorites was odvetnik for attorney (adwokat in Polish). Odvetnik sounds something like 'revenger'.... which is oddly appropriate.
Because of the way different slavic languages acquired their 'educated vocabulary (for science, law, the arts and education etc) separately rather than together (like the Romance languages did) every Slavic language sounds kind of ridiculous to speakers of other slavic languages (to different degrees). The Slavic language that most amuses Poles is Czech because of the way czech roots are used (divadlo for theater?) and Czech intonation sounds kind of childish to Poles.
When I was in Croatia for a couple of days it seems a little odd but not crazy - Slovenian though was full of hilarious signs, one of my favorites was odvetnik for attorney (adwokat in Polish). Odvetnik sounds something like 'revenger'.... which is oddly appropriate.
mafketis
17 Jul 2019
mafketis
17 Jul 2019
Language / How Polish sounds to other Slavs [32]
I think it's more about how educated Ukrainians speak Russian which is sufficiently different from standard Russian in Russia (in terms of pronunciation and lexicon if nothing else) to warrant codification.
Part of Snyder's point is that a side effect of slavishly following Russian usage is that it can be hard to tell the provenance of written materials while a distinct Ukrainian standard would make it clearer. As he puts it.. no country in Latin America would accept Spaniards telling them how to write Spanish just as Americans and Brits won't want to be told how to write by the other. Even the put upon Quebecois no longer accept standard Metropolitan French as a model to always emulate.
if Snyder is referring to Суржик (pidgin Russian spoken in kiev, the south and the east).
I think it's more about how educated Ukrainians speak Russian which is sufficiently different from standard Russian in Russia (in terms of pronunciation and lexicon if nothing else) to warrant codification.
Part of Snyder's point is that a side effect of slavishly following Russian usage is that it can be hard to tell the provenance of written materials while a distinct Ukrainian standard would make it clearer. As he puts it.. no country in Latin America would accept Spaniards telling them how to write Spanish just as Americans and Brits won't want to be told how to write by the other. Even the put upon Quebecois no longer accept standard Metropolitan French as a model to always emulate.
mafketis
16 Jul 2019
Language / How Polish sounds to other Slavs [32]
Russians seem to hate the Ukrainian language with an intensity that is both appalling and a little frightening.
What about the argument by Timothy Snyder who supports Ukrainization but says that Ukrainians should codify and standardize Russian as spoken in Ukraine as a standard on its own (hastening the process of Russian becoming a polycentric rather than monocentric language)?
He also says modern Ukraine is the largest Russian speaking area in history where citizens have something like freedom of speech...
What do you think about Russian chauvinistic argument that Ukrainian is nothing but a primitive rural Russian dialect
Russians seem to hate the Ukrainian language with an intensity that is both appalling and a little frightening.
What about the argument by Timothy Snyder who supports Ukrainization but says that Ukrainians should codify and standardize Russian as spoken in Ukraine as a standard on its own (hastening the process of Russian becoming a polycentric rather than monocentric language)?
He also says modern Ukraine is the largest Russian speaking area in history where citizens have something like freedom of speech...
mafketis
11 Jul 2019
Travel / Poland in photo riddles [3134]
Don't think so.... why would there by a sign municipal parking in Warsaw?
And it looks different - the Palace of Culture (which I always used as an orienteering aid in Warsaw) has a tall central tower with two narrower towers and surrounded by four lower towers... this is more mixed looked and the part with the clock looks different too.
There are similar buildings scattered throughout Central and Eastern Europe. I remember one in Prague (when I saw it 20 or so years ago it had been turned into a hotel) and in Bucharest Romania the TV (I think) building looks like the Palace of Culture with about 20 floors cut off. I'm sure there are others.
But I'm thinking this is a building that just happens to look a bit like it, maybe in the US
Palace of Culture and Science in Warsaw.
Don't think so.... why would there by a sign municipal parking in Warsaw?
And it looks different - the Palace of Culture (which I always used as an orienteering aid in Warsaw) has a tall central tower with two narrower towers and surrounded by four lower towers... this is more mixed looked and the part with the clock looks different too.
There are similar buildings scattered throughout Central and Eastern Europe. I remember one in Prague (when I saw it 20 or so years ago it had been turned into a hotel) and in Bucharest Romania the TV (I think) building looks like the Palace of Culture with about 20 floors cut off. I'm sure there are others.
But I'm thinking this is a building that just happens to look a bit like it, maybe in the US
mafketis
10 Jul 2019
Life / Why are Poles in other countries called "Plastic Poles"? [168]
I'd like to see numbers on that. My impression is that almost all Poles who go there intend their stay to be temporary before they bring some cash back to the ojczyzna but... life gets in the way and between one thing and the other they mostly end up staying and just visiting family a few times a year.
Absent draconian repatriation measures all large scale immigration creates sub-populations in the receiving country and more people end up staying than political analysts predict.
Once Polish families move to to the UK they stay there.
I'd like to see numbers on that. My impression is that almost all Poles who go there intend their stay to be temporary before they bring some cash back to the ojczyzna but... life gets in the way and between one thing and the other they mostly end up staying and just visiting family a few times a year.
Absent draconian repatriation measures all large scale immigration creates sub-populations in the receiving country and more people end up staying than political analysts predict.
mafketis
10 Jul 2019
News / Prescription drug crisis in Poland [3]
This has been on the news lately...
The number of prescription medications that are unavailable in Polish pharmacies now reached 500 and is growing.
serwisy.gazetaprawna.pl/zdrowie/artykuly/1421060,brak-lekow-w-aptekach-list-do-ministra-zdrowia.html
Interestingly the term 'nielegalny wywóz' (illegal export) is used repeatedly (not smuggling which would be przemyt) without explanation and it took some digging to find out what that is and why Polish news sites don't really describe it.
After a bit of digging it turns out that since prescription medications are cheaper in Poland than in Germany (by about a factor of 4) drugs are bought (technically illegally but...) repackaged and sent off to Germany for that aging (but better off economically) country. This is also a big problem in Romania and Bulgaria.
There are other issues (reduction of production in China, EU regulations which never make anything easier) but illegal export is cited as one (usually the main) reason in just about every report I can find. Interestingly the stories don't mention which direction the export is (feel free to speculate as to why that might be....)
I'm on two continuous prescriptions (which I could easily live without though things are bit easier with them than without). I haven't had any trouble finding them yet (just got a three month prescription filled a week or two ago). But many people are in much worse shape, unable to find medicines they need to survive.
This has been on the news lately...
The number of prescription medications that are unavailable in Polish pharmacies now reached 500 and is growing.
serwisy.gazetaprawna.pl/zdrowie/artykuly/1421060,brak-lekow-w-aptekach-list-do-ministra-zdrowia.html
Interestingly the term 'nielegalny wywóz' (illegal export) is used repeatedly (not smuggling which would be przemyt) without explanation and it took some digging to find out what that is and why Polish news sites don't really describe it.
After a bit of digging it turns out that since prescription medications are cheaper in Poland than in Germany (by about a factor of 4) drugs are bought (technically illegally but...) repackaged and sent off to Germany for that aging (but better off economically) country. This is also a big problem in Romania and Bulgaria.
There are other issues (reduction of production in China, EU regulations which never make anything easier) but illegal export is cited as one (usually the main) reason in just about every report I can find. Interestingly the stories don't mention which direction the export is (feel free to speculate as to why that might be....)
I'm on two continuous prescriptions (which I could easily live without though things are bit easier with them than without). I haven't had any trouble finding them yet (just got a three month prescription filled a week or two ago). But many people are in much worse shape, unable to find medicines they need to survive.
mafketis
8 Jul 2019
Language / Myśląc "Polska" - Does new PiS motto.... really mean anything? [20]
As I've written before, I think of American and... insular varieties as independent languages that are mostly still mutually intelligible (like spoken Norwegian and Swedish or written Norwegian and Danish or Czech and Slovak). They are developing independently rather than together... this is just one more example of that...
As I've written before, I think of American and... insular varieties as independent languages that are mostly still mutually intelligible (like spoken Norwegian and Swedish or written Norwegian and Danish or Czech and Slovak). They are developing independently rather than together... this is just one more example of that...
mafketis
8 Jul 2019
Language / Myśląc "Polska" - Does new PiS motto.... really mean anything? [20]
That helps it make sense to me. Vielen Dank!
I can't wait for the memes to start
Why would I have to read a page to tell me what's acceptable in my own language (American)?
Put "I'm thinking they're" into google and you get over 400,000 hits
I'm thinking they're doing a "reunion" show because they were obligated to do
"I'm thinking they're pretty spendy to repair," Behn said
" I'm thinking: They're playing a joke on me "
etc etc etc
The prototype for the motto might be the title of Kartol Wojtyła's narrative poem: "Myśląc Ojczyzna"
That helps it make sense to me. Vielen Dank!
"Myśląc władza"
I can't wait for the memes to start
you haven't read the page then..
Why would I have to read a page to tell me what's acceptable in my own language (American)?
Put "I'm thinking they're" into google and you get over 400,000 hits
I'm thinking they're doing a "reunion" show because they were obligated to do
"I'm thinking they're pretty spendy to repair," Behn said
" I'm thinking: They're playing a joke on me "
etc etc etc