Language / The Future of Polish Language [179]


You are missing my point, I'm afraid. First thing, the above is not basic English, it's English mutilated, by direct retranslation from a mutilated Polish. Basic English is a cropped set of grammatical rules, a subset, which is correct within the general English grammar. Being easy to master, it is still correct and fully functional. After learning it, two foreigners from two different countries can communicate without any problem, and they both can use it as a basis to extend it into proper English.

In Polish there's no such thing, as any attempt to simplify the grammar to make it as easy as the basic English grammar will create a cripple which is not a part of Polish, but an entirely new, artificial construct.

Language / The Future of Polish Language [179]


Goes for any language. That's why translating poetry is rather difficult.


You can have Basic English, functional, fairly easy to master, and correct. Basic Polish, to be correct, needs full inflection by tense, person, number, gender etc. for the start, so it's hardly 'basic' as in 'easy'.

It's not about which language is superior, although some may be better in some applications, then they are probably worse in others, and it's possibly a matter of opinion anyway.

Where do you find the finesse of Anglo-Saxon, though? It's a dead language.

Tell you what, I'd love to speak excellent true English, but what is that, in fact? Queen's English is not, so maybe Estuary, the middle class cockney? Personally, I tend to adopt the quasi-Irish pronunciation, to make myself understood. Like when saying 'you can't'.

Life / Are Poles bigots and xenophobes? [205]


That's interesting, got any serious links on it? And those quotas.


Well, less that 3 mln in an almost 32 million population doesn't make 10%...

Language / The Future of Polish Language [179]


Something like that, yeah.


I would agree with that too. I remember my shame after recollecting some of my errors after having mastered the proper usage.

Still, the high level is commonly very difficult for strangers to any language, I'd say. As goes for decent grammar, though, English is rather easy, even including tenses and conditionals.

I am a native Polish speaker, but I can easily cope with explaining most of the grammatical issues of English. Here I encountered simple questions 'why are you saying this like that in Polish', and I struggled. And then somebody posted full set of relevant grammatical rules, and I said to myself 'fck that, I am not going to learn all this!'. And the questions were, well, basic.

Language / The Future of Polish Language [179]


Incomparable. English is easy to start and to proceed to quite a high level, and typical foreigners' errors are about nuances, rather. Polish has a very steep threshold at the very start. There's no such thing as 'Basic Polish', simply can't be.

News / Praising Poland can be dangerous [45]


No so simple, as I see it. Germans, right, no problem, I can feel it from both official and personal experiences. As for the rest, this dream has already been tested by Pentagonale, a concept of creating a bloc of post-com countries with similar past and similar economies, and similar potential for development. Tried, failed, forgotten.

Why? Poland can not influence Lithuania, first thing, unless by force. Ukraine is less nationalistic, still more than half of it gravitates towards Russia. Slovakia is an open question to me, but be serious, what do they really matter. Hungary goes it's own way, why would it need Poland, or just any alliance with neighbours. They'd look at Austria, rather.

What you say reflects my sentiments from the early post-com times. It was tried, it didn't work, and it is not a sole Polish responsibility, as other countries have their say too. It's not Commonwealth any more.


You seem to contradict yourself a bit. Poles should know, and the West should know. Poland has raised from a limbo, and has a lot to present in order to become a fully recognised personality, not just a breeding ground of cleaners, builders, and strawberry-pickers.


Ohh, right. Now do it. Create an unbiased history, in 20 years, while there are young and loud nationalisms around, and where there is a natural ignorance about the country kept in the closet for generations. And the problem is, that pointing fingers would be a significant part of this history, unfortunately. The West has to acknowledge this and that, before Poles stop 'whining'. Good thing is, I can see it happening, in the UK.

And the Jewish problem, sorry to stir muck...


They are, in Poland. Often ridiculed right here.

News / Praising Poland can be dangerous [45]


A what? You mean Marshall Foch? The Versaille Treaty just used the opportunity to weaken Germany. Good for Poland, but nothing to be really grateful for. Couple of decades later confirms that evaluation.

News / Praising Poland can be dangerous [45]


Poland is painfully struggling through the direct results of the past, so bear with us.


There is some truth in it, 20 years should be enough to get rid of more of that sh1t. Somebody mentioned, though, that you are intimately familiar with GazWyb et al? So you should know the reason why Poland is so deep in the past still.

News / Praising Poland can be dangerous [45]


Thing is, we are living it.

News / Praising Poland can be dangerous [45]


Euro-political scale, geography doesn't have much to do with it.


I am who am. You'll see :)

Language / The Future of Polish Language [179]

Reincarnate in Poland.

Seriously, it's a difficult language for non-Slavs. Why do you want to learn it?

News / Praising Poland can be dangerous [45]


Well... does it? :)

Lemme see who... Sandman, post #7, said most of it. Helsinki is the the geographical East of Western Europe, Poland is the Eastern border of Europe, Latvia and Estonia somehow sneaked to the West of the EE, Czech republic earned the place, Hungary I don't know, Ukraine is hesitating. Everything more to the East is Central Asia. Something like that. Oh, Lithuania, right. Extreme East of the EE - but this might be my nationalistic bias.

edit:


Belarus is Russia.

News / Praising Poland can be dangerous [45]


but... I can't agree with you, can I?...

but... oh, sod it.

I am all right with Eastern Europe. Central Europe suggests that Europe stretches far more East than the Bug River.

In all fairness, Polonius, what can Poland be proud of now? I mean now, and I am just asking.

UK, Ireland / The more subtle differences: Ireland/Britain v Poland [310]


I'd say it's a misunderstanding coming from cultural differences in expressing opinions, or something. Kitchen aside, surprisingly (to me too) many Poles really like this country. The British mentality, attitude to most things, the way things work here, how people get along. After a few years people go to Poland for holidays, to meet the family and such, and being there they ask themselves 'WTF I'am doing here...' Sad but true. Poland is a crippled country.

UK, Ireland / The more subtle differences: Ireland/Britain v Poland [310]

Haven't been there for 6 years, but I'd be guessing you are right. Old habits die hard.

Then the way to tackle it should work still. Have a guess. Only I was never good at it, can't give you any practical advice. It's more of a knack anyway.


:)) yeah. Not enough for us. Like, it was People's Republic, wasn't it? :)

And there's Great Britain... sorry, just couldn't help it :)


Just in case: gherkins are pickled cucumbers, specifically. I suspect that convex experienced a variety of pickled thingies.

UK, Ireland / The more subtle differences: Ireland/Britain v Poland [310]


You just don't know Polish breakfasts. You can have selection of dairy based dishes, both cold and hot, boiled sausages, fried sausages, scrambled eggs in full glory of combinations and full choice of other egg-based dishes, both hot and cold. You can drink tea, coffee, cocoa, milk, corn coffee, all traditional Polish breakfasts. You are just unlucky to be stuck with a lazy cook.

On the other side is the all-day-English, day in, day out. I saw people in a hotel, who after a couple of days just made an eye contact with the waiter, and then got their bespoke personal breakfast. The biggest deviations were in toasts: white bread or brown, well burned or pale, and the number of them. Some didn't eat 'scrambled eggs', some avoided mushrooms.


:)) yeah, and sausage tastes of sausage :)

UK, Ireland / The more subtle differences: Ireland/Britain v Poland [310]


It's the remnant of communist pauper mentality, when everybody tried to nick something for himself from the 'nation-owned communal property'. In those times it was important to know that the teabag in your glass was a virgin. If they were allowed to put it in in the kitchen, every other time you'd get somebody else's teabag, and the resulting surplus would go to the staff. There was a special regulation on that, and you were entitled to complain if you couldn't actually check that the teabag was pristine.


So there's Polish food shop in every London village :)

Language / The Future of Polish Language [179]


I might try: 'Najwyższy Czas!'. Liberal-conservative... if you know what I mean, that is.

Po polsku / Tragedia jezykowa, czyli "stay on topic" LOL. [95]


A zgodzę się. Ale gdyby Lepper mówił po polsku, to cały urok diabli biorą :)

Mnie też to drażni.


:) niektóre narody używają paru języków na codzień, i łatwo przechodzą z jednego do drugiego nawet w tym samym zdaniu. Narody takie np., jak Polacy w UK :) Uznane zjawisko lingwistyczne, dowiedziałem się niedawno.

Po polsku / Tragedia jezykowa, czyli "stay on topic" LOL. [95]


To jest niechlujstwo językowe, czy code switching? :)


No niby tak, tylko gdzie ta granica (bo zapożyczenia są też z gwar), a poza tym, jak tych ludzi zmusić, i do czego. Nie liczyłbym na Radę Języka, bo oni zadeklarowali że 'niepalący' i 'nie palący' to jest dokładnie to samo. Ewidentne zubożenie języka. A nawet jak ci się uda ludzi wyszkolić, to tracisz cenne żródło informacji o nowo poznanej osobie, więc po co.

Po polsku / Tragedia jezykowa, czyli "stay on topic" LOL. [95]


Idolatria to jakby bałwochwalstwo?

Język się zmienia, jednych denerwuje to, innych co innego. Zgodzę się, że 'od Loreal' to jest chwyt reklamowy, bo ja to też tak odbieram, chociaż od małego mówię po śląsku.

Pokwękać można, ale to dużo nie zmieni. Życie.

History / Star shaped symbol on Polish Eagle? [22]


23 is a number strongly associated with Chaos and Discordia. Apparently, these ideologies are younger than the Eagle. From the Chaotic point of view, however, linear time is not a thing to bother with... and 2+3=5.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discordianism#Law_of_Fives
All things come in fives. Hail Eris! :)

History / EU or Russian Empire, who taking/took more from Poland and Poles? [40]

I'd agree. Only I am aware of those 20 years already wasted. Back then people were ready for shock treatment and they saw how it translates into day by day improvement.

Your point about the government is spot on.

History / EU or Russian Empire, who taking/took more from Poland and Poles? [40]

Really? Good :)

History / EU or Russian Empire, who taking/took more from Poland and Poles? [40]

The turnout was a result of propaganda. Then the propaganda stopped, not needed any more. There's no way out of the EU.

History / EU or Russian Empire, who taking/took more from Poland and Poles? [40]


Politicians'. New better troughs.

History / EU or Russian Empire, who taking/took more from Poland and Poles? [40]


I'd say you might be right, actually. Just don't call it 'the people's choice'.


I'm no good at macroeconomics, I must admit. For me the growth is more of an artefact than actual thing. Weak zloty encourages export of labour mostly, and I'd rather keep those people home, working in their professions rather than washing dishes abroad.

History / EU or Russian Empire, who taking/took more from Poland and Poles? [40]


Don't you know about democracy?


Nauseating, in the best commie traditions. The resulting majority was not too big either.


Now it's different. People see the benefits of free labour movement. People can't see the benefits of prices equalising.

History / EU or Russian Empire, who taking/took more from Poland and Poles? [40]


Yeah. I remember that deluge of propaganda.

Food / Any królik (rabbit) fanciers on PF? [76]


Sarna (roe deer) is quite popular in Poland. I was living in the suburbs of Katowice, a fringe of a great industrial complex, and I saw roe's tracks any time I went for a stroll. Some 100 meters from a big settlement of block flats. Wild boars nearby.

Red deer needs more space, I think, so you have to go to the country to meet one, and you better have some help from the warden. Or the locals, of course, there'll be always somebody who somehow knows the best place to shoot, 'never touched a gun in me life, it's illegal'. Not all regions, mind.