News / Failures of Poland and Tusk`s government [191]

letting the ship-building industry down the drain in 2008

(Polish government was very much in a position to defend the shipbuilding industry it just did not intend to - as shown by the example of Mr Misiak then a PO senator who even went as far as to create a bill that favoured his own workforce agency - other examples are not widely known or spoken about but if you search you will find - but I don't believe you will pawian cause you prefer to live in a wonderland)

Genealogy / Czappa / Klein - Kashubian name / Putzig, Puck Poland? [8]

I have no idea about the validity of it in Kashubian speech but CZAP (spelled differently with those Czech haceks) means a stork in Czech (in Polish stork is bocian) language - it must be closely related to the Polish name of heron (czapla)

News / Dumbing-down in Polish schools and the Matura [185]


I don't think universities are keen to lower their standards - so if you lower the level of Matura you end up with what? - I passed my Matura back in 1992 - the math was the scare of many - not mine - but I was ambitious and took English for Matura instead of the maths - but back to the point - I managed to pass the entry test to IT sciences in a uni - and man even with the higher level of mathematical education and matura back then the univesity courses were just another planet to me - every single exam was several times more difficult than a bloody matura - I have to admit it was too much for me - I haven't finished the IT study

Language / Too many English words in the Polish language! [709]


no, you haven't - it is safer to go around saying przepraszam - I wouldn't say 'sor()ry' to anyone visibly older than me - and if I wanted to insist that someone move out of my way (like in a passageway in a train) I would definitely say 'przepraszam' strong and clear - 'sorry' is just too short to emphasise it (perhaps you can imagine young people busy with themselves in a group or even single paying little to no attention to the world around as long as they are comfortable) -

after thinking about it for a while I would say that in a situation when you have to ask somebody to move out of your way or seeing that you would cause some other disruption to people around you I would always say 'przepraszam' - I would say 'sory' is rather used as a short notice when you caused some minor problem to someone unintentionally

Language / The usage and future of the special Polish letters: ą, ć, ę, ł, ń, ó, ś, ż, ź (Polish language) [203]


no, it is definitely not new - I think it is disappearing among younger generations - my grandpa and grandma used to speak this way - my mom speaks literary Polish mostly (but she has grown up in a dialectically mixed environment contrary to her parents)

Language / The usage and future of the special Polish letters: ą, ć, ę, ł, ń, ó, ś, ż, ź (Polish language) [203]


I don't know about the whole of Podlasie but in Kurpie areas they have exchanged the meanings of words 'przez' and 'bez' - przez czapki - without a cap - bez pole - through the field - maybe this is somehow connected to the phenomenon you observed with bynajmniej and przynajmniej

Language / The usage and future of the special Polish letters: ą, ć, ę, ł, ń, ó, ś, ż, ź (Polish language) [203]

the most phonetically interesting (well it might me my personal admiration) dialect/variety of Polish is so called 'gwara kurpiowska' (Kurpie dialect)

it has a couple of sounds not present in any other Polish dialect (one is even similar to the English 'th' sound in 'there') - no special signs exist to represent the sounds in Polish

Language / The usage and future of the special Polish letters: ą, ć, ę, ł, ń, ó, ś, ż, ź (Polish language) [203]


morze bo morski

może bo mogę

Language / The usage and future of the special Polish letters: ą, ć, ę, ł, ń, ó, ś, ż, ź (Polish language) [203]


thorn and ash have been replaced by digraphs which are more or less unambiguous - now think of it in Polish? - I can't see a simple way to replace ś,ć,ń,ź, ą and ę with some digraphs - even ż and ó have a rightful place in Polish ból - boleć (pain - to feel pain in)

Language / Poland in different languages? [74]

szveronika

cześć Veronika :)

News / Dumbing-down in Polish schools and the Matura [185]

and talk about independant thought

News / Dumbing-down in Polish schools and the Matura [185]


most teachers will not bear much more anyway

News / Dumbing-down in Polish schools and the Matura [185]


very good point - probably more than applicable to Poland

News / Dumbing-down in Polish schools and the Matura [185]


it may be all right in various fields - but not in speaking a foreign language - you don't have time to look for the basic words if you are to communicate in a foreign language - why would you learn a foreign language if you actually won't speak it anyway - so there is something (or rather plenty) wrong with the appraoch to teaching foreign languages


you can't do much as a teacher - even if the pupil is doing very bad you risk a lot trying to stop his promotion - so you don't have instruments to punish the indisciplined (and we are talking of things like serious anti-social behaviour)

News / Dumbing-down in Polish schools and the Matura [185]

Polonius - you have a point

just to point some exapmle I am familiar with - lesson of German language in elementary school (12 year-olds) - the teacher allows kids to use their notes and books to complete tests - this is how certain educational 'goals' are achieved - either there is lack of dedication of the teacher (or teachers in general) or the goals are set too high - (the example I given is what I am familiar with but I you can hear it is common and has its specific roots)

History / Poland Lithuania - current relations [124]

yeah, you should - all three of you :)

News / EU tribunal overrules Polish name contest in Lithuania [150]

only officially Koala - let's not promote myths

News / Poland's Lost Generation [172]

yeah, sure, most English-expats will tell you that learning Polish is a piece of cake

News / Poland's Lost Generation [172]


vets? honestly, one needs to learn Polish to be a doctor in Poland - and as your example shows it is possible only in case you are studying in Poland - you lost some of your touch here I think warszawski

News / Poland's Lost Generation [172]


everybody in the world (sorry for oversimplification) is learning English not Polish - these dark-skinned doctors that you probably know or have seen in Poland all educated here and this is how they obtained their Polish -

you need to know the language well to be a doctor in a given country, wouldn't you agree

it is a different story with say construction teams where it is often enough that one or two guys actually speak any decent English

News / Poland's Lost Generation [172]


well - I can hardly see all of those Indians and Chinese learning Polish (Poland will not switch to English in 10 years - (nor it will in 20)

History / Why did Russia attack Poland in WW2? [178]


completely wrong here - Pz I's formed the bulk of the German armored force in Septebmer 1939

History / Why did Russia attack Poland in WW2? [178]


you are completely wrong here - the percantage of foreign made planes in Polish air force in 1939 was less than 10 per cent definitely (if not verging on non-existent) -

History / Why did Russia attack Poland in WW2? [178]


I think they had on average better commanders - the 1939 campaign has shown many deficiencies of Polish commandership - especially on higher levels - the higher the level the worse it looked -

History / Are Polish territories natively German? [73]

Bratwurst Boy

some expelees visit you regularly then (they presumably also have the keys to your money safe)

History / Are Polish territories natively German? [73]

in your wallet

and you dare to talk about partnership and cooperation

USA, Canada / US citizenship via US Army [50]


I thought only the green card holders were able to apply

History / Are Polish territories natively German? [73]


when - in the times ot the Teutonic Order??


the thing is the surroundings of the city also matter - and the surroundings of Danzig/Gdańsk whatever you prefer were long dominantly Slavic

History / Are Polish territories natively German? [73]


The topic is poisoned only if you live in the past (i.e. you have some poisoned emotions about it) - just live in the present accept the past and it suddenly is much brighter


The topic is poisoned only if you live in the past (i.e. you have some poisoned emotions about it) - just live in the present accept the past and it suddenly is much brightertake a glance at this situation for example - Poland suffered badly during the war (in plenty of aspects - mostly at the hands of Germans) - then it haven't received any financial compensation for it - but do you hear Polish politicians demanding compensations from Germany (I mean serious electable politicians - you may take Jarosław Kaczyński for some half-nazi nationalist but it is just your perception and Kaczyński haven't pursued any similar policies) - you can of course say that the territory Germany seceded to Poland was a compensation - and I say - yes - we can count it as such - so let's consider the matter settled and leave it behind (and stop any demands for compensations on the side of the German expelees)


well, it is Moen (Mon) rather than falster, excuse me


oh well, it was both Falster, Moen and even Lolland - I can provide some links if anyone's interested

History / Why did Russia attack Poland in WW2? [178]


as far as I know the Germans never tried to assault Leningrad just wanted to cut it off and drive to capitulation (or starve) - Stalingrad was a completely different story


Polish fighter pilots scored many air victories over more modern German aircrafts including in fighter to fighter encounters between P-11c and Me-109 (the lowest estimate of the planes downed by the Polish fighters in 1939 was 126)