Life / What is the reaction of Poles to Russian? [95]

Hitler basically pushed Stalin's man Molotov into signing! Ribbentrop was hoping that should Hitler declare war on Russia (which he eventually did!), Germany would, of course, emerge the victor, hence providing the ultimate Lebensraum for the Reich, making "GERMANIA" the capital of the largest country on earth.

Problem was, the Russians, namely Zhukov, were too smart for the over-confident Fuehrer who ignored his generals and didn't know his bumhole from his elbow about military strategy:-)

As usual, Poland was the buffer between Hitler and Stalin, forever caught in the middle, always a bridesmaid, but never a bride.

Seems she still hasn't made it to the altarLOL

Life / What is the reaction of Poles to Russian? [95]

I've found Poles on the one hand to become almost excessively emotional about topics which concern their Polish national identity!
Once several years prior, I was teaching a class to a group of young to middle-aged Polish ESL students and the subject of Poland and recent Polish history came up during a group discussion. After having learned that I speak Polish and love many features of Polish music, art, cooking etc. it became time for the class to do their presentations.

One young lady of about twenty something, a lawyer from Warsaw with an astonishingly fluent English, became so moved during her presentation on the life of Pope John Paul aka Wojtyła, she became visible moved and tears began forming in her eyes, her voice started to tremble slightly and I thought she might have to stop her speech. She continued and while concluding her excellent talk, I noticed also the rest of the class, some of them wiping their eyes.

Russians I think would perceive this as more a sign of weakness than anything else. I never observed such behavior from any other nationality.

Life / What is the reaction of Poles to Russian? [95]

For example?

The only one I can think of which immediately comes to mind is the fact that even younger Polish men in formal situations still practice the well-known "hand kiss", something which my Russian acquaintances find ever so quaint, if laughable:-)

Oh yes, drinking in public. My experience with Russians vs. Poles abroad is that Russians often imbibe unabashedly, whereas Poles (of both sexes) are slightly, if only slightly, more moderateLOL

Life / What is the reaction of Poles to Russian? [95]

Got the first part of the sentence, but am lost on the last part:-)

Did you mean that they bear only "a superficial similarity", though are essentially different way down deep?
:-))

Life / What is the reaction of Poles to Russian? [95]

Poland and Russia are two countries separated as well as united by a common Slavic heritage, yet sharply divided by decades of Communist rule!
I think too that it's more than fair to say, the Poles suffered as MUCH under the Communists as the Russians themselves:-)

Young Poles today are more or less globalized to accept Russians as peers, much less as equals. They dress similarly, listening to the same type of music, often speak in English with one another and are as dead tired of Cold War stereotypes as contemporary Germans are of negative Nazi-era pigeon-holing!!

Older Poles are a different story. Over fifty, many seniors still fear the Russians and continue to associate them with the Communist terror of old.

Polish society therefore remains deeply polarized regarding their recent past, as best I've been able to assess the situation.

Language / How hard is it to learn Polish? [178]

My apologies for before, Hagrida!

You stated that Georgian, not Russian, is your mother tongue.

Language / How hard is it to learn Polish? [178]

Hagrida,

While encouraging you to learn Polish, I also must caution you into thinking that a knowledge of English (however fluent) and Russian necessarily is an easy entree to learning Polish:-)

Polish is considered to be the most challenging of Slavic languages, more than Russian (with an "extra" case - Vocative/Wołacz) and even Czech, owing to the added pronunciation feature of Polish, the "ś"-sound, which is almost unique to Polish.

Powodzenia!

Study / Study English in WARSAW - good academies, places, teachers or the best option [16]

Ditto!

I've lived in Germany, speak fluent German basically without an American accent, but I'm NOT a German native speaker, but an American!
At least yours truly doesn't pass themselves off as something which they aren't and never can be:-)

Some poor Paki who winds up in Warsaw studying English with a Pole is going to find it awfully laughable learning to speak English with a Polish accent, since as you know, Polish English teachers are government employees, most hacks at best, who aren't bilingual in English, but learned it competently at university.

Boy, can't believe you don't grasp the tragic-comic irony here, you must be thick (or having us on). Ever since I can remember, EVERY responsible language school billed its courses as "LEARN THE LANGUAGE FROM A NATIVE - THE ONLY WAY TO LEARN!!"

Language / Perfective vs Imperfective - grammar [150]

The problems of "literal" translation:-)))

UK, Ireland / Why are Poles in the UK complaining of racism when you are racist? [73]

Thus far, France, the UK, and several other countries have expressly banned the veil or "kijab" in public, typically worn by a majority of Muslim women. Now, Germany's Angela Merkel has joined the bandwagon and decided that she too will forbid it in public, "...only in as far as legal limits will permit." Perhaps the far-right are applauding, yet this has raised a whole new set of fears:-)

Will Poland follow suit?

Study / Study English in WARSAW - good academies, places, teachers or the best option [16]

You've proven my point, terri! Globalization at any cost (..so long as it costs nothing or next to nothing)!

Language / Perfective vs Imperfective - grammar [150]

I see! Should've realized that "dywan" would be accusative (motion towards), and "NArobić".

Language / Perfective vs Imperfective - grammar [150]

"Pies zrobił się na dywanie." - perfective = (lit./dosłownie) "The dog MADE ON the carpet."
:-))

Language / Perfective vs Imperfective - grammar [150]

Granted, Atch!

We native speakers all express ourselves differently, as we've just seen right now:-)
G-d bless pluralism.

Study / Study English in WARSAW - good academies, places, teachers or the best option [16]

True enough, terri. I suppose as an American, the entire premise seems all rather humorous to me, a scene right out of The Marx Brothers, in which the English professor can't really speak English etc...

You're saying that the BC is trying to make the Poles feel important, am I right? Personally, I think it's frankly more important to empower them with competence as well:-)

Language / Perfective vs Imperfective - grammar [150]

They most certainly would, Chemikiem, and they most certainly do!!! I for one as a native English speaker have on many occasions.

I will admit however there is some slight point to what you say, being that Brits use our language quite differently in spots:-)

Language / Perfective vs Imperfective - grammar [150]

It's only our Puritanism coming to the surface, Cinku! America remains the king of euphamisms (with Nazi Germany not lagging much behind):-)
lol

Language / Perfective vs Imperfective - grammar [150]

Clearly such sentences cannot be translated literally:-) Compare English too, "The dog WENT TO THE BATHROOM on the carpet." aka "Rover MADE ON the rug.", or some such circumlocution!

Language / Perfective vs Imperfective - grammar [150]

"Po-" can also mean "for a while", no?

" [Od chwili] POmieszkam we Warszawie, zanim przeprowadzam się do Białegostoku."

Thanks for getting us back on track, as well as for your detailed explanations! Always helpful:-)

Study / Study English in WARSAW - good academies, places, teachers or the best option [16]

All of which begs the question as to why a student of English as a Second Language would choose to learn or practice English in an essentially NON-English-speaking country??!

Once again, would someone studying German do so in Istanbul, studying French go to London etc..?

Perhaps its a blithely globalistic method of doing things nowadays, but I'm still bafflled:-)

Sorry, gang! Don't wish to rain on anyone's parade here....only to slow the procession a bit, 'till we actually know where we're marchingOL

Language / Perfective vs Imperfective - grammar [150]

What has this all to do with perfective vs. imperfective???????!!!

Study / Study English in WARSAW - good academies, places, teachers or the best option [16]

Just as an aside, I can't resist adding how embarrassingly comic it would be if Sari and teeku27, among many others, ended up learning British English with a Polish accentLOL

:-))

Study / Study English in WARSAW - good academies, places, teachers or the best option [16]

...and washing machines in every apartment building.... I can imagine how one must feel:-)

Study / Study English in WARSAW - good academies, places, teachers or the best option [16]

Welcome greetings to all!

My curiosity remains peaked as to why foreign ESL students are interested in studying in a NON-English-speaking country, when in fact the BC typically sponsors programs in any number of English-speaking ones, notably the UK, Canada, Australia or New Zealand?

English is of course spoken as the official "second" language throughout most of the known world, however, not as a native mother tongue outside Britain, the States and the other countries already mentioned.

If I wanted to study another pluracentric language, such as Spanish or French, I probably wouldn't prefer to go to say, Germany, to study either of those languages, but instead, Spain, Latin America, Mexico, Puerto Rico, or resp. France, Montreal, French-speaking Africa or even Martinique:-)

Anyway, don't mind an old skeptic. Best of luck!!

Language / Perfective vs Imperfective - grammar [150]

Thank you for the addendum, Lenka, as always:-)))

Language / Perfective vs Imperfective - grammar [150]

My teacher called it "czysta mowa" or "pure language".
But she was from the former LwówLOL

Language / Perfective vs Imperfective - grammar [150]

Only a note for any who are not yet Polish speakers, but "myć" is the imperfective of "umyć" and it means generically "to clean" contrasted with the verb

"prać" [NO relation with "pracować" = to work!], meaning "to dry clean" as in "to clean chemically":-)

Interesting derivations: "myć" = clean, mydło = soap (the thing which cleans or makes clean). "Prać" = to dry clean or LAUNDER, "pralka" = washing machine, "pralnia" = "wash house" i.e. "laundry".

:-)

Language / Perfective vs Imperfective - grammar [150]

I too, dolno! That's why it's an open forum, furthermore, that's the reason why trolling, abuse or similar denegration is such an insult to serious participants:-)

While native speakers in their own language make mistakes, it's therefore especially important that non-native speakers speaking a second or third language take extra care with it. After all, a language is an instrument as any other, and words are tools, not toys.

Language / Perfective vs Imperfective - grammar [150]

@You're saying the same as I, Chemikiem:-) Europeans are often surprised that foreigners either speak fluently or are even interested in their languages.

Oddly, the level of European English, while conversationally colloquial, usually bordering on the flippantly vulgar, falls short regarding the more aesthetic (and equally useful) elements of standard English as well!

As many learners, even more advanced speakers of Polish, will occasionally trip over the difference between "poprawiać" vs. "poprawić", many a so-called fluent English speaker from whom I've met, will typically make flagrant tense errors, such as "How many languages are you speaking, Mark?", instead of (correct), "How many languages DO you SPEAK?" etc...

News / Streets closed in Warsaw during NATO summit [146]

The reason could be that many non-Shqiptar'i SPEAK Albanian, yet aren't Albanian aka those from Kosovo, who call themselves Kosovar'i, yet speak Albanian as well as Croatian, or the "Arabesh'i" in Italy who speak Albanian, yet ar technically Italian citizens:-)

Stick to the topic, please