Language / The longest polish word in existence is..... [23]


So...can we get an English translation?

Language / When do you use 'się'? And what does it mean? [37]

Alright, so a question or two...

Nominative –
Genitive się/siebie
Dative sobie
Accusative się/siebie
Instrumental sobą
Locative sobie
Vocative –

When would one use the locative? If the verb is in the locative?

And when would you use "sam"?

And would it be right to say "uczyłem się" for "I taught myself"?

Genealogy / Jasło and Osiek... Catholic churches [5]

Any idea on the ages of the churches in Jasło? My family immigrated from there in 1881, 1882, and 1902. And, from information obtained from outside sources, the surname had been in the area (apparently) from the 1400's until we left.

And I'll be sure to see what the archives has to offer.

News / Did you know that Polish army is the weakest in Central Europe?.. [150]

I've always wondered...how might an American Pole join the Polish Armed Forces?

Language / Having trouble pronouncing Polish words? [35]


It's not exactly "Jane"...more like "Jen"

ivona.com/?tk=W7S94tvr - (better way...hear it yourself)

Language / Variations of these Polish Foul Words [6]

I don't know...why I asked what they mean and how they are formed, etc.

Found it here: sjp.pl/co/m%F3c

History / Kingdom of Poland Map [14]


That's why I was wondering about it. I'm also wondering with regards to the territory bordering what I believe is the Volga River, and including Crimea in the Black Sea.

All maps I've been able to find are of either before or after 1618 (when I've read Poland was at it's maximum extent).

And then on Wikipedia, found a map with caption "Rzeczpospolita in 1569; the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, having lost lands to the Russian state and to Lithuania's partner Poland, is much smaller than a hundred years earlier". So...how much larger was it a hundred years earlier and did that have a larger land-coverage than in 1618?

History / Poland during the Renaissance [146]

I understand there were the poets (Kochanowski and the like) and Kopernik, but what else did Poland "do" to benefit the world during the Polish Renaissance?

News / How Polish diaspora see future of Poland? as ethnic Polish state or just Polish in origin? [120]

Poland is Poland. The homeland of the Poles. The land that gave us kielbasa and pączki. The origin of our Catholicism. The father of the greatest Pope.

No self-respecting Pole (even a Plastic Pole) would ever think of Poland as being "Polish in origin", as that would give the idea that Poland is no longer an ethnically Polish country.

Although the birth rate of European nations is declining, Poland still (I believe) has a birthrate higher than that of the death rate, and so long as that continues and the Polish tongue is kept, it will always be viewed as an ethnically Polish state.

History / Kingdom of Poland Map [14]


Not sure. Just found the map.


Can I be pointed to a location that contains various maps of Poland from various time periods?

And, a side-question, is it correct (in any sense) to say that Poland owned Russia between 1610-12 with future Władysław IV as elected (but not crowned) Czar by the Seven Boyars? And then what of during the elected monarchy period? Would it be proper to say that when Poland was ruled by the King of a foreign land (Sweden, France, etc.), Poland was part of those nations (or vice-versa) at least monarchical wise (as opposed to governmental wise)?

Genealogy / Burial listings for Polish cemeteries. Where to find them online? [12]

Going to come into this conversation.

Looking for burial information for Jasło and Osiek.

History / Why is the Battle of Grunwald celebrated more than the Battle of Lubiszewo? [29]

Wouldn't it also be since Grunwald halted the Tuetons, whom if had won would have probably continued and conquered Western Europe? At least...that's what I was taught, and I find it interesting how many times Poland saved the rest of Europe, but don't even get an honorable mention in history classes in most nations.

History / Why is the Battle of Grunwald celebrated more than the Battle of Lubiszewo? [29]

How do you figure both is "bollocks" (an English term which I don't really know exactly)?

The Battle of Grunwald killed off the grand master of the time, and many of the other heads of the order. They were unable to truly recover from then, and thus slowly declined as history shows us. The Knights, had they been victorious, would have most likely spread and continued to conquer other vast parts (if not all) of Western Europe.

And, with regards to Education, it is NOT taught in ANY schools in America or Canada. It might be taught in some nations of Europe, but I'd be willing to bet that it isn't taught in that many.

Or again, am I wrong?

Language / The complement of the verb "to be" [14]

Well, an example from the book that I understand:

Lepiej poczekać. - It's better to wait.

My problem was that there are examples under "5.1.1.3 As complement of the verb 'to be' (which is left unsaid)", but only some of them made sense to me where some form of "to be" would be possible to include to make the sentence still grammatically correct. I was thinking of "am, are, is" etc.

Makes sense though with the conditional tense. Kind of stupid of me. Read the whole chapter on verbs multiple times, and as such have read over the conditional tense many times. It would appear as though I still have a hard time fully understanding the translation...the fact that Polish has a conditional tense (although, I'd imagine English has one as well, to be technical), only English doesn't have a special word or series of words to make it distinguishable from the other tenses (like: I was, I am, I will be; ate, eat. will eat; etc.)

The lesson learned today for me: always remember Polish has additional tenses and distinguishing forms of words, and that at times a translation might require a bit of abstract thought...not like the extremely linear thought that is English.

I also feel the need to thank all of you who have made me realize this. As I think that that might just be the thing that allows me to truly master Polish in due time. To step out from the idea there must be a proper word-for-word translation, that each word needs to be translated somehow, and realize that Polish might need additives to words and whatnot that one would never find in English.

There are days when I wish my ancestors had taught Polish to their children, instead of letting them learn solely English; or that I had been born in a nation of Europe where I'd have stood a chance learning a more complicated grammatical language. But alas, such is life.