Language / Use of Kochanie in Polish [37]

yes, it could be that way, like almost anything depending on context and interpersonal relations, but both persons involved in such case should know/feel that the word shouldn't by taken literally, that there's another meaning to it (for example "Kochanie moje" said by a man to a woman, more seldom viceversa, but also possible, both more or less the same age, the speaking person older than the other, and it should be said with a little changed intonation, no so affectedly, would be simply patronising - the way you could address your kid who just did something bad/stupid.) Otherwise, without all this "extraverbal" extenuating circumstances, so in 99.99% cases, it's simply "my sweetheart/ my love"


For me it would be acceptable between women, as at least some of them have a tendency to use slighty more affected language, but in a mam-man or man-woman conversation, rather not.

But as I read in other thread (about the word "pig"), someone's gf calls him "often baranie" and it's OK, while in almost any other cases it would be, more or less, but definitely offending.

So you may alter the socially accepted meaning of many words, but both parts must know the rules of this "game", which I guess is identical both in Polish and in other languages/cultures.

Food / Your favourite Polish foods! [180]


Polish diary produecers:
blue cheese - Rokpol or Lazur are decent (IMHO),
Brie and Camembert - usually suck, only Turek (a company) make some that I could eat, but they're not as good as French cheese of course, but I suggest you to avoid most of those types, even if the company/brand name sounds French (it's usually some Polish or German company selling their stuff with more catchy names)

and there's always the yummy, white fresh cheese (twaróg) :)

Life / Polish ghost stories [38]

It may be a valid point, Polish cinema industry was controlled and financed by the state until the late eighties, so you couldn't get funds for any stupid movie you wanted to make, and the writers/directors had to be careful in their choices otherwise they wouldn't get any money for the movie. And escapist genres (like horror/thriller) were looked upon as inferior, the only exception were silly comedies :)

So I can name a few Polish movies that deal with ghosts or other supernatural forces, but those forces are usually only a starting point, and the authors focus on more serious aspects.

There's a great classic fantasy/mystery movie from 1965 "Rękopis znaleziony w Saragossie" by Wojciech Has (based upon the novel of Jan Potocki written at the beginning of the 19th century) - you have all there: cabalists, magic, ghosts, reincarnation etc.

Matka Joanna od aniołów (Mother Joan of the Angels, by Jerzy Kawalerowicz, 1961, based upon the story of Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz, dealing with the famous devil possession of a monastery at Louden, France)

Roman Polański made at least several movies with ghosts or other supernatural beings somehow featured, but all were filmed after he left Poland:
The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967) - comedy
Rosemary's Baby (1968) - devil possession
Le locataire (The Tenant, 1976) - possession by or obsession about a dead person
The Ninth Gate (1989) - conjuring Satan
you can even add The Tragedy of Macbeth (1971) since there are witches etc.
Some of Krzysztof Kieślowski's films (La double vie de Veronique, 1991, some episodes of The Decalogue, 1989) were dealing with the Supernatural, too.

and lower quality cinema:
I saw a Polish movie from 1967 "Duch z Canterville" (based upon 'The Canterville Ghost' by Oscar Wilde)
I also watched a mystery movie "Medium" (1985) which was about a murder committed 50 years earlier and reenacted by some other people who were controlled by the spirits of the persons involved in the actual crime.

We had also a tv series in the 60's "Wakacje z duchami" (Holidays with ghosts), but it was for kids/teens and all those spooky things turned out to be something else, not supernatural, so I guess I can't clssify this series as a ghost movie.

that's what I can remember atm, I guess there must be more, but generally Polish cinema has always been more obsessed about the contemporary problems, first because of the communism regime, later because of the painful transition from a dictatorship and state owned economy to the democracy and free market with all funny/scary phenomena that accompany this process.

As far as talking with friends about spooky things, we did it (especially at night during holidays camps in the forest) when I was a teen. Ghosts, vampires, werewolves etc. aren't alien to Polish culture, but not prominent either.

Language / Dwa vs. dwie in Polish [85]


dwie - all feminine nouns (animate and objects)
dwie kobiety - two women
dwie dziewczynki - two girls
dwie ulice - two streets

dwa - masculin/neuter nouns (non-animate, or more precisely non-human, i.e. objects, ideas, animals etc.)
dwa dni / dwa psy - two days / two dogs (dzień / pies is masculin)
dwa okna - two widnows (okno is neuter)

dwaj - masculin nouns (human)
dwaj mężczyźni - two men
dwaj chłopcy - two boys
there's also an equivalent form with the word "dwóch" and it requires Genitive case, so
dwóch mężczyzn = dwaj mężczyźni - two men
dwóch chłopców = dwaj chłopcy - two boys

dwoje - neuter nouns (human) OR a mix of a man and woman
and it requires Genitive case
dwoje dzieci - two kids
dwoje studentów - two students (one male, other female)
while dwaj studenci/dwóch studentów - means both students are male

if Genitive case is required, then we use the verb in SINGULAR form:

dwaj studenci jadą do Barcelony (two students go to Barcelona), BUT
dwóch/dwoje studentów jedzie do Barcelony

same rules apply for:
trzy/cztery (dwie/dwa), trzej/czterej (dwaj) troje/czworo (dwoje), trzech/czterech (dwóch)

some irregularities:
dwoje drzwi/skrzypiec/spodni - two doors/violins/two (pairs) of trousers (should be dwa, but all those nouns in Polish are Pluralia Tantum, i.e. they exist only in Plural form - like English scissors, trousers, I think - hence they require a special treatment to underline they plurality)

special expressions:
trojga imion (of three names), dwojga nazwisk (of two surnames) - regulary it should trzech/dwóch (non-human nouns), but it's an older way of saying, which survived

"both" is translated into Polish:
obie (rules like for "dwie")
obaj (rules like for "dwaj")
oboje (rules like for "dwoje")

and some more forms with Genetive case, but I rest my case here, too much grammar for one time :)

Language / Dwa vs. dwie in Polish [85]

your mistake is not the dative case after "ku" (because it's the correct case), but the fact that noone in Poland (I mean native speakers) would say "jadę ku Warszawie", it's, like pointed out by others, "jadę do Warszawy"

Life / Wholesale beer prices in Poland [10]

I don't know the wholesale prices, but in retail the beers you mentioned cost about

2,50-2,80 PLN + 0,50 PLN for the bottle, unless you bring an empty one in exchange, but almost noone does, I have lots of empty bottles in my basement :)

it's a 0,5 litre bottle

there are also 0,66 l bottles priced at 3,00-4,00 PLN (no paying for the bottle itself, only applies to those 0,5 l)

Language / Dwa vs. dwie in Polish [85]


yes, although I'm not sure how correct the form "dwóch studentów" is, it's been a while since I left school :)

you can use it alternatively only in the function of a sentence subject (even the Dative case, though normally the subject appears in Nominative case, with some exceptions, for example when the predicate is the verb "brakować")

if you want to use it as other part of the sentence normal rules apply
and remember that the Genitive case (used as sentence subject), requires a verb in SINGULAR form.

Life / Punk and Garage scene in Poland [35]

from the 80's I should add first of all Armia, also a lesser band: TZN Xenna,

I already forgot 1984, but I never got the impression they played punk, and Brygada Kryzys wasn't "pure punk" either, mostly reggae
there waso als Śmierć Kliniczna, which rather played ska not punk (like The Clash in many songs).
I guess we have 2 definions of punk - a social movement (where most of the mentioned above bands belonged) and more strictly a rock music genre

Life / Punk and Garage scene in Poland [35]

anyway, budzin, I only have some vinyl albums/singles with punk music, so I won't help you much, but if you want some samples other bands of the Polish independent (as independent as it was possible under communism of course) rock scene from the early-mid 80s I could send you a few mp3 from the 4 following bands (when I have time to rip the CDs)

Brygada Kryzys
Siekiera (unfortunatelly I have only one CD, after their punk period)
Maanam (early Maanam, they later became more lyrical, less aggressive)
Klaus Mitffoch
it's a shame but I don't have more Polish music on CDs :(

Genealogy / GITLER... is it Polish surname? [30]

but with a grandfather's name spelled Tadeusz? it's 100% Polish form (not some bastardized Russian or German Taddeus, Thadaeus or whatever).

Life / British sky satellite TV in Poland [87]

I have no idea which games are live and which delayed, there's no info about it, so you have to check the tournaments programme

Polsat Sport
Friday, 20:50 Puchar Świata - mecz: Francja - Argentyna
Saturday, 18:00 Puchar Świata - mecz: Anglia - USA
Sunday,
13:55 Puchar Świata - mecz: Walia - Kanada
17:55 Puchar Świata - mecz: Szkocja - Portugalia
Monday, 7:00 Puchar Świata - mecz: RPA - Samoa (too early, so I guess they play on Sunday?)
Tuesday, 20:00 Puchar Świata - mecz: Argentyna - Gruzja

there's also Polsat Sport Extra (and it's unfortunatelly paid extra - 15 Polish zloty for a month - access to PS Extra and Eurosport 2, if you didn't buy it earlier and want to pay now, it porbably won't be of any use, they'll decode the extra sports channels only on day 1 of the next period of you contract, i.e. if you signed Polsat Cyfrowy contract for example on 19th June, and pay today for sports channel, they will be available for you from 19th September - for a duration of one month or more if you pay for more months at once)

Polsat Sport Extra
Saturday,
13:40 Puchar Świata - mecz: Nowa Zelandia - Włochy
15:45 Puchar Świata - mecz: Australia - Japonia
Sunday,
9:00 Puchar Świata - mecz: Anglia - USA (Saturday game)
18:30 Puchar Świata - skrót meczu: Walia - Kanada (only a synthesis of the game)
19:55 Puchar Świata - mecz: Irlandia - Namibia
Monday,
11:00 Puchar Świata - mecz: Anglia - USA (Saturday game)
13:00 Puchar Świata - mecz: Nowa Zelandia - Włochy (Saturday game)
15:00 Puchar Świata - mecz: Francja - Argentyna (Friday game)
19:00 Puchar Świata - mecz: Szkocja - Portugalia (Sunday game)
21:00 Puchar Świata - mecz: RPA - Samoa (Sunday game, I suppose)
Tuesday,
11:00 Puchar Świata - mecz: Irlandia - Namibia (Sunday game, I guess)
15:00 Puchar Świata - mecz: Szkocja - Portugalia (Sunday game, I guess)
17:00 Puchar Świata - mecz: Walia - Kanada (Sunday game, I guess)

btw, RPA = South Africa, Włochy = Italy, Walia = Wales, Szkocja = Scotland, Gruzja = Georgia, the rest is easy even for those who don't speak a word of Polish, I hope.

Genealogy / Surname WILK [8]

Wilk rankes among top 50 most popular surnames in Poland, so not every Wilk will be your relative, I guess,
and watch out for "Wilk w owczej skórze" of course :)

Life / British sky satellite TV in Poland [87]

btw, if you buy Polsat Cyfrowy right now (I mean on Friday), and get someone to install the dish lay the cables and set up the decoder on the same day (a technician did it for me for 120 złoty, cables included, took him less than 1 hour), you probably get more channels than normally immediately, including PS Extra and Eurosport 2 (which shows sometimes - but only delayed - Aussie rules football)

here's how it worked for me in December:
149 PLN for the dish + decoder (+120 for a techinician, but you can install it by yourself if you know how)
I chose the standard plan (Pakiet Familijny - 35 PLN/month, contract signed for 18 months) - and the first month is free, plus I also got (only for the first month) the channels that are paid extra (15 PLN for Pakiet Sport and 10 PLN for Pakiet Filmowy), now I pay only for Pakiet Familijny, but I can buy Pakiet Sport on monthly basis, if I know/expect that there would be something worth watching in the next month. Generally Polsat Sport Extra and Eurosport 2 are dull, so not worth it IMHO.

Food / Need some Polish dessert recipes [47]


there's at least one thread about Pączki in the cuisine section of this forum, browse some older topics (I hope it's still there)

Food / Types of CHEESE in Poland [150]

well, first of all (if you want to know Polish cheese) try the ones mady by Polish companies, not all those Danone, Hochland etc. that might have their factories here, but still use their French/German/international recipes :)

- typically Polish is "twaróg" (white cheese)
- then we have "serek/twarożek wiejski" (or "Grani") - similar to cottage cheese, it can be plain (just twaróg, sour cream, salt) or with some vegetables (szczypiorek is the most common)

- decent products of other types (IMHO) - Lazur (blue cheese), Turek (Camembert/Brie)
- I'm not keen of Polish versions of hard cheese (we call it "yellow") - you know Ementaler, Gouda, Edam or similar
- I like (but not too often) "twaróg wędzony" (smoked white cheese) - "twaróg wędzony" is not the same as "ser wędzony"!

- if you want to feel the old times (communist era) try "ser(ek) topiony" (again by Polish companis, like SerTop for example, not Hochland), which for years was the most popular, because it was the only type widely disponible.

- another "relics" from the past, even more connected to those times is "serek homogenizowany" (plain, not vanilla or fruit taste), warning for vegetarians, they probably use gelatine from cows/pigs for it, so I wouldn't recommend, besides you'll have troubles in finding it, it's almost "extinct"

Food / Types of CHEESE in Poland [150]

I forgot about oscypek, maybe because he's going to Gdańsk, so quite far from the mountains :)

Genealogy / Some Macedonian, Croatian, Serbian Second Names look Polish! [38]

it's not Macedonian, it's simply common for both languages, -ski names are considered typically Polish, so I was quite surprised when Macedonian players started to appear in the Polish soccer league and they all had the names like Mice(v)ski, Boce(v)ski, Whateverski :)

News / PIS and PO - what is the difference in their programs? [35]



you see, hello, first you ask about abortion/religion and then say anti-communism is not an important thing, well I can say the same about abortion and religion, for me they are less of a problem for Poland (generally) than our communist burden (that still affects many areas, including economy and social life)

News / PIS and PO - what is the difference in their programs? [35]

What I meant is that for him some problems seem more improtant, for me not. What's wrong with religion in Poland? I've been an atheist for 20 years now, since I'm 16 and I never had any problems with that, not with my family (mostly religious) nor friends not even in church (because of wedding and baptism formalities). So it's hard for me to see why Poland is regarded as a church-dominated, backward country, because it's a huge exaggeration, IMHO. And about abortion, yes, I know our law is more restrictive here than normally in the Western world, but you need to see things in proportion, how many people are really affected by that law, it's not like every pregnant woman wants to get rid of the baby/foetus.

There are real and much bigger problems, affecting all the country and yes, they are connected with the fact that



it's not about talking, it's about finally doing something.

and sticking to the topic, it's not the programs of the parties that matter, it's how they realize their program in practice, which, unfortunatelly in Poland is far from the promises made during the electorial campaign.

I really have a big headache because of the coming elections, I won't vote for PiS, because I can't forgive them forming a government with thieves from Samoobrona (Kaczyński's almost own words - two months or so before the election, of course he couldn't use the word "thieves" because of possible legal preceedments, but it's how he was talking about Lepper & Co., and I agree), but the alternative according to the current polls is a coallition of PO and LiD, and the Kwaśniewki party ruling (even as a smaller party in the government) this country again isn't any better. So let's say I see the future in black colors, when it's come to the political life :(

Language / Polish/Ukrainian words similarities [209]

well, Michal was in Kharkov in 1982, I figure people simply spoke Russian then, with a little Ukrainina accent, that's why he thought he understands the language so well :)

Language / Polish/Ukrainian words similarities [209]

I think it's up to them to decide how it worked out, remember that remaining in the union with Poland meant partitions, WWII, communism - not really a much better fate, and if a nation suffers, they'd rather suffer for their own sake

of course we may speculate that both Poland and Ukraine would be much better off remaining in the union (one stronger state, weaker Russia etc.), but it would be just speculations

Food / How many Poles are vegetarians? [52]

not many (vegetarians nor shops)

in my small city (30.000 people) there's 1 shop with "health food", I think, and there are some small stands in most markets, but for example usully I can't even find a natural soya sauce (water, soya, salt, wheat, nothing else) for weeks, so it's hard.

When I was living in Poznań (450.000 inhabitants) I had no problems with shopping or veggie restaurants, even 10 years ago, so it's not bad in bigger cities, but the small ones suck.

and of course there are vegetarian versions of Polish food, for example no meat bigos, vegetarian gołąbki, etc., all as good as the meat versions, IMHO (for me of course much better)

Food / How many Poles are vegetarians? [52]


lol, I NEVER ate tatar in my life (nor móżdżek), and I stopped eating meat when I was 17 yrs old, so I had a plenty of opportunities, but I just couldn't take such barbarian dishes in my mouth.

and bigos is really fine without meat
kiełbasa and "kurczak z rożna" were my favorites, I missed their taste even 5 years after I had stopped eating meat, but I was strong and resisted :)

Food / How many Poles are vegetarians? [52]

btw, I'm not a vegan, just a standard vegetarian (for 20 years now), eating milk/cheese/eggs. I think I couldn't survive on a vegan diet in Poland in 1987 and it stayed that way.

Food / Types of CHEESE in Poland [150]

Karpathian Mountains - both in Poland and Romania, so some similarities aren't a surprise, besides parts of modern Romania used to be Polish vassal states several centuries ago :)

Language / Przypadki (Polish language cases) [59]

Travel / POLISH PKP BAD ATTITUDE [14]

PKP is a state-owned company, and such companies usually suck when it comes to customer service, they don't need to work hard to get their benefits, because they always stretch their hand for public money when they need them (so basically all the time). So it's a hopeless case (for now)

/end of the rant

Life / Disco Polo - No No No No No! [95]


definitely roommate (from £omża near Białystok, that was the capitol of the Disco Polo in the 90's, so I guess the "genre" is more persistent in the area)

Genealogy / ABOUT KUKULKA [42]


coz normal spelling would be Kukułka (without the "l" before the 2nd "k", and of course "ł", not "l")

Language / in Polish slang, what is the difference between Siema and Siemka? [64]


pejorative


definitely the first option (negative meaning), diminutive is more two-ways (smaller or nicer).


zamczysko - dark, unpleasant castle (with nasty ghosts, for example :)


dupa - ass (arse, bottom)
dupeńka, dupcia - diminutives
dupsko - pejorative

osioł - ass/donkey
osiołek - diminutive (to underline that it's a nice ass)
oślątko - diminutive (to create "baby" version of the big animal, so a young offspring of donkeys)