So why did you give up learning Polish?

the 'stans

Im just starting out learning Polish. Its a very complex language, but I do love a challenge. Im just basically stringing a few words together at the moment, but would love to be able to converse properly and be understood. I believe its common courtesy to at least attempt to speak the lingo when you are in a foreign country. Poland is a great place.!

an even bigger question is this:

with polish being of little use now, as well as being watered down with english word after english word every day, on top of many Poles leaving to work in other countries, many times an English speaking one.......wouldn't that mean that the need for Polish will only become less and less? some people argue that polish will become more and more popular due to Poland's recent economic.....well......success?, having deeper involvement in foreign markets, etc., but i think this is even more the reason why other languages will become more dominant. foreign countries don't care about Poland's language, they care about cheap labor and operating costs, and learning Polish is last on their list. the more foreigners coming in to Poland means LESS polish IMHO.

even more of a reason to "give up learning Polish".

let us not forget that by the time someone learns polish to say a B2 level, you could be a C1 level in let's say 2 romance languages in the same amount of time, both of which will be more useful than polish.

put 2 resumes with equal experience/qualifications side by side, 1 guy says "B2 Polish" and the other says "C1 Spanish and C1 French"....it's obvious who will be of more use 99 times out of 100.

not to mention the B2 guy in Polish still has to email his friend Agnieszka every week to ask, "how do you say 5 of ______?"

;)

i study Polish because it's half my heritage, I live in Poland, my fiance is Polish and my children will speak Polish. it's a no brainer, gotta learn it. if i didn't have this situation, i wouldn't even give Polish a second thought.

Hey im polish and thats mean ... its pretty much like racism against polish people

i live in america and i speak polish fluently and american so it is useful to me because i know alot of polish people....... so if its not useful to you miguel you dont have to go of and critisizing the language

Im mostly talking to miguel not anybody else who is nice

I know a monolingual Hispanic speaker from The Dominican Republic who conversely gave up learning/studying English, since she claimed all her US-non-Hispanic friends and acquaintances knew Spanish so well that she felt discouraged-:))

Wow! I guess there's hope yet for the Anglophile Americans in this world LOL

As far as giving up learning Polish, unless the practicality of dealing with Poles resp. Poland exists, why bother indeed? On the other hand, when dealing with any non-English speaking country, be it The Netherlands, Poland etc.., experience shows its always best to know the local lingo, just as we kind of insist on those visiting or working here in the States to know the modicum of English-:)) And no, IT DOESN'T MEAN BEING "PERFECT" EITHER!!!

Short of that, hire, use, an interpreter!

Knowing several languages is a gift: each language gives you a different perspective on life. When one way of life depresses you, you can always take refuge in another culture. Poland has a very strong culture: it survived centuries of occupation and repression. I don't know any Polish person who is not proud of being Polish. I am half French half Polish myself, and I can tell you that it is my Polish roots that have given me the most on a moral level. They have allowed me to see France and other “Western” countries with a more critical eye and to make a more informed judgement. When all you know is America, it is like peeking at life from behind a key hole and missing everything that life has to offer "in the corners". Additionally, going to foreign countries without being able to communicate with the natives in their mother tongue, is like having a blurred distorted vision of those “corners”. But for some people, this is all they can afford...Well, at least don't be proud of it, because you don't know what you are missing :)

Of course the language's usefulness is relative to the person learning it. To me, it's very useful because I live here, my girlfriend is Polish, and lots of people I know here only speak Polish. I also obtained Polish citizenship because my granddad was Polish.

What keeps pushing me to continue learning is the embarassing moments when somebody tries to talk to you and you can't answer like you want (English simply doesn't cut it either). The feeling of achievement and reward when you can make yourself understood and understand people is second to none. I've been learning passively for over 2 years, and although I can now understood most of the things people say and on TV, I still have a long way to go. I often think about quitting as it's really hard, but the simple need to communicate always brings me back. I started learning Polish before moving to Poland (and not knowing I would ever live in Poland), and I found that useful because there were lots of Polish people were I lived.

I have also started learning Spanish, and after learning Polish, Spanish seems like a walk in the park. I admit that if I had instead learnt Spanish, I'd probably be fluent by now, but Spanish simply isn't that useful for me, and I'm not looking for points on my CV.

The language might not be useful on my CV, but it's useful for communicating with people, who otherwise I wouldn't be able to talk to. It's a great stepping-stone for other slavic-languages, and even helpful for learning an easier language (Strange grammar will no longer shock you, :P)

Poland is big enough in Europe ... we are progressing economically, and one day we will be a major player. So I think it is wise for anyone to learn Polish :)

Well said. I can't comment on how hard it is since it's my first language and speak it well, i assume for people from non Slavic countries it's difficult, but some people have a gift for languages.

LTB wrote:


I wholeheartedly disagree. Polish takes years and years just to speak it decently.....why put in all that effort when you can learn another language actually worth learning?

It's wishful thinking, LTB.

Why did I give up learning Polish?
On one level I have not, but, I havent bothered on a formal level since 04.
Not much point with a million plus native speakers suddenly in my country :)

but i didn`t.

This thread is stupid.

I gave up when my GF, half Polish, kept correcting me that my cześć is wrong and that I will never learn it.

Now she is an ex and my Polish is going strong.

Not quite. Sometimes I give up, but I always pick it up again! (I'll simply refuse to admit I'm not smart enough to learn it!)

;)

Seriously, why would a perfectly fluent English speaker want to be a primitive non-English grunt maker? Every time I spoke English in Poland, the locals were actually proud to use theirs - well and without hesitation. I could tell that from their attitudes and no special desire to end the conversation ASAP. I was really pleasantly surprised to the point that I quit asking if they speak English. The younger ones would give me that duh look I would get if I asked them if they speak Polish.

On the other hand, here, in Mexico, temporarily known as the United States, I routinely ask "do you speak English". Something really bad is happening in "America".

Shouldn't that be "Do you speak English?"

You were extremely lucky then, running only into Poles who speak English. Or did you deliberately choose those with those flashes of intelligence in their eyes?


Come on, give them some time for integration and aculturation.

All kidding aside, learning any foreign language, in this case Polish, is one of the most satisfying, not to mention sheer practical, decisions you can make:-)

More power to you!

You are correct. I will go back to the local Walmart where met them and ask the same question again. This time, with capital "D".


No luck involved. Just selecting the twenty-somethings.


That would be possible if we were dealing with one finite shipment of sewer. The reality is that the supply of the Latino sewer is infinity.

I didn't mention Asians, as I avoid them like a plague. Rude, pushy, zero sense of humor, and they bring their fossilized parents who would commit suicide rather than switch to English. Ugly, too.

In my experience most young Poles at least speak a little English.
Older Poles not much.
The English language is now truly dominating the world, partly because it is fairly easy to learn and very forgiving.
You can say or write things in English that are grammatically very inaccurate, but you will still be understood.
Did you know that there are more students of English in China than the whole population of The USA?

Spent 5 years and tallied up around 500 hours of classroom lessons. Missus still grimaces when I try to speak Polish to her. A lot of people in Poland aren't used to hearing Polish being massacred by foreigners and they don't have much patience. I know a few people English natives who've achieved a good level but usually they're supremely motivated and / or missus forces them. I went through a few years of trying to push through and speak Polish at parties even when people switch to English without asking, but now I've given up and in retreat. Just couldn't break through to a B2 level. I have full respect for any non-Slavic language speaking people who do.

My wife do not have much Polish but her pronunciation is a spot on. Almost perfect which is a wonder, as she doesn't use it very often.

A man has to know his limitations. You do and I am proud of you.
As I said, Polish should be phased out just as we did the black rotary phones and are now phasing out land lines.

As someone currently taking Polish courses in Krakow I can see both sides. This is an incredibly difficult language to learn, yet satisfying to use when native Poles understand what you are trying to convey when speaking. If you live here and do not try to learn the language, it simply makes you look ignorant and disrespectful in my opinion. Most Poles I have met are very forgiving when it comes to mispronunciation of words, or improper sentence structure as long as you can get your thought across. The do appreciate the effort any non native makes to learn and communicate in Polish.

If we didn`t, we would be megalomaniac bastards. Fortunately, we are only megalomaniac, without bastards, coz most Poles believe their language is the most difficult in the world.

Interesting. My pronunciation is awful (no auditory abilities) but I can talk a lot of nonsense at parties:)

which is not true.... classifications by the US government are based on years of experience in bringing adult native speakers of (American) English to fluent levels in various languages.

In the traditional system (four levels) Polish is level three (hard but not as hard as Chinese or Arabic or Japanese). In a three tier system it's level two.

Of course for speakers of other Slavic languages it's pretty easy and a Russian speaker can achieve communicative competence within a few weeks.

For Asians or Middle Easterners it's going to be more difficult....

@mafketis

mafketis please translate this simple dialogue into Polish:

- I will tell mom.
- Don't tell mom.

if you manage it than i will concede that Polish is not difficult at all

Off the top of my head:

Powiem mamie.
Nie mów mamie.

What's so hard?

very good - how long have you stayed in Poland (like since the 90's?)