Hej--jak leci?
Tomorrow is Mamusia's 86th birthday, and was thinking about the traditional Sto Lat. Just noticed after all these years that "niech żyje nam" is actually third-person singular, according to prof. Oscar Swan's terrific online dictionary: polish.slavic.pitt.edu/polish/
So it seems that the person being recognized with a rousing Sto Lat isn't receiving the good wishes directly. It's as if they're in the room, but the singers are addressing each other instead. I feel like I'm missing a cultural subtlety here. So why "niech żyje nam" instead of "niech żyjesz nam"?
Serdeczne pozdrawiam.
Andrzej in The OC.
Tomorrow is Mamusia's 86th birthday, and was thinking about the traditional Sto Lat. Just noticed after all these years that "niech żyje nam" is actually third-person singular, according to prof. Oscar Swan's terrific online dictionary: polish.slavic.pitt.edu/polish/
So it seems that the person being recognized with a rousing Sto Lat isn't receiving the good wishes directly. It's as if they're in the room, but the singers are addressing each other instead. I feel like I'm missing a cultural subtlety here. So why "niech żyje nam" instead of "niech żyjesz nam"?
Serdeczne pozdrawiam.
Andrzej in The OC.