WHY DO POLES USE ENGLISH WORDS IN CONVERSATION?

What else is "malicious gloating" other than "shameful (actually "harmful", to be literally exact in German!) happiness"?? I'm a translator so I've often got to second guess meaning in order to arrive at some sort of textual veracity.

Think we're splitting hairs, frankly-:)

I always thought Schadenfreude means that one is happy of someone else's misfortune (judging from German meanings of both parts of the word)

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schadenfreude

..which is precisely in English what "gloating" means (...practically always "malicious", by the way!)-:)

You brag about your great new house and your terrific salary. Suddenly, you're hit by a car and wind up in the hospital. Most of your terrific salary goes into paying your medical bills. The day before though, you stuck out your tongue at your "poorer" subordinates and today they're better off than you. They see you now, no longer so high and mighty. They smirk and snicker as you hobble along the streets, laughing at your hybris right to your face.

THAT'S Schadenfreude!!!! Or, as the Germans would say: Schadenfreude ist die schoenste Freude! = Gloating is the sweetest revenge! Perhaps too "He who laughs last, laughts best!"

Oh yes, we know enough. We know that Latin came to Poland via Bohemia, with St. Adalbert, his monks and baptism of Poland in 966. Written annals began to be generated in the late 10th century; first Polish Christian rulers were considered literate and educated. The secular annals later served as a basis for chronicles, such as Chronicle by Gallus Anonymus (around 1112-1116) or Polish Chronicles by Wincenty Kadłubek (ca 1202).

Here is a nice and short introduction to literary background during Middle Ages in Poland. The author, professor Mikos is also a renown translator from Latin and Polish and an author of several anthologies of Polish literature (in English), including "Medieval Literature of Poland".

staropolska.pl/ang/middleages/Mikos_middle/Literary_m.html
Below is a short excerpt from Chronicles of Gallus Anonymus, a part of that anthology. In this verse Poles are overjoyed after gaining access to Pomerania and Baltic Sea.



How is it relevant? But I know enough about four schools of Latin pronunciation, including the funny English way. :-)


:-) But any monk worth his own black cassock had to know the Latin phrase "Gratis accepistis, gratis date" by heart. And from there, there is just one step to vernacular Polish. Same as with other Latin phrases, like "Deo Gracias". In Catholic Poland "Niech będzie pochwalony (Jezus Chrystus)" and "Na wieki wieków. Amen" were more popular for ages than the secular "Dzieńdobry", especially at the countrysite. "Szczęść Boże" and "Bóg zapłać" are also direct translations of Latin phrases.

I checked several Polish dictionaries, and one German source, and none ever mentions English parentage in the etymology chain of the word "gratis" either in Polish or in German. They all refer directly to the Latin original word "gratiis".

So sorry, your hypothesis here is quite weak. England simply was not in a center of Poland's cultural interests during medieval times. Italy was, France was, Germany had to be, as a close neighbour. But we just traded with you in Polish grain, timber and other produce.

I followed the Jan Brożek "Gratis" document, which I previously described, and I found it interesting enough to quote a passage from an article devoted to him. As you can see, people were flogged, "Gratis" was burnt at stake. So I rest my case here. :-)


gallusanonymus.fr/resources/BrozekPIASA_fin.pdf

It would be great if that were true, but it isn't. We know scraps only.


We're talking about loanwords in the Polish language.Linguists can only hypothesise about the way the predecessor of Polish sounded at that time.


But accurate. Unless you can find a record of the word having passed from Latin to a modern European language earlier. There's no reason to assume it passed directly from English to Polish without being adopted in other languages on the way!

I had a bit of a giggle when a Polish guy visiting Australia last year tried to order Coleslaw at the rather 'Wiocha' Coles Deli. He knew that the 'C' was was not pronounced as 'TS' so he put it all together in Pinglish and ended up asking for 'Kol-ee-swauve'. The old Aussie chick behind the counter couldn't understand what he wanted so called her husband out and he couldn't work it out either. Eventually the Polak pointed to it behind the glass and got what he wanted. :)

Just streamed some Polish TV, there were 4-5 people talking, and the title at the bottom of the screen was, "Downshifting - Chce wolniej zyc"

and THEN, in conversation, a guy said, ".....downshiftowalem......".

and of course, shortly after, "......duzo deadline'ow....."

worse and worse, folks.

I know. I know. It's crazy!

Omg! I'm watching "Chichot Losu" and this guy curses in English! He says sh*t! btw the chick is hot!!!

I'm gonna curse in Polish all day at work tomorrow. It's the same thing, right?

There's a simple solution to that -- just tell them in Polish that you'd prefer them to speak Polish so you can practice. It's easy to be polite about it.

There's nothing wrong with using English in Polish. Most countries use English words, and words borrowed from other languages as well.

For example, Polish also uses the word "spacerować" from the German "spazieren" and means "to go for a walk". Germans and Austrians use so many French words, such as "Portemonnaie" for "wallet". It's a sign of globalization.

"downshiftowalem" is a sign of madness.

Downshifting is a relatively new word even in English. It's concise, and describes a new social phenomenon.
The only dictionary translation I found into Polish is "zmienić pracę na mniej stresującą i mniej płatną". Quite a mouthful.

I guess, as the phenomenon grows (if it does), more Polish people will start using it and will soon get fed up with its ungainliness. It's not the easiest to inflect or pronounce. That's when someone will come up with a Polish equivalent.

So keep your hair on. ;-)

Wow!


It shows how quickly words can spread.

I'm just waiting for 'Ciapaki' to reach Poland...

still waiting for them to come up with an equivalent for "znokautowac" and "boarding", just to name a few.


a new social phenomenon? i don't get it.

In American English, to downshift is used to describe shifting gears in a mechanical device like a car, motorcycle, bicycle, etc., and it has been used for as long as I can remember.

I have never heard an American or any native speaker of English say, "Geeze, I really need to downshift, I'm going to exhaust myself this week." Of the native UK/Australia/New Zealand English speakers out there, have you ever heard "downshifting" being used in this way?

It means selling your hows in London and buying a cheaper one in the countryside. Generally spending less and living more modestly. Usually used by people whose income has plummeted but they have assets.

We use this word in Polish too


This actually is a Polish word

That would be "wrzucić niższy bieg" in Polish. But we are discussing this:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downshifting

Yes, but a very new one coined by the wave of Polish people who moved to London since 2004. Perhaps I should have spelt it 'Czapaki'. Can you guess the meaning?

No, you definitely shouldn't have.

;-p

and I've never heard it being used that way, hence, why I'm asking native speakers of English on here if they have any experience with this particular usage.

Exactly, it's not just English words that are being used and it's due to close proximity to other languages and open borders. I always think they're funny :)


See what JonnyM wrote. I've seen/heard it used like that also.

I've already heard it (in Poznan) but from someone who was working in Warsaw.

Except the version I heard was ciapaty (adjective in form though treated as a noun phrase), plural ciapaci.

Some very quick googling seems to indicate that ciapaki (singular ciapak) is more insulting.

It means (South) Asian.

Merged: UK/Eire Polglish?

Can anyone provide some insight into the "half-na-pół" language that has emerged in the UK and Ireland since the major Polish migration began over a decade ago. I am most familiar with the American version, stuff like "bojsy się fajtują na sajdłoku", "oni heńgują na kornerze przy groserni", "po robocie nasza ticzerka klinuje flory w ofisie" and "łaciuj jak będziesz krosował strytę, żeby jakiś trok cię nie hytnął". Is it the same in the British Isles Polonia or has a separate Isles-specific émigré jargon emerged?

Poles, like many non-Anglophones, believe English simply sounds "cool" (...even if a vast number can't even understand a bloody word of it!!)

Others will liberally pepper their conversation with American/British vulgarisms in an effort to fit in with a cool crowd. In this respect, the Dutch are the worst offenders:-)))

Not only Poles. All Slavs doing that. Its complex of inferiority

Depends.

Call Bacon as Bacon is not a complex of inferiority.

When i ask for Pierogi outside Poland, i don't say "Give me some boiled polish dumplings" , i just say "Pierogi".

For me Bacon is slanina. But, i say Bacon sometimes. i admit. i am weakling sometimes

Just the opposite happened to me at a (supposed) Polish eatery. I asked for "wędlina", to which the Polish-American waitress replied snappishly, "D'ya mean "smoked sausage"??! So why didn'tcha say so?"

LOL

What about English verbs to which the -ować ending is stuck on?
I'n the USA one hears łaciować television, klinować flory, pejntować stepsy, fiksować karę (mend the car), etc. Do similar things occur in the Isles?

Nope, your examples are very extreme.