I'd like to add that Polish has a standard, on average, a higher one than, say, English, where, especially here in the States, it seems everything (and anything) goes and no one raises a finger in protest!
Nothing is forever, history repeats. Also, that in Western Europe something went out of fashion does not mean that in our beautiful Polish culture it has to be subject to change as well, who says it has to change? Nobody, only sheep follow all the time. Lastly, your Polish is even harder to follow, so przygadal kociol garnkowi, but it is I who is doing you a favour by writing in English on Polish forum instead of in Polish so do not ever complain about my English again, you will receive no response.
Back to topic, it is simple, you want to find work in Poland you learn Polish! And make sure it is of good standard because if you work in a hospital I as a fellow staff member or patient would like to know what is going on so unnecessary death does not occur. Just an example.
A foreigner, Ktoś, ALWAYS does those in another country the "favor" of communicating in the target language of that country, NOT their own!
In addition, you do us NO favors by writing in English. We're more than able, at least I speak for myself, to understand (and respond) in Polish. If you expect me, for instance, to fix my Polish, kindly do us the respect of fixing your English:-))
Not only the Americans, by the way, are guilty of not learning a foreign language and expecting the natives of the other country to speak English. The English are notorious for bragging that they've traveled throughout the world, never speaking any other language but own:-)
I have to admit English is going to become the global language of business, India and China are leading the way. I think that Poland is also adopting English as its second language albeit very slowly in the more rural areas.
it is simple, you want to find work in Poland you learn Polish!
Now I fully agree with this. Coming to live in Poland being upset or awkward about the necessity of learning Polish is a sign of laziness, stupidity and/or feeling of entitlement (or some weird combination of all three).
Indeed! Global language or not, expecting one's interlocutor to know a good level of English, be they at the front desk of the Warsaw Hilton or in some hole-in-wall smack in the middle of nowheresville, is just a recipe for desaster:-)
expecting one's interlocutor to know a good level of English, be they at the front desk of the Warsaw Hilton or in some hole-in-wall smack in the middle of nowheresville, is just a recipe for desaster:-)
It makes sense for the front desk of a hotel (whose guests are probably mostly not Polish) to speak English (and have a few more languages on tap if needed). Expecting everyone you interact with in Poland to speak English is just dumb. Expecting to find a job without Polish is.... unrealistic.
Go to any major city in China and you won't have any problem communicating in the hotels there most staff speak two or three languages, Chinese French Spanish and English.
China has embraced the value of being a global trading partner, we could learn and benefit from this approach in Poland.
So when President Duda met with China's economics minister several days prior, they were BOTH conversing in English??
Remotely possible, but most unlikely. Or, it was the world's briefest conversation (diplomatic and otherwise)! :-)
Sorry, people. I enjoy teasing the Europeans about their English on occasion, as I'm sure they enjoy teasing us about, among other things, "W", not to mention our knowledge of foreign languages.
Lyzko bet you 5zl the pilot who flew Duda to china was speaking English, as you probably know English is the language of aviation.
By the way when you say you tease Europeans about their English are you speaking as a Polish national or as a American only asking I have no hidden agenda in asking you that question, there is enough Brit / America / Polish bullying going on here already.
English is the official FIRST language of nearly every field I can think of. Noone's denying that. The question is therefore, never so much "Can you.........speak English?", rather as I've been asking for years on end, more importantly "How WELL can you speak English?"
Hi Lyzko, I will be truthful and say I dont know. French was manditory when I was at school many, many years ago, followed by the additional options of German and, depending which school you went to, Latin. But not having children I am out of the loop. I will find out tho.
Actually, if you're talking about international radio communication for planes, isn't it a restricted/modified subset of "English" that English natives have to learn as well?
"How WELL can you speak English?"
There's a difference between what native speakers want out of English (and that includes clear national differences) and what learners want (something practical they can use when necessary and then discard).
Most learners aren't interested in reading literature or entertainment in English, they aren't interested very much in richness or expressiveness (they have their own languages for that). Many learners don't much like native speaking teachers because they obsess about things that don't interest the students who want a clear grammatical structure they can rely on and vocabulary they can easily use.
Students of philology need to learn that "big" should often be replaced by "large" or "start" with "begin" in more formal written contexts (among hundreds of other things that aren't part of the general ESL curriculum). The vast majority of learners don't care and one one word to actively use (and maybe understand common alternates).
@Lyzko...Compulsory languages in school in UK....Sadly it seems it is still French and German...a bit short sighted if you ask me. Out of interest, when you say Spanish has been taught for some time in US, what language was taught before?
In the UK, you all still learn primarily French as your second language, correct?
yes and the standard of teaching it is unbelievably bad. My children learned the same stuff (hello goodbye, numbers, colours) for three years running. then at secondary my daughter was considered to stupid to do another language. Son did learned hello goodbye again and that was it. It is a shame really as those junior years when children really could take in another language are just wasted. Then at secondary children are written off. French is a waste of time anyway these days. No offence to anyone intended.
Roz, yet I presume your daughter was already able to speak Polish and English? I would be pretty upset if I had been you. To be honest, from what you are saying, the teaching standards in languages have barely changed since I was at school over 40yrs ago. Such a shame, you would think with the technology available today different languages would be easier to teach.
well she speaks English of course, and she could understand Polish pretty well, if not actively speak it. Yes I was gutted to be honest. It would have been different in a private school, and that grates (a lot) as well. They had to study Welsh which was a real waste of time actually.
Oh No, Im sorry but Welsh should have been an option when children get older! Im not trying to offend Welsh people, I was born there. Welsh is only useful for anyone who intends to live in Wales all their lives.
Yes it would have been a different case with a 'private's school but then they would most likely have had to learn Latin! :-(
Before German was merrily trounced from most US public highschools, that was the most learned, practical second language, that and French:-)
@Maf,
What you say about foreign learners is sadly true which is why world English aka Globish has become such a bleedin' joke, people. In making room for the so-called "tapestry" of diversity, what's fallen by the wayside is the very Anglo-Saxon richness which makes English "Anglish", and NOT Russian, German, Farsi or any number of other additives.
It's going to be true of any mass-taught foreign language. Better foreign language teaching means more languages, not less.
why world English aka Globish has become such a bleedin' joke
I've never heard any language that's as boring as "International English". My loyalty is for American (I wish it had been declared a separate language long ago Daniel Webster wanted a lot more extensive spelling changes which I wish had passed). I understand most British but I don't have the idea that I'm listening to 'my' language when I hear it.
When I was growing up (and I'm only in my early fifties, by the way), it was common from the US-born greengrocer up through a university professor, from teens to tottering senior, to use in daily parlance such expressions, as "My better half said...." or "Oh' don't hide your light under a bushel....", "Let's not quibble....." etc....
Just yesterday in our local market in a rather upscale section of Forest Hills, my wife and I ran into a thirty-something woman whom we know in the neighborhood, a Forest Hills transplant by the way originally from Ecador but here since the age of fifteen, at which point my casually asked, "Hi, Lona! Sooo, how's your better half?" At this point Lona and a few others on line turned around and looked at my wife as though we both had two heads:-) Lona appeared equally perplexed and didn't seem to know what my wife meant. I then interjected, "You mean you don't know how your own husband's doing??" sort of as a joke. Lona the said, "Oh, fine!" Our conversation resumed and we went our separate ways.
The moral here is that, as you said, the more any language becomes overused, the more impoverished it becomes. Luckily, only English has gone that route. Hopefully, Polish, German and others won't follow in my lifetime:-)
