History / What makes you feel Polish? [167]

Long live Polish cuisine! NIECH ZYJE POLSKA KUCHNIA! (..even if it's not kosher, he-he)

History / What makes you feel Polish? [167]

And I see zurek z bígosem...LOL

History / What makes you feel Polish? [167]

"Staring" you dare to ask?? Odd that they should stare at me as a foreigner for deigning to speak their language when they don't speak mine:-)

History / What makes you feel Polish? [167]

One can maybe "survive" in Europe without knowing the local lingo provided, the person lives entirely sequestered in some ex-pat colony of Brits or Yanks, e.g. Patrick Henry Village in Germany etc! Apart from that, I for one couldn't begin to imagine even a brief sojourn in Poland without knowledge of the language on a basic level, if for no other reasom out of plain respect for their culture.

Life / Do you find any humour in Polish Highlanders' stories? [24]

My joke disappeared! I take it it will re-surface somewhere in "Trash" LOL

History / What makes you feel Polish? [167]

Poland is the third largest country in Europe and with the second greatest basically mono-lingual population, Polish is a major EU language.

Please stop turning every thread into a language thread

History / What makes you feel Polish? [167]

Is Polish your mother tongue? If you learned English after a certain verx young ag, then it simply ISN'T your fir7langua

Genealogy / Double last names? - Zabawa, Czermak, & Zabawa Czermak? [10]

Czermak as in a certain erstwhile Mayor Anton Czermak of Chicago, was the unintended victim of the attempted assassínation of FDR in around '38.

History / What makes you feel Polish? [167]

No sense in denying who or what you are as there's always somebody out there ready, willing, and able to remind you.

History / What makes you feel Polish? [167]

Assimilated Polish Jews felt themselves Polish by nationality, Jewish by religion.

History / What makes you feel Polish? [167]

Once again Novi, I'd have gladly invited you to have told Messrs. Brzechwa, Róziewicz, or Kiepura etc.that they had no polkosc LOL

History / What makes you feel Polish? [167]

So, so true.

History / What makes you feel Polish? [167]

How about the "polkosc" of a figure such as John Godson:-)

History / What makes you feel Polish? [167]

Once had an ESL-class of seven Poles between roughly twenty-five and fifty. This was several years ago, around the time Poland was getting unjustifiably bad press re: Poland's "role" in the Holocaust. They knew I spoke Polish and by coincedence, our class project was to describe in detail an aspect of their country they deemed most positive. One xwoung man angrily spoke up about hothe NYT was "writing s##t" concerning Jews and Poles. Then, the woman giving her talk about Tatry and the glories of Poland's natural wonderp, sudddnly started crying, only to be sebonded by yet another student applauding my desire to learn their language. Nearly each student took the slígts against Poland so personalky.

Language / What is your biggest problem with Polish language? [158]

Appreciate the input there, sir. I stand enlightened:-)

Language / What is your biggest problem with Polish language? [158]

"Jeszcze Polska nie zginela..." = Poland still shall yet prevail. Recently caught a glímpse of a German translation "Noch ist Polen nicht verloren", which I feel doesn't capture the spirit of the original.

Language / What is your biggest problem with Polish language? [158]

That last verb is a relative of "(z-)ginac", correct?

Language / What is your biggest problem with Polish language? [158]

Hair splitting, but "zgubiony" still sounds odd to my non-native Polish ears.

Language / What is your biggest problem with Polish language? [158]

I learned something, Thought "zgubiona

Language / What is your biggest problem with Polish language? [158]

How then do you communicate successfully with educated English native speakers in a language not your own? Do you catch our irony, double entendre, constant puns?

An addendum, DuszaStracona. How do you know which mistakes you're making? Who corrects your English at home? :-)

History / What makes you feel Polish? [167]

They feel, and often rightly so I might add, that there' so much more to everyday life than current US-style vapid, infantile materialism. They sick and tired. I for one applaud them!

History / What makes you feel Polish? [167]

They see speaking English as a step down, much like the FrenchLOL

Language / What is your biggest problem with Polish language? [158]

It's that, as with many foreigners, Poles think in their native language, but speak in English.

History / What makes you feel Polish? [167]

Poles think in Polish, not English.

History / What makes you feel Polish? [167]

Not one bit surprised, Novi:-)

History / What makes you feel Polish? [167]

'Twas naiveté ultimately killed the Jews of Poland, save for all but the ultra assimilated, such as those whom I'd mentioned prior. Ah, how challenged was Christianity in her direst hour when spirituality and love were most desparately needed!

Life / Polish TV is so goddamn awful! [7]

Oh yes, I know.

Life / Polish TV is so goddamn awful! [7]

You should check out Brazilian TV if you want to see stupid:-)

History / What makes you feel Polish? [167]

Shtettl Jews were always the opposite of the more integrated urban Jews.