Study / Studying Medicine in Poland with weak Polish? I speak native Slavic language - Macedonian [10]


The Polish wiki pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angina

links to tonsillitis in English... but IME I used to hear 'angina' thrown around all the time for any kind of discomfort in the throat. In my first winters here people would warn me that I had to wear something around my neck or I'd get 'angina'...

USA, Canada / Looking to move to Poland within the next 5-7 years from the US and need some guidance on your process. [15]

Don't have time to write this moment (keep watching this space). but I'm an American with well over 20 years in Poland (and generally happy and no plans to move).

The process of adaptation (learning how things work) is not easy. Poland can be a great place to live if you can learn the language and culture and not try to change things (you'll just irritate people and end up losing).

First, Poland is nothing like the image being broadcast by some rightwing sources.... if you like what you've been told some Polish politician has said... then realize that's about 5% of what they say and you probably won't much like much of the remaining 95%.

There are also very strong generational and regional (and other political) rifts so you might like some quote from a Polish politician and find out 80% of the people you'll be dealing with hate him and what he said.

It's complicated....

Study / Studying Medicine in Poland with weak Polish? I speak native Slavic language - Macedonian [10]


Actually it's tonsilitis... though in casual usage it seems to be any kind of sore throat ailment...

pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angina

Language / Mixed English Grammar Thread [233]


Ready for your close up?

Language / Mixed English Grammar Thread [233]


double negation (technically 'negative concord') is frowned upon in formal usage but quite common and unambiguous in spoken English

US version:

He didn't say nothing. (stressing both didn't and nothing) = he said something

He didn't say nothing. (only stressing nothing usually pronounced nothin' ) = he didn't say anything (and he should have or I was expecting him to say something).

History / Cursed soldiers controvercy - not all Poles respect them [320]


In NAmerican English 'not kosher' carries a strong implication of dishonesty or trickery.

History / Why Was D-Day So Significant for Poland ? [266]


By doing nothing in 1939 and then selling Poland to the Soviets in 1944?

Life / Specific information about Polish healthcare system? [19]


The political environment in many/most countries selects against long-term thinking.

In some areas this is understandable and not terrible.

But telling doctors to leave the country is next-level stupid and incompetent.

If KO had any sense whatsoever (I'm skeptical but hopeful) they'd run that moment 24/7 the next elections. But they have their own stupid biases... (on principle against providing publicly funded healthcare to the extent needed - PO's plan was to beef up the then existing system with the private sector which was.... not wise.

Every government in the last 25 years has done stupid mistakes in healthcare policy but PiS outpaced them....

The original Kasa Chorych system was not terrible (and allowed for local initiative and innovation) but was shut down too soon and replaced with the over-centralized NFZ.

Life / Specific information about Polish healthcare system? [19]


True. PiS and their supporters aren't very well at imagining future problems....

They follow the old sociopath tactic:

1. Say you're doing something.
2. Do nothing.
3. ????
4. Profit!!!!!!!!!

Law / Polish citizenship by descent for "Brześć nad Bugiem" born 4 grand-parents? [15]


It's my understanding it's not that hard to get for someone willing to live in Poland.... If the government thinks they can get some work out her family I can't imagine there being any real difficulties provided they can get themselves to Poland...

News / What should Poland do with the problem of Belarus? [1800]

But they are linguistically and also, arguably, culturally.

News / What should Poland do with the problem of Belarus? [1800]


I forget... either Lukashenka's 80% (!) victory at the polls, or the "Oh my a bomb threat... oh my a wanted criminal just happened to be on that flight!" or some other Putinite nonsense calculated to play to the gullible.

News / What should Poland do with the problem of Belarus? [1800]


Narcissist don't care.

News / What should Poland do with the problem of Belarus? [1800]


Are you really so gullible that you believe that story?


politics as team sport - some western politicians do misguided things so.... yay Putin! yay Lukashenka!

News / What should Poland do with the problem of Belarus? [1800]


With 80% of the vote! How often does that kind of genuine electoral victory spawn the kinds of protests seen in the aftermath of that election?

Language / Game - guess Polish idioms/sayings in direct English translation [1756]

Have we had paradise feet yet? If not, then what are they?

News / What should Poland do with the problem of Belarus? [1800]

Things are about to go from bad to desperate for Belarus's international reputation....

The EBU (the people behind Eurovision) are preparing to eject the country!!!!

youtube.com/watch?v=KcA96gj1nn0&

Not such a huge loss, they only ever sent one good song that I remember (very pleasant folksy number sung in Belarusian)

youtube.com/watch?v=ElqbLPcTHAI

In 2019 the judges were excluded for breaking the rules and this year they sent a song threatening those that fail to appreciate Lukashenka enough...

Nul points for Lukashenka!

Language / Game - guess Polish idioms/sayings in direct English translation [1756]

A small pillow.

News / What should Poland do with the problem of Belarus? [1800]


How? They would assimilate linguistically and culturally (or more specifically any children that are born in Poland would end up being indistinguishable from the current population)...

Language / Polish was chosen the HARDEST LANGUAGE in the world to learn... :D [1558]


That's weird since a very large percentage of native speakers can do no such thing.... I remember being tortured with Shakespeare in high school and having to read dialogue that no one in class could understand.... at least when they showed us films of Shakespeare scenes we could follow the action. Shakespeare is a cult. It takes about 50 or so years after Shakespeare for the language to settle into something modern speakers can understand.

English has very few barriers to entry early on. But ease of entry tends to coincide with greater barriers later on (general rule of second language acquisition - early beginnings coincide with later frustration).

Lots of people can get to B1 or B2 but that's not what most employers want.... (according to David Graddol who actually surveyed the issue).

And very few (comparatively) make it to C1 or C2 (let alone beyond).

Language / Terms of endearment in Polish [225]


Is it an orphan word? (in this case an adjective żmudny that still exists even though the noun it's derived from is no longer used)

a problem with the original post is that it's impossible to tell what vowel(s) ou refer to...

News / What should Poland do with the problem of Belarus? [1800]


I'm very sorry for your loss. That sounds awful.

News / What should Poland do with the problem of Belarus? [1800]


You just have no independent existence apart from comparisons with the US, do you?

When protests start to become a danger to participants or bystanders of course police presence is needed.

Do you think Lukashenka won 80% of the vote in 2020?


me 3 - you nul points! (are you imitating the UK in Eurovision?)

News / What should Poland do with the problem of Belarus? [1800]


You lose twice... the challenge was to refer to the Belarusian and Russian situations only.

Second, police intervention when protests become dangerous is an entirely separate issue - we can discuss how much police intervention is appropriate in different scenarios but your answer compares apples and oranges....

Belarus has effectively outlawed peaceful protests against the regime. Why is that good?

Do you believe Lukashenka really won 80 % of the vote and if not, then what response to electoral fraud is appropriate?

You keep avoiding answering questions and simply rehash "А у вас негров линчуют" (Polish "A u was Murzynow biją")

Can't you do any better than that?

News / What should Poland do with the problem of Belarus? [1800]


Doesn't Lukashenka do that all the time? Isn't that exactly what the whole arrest is doing?

The second is organizing a protest - again, what kind of crap country outlaws protest?

Why is outlawing organized protest a good thing? (extra difficulty - only refer to the Russia or Belarus, not "whatabout...?" allowed)

Do you believe Lukashenka actually received 80% of the vote in 2020? If not what are acceptable responses to interference in the electoral process?

News / What should Poland do with the problem of Belarus? [1800]

A nazi is someone that Putin or Lukashenka says is a nazi... so no arguing with that (unless you also wanna end up in jail).

Genealogy / Which Polish first names are considered unpopular / obsolete in Poland? [124]


Danuta seems relatively rare now.... back when there were more Danka seemed the go to abbreviation (Danusia in a respectable second). I don't remember ever hearing Dana... it must have happened but not often enough for me to notice (or my Polish wasn't good enough to notice then).

One of the (many, many, many) bad things about 'zdalne' nauczanie is not getting to overhear students. I remember an academic talk by a professor of Polish/linguistics that was largely based on forms he'd overheard in the halls...

Polish wiki indicates that Danuta is probably of Lithuanian origin "sky-daughter" or Latin(?) "given (by God)"...

News / What should Poland do with the problem of Belarus? [1800]


What specific crimes is he being accused of?

History / Life in communist Poland - personal relations [503]


Are you sure he wasn't Finnish (Finns have a very.... weird relationship with alcohol, it serves a similar role to sexual innuendo for Americans or Poles....).

News / What should Poland do with the problem of Belarus? [1800]


Do Putin or Lukashenka release tax returns?

And still.... no positive argumentation at all. Not a single argument on why it's good to hijack a plane to arrest a political dissident....