Travel / From Krakow to Auschwitz (transportation) [29]

That nearly happened to me during my one and only pilgrimage ("GRIM" indeed) to the Dachau Camp in the early '90's. Saw the sign "ZU DEN KREMATORIEN", turned tail and headed back to the hotel, luckily a bit of a distance away by U-Bahn in downtown Munich. The stones in front of the now sanitized barracks were plenty for me!

Travel / From Krakow to Auschwitz (transportation) [29]

I've not been privileged as yet to take the plunge, but if ever we do decide to make such a pilgrimage, I promised my wife to bring along plenty of smelling salts, perhaps a barf bag too wouldn't hurt either.

Travel / From Krakow to Auschwitz (transportation) [29]

Wouldn't ya need at least a day or so to "recover" after visiting Auschwitz-Birkenau??
Talk about iron-cast constitutions! Hey, and then it's off to Krakow...on a shopping trip, no doubt.
Charming.

Life / Popular Polish blog and chat sites [65]

Not if I and others like me can help it, NoToForeigners:-)

Genealogy / The typical Polish look, or all Eastern Europeans [676]

Quite, Vlad!

Olive complexion in my years of having lived and traveled throughout Germany pre-globalization indicates possible admixture with Southern Europeans.
"Ethnic" Germans often may have dark to blue-black hair, occasionally brown or dark-brown eye color, but the features remain typically straight rather than rounded, and the skin usually is fair. When I've encountered German natives with a touch of swarthy or olive complexion, in nearly every case, they were of at least part Italian, Spanish or Greek heritage:-)

Genealogy / The typical Polish look, or all Eastern Europeans [676]

Like I say, ethnically German.

Genealogy / The typical Polish look, or all Eastern Europeans [676]

With little difficulty on my end might be (mis-)taken for ethnic Germans.

Genealogy / The typical Polish look, or all Eastern Europeans [676]

Obviously of partially German origin:-)

Genealogy / The typical Polish look, or all Eastern Europeans [676]

The right picture might well be of two highly assimilated Polish urban Jews, most likely from the upper-middle classes. The one on the left could be German as well:-) German males often tend to have less oval-shaped and slightly squarer-looking faces, broader jawline.

The photograph even looks a little like the composer Hindemith:-)

Language / Maria, what is the Polish form? [30]

And interestingly enough, gang, "Marijke" (with a final "e" however) is Dutch, "Marika", Hungarian.

Genealogy / What does my Polish name mean? [402]

Rather the opposite I'd say. Like 'Smolarz' and others, 'Pacharz' looks pretty much Slavic to me.

Language / Polish slang phrases - most popular. [630]

I thought I'd come across "blyat" in Russian meaning "bribery" of some sort or other:-) Although I'm sure there must be a slang expression as well, could have sworn I either read or heard this word.

Language / Will Germans be able to understand Polish enough? [77]

Absolutely.

Language / Will Germans be able to understand Polish enough? [77]

Not if one is a "native bilingual", grown up abroad until college, yet raised for the first five or so years in the source language.

As you've never heard me speak, how can you honestly judge?

Uh-huh, sir! I still stand by my scratches beneath the polished veneer analogy, any day, any time.

Language / Will Germans be able to understand Polish enough? [77]

But I do, TheOther, you know that, so quit "messing" with me, as you like to say.
:-)

Language / Will Germans be able to understand Polish enough? [77]

Germans are a mixed bag.

Sure, there are plenty who know really fluent English and can negotiate effortlessly in nearly any everyday situation. The trouble often comes when one scratches ever so slightly beneath the highly polished veneer of many a yuppified urbanite in any of the major centers, only to hit a stone wall; their English started out solid and rarely, if ever, moves beyond that point in terms of learning either more deeply the idiom of Standard English, or (HORRORS!!) recognizing there's till a great deal which they don't know and admitting it either publically or privately:-)

On the other hand, most Germans well over senior age, tend to know next to zero English, and if anything, WWII catch phrases such as "Lucky Strike", "See you later alligator" or the like, always rattled off with a thick native accent.

Law / The right to own guns: would you support such legislation in Poland? [2237]

If at first you don't secede, try, try again:-)

Language / Will Germans be able to understand Polish enough? [77]

Yep, spot on matey!

Language / Will Germans be able to understand Polish enough? [77]

There are so many false friends Russian to Polish, and even reverse, that maybe only with the most basic, everyday vocabulary, could a Russian understand a Pole or the other way round. Often though, simply grasping a word here and there, is scarcely the same as understanding either the entire conversation as well as the gist of what is being said. An example I enjoy quoting is the Russian verb "pukat" vs. its Polish sound-alike evil "identical" twin "pukac"...similar pronunciation, but HARDLY the same meaning:-) lol

The list of such troublesome pairs is quite extensive, I can assure you!

Concerning using Polish in Germany, one has a far better chance of being understood using German in Poland. English naturally is taught everywhere, however, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's used or understood with equal precision.

Language / Polish language would look better written in Cyrillic Script? [212]

Oh, English too has many examples of unstressed vowels. Check out Southern US dialects in which "potato" is often prounounced " P - U - H - T - A - T - U- H", same with "tomato" etc.

Language / Will Germans be able to understand Polish enough? [77]

No debate here. The relationship between the two neighbors has been anything but either easy or pleasant. Each tolerates the other, but it's far from on an equal footing, and both realize this, I'm sure..

Apropos Turkish, in Berlin, it has become in certain sections of town nearly like Spanish in certain "barrios" of New York especially, and to be sure, Turkish will get one by to a degree in the German capital. Outside of Berlin, forget about it, especially in the former East Zone, as ethnic/racial tensions are running particularly high at the moment.

Language / Will Germans be able to understand Polish enough? [77]

Outside of Poland, of course, possibly Ukraine and the Northern Carpathians, can't really see Polish being that helpful.
With German, you will get by in parts of urban Poland, however I'd find it impossible to believe that Germans will understand enough PolishLOL

The minority will usually understand some of the majority language, though rarely if ever in the reverse!

Language / Polish language would look better written in Cyrillic Script? [212]

One reason why Russians in particular have such problems with the stressed vowels of English, Spanish, and Italian, what with their final "o-sounds", making them sound almost like "schwas", e.g. M - O - D - E - S - T - O will typically come out sounding like " M - U - H - D - E - S - T - U - H" etc.

Language / Polish language would look better written in Cyrillic Script? [212]

My teacher made me say the Russian word "D - Y - A - D - Y - A" (uncle) almost fifty times until I got the full palatalization. Thought I'd practically swallow my tongueLOL

Language / Polish language would look better written in Cyrillic Script? [212]

Russian pronunciation continues to dog me and my inability to pronounce even basic words/names such as the "soft" d-sound in 'dver' or the t-sound in my tutor's first name 'Katja", remains a constant source of frustration.

On the other hand, Polish pronunciation I picked up a like a fish to water. Still can't say why...and I'm the linguist who should be able to distinguish a struant from a plosive from a labial and a bilabial:-)

Language / Polish language would look better written in Cyrillic Script? [212]

Using English to communicate with Poles (on average) in my experience would be rather like using a drill for a job where a jigsaw would do even better:-)

Eventually, the wood can be pierced, but why all the extra added effort?

Language / Polish language would look better written in Cyrillic Script? [212]

Yes, though NOT all Eastern Europeans, for instance the Albanians, some of whom became Christians, while others Muslims.
Think too of the Bosnians, Bulgarians and the Serbs. All three received forced conversion, yet a huge number remain Muslims to this day!
The latter also do not uniformly adhere to the dictum of Cyrillic Script.

Language / Polish language would look better written in Cyrillic Script? [212]

Poland and Czech Rep., for example, are as Slavic as any of their neighbors.....in feeling and in history!

However, the adaptation of the Latin alphabet and the Roman Catholic faith was their attempt to integrate into Western society.

History / Occupation of Eastern Poland in 1939 [98]

...aka much of the Woodstock-era folks, tripping their little brains out under the guise of exercising "freedom of expression" vs. "convention" = faschism, along with many of the all-time pet peeves, discipline, organization, and standard.

'Scuse please, whilst I go barf!!

History / Occupation of Eastern Poland in 1939 [98]

For the same reason they wouldn't like to share ours.
Our ideologies are simply different, and though I'd like to believe "a smile means friendship to everyone", and that "it's a small world after all", I've found that this

kumbaya-type thinking doesn't work any longer in today's society.