Polonia / Let's talk about Sweden and other Scandinavian countries [236]

In the name of "progressive liberalism", Sweden, along with Denmark and Norway, often test the tolerance of continental Europeans used to a less in-your-face forms of social interaction.

Allowing small children to slowly develop their own identity rather than be exclusively "tied down" to traditional roles is a fine idea in an of itself. On the other hand (as I experienced while living with a family during the '80s in Denmark), permitting house guests to fornicate right in front of foreign company without either warning or apology, I find more than just a trifle much!

lol

Genealogy / Typical Polish Eye Color [77]

Intermarriage combined with cross-pollination of different ethnic groups certainly contributes to both eye and hair color:-)

Polonia / Let's talk about Sweden and other Scandinavian countries [236]

Not sure I see the connection between "going Protestant", self-hatred, and denial, but then maybe I'm a little slow:-)
We haven't all got your lightning intellect, IronsideLOL

Polonia / Let's talk about Sweden and other Scandinavian countries [236]

Look, Sweden's a Protestant country, hence inherently accepting of things which would doubtless offend "religious" Poles, Italians, Spaniards etc.

While not personally "offended" particularly at the Swedish article either, I've considerably more experience in Sweden as well as with Swedes than with Poles, therefore, my reaction to it was more "There they go again!", pushing the proverbial envelope as to precisely how much can one tolerate without defining certain limits:-)

Genealogy / Typical Polish Eye Color [77]

Kaszubs no doubt:-)

Language / Short Polish<->English translations [1050]

:-) Literally.

Language / Short Polish<->English translations [1050]

As I recall in English, at least in Britain aka England, there exists a phrase "As the captain, so the ship."
:-)

In colloquial speech as concerns "Schlag"/"Der" Schlag, the article may in fact be omitted, I honestly forgot here.
Certain usage is plain, flat wrong such as in fixed expressions.

Language / Short Polish<->English translations [1050]

@Ziemowit, the German corresponding expression would likely be "Schlag soll mich treffen!"
:-))

Sometimes, a Polish idiom or saying may have almost a direct translation into another language, but not into user-friendly or common English parlance aka "Jaki pan, taki sam." = Wie's der Herr, so's Gescherr.

Off-Topic / Being a Slav: a blessing or a curse? [199]

Allow me to interject. Slavic as an Indo-European language family is normally divided into Eastern Slavic (Russian, Ukrainian), South Slavic (chiefly, Bulgarian, Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian etc.) and West Slavic (Polish, Polabian, Sorbian, Silesian, Czech, and Slovene). While categorists abound who'd doubtless take serious issue with the above (much as with most everything elseLOL), among the so-called "theories" floating around concerning peoples and languages is that of the much-debated Nostratic group, given to include as far-flung tongues as Basque, Kartvelian, and Hungarian:-)

The funniest of these is the notion that if a Lithuanian peasant listens to a Sanskrit prayer chanted ever so slowly, the former can understand the latter intelligibly!!

This is pure fiction, to put things politely.

Off-Topic / Being a Slav: a blessing or a curse? [199]

The Slavs, like the Teutons (Germanic tribes), Celts, Balts etc. are a people, a Caucasian sub-group much like the Na-Dene, Havasupai, Kwakiutl, and Tlingit are an Amerind sub-group of Native North Americans:-)

Life / Comparing Poland and Romania [108]

Lots of people mistake Romanians as well as Albanians, even Hungarians, for Slavs:-)

Genealogy / Guzik last name [7]

I knew several American males with this family name growing up, both from Missouri! The name simply means "button":-)

Life / Comparing Poland and Romania [108]

That's highly debatable:-) Writing a lot, but most of it wrong rather nullifies the entire purpose of writing, in ANY language!

Life / Comparing Poland and Romania [108]

[moved from]

Romania remained possibly the poorest country in Eastern Europe post-War, even more than Albania, Bulgaria, and Slovakia!
They were caricatured in the foreign press as a land of vampires, thieves, low-lives as well as of the loosest women that side of the Vistula:-)

Romanians have a long and rich culture, often slighted by those who don't understand them. Their language may well be the closest we have extant to how Caesar's troops spoke, going back over a thousand years!

Real Estate / Buying a residential flat/apt in Poland as a foreigner [24]

The whole point of a łapówka or a vzjatka etc. is that it's all done in a round about way.

Life / When will SMOKING BE BANNED? (from public areas in Poland) [44]

Oh, I've seen it, Johnny, I've just never smelled it:-)

Life / When will SMOKING BE BANNED? (from public areas in Poland) [44]

'Cuz it's THE IDEA od tobacco smoke the Feds think is dangerous:-) Even if there's no smell, it's sort of like non-alcoholic beer or the like; the thought of kids drinking is bad enough, even if the stuff ain't real!

Make sense, kinda?

Life / When will SMOKING BE BANNED? (from public areas in Poland) [44]

I certainly can sympathize, though somehow, I find it unlikely that this will happen any too soon, in Poland or any place else:-)

Life / When will SMOKING BE BANNED? (from public areas in Poland) [44]

Hmm, tough call here! Although I'm bascially a non-smoker (yet far from abstinent in terms of drinking either), having lived for a while in Europe, I DO feel that smoking has its place, albeit the wafting of a neighbor's inconsiderate tobacco fumes bothers me as well:-)

Wasn't in Poland for that long, but when last in Germany some twenty years back or so, nearly EVERY public area was filled with smokers, aggressively pursuing their right to puff, and heaven help anybody, particularly a foreigner, for objecting!

News / President Duda rules out homo marriage in Poland as banned by the constitution [172]

That too, Maf, oh, yes!

News / President Duda rules out homo marriage in Poland as banned by the constitution [172]

Sodomy though contradicts ALL known religious teaching, the Bible, Koran, Bhagavagida etc.. Any holy book will disavow such relations between humans and animals.

Gay marriage therefore, obviously doesn't fall under that category!

Language / Short Polish<->English translations [1050]

No, no, thanks for that! True, I often make orthographic mistakes when I type, although I know the correct spelling:-)
How frustrating.

Life / Would getting a Polish eagle tattoo be frowned upon?? [39]

I know for a fact that such overtly nationalistic symbolism is frowned upon in Germany. From educated Poles in my professional circles, the Biały Orzeł is the stuff of reactionary things, at best, old-fashioned, conservative, older Poles living abroad who feel a need to express homeland feelings:-)

Life / Would getting a Polish eagle tattoo be frowned upon?? [39]

It's much like a tattoo in Germany showing a swastica or an Iron Cross. To enlightened citizens, it's BRAZENLY offensive!

Language / Short Polish<->English translations [1050]

Not as terrifying as your "English"LOL

@Hi, Lenko! Thanks for catching that one.

Haste makes waste, right? Had I thought for another second, I'd have realized instantly that the GENITIVE SINGULAR MASCULINE of siostrzANIEC is in fact "siostrzeŃca", and WITH a soft sign as written, therefore, of course NEPHEW:-)

A beginner mistake I oughtn't have made, particularly as a professional translator!

Language / Short Polish<->English translations [1050]

"Bratnica" or "siostrzenca" (minus ź) means NIECE!
:-)

Language / Short Polish<->English translations [1050]

"In witness whereof, the rest (residue and remainder) of the estate shall go to the niece."

"Entirety", "the ENTIRETY of the estate.." would be more textually faithful:-)

Real Estate / Buying a residential flat/apt in Poland as a foreigner [24]

Au contraire! What worked in the Old Soviet Zone(s), the Old Silk Road, works particularly well here in the good ol' USA!!! And now that the Tweeter-in-Chief has successfully seized control of the Oval Office, what worked during the Communist Era will work even better here at home:-)

Off-Topic / What's your connection with Poland? Penpals. [595]

I'd nonetheless still love to return, Tomasz! You haven't dissuaded me:-)

Real Estate / Buying a residential flat/apt in Poland as a foreigner [24]

So then you agree:-) WRESZCIE!!!!