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

My native English is so far superior to that of the average Pole who studied English in school, I find it far, far easier to communicate with Poles in Polish!

This way, at least we understand each other.

@Wulkan,

My German is bilingual native and better than your English, no doubt:-)

Indeed, Polish is "difficult", but what language spoken correctly isn't?

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

I meant that this is the FOREIGNERS' perception of difficulty, not necessarily that of the Polish-native speaker:-)

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

"Chrząść brzmi w tcicinie." is part of a popular Polish tongue twister written by the late Jan Brzechwa. It means "....the beetle buzzes in the reeds.

Many foreigners consider this the hardest Polish sentence to pronounce both correctly as well as intelligibly to a Pole:-)

Life / Comparing Poland and Romania [108]

Technically though, Bulgars are still considered Slavs by ethnologists as well as linguists. Again, they comprise the South Slavs, Poles, Kashubs, Czechs, Polabians are Northern Slavs:-)

Life / Comparing Poland and Romania [108]

Bulgars most certainly are Slavs, merely South Slavs, therefore ethnically more mixed than Poles, Slovenes, Czechs or Croats:-) Slavs have indeed an Asiatic element to their makeup, but Bulgarians reveal more the influence of neighboring non-Slavic, Albanians/Illyrians, Greeks and Turks as well!

Life / Comparing Poland and Romania [108]

True in the latter instance. However, Turkish people ARE Turkic, as is their language (with of course a heavy overlay of Arabic)!

Life / Comparing Poland and Romania [108]

Don't quite see that as the point of the thread.

Life / Comparing Poland and Romania [108]

I too concur that a comparison "Poland and Hungary" might indeed prove a more fruitful one:-) To be sure, the key differences between PiS vs. Jobbik is that Orban is openly anti-foreign as well as anti-Semitic, Duda/Szydło aren't!

Poland vs Romania on this thread please

Life / Comparing Poland and Romania [108]

A further difference between Poland and Romania, apart from language at least, is that post-War Romania endured the Ceausescu Era, making the regime of Comrade Władek seem almost "bearable"!

Indeed Polish communism was no romp in £ażienki Park, Romania though survived the most brutal of the post-Faschist dictatorships in Europe, not to mention, one of the most anti-Semitic:-) Some of Ceaucescu's tactics of having opponents executed by hanging them up on meat hooks as torture, resemble accounts of the German Volksgerichtshof or "People's Court" presided over by Chief ("Hanging") Justice Freisler under the Nazis.

Life / Comparing Poland and Romania [108]

I can't confirm such regarding English, at least in my experience, however, Romanians have a decided advantage over Poles concerning French skill, since both are Romance languages. Romanian merely has a strong Slavic overlay, that's all. Furthermore, unlike French, Romanian has both retained all of Latin's five cases (plus requisite endings!) as well as a system of clitics, also common among many other Balkan languages, together with the four Germanic Scandinavian tongues:-)

The Romanians I've encountered in New York speak English almost as poorly as the average Polish high school graduateLOL

History / Whom do the people in Poland hate more: Germans or Russians? [871]

Germans don't have a monopoly on murder and plunder! The Russians, the Spanish, yes the Americans too, have done their fair share of profiteering, particularly from Third World countries, extracting riches from them, while impoverishing the locals by using them for cheap labor.

The Russians though, like the Poles, also suffered terribly at the hands of the Nazis. In suffering, there is unity:-)

History / Whom do the people in Poland hate more: Germans or Russians? [871]

What with the painfully embarrassing Volkswagen scandal, "deutsche Qualitaet", except perhaps still in the food or handicrafts area, has certainly received a big black eye!! If they ever do recover from it, (which after all they may not) there'll still be plenty of visible scars:-)

The Polonis is starting to sound better by the minute. At least the Polish auto industry never touted itself as the bestLOL

History / Whom do the people in Poland hate more: Germans or Russians? [871]

I do, namely, as bad entertainment:-))))

WWII has long since become such a mini-.maxi-cottage industry, Normal Finkelstein even referred to the Holocaust factory (..for which, incidentally, he caught hell from other religious groups)

LOL

Back on topic please

History / Whom do the people in Poland hate more: Germans or Russians? [871]

True, but it's sure good for the entertainment industry:-)

Love / Just started dating Polish guy - what is typical of a man from Poland? Cultural differences. [78]

Frank to a fault, opinionated, usually well informed, if somewhat biased in an academic direction, a tendency to become unusually emotional in arguments in which national pride and history are at issue.

That's been my experience at any rate (both for Polish guys and gals):)

History / Terrible past for the Jews in Poland? [930]

Taking your relatively coherent arguments one at a time, Ironside, I'd like to say that "anti-semitism" has to be sure been used far too often as a sort of catch basin for all criticism leveled against Jews, both justified and unjustified. For instance, a rational voice questioning Israel's left-bank policies should clearly NOT be construed as "anti-semitic" merely because it raises concerns about the given agenda. Criticism can and indeed should be constructive rather than destructive, granted. However, far too often, non-Jews take the opportunity of rushing to judgement, criticizing Jews for allegedly being too sensitive towards outsiders' criticisms.

There has been good reason for this perceived tendency among Jews to "hit the panic button" of antisemitism every time they feel impugned. For certain, paraphrasing somewhat as Kafka once observed, "the Jew in the 20th century isn't merely being paranoid, he in fact IS being persecuted!"

Furthermore, some stories in life ARE honestly sad stories which compel empathy. I detect a note of deeply ingrained cynicism, not only from yourself, but from far too many, both on PF and elsewhere.

History / Terrible past for the Jews in Poland? [930]

Ironside, quit trolling for just once in your (cyber-)life and try reasoning, instead of rationalizing! You appear to espouse anti-semitic tendencies. This is pitiful, not humorous:-)

@Polonius,

How "complex" need a problem be or become before one of us simply breaks down and calls a spade a spade?? While Gomułka was hardly perfect, Moczar was at best a slimy opportunist, making him no less admirable than if he honestly believed the xenophobic poison he was spewing!

History / Terrible past for the Jews in Poland? [930]

While "atrocities" were clearly committed on both sides, Berman, Romkowski et al probably pale in comparison with those on the other side, e.g. the Nazis and their gentile Polish accomplices etc. The Jews were mere political footballs, tossed from pillar to post ever since their arrival in the West; welcomed in with open arms when needed, tortured and massacred when they weren't.

Anti-Polish??? It's because I'm fond of Polish culture that I'm adult enough to see the positive alongside the negative:-)

@Ironside, if you're proud of a Jew-hating, xenophobe like Moczar, then that says more about you then about myself! Let's stop rationalizing, shall we. Moczar was not a positive force anymore than Hitler was. Plenty justify Hitler and the Holocaust by saying, "Well, the country was in chaos! They needed a strong leader, plus, the Jews were going to take over...."

Bull!

History / Terrible past for the Jews in Poland? [930]

Indeed, kręcik! Unfortunately, this justifiably proud aspect of Poland's recent past has been overshadowed by Jedwabne, Kielce and sundry other atrocities, even AFTER WWII, not to mention folks like Comrade Mietku (Moczar), not exactly people to be proud of:-)

History / Terrible past for the Jews in Poland? [930]

Wrong, Grzegorz on all counts!

Jews most certainly did wish to assimilate. They did however usually resist conversion to Christianity, being such a small community as it is, true enough:-) A large number of others became Christian, practiced their own faith in secret. The Jews en masse though were so demonized by the Church, it was next to impossible for a Jew to claim "equality status" with their gentile neighbor since the former were typically shunned by the Catholic majority, only compounding an already difficult situation. As a result, Jews became nearly all but marginalized from the broader society. Who wouldn't want to join in and become accepted; it's only human.

German Jews especially strove to become "more German than the Germans", mastering their language, serving with distinction and giving their lives in WWI. It didn't do too much good, howeverLOL

@Polonius, the "Chosen People" status is a misunderstanding of the term, much as "Deutschland, Deutschland ueber alles.." doesn't mean what far too many ignoramuses think it does)))

History / Terrible past for the Jews in Poland? [930]

By choice? Of course not, Polonius! D'you really think an entire group of people, for that matter, anybody aka normal person, desires the hatred and emnity of the world foisted upon them???

The deal was this. The Catholic Church spurned the Jews, spuriously blaming them (rather than the Romans) for the death of Christ, ergo, the Church, and NOT the Poles, French, Germans etc. per se were the initiators of Christian anti-semitism! Catholic dogma essentially created a Frankenstein's monster, whereby Jews were forced into uncomfortable roles, performing the thankless tasks conveniently off limits to Christians. If the Jews then became known as bait -'n-switchers, cheats and other unscrupulous types, then once again, the Catholic Church was Dr. Frankenstein, the Jews, his feindish creation. was in large part to blame:-)

Now, we know not ALL Jews were usurous b-stards anymore than ALL Arabs are Jihadist extremists, hellbent on destruction etc... All it takes is the mere perception of such to quickly become other people's reality and that's the beginning of the end.

History / Terrible past for the Jews in Poland? [930]

Had the Jews been allowed to "integrate" into European society during the Middle Ages, e.g. join the guilds, the army, learn a gentile trade etc... they wouldn't have been forced to do the dirty work, forbidden to Christians, such as money lending or tax collecting etc..

If things had been different in this regard, we wouldn't be talking about the Jews' "innate business sense" or other assorted idiocies!!

In order to survive, the Jews HAD TO often charge usurous interest rates, and focus on the workings of finance:-)

History / Terrible past for the Jews in Poland? [930]

,,,and they then believe falsely! We Jews represent but a drop in the bucket of humanity!!! Jewish "conspiracy"??! Don't believe it for a milli-second:-)

Language / Harmless old-fashioned Polish swear words/phrases [159]

Psiakrew, bydło!

Cholera!

Yes, I agree:-)

Language / Short Polish<->English translations [1049]

Good one, old man!

Language / Short Polish<->English translations [1049]

German, actually!
Same difference though:-)

Language / Short Polish<->English translations [1049]

Once again, usage determines convention.

I've heard "Gratulacja!", though perhaps only by someone being sarcastic:-) "Sto lat!", also after someone has sneezed!

Language / Short Polish<->English translations [1049]

"DobrEJ zabawY!" = (literally) "of good play", colloquially translated into more natural language, of course: "Have fun!" aka "Have a good time!"

Scores of similiar examples - Dziękuję z góry! (lit. "I thank from mountain!") i.e. "Thank you in advance!", "Smacznego!" (lit. of tasty) i.e. "Enjoy your meal!" etc....

Often Polish phrases are more involved than English ones, for which sometimes no quick 'n easy equivalent exists, e.g.
"Happy Birthday!" Most Poles will simply wish "Gratulacja!" (Congrats), but most of the time, especially in cards, "Wszystkiego najlepszego z okazji Twoich urodzin!" (lit. All of the very best on the occasion of your birthday!), a bit of a mouthful for first timers.

Language / Short Polish<->English translations [1049]

harrysmith, try also watching Polish movies with POLISH subtitles!! This might reduce the annoying need to "translate" and force you to begin to think in the language instead of using the eternal crutch of your native language:-)

I did this for many languages I've learned.

Language / Short Polish<->English translations [1049]

Learning to THINK in another language, without "interference" from one's mother tongue's the hardest part, I find.

Example from a newspaper: "Kiszczak nie doczekał..", referring to his suspended prison sentence. Literally, the phrase says, "Kiszczak didn't wait...",which would sound weird in English within the context of the paragraph. It literally means, "Kiszcak didn't wait [to serve....."], but Polish expresses this concept differently from English. Polish has prefixes, as in "DOczekać", attached to the verb which alter its meaning.