Language / Busha and JaJa [140]


boletus said: "here is a jocular Kashubian text, where the word Busia is used."

Harry quoted the above

Harry responded: "Kashubian is not a dialect of Polish; it is a language."

Oh, so Harry was contradicting himself, not me? Oh, how clever!

Another Harry's lie: "Yet again a voice from North America claims to know better than a Pole with 85 years' experience of living in Poland."

Where did I say that? Or Harry is about to say that "a voice from North America" actually meant Harry himself on a business trip to America?

I have no time for your garbage Harry.

Language / Busha and JaJa [140]


Here you go, mister liar. Where do you see me stating that Kashubian=dialect?


LIAR!
As for the rest of your garbage >> to the garbage it goes.

Language / Busha and JaJa [140]


Hard as you try, Harry, twisting the truth will just make you look stupid. I object to the lines #3, #6. Never said such things, you liar! Next time I am going to report you without hesitation.

Line 4: Controversy between Silesian dialect vs. Silesian language aside - there are dialects of Silesian, such as Cieszyn Silesian dialect, Niemodlin Silesian dialect, Prudnik Silesian dialect, etc.

I said "Lower Silesian dialect", cannot you fecking read? There is a word of difference between "Silesian language" , "Lower Silesian dialect", and Wijewo dialect, or rather sub-dialect (gwara).

Summing up: Harry is hilarious again in claiming to be a linguistic expert of Polish, its dialects and sub-dialects ("gwaras"), but yet he does not even speak Polish and he does not understand that dialects are the foundation of any literary language, including Polish.

Language / Busha and JaJa [140]


There are many such sites that I came across while helping some people here with their genealogy projects. But I have nothing handy right now and would have to collect the links. Some of the links can be found on this forum. My general feeling is that Poles emigrated from all part of former Poland: Galicia, Prussia, Silesia. Just one example:


I think we had some thread about Texas Silesians. Here is the appropriate wiki article en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas_Silesian

I think I was giving some advice here about immigration from Trójwieś: Istebna, Jaworzynka, Koniaków - Cieszyn County, Silesian Voivodship.

Just give me some time; I'll try to deal with your questions one at a time. I need some break now. :-)

Language / Busha and JaJa [140]

I am not sure where such conclusion can be drawn from. As we all known, many words are in use long before they are sanctioned by dictionaries. And the decisions are often almost political.

For example, if I remember correctly, the end of XIX c. and beginning of XX c. was the period of rapid standardization of Polish grammar and orthography, but also a period of extreme competition between Kraków and Warsaw language schools. Jan Aleksander Karłowicz, a co-author of <<Kryński, Karłowicz, Niedźwiedzki (1900 – 1927) „Słownik języka polskiego”>> belonged to the latter, and hence his dictionary is called "słownik warszawski".

And as its name implies the dictionary is based on Warsaw school of spelling, grammar and very possibly choice of dictionary entries.

The diminutives are not just formed randomly, they follow some patterns of series of correlations. And those very much depend on local dialects.

For example there is a pattern:
0 => -k- => -cia
baba => babka => babcia
mama => mamka => mamcia
żona => żonka => żoncia

but there also other patterns, like this one:
pattern: 0 => -k- => -usia / -uś
baba => babka => babusia/ babuś
(mać) => matka => matusia/ matuś
córa => córka => córusia/ córuś
mama => mamka => mamusia/ mamuś
wnuka => wnuczka => wnusia/ wnuczuś
ciocia => ciotka => ciotusia/ ciotuś
dziad => dziadek => dziadziuś
tata => tatko/ tatek => tatuś
wnuk => wnuczek => wnuczuś/wnuś
syn => synek => synuś.
Evidently, since there is no "babcia" in the Linde's dictionary, but "babusia" one could draw a conclusion that the choice of the "baba" pattern came from Masovian dialect, since it was Warsaw where Linde (1771-1847) lived and worked. On the other hand his dictionary was much expanded during consecutive editions, printed in Lwów 50 years later, so the pattern could actually come from Galicia, and the Kraków schools. But that's just a general observation; I am not a linguist trained in following such patterns.

Language / Busha and JaJa [140]

My family and I have always used "babcia" thingie, and I have never heard about "busia" thing before I joined this forum, so I am also impartial here. I am just annoyed by this thing being made some idiotic symbol of supposed backwardness of Polish-American peasants - according do delphiandomine. So I researched the issue and found a lot about Polish dialects using "busia" in Poland. Somehow the facts I have been presenting here felt on the death ears though.


In response Delph quoted a Pol-Am article, which refers to "Słownik Warszawski" by "Kryński, Karłowicz, Niedźwiedzki (1900 - 1927)" - a reference #3 from my previous post. This is huge, multi-volume dictionary, and has never been reprinted in modern times. There are some copies available though and one such copy can be accessed via web interface, which I linked as reference #4 in my previous post. One has to keep in mind that this interface is based on OCR software (Optical Character Recognition) to convert graphemes into printable characters. As such possible software errors should be expected.

Anyway I went there to check Tokarski's claim (ref # 1), and found the following fragments

test 1: babcia

Results
Found 4 results
Displaying results 1-4

1. CIOT> [Ciocia- babcia , cioei-babci,
2. błędne dróżki. Ciocio- babcia , i, Im.
3. e, [Ciocia- babcia ] babka nierodzona. Wil
4. . Pani Anzelmowa stroi się babcia jakby L. Małomiejskie lafiryndy

Not very much, not very useful. None of those look like a real definition; they look more or less like part of examples.

Test 2: baba
This time I got 170 results. Ignoring examples, fragments of proverbs and definitions not related to a family structure I found only two relevant entries:
32: 1. stara kobieta, baba. 2. matka matki
175: babka, baba, matki mojej lub ojca
Test 3: babka
77 results, no reference to babcia

That's what my cursory search of Warsaw Dictionary shows. You are welcomed to try it yourself.

You can also use the same interface, to search for "babcia" in Linde's dictionary. Again:
baba => 113 results
babka => 47 results
babcia => 0 results
babusia => 4 results:
1. babka, babunia, babusia, babi, babiarz, + three examples

Language / Busha and JaJa [140]


Please pip, not again. This word is as Polish as mamcia, żońcia, wujcio, stryjcio, stryjeneczka, wujaszek, synuś, wnuś, babusia and babuś. The only difference is that "busia" appears only in several dialects across Poland and is not listed in any mainstream dictionary. It is however listed in several dialectal dictionaries.

And to cool some tempers here - according to [1], the word "babcia" has not been even officially registered in any Polish dictionary until 1958, since it only appeared (in endearing sense) in the Doroszewski's dictionary[2]. The so-called Warsaw Dictionary[3], does not have such an entry, and only mentions the word "babcia" four times in passing as "ciocio-babcia" or "ciocia-babcia". You may check it yourself using the browser [4]. Certainly no such word exists in [5] - a dictionary of the 16th century Polish - although babka is. There is also no entry for "babcia" in Linde's dictionary[6] (1854-1861), but babka is.

Doroszewski has two separate entries for "baba", one for "babka" and one for "babcia". The latter is defined as "affectionally about mother of father or mother; about old woman". His entry for "babka" has 14 meanings, carefully described.

[1] R. Tokarski: Struktura pola znaczeniowego (studium językoznawcze). Warszawa 1984, s. 137
[2] Słownik języka polskiego pod red. W. Doroszewskiego, 1958 - 1969, doroszewski.pwn.pl
[3] Kryński, Karłowicz, Niedźwiedzki (1900 - 1927) "Słownik języka polskiego", a so-called Warsaw Dictionary
[4] Browser with advanced search capability of multi-volumed Warsaw Dictionary[3] and also other dictionaries, poliqarp.wbl.klf.uw.edu.pl/slownik-warszawski/
[5] S. Bąk, M. R. Mayenowa, F. Pepłowski (eds.). Dictionary of the 16th century Polish. Wrocław - Warszawa, 1966-???? (work in progress)
[6] M. Samuel Bogumił Linde. Dictionary of Polish (2nd edition). Lwów 1854-1861.

I am also bored of repeating the old arguments, so I just only suggest that you google [busia gwara -kenya -uganda] in order to see several entries to dialectal dictionaries - all describing "busia" as "babcia". And then take a look at a map of Poland to see where are those areas where the word "busia" is used in diminutive or hypocoristic form. And just to avoid getting into yet another boring discussion: those areas are NOT Kashubian. Pay attention to Kociewie, Babimojszczyzna, Kramsko, Wijewo, Mazury Wieleńscy, Stara Wiśniewka.


The formerLower Silesian dialect is still preserved at Chwalim near Wolsztyn (Zielona Góra) and in the so-called dialect of Rawicz's Chazaks, which includes two villages near Leszno (Brenno and Wijewo) and about 22 villages near Rawicz. These dialects have survived thanks to the settlement in the past of Silesian population on the border of the Greater Poland and Silesia. Currently those dialects are vanishing. Wijewo dialect is one of those areas where busia = babka.

But to sweeten up this post, here is a jocular Kashubian text, where the word Busia is used. I hope you like it:
by Zyta Wejer. Nowi Rok - barani skok!

Genealogy / Common surnames in Poland NOT of Polish origin ? [87]


Here you go Lyzko:
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/pajt%C3%A1s

The actual spelling is not "paitas" but "pajtás", plural pajtások.
This is a Hungarian word of Turkish origin - the Polish etymologia.org was right here.
From Ottoman Turkish پاﻳﺪﺍﺵ (pâydâş, "parter, sharer"), from پای (pây, "share, portion").
Hungarian meaning:

- comrade, companion, pal
- pioneer (member of a child organization in the soviet bloc)

Genealogy / Common surnames in Poland NOT of Polish origin ? [87]


Yes, now you have to check Hungarian sources, then Turkish ones. :-)
But that's "małe piwo" for you, Lyzko. :-)

Genealogy / Common surnames in Poland NOT of Polish origin ? [87]


Check this page,
stankiewicze.com/index.php?kat=44&sub=548
Scroll down to a group of 20 or so names starting with PAJD- . Assuming that your name is of Polish origin, then it comes from the word "pajda", as in "pajda chleba" (chunk, piece of bread). Synonyms: skiba, kawałek, kroma, kromka.

From etymologia.org : pajda:
 pajda, bajda chleba, 'kromka'. It comes from Turkish and Hungarian "paj" meaning "porcja" in Polish, a portion in English. In some dialects "pajtasz" means "towarzysz" (companion), which comes from Hungarian "paitas".

Genealogy / Common surnames in Poland NOT of Polish origin ? [87]

Yes, absolutely. Thanks. :-)
I missed another big group of 60 or so surnames, starting with SAPI- . This includes Sapiecha, Sapieha, Sapierzyński and Sapieżyński.

Genealogy / Common surnames in Poland NOT of Polish origin ? [87]

Right. According to Stankiewicze web page "sapać" is one of the possible roots for family of surnames:

- Sapis, Sapiska, Sapiszczak, Sapiszczuk, Sapiszko ==> from Belarusian Sapega, this from Eastern Slavic sopet', sapać
- Sapiuk, Sapjuk, Sapka, Sapkiewicz, Sapko, Sapkowski, Sapnia, Sapoch, Sapocha, Sapociński, Sapocki, Sapoćko, Sapok (Silesian), Sapoliński, Sapolski, Sapoł, Sapołyga ==> from sapać or from Old Polish "sap", now "syk" (English hiss)

The word "sapa", "sapka", in the dialects around Kraków, Lesser Poland, has two meanings:

- meal based on flour
- big mud, not very thick, often referred to as "taká sapa"

According to database "Moi Krewni" *My Relatives" surname Sapko appears 253 times in contemporary Poland, especially in its Eastern part:

- Krasnystaw county (61)
- Świdnik county (36)
- Lublin city (33)
- Kraków city (22)
- Chełm county (10)
- £ęczna county (9)
- Gdynia county (8)
- Słupsk city (8)
- Chełm city (8)
- Przeworsk county (6)

Genealogy / How did Leszek Miller get the surname Miller - is it a Polish name? [30]

Actually no. :-)
There are several possibilities:
1. His father came to America with the name Miller from Poland. Miller, Millerowicz, Millerowicz, Millert, with double LL, also exist in Poland. As Polonius already stated there are 6000 people of that name currently living in Poland.

2. His father came to America with the name Müller from Poland(?), which has been later anglicized to Miller. He could be brought as a Pole, even though his name was German. We know of many such cases: General Anders, General Juliusz Rómmel, Christine von Habsburg (*), etc.

3. We actually do not know, whether his father is the first generation immigrant. And that opens up to many possibilities, such as German Grandpa, Polish Grandma, bringing his father up as a Pole, etc.

(*)


I just want to add this:


Most of the time - yes. But the reverse process existed in many communities.
Some examples include names of Catholic Bambers, settled around Poznań. The current mayor of Luboń, south of Poznań, Dariusz Szmyt is a descendant of one of the first 60 Bambers that settled there, Karol Józef Schmidt.

The Poznań city scribe, Jan Rzepecki, wrote in 1730s a settler contract between owners of Dębiec, south of Poznań, and the 16 Bamber families. He spelled their names the way he heard them. They were illiterate, they signed the contracts with crosses and they were in no position to check their names spellings. Only later the German spelling was reintroduced by the Prussian oficials:

1 - Andrzej Hirsz z żoną Dorotą i dziećmi
2 - Piotr Wagner z żoną Elżbietą i dziećmi
3 - Jan Remlei z żoną i dziećmi
4 - Michałowa Ferczowa, imieniem Kunegunda, wdowa z dziećmi
5 - Jan Szmdt z żoną Małgorzatą i dziećmi
6 - Hans Jurga Ruth z żoną Anną i dziećmi
7 - Michał Hiller z żoną Dorotą i dziećmi
8 - Jan Baierlam z żoną Kunegundą i dziećmi
9 - Kasper Rysz z żoną Barbarą i dziećmi
10 - Hans Sznayder z żoną Anną i dziećmi
11 - Frans Hirsz z żoną Katarzyną i dziećmi
12 - Jurga Hirsz z żoną Maryanną i dziećmi
13 - Adam Petz z żoną Barbarą i dziećmi
14 - Konrad Sznayder, syn Hansa Sznaydra, z żoną Marianną
15 - Elżbieta Fischerowa, wdowa z dziećmi
16 - Frydrych Sznayder, syn Hansa Sznaydra, z żoną Magdaleną i dziećmi

Another example involves descendants of Taubdeutsche, Walddeutsche (Polish: Głuchoniemcy) settled in Lesser Poland, Jasło Pits, around XIV c. and later, and finally becoming Polonized around XVI c. The Polish wikipedia page,

pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/G%C5%82uchoniemcy
provides a long list of polonized surnames., such as:
Bartman (Barthmann)
Miler/Mylar (Müller)
Gucwa (Gutz)
Janas (Janess)
etc.

Genealogy / How did Leszek Miller get the surname Miller - is it a Polish name? [30]


If the subject is a surname of somebody living in Poland, then Anglicizing makes very little sense (although it is not improbable), while Polonizing makes a lot of sense. Keep in mind that there are plenty of surnames that came from the German words Miller / Müller, but which have typical Slavic sounding: Milera, Milerczyk, Milerowicz, Milerowski, Milerski, Milert and Milerz. They have nothing to do with German=>English transformation.

News / THE ARMY OF POLAND - THE REALITY [493]


You quoted the "so-called" Polish media experts, in this case Polish Radio, from Oct 2, 2007 - a heyday times of our sensationalists. Exactly, as I said, the deja vu again. Laughable, Harry.

You said nothing of value in your first post, nor in your second "retort". You get tangled around the $123 millions figure, which I mentioned in my post as well. The difference is that this figure was assumed in 2003, in the early MON plan, which was followed up. This is not any revelation Harry, they knew about potential service expences and about spare part costs.

But obviously you cannot read Polish so you conveniently ignored the first links I posted - the MON report of 2008. I did not invented those numbers.

And you ignored the second link too, where they show the fifth anniversary numbers, related to the F-16s that actually do fly Harry.

The fifth birthday of F-16 - a balance sheet
mon.gov.pl/pl/artykul/12083 , 2011-11-09

Since 2009-11-09, when the first F-16 was flown in to Krzesiny near Poznan:

- Continuous training of flying personnel in joint air operations with Belgium, The Netherlands, Germany, France, Greece, Denmark, Sweden, Spain [they forgot to mention USA and Great Britain, boletus]

- in 2011 component "Jastrząb" from Krzesiny obtained positive certification FORCEVAL, a necessary condition for participation in NATO operations in the framework of TACEVAL - Tactical Evaluation Program.

- Both Tactical Air Bases: 32 BLT (£ask) and 31 BLT (Krzesiny) are in continuous combat duty (32 BLT since January 2010, 31 BLT since June 2011) NATINADS (Nato Integrated System of Air Defence),

- Both bases 32 BLT (Janurary 2010) and 31 BLT (June 2011) are in continuous QRA (Quick Reaction Alert) combat duty - part of NATINADS.
- Since 2009-12-14 the basic pilot training course takes place in Krzesiny , rather than exclusively in USA.
- Training of ground crews in English and in 23 technical specialization has been also moved from USA to Poland
- As of 2011-11-02, during the five years, Polish F-16s flew 14 834 sorties with a total number of 25 719 hours. [Probably too few, but that's the salary issue - boletus]

- The bases have 49 F-16 pilots [again, this number should be higher. It's all about salaries - boletus], including three Basic Course pilots and nine instructors. Five of the pilots have more than 1000 flight hours. 820 millions PLN was invested in Krzesiny for 61 various investments and repairs; similarly the £ask base was expanded and modernized for 435 PLN.

International training, details

- 2011-07, Germany, with Eurofighter, 32 BLT aircraft
- 2011-07, "SAFE SKIES 2011", 32 BLT
- 2010-04, Germany, "BRILLIANT ARDENT 2010", 32 BLT
- 2010-04, £ask, "SQUADRON EXCHANGE" with 52 USAF Wing from Spanghdal and 31 BLT
- 2010-05, Germany, "ELITE 2010", 32 BLT
- 2011-07, static exhibition, Spanghdal, 32 BLT
- 2011-08, static exhibition, Slovakia, 32 BLT
- 2011, 2010 Polish squadron exchange, Malbolrk Mig-29 and 31 BLT
- 2010-04, "Frisian Flag", Holland, 31 BLT
- 2010-06, Polish-Belgian "Squadron exchange", Krzesiny, 31 BLT
- 2011-05, France, "NATO TIGER MEET", 31 BLT

In addition:

- 2011-08, Russia, "Vigilant Skies"
- 2009 and 2011, Air shows, Radom, 31 BLT, and 32 BLT
- 2008, Denmark, "SQUADRON EXCHANGE"
- 2009 (3 times) and 2011 (3 times), "TACTICAL LEADERSHIP PROGRAMME", first in Belgium, then in Spain
- 2009-06, Sweden, "LOYAL ARROW"
- 2009-06, Greece, "SQUADRON EXCHANGE"
- 2009-09, Denmark, "BOLD AVENGER"
- 2009-12, Spain, SQUADRON EXCHANGE"

My Toronto residence has nothing to do with the merits, mister "taxis paying" Harry and now the military expert. Going personal rather than ad rem? Do not make me laugh. I have been carefully following for years many discussions on F-16s among the military and business people. I have heard it before about Gripens, Mig-29 (Soviet era, you said?) modernization and other issues. As an example, just look at the discussion forum "F-16 vs. Gripen",

f-16.net/f-16_forum_viewtopic-t-1029.html
and you will find plenty of pro and contra arguments for both types of military aircraft. I do not need to seek any advice from you "Harry, the tax payer", nor from dummy journalists going after next sensations.

I say, although things could be better as usual - but considering that this is Poland - the status of our F-16s fleet is actually quite good.

News / THE ARMY OF POLAND - THE REALITY [493]

[There must be something newer in MON site, than the 2008 article I presented as the first link, but unfortunately their web masters have not learned yet how to organize search through their database time-wise, starting from the newest articles. So the searches there are really mundane. When I have time, I'll try to find something appropriate from the year 2012.]

Summarizing the 2008 article, section 11:
1. As I said before: 1 malfunction per 12 hours on F-16 compared to 1 malfunction per 4-5 hours on Mig-29. Not bad, considering many factors.
2. According to reliability theory the intensity of malfunctions is high at the beginning of exploitation, then go down with time to some minimal plateau level and then starts growing up again when parts become worn. This is a so-called bathtub curve, since it looks like a cross section of the old fashioned tub. F-16 has about 200,000 parts. Think about it for a while.

3. Poland bought the newest version of F-16, so-called block 52+, not used by anyone before that. Some of the malfunctions are typical to initial/experimental exploitation. This is why the Polish-American team of experts decided to plan for three years of spare parts in advance, with extra margin provided.

4. Before accepting the delivery of any F-16 the Polish technicians went through about 80 pages of very detailed technical procedures. The more faults they initially found the better for the exploitation of the craft.

5. The package of spare parts, was prepared based on the experience of USAF and other users of F-16s. For that $123 millions were reserved. It was assumed that the last spare part would be used three years after the delivery of the last of the 48 Polish F-16s, that is around year 2011. That leads to $0.28 millions per single aircraft F-16 - again less than for MIG-29 and Su-22.

There is also a lot to be said about so-called offset.
2011-05-25
logistyka.wnp.pl/dotychczas-ok-5-5-mld-dolarow-z-offsetu-po-kupnie-samolotow-f-16,141051_1_0_0.html

The offset agreement, concluded in 2003 with the company Lockheed Martin for the purchase of F-16 amounted to 6.028 billion dollars, or about 170 percent of delivery. After eight years, the ministry of the economy describes the contract as satisfactory.

2012-09-28
logistyka.wnp.pl/bydgoszcz-centrum-obslugi-i-napraw-samolotow-f-16,151791_1_0_0.html

Maintenance and repair of aircraft F-16 within the offset framework, including electrical, hydraulics and chassis, will be conducted in the WZL nr 2 (Military Aircraft Factory No. 2) in Bydgoszcz - announced the Ministry of Economy on Wednesday,

In May WZL No. 2 signed an agreement with Lockheed Martin Corporation regarding the transfer of technology and infrastructure for dry paint stripping and painting of the F-16s. The Bydgoszcz plant will receive technology of old paint removal and painting of these machines, as well as necessary equipment and machinery for this work. Lockheed also provides funding for the construction of the hangar for such work.

"The positive opinion of the Committee for Offset Agreements means for us the consent for another deal with Lockheed, which will allow us to carry out maintenance, repair and overhaul of aggregates and hydraulic, avionics, pneumatics and fuel system" - said spokesman for WZL No. 2, Piotr Rutkowski.

Offset Agreement between the Polish State Treasury and Lockheed Martin Corporation, regarding - inter alia - service support of F-16 aircraft, was signed on April 18, 2003. Its value is 6.028 billion dollars, and the contract expires in 2013.

2012-06-12, Poles in Red Flag exercise

More than 70 aircrafts took part in Red Flag exercise in Alaska, starting from Eielson near Fairbanks. Among them 6 (out of 8) Polish F-16C/D Block 52+.

[One F-16 had to stop at Boston to check on one of the malfunctioning systems (perhaps landing gear). Another F-16 kept it a company. They joined the rest few days later, but did not take part in the main exercise. Details here: 2012-05-24.

This was a big deal to be there, as the crafts could train with the real munition, which is not possible on this scale anywhere in Europe.

A curiosity:

All Polish Air Force F-16 taking part in Red Flag are equipped with conformal tanks (block 52+), enabling them longer range, longer time spent in the air. Unlike traditional tanks hanged under the fuselage or the wings, the conformal tanks do not increase the aerodynamic drag. According to Polish pilots, their F-16s were the envy of other participants in the exercise - exactly because of these tanks. They could continue with their exercises when another aircrafts were running out of fuel. Thanks to that the Polish pilots could practice more tactical elements during one sortie.


Something recent Harry here, just for you.

2012-10-08. altair.com.pl/news/view?news_id=8759&q=F-16

Today afternoon Polish F-16s from 32 BLT (32 Air Base in £ask) returned from British exercise MACE XIV. [There is one squadron #10 in £ask, with 13 F-16C and 3 F-16D (two-seaters)]

The seven-days exercise, which involved crew of 40 Poles, was held in the British Air Base in Leeming, UK - with dedicated proving ground in Spadeam. The goal of the exercise was to test effectiveness of the radar ground stations, part of the air defences, against Polish F-16 in a strictly specified time limit.

After realizing the risk of being tracked down the pilot performed defensive maneuvers, using self-defence measures in the form of flares and dipoles. After landing, during the debriefing, the effectiveness of the pilot's defensive maneuvers was also being assessed.

News / THE ARMY OF POLAND - THE REALITY [493]

It would be nice if you answered the question and didn't go off topic instead. Lonman was asking about USAF F-16s to be stationed at £ask Air Base, not Polish F-16s.

But since you started, I just wonder where you get your revelations from. Sources, Harry?

I do not believe my eyes. It looks like 2006 déjà vu again, when the bunch of idiot journalists - having not the slightest ideas about the engineering notions of exploitation and reliability, jumped all over so-called catastrophic inefficiency and unreliability of Polish F-16s. Sure the malfunctions or failures have existed. During the initial period 2006-2008, a single serious malfunction on a given F-16 appeared in average every 12 hours of the flying time. This record is three times better than for Mig-29, where one malfunction appeared every 4-5 hours of flying time.

You may want to read the section 11, "The most typical critique regarding F-16s", paragraph "Defects rate" and "Spare parts", from the 2008 report, here:

mon.gov.pl/pl/strona/222/PG_154_196

Have some F-16s which actually work, Harry?
How about reading this (sorry, I have no time for translation now) for example?:
2011-11-09, Fifth anniversary of exploitation of F-16s
mon.gov.pl/pl/artykul/12083

You may also want to consult these Polish Air Force pages:
sp.mil.pl
Some of the pages are in English.

History / Polish military uniforms [57]

Large scale images, paintings by Józef Brandt:





Wikipedia text:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Towarzysz_pancerny
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lisowczycy

• 
  Towarzysz pancerny (Armoured companion)
  
• 
  Lisowczycy (Elears, Lisowski's Irregulars)
  

Language / Burak or redneck? [36]

According to diki and google translate "wieśniak, burak" means "wiejski prostak" and translates to English as "rube".
diki.pl/slownik-angielskiego/?q=wie%C5%9Bniak%2C+burak#q=rube

Definicja.net has these entries
burak => cham, chamisko, chamidło, ćwok, gbur, grubianin, kmiot, kmieć (not to offend the real kmiecie, in the orignal Old Polish sense), nieokrzesaniec, prowincjusz, prymityw, bamber (sorry, the good bambers), żłób, wsioch, wsiok, wsiowy and prostak.

definicja.net/definicja/Burak

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

You might want to visit this page first:
sztetl.org.pl/en/city/kobylnik

There are some photographs of the Jewish cemetery in Kobylnik. You might be able to read something from some of the photos of macewa (matzeva, tomstones) there.

According to that page there is Memorial Book of Kobilnik (SEFER KOBYLNIK), edited by Committee of Former Residents of Kobilnik in Israel, Hajfa 1967. English translation is available somewhere (You have to find it on your own).

Location:
Province: Wilno/Vilnius (before 1939)
County: Менская вобласьць (Mińsk area), Мядзельскі раён (Miadziel region) (before 1939)
Community: Kobylnik (before 1939)
Other names: since 1964: Pol: Narocz Kobylnik, Bel: Кабыльнік / Нарач, Rus. Кобыльник / Нарочь, Lit: Kobylnikas / Naroèius, Jid. קאבילניק

GPS:
54.9088° N / 26.7050° E
54°54'31" N / 26°42'18" E

News / The Political Circus of Poland [307]

Motto of the week: "We intellectually lead the today's opposition" - Zbigniew Ziobro
======
From interview of "Virtualna Polska" with Lech Wałęsa:
"I am not fit to rule today (...) I am a man of quick decisions and I won't be able to sit in parliament for longer than an hour, and for this I would need a crossword puzzle and a computer. I can not stand the chatter, but I know that democracy looks like that" - said Walesa.

He would only change his mind in one case.

"If Poland is in danger and starts coming apart I will not stand it. I'll get on with it and I will lead, no one will stop me" - said the former president.

He added that if he wanted to, it could easily get a job.
"But I am not seeking any position. I do not see myself in this mess" - Walesa said.
:-)

Life / Polish sentimental ballads [38]


After getting two of my friends (a Welsh and an Irish) into some discussion about "white voice" and pentatonic scale I once risked demonstrating to them two versions of "Krywaniu". One was by Masniaki (nice landscape) and one by Goranie (below). I expected a lukewarm reception, but in fact they both really loved it.

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

Zemkoski: Looks like a corrupted or deliberately simplified surname "Ziemkowski"
Ziemkowski: from ziemia (land), ziomek (compatriot, relative)
There are approximately 220 males Ziemkowski and 270 females Ziemkowska currently living in Poland.

History / Polish military uniforms [57]

Orkiestra Reprezentacyjną Wojska Polskiego - Musikschau der Nationen 2003

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

^^
No, I did not say bricklayer - that would be "murarz" in Polish.
I said "ceglarz" in Polish means a brickmaker, a man that makes bricks.
But after consulting the newest and the most authoritative Polish dictionary PWN,
sjp.pwn.pl/slownik/2447295/cegielnik
here is a more precise definition:
1. Ceglarz or cegielnik => a brickmaker
2. Ceglarz or cegielnik => (archaic) somebody owning a brickyard
3. Ceglarz => (colloquially) a worker carrying bricks on a construction site

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

Ceglarz => Brickmaker in English
(from Latin tegula, a brick => German Ziegel, a brick => German Ziegler, a brickmaker => Polish ceglarz)

News / THE ARMY OF POLAND - THE REALITY [493]

250 soldiers from the NATO Multinational Military Police Battalion currently takes part in the "Sharp Lynx 12" exercise. The unit was established in 2007 and is made of gendarmes from Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Croatia. They all train on their own, but once a year they join for tactical exercise of the entire batalion in order to develop uniform procedures and exchange experiences. This year thet met at the military training grounds in Wędrzyn, Poland.

The exercise began on September 17; it will last five days and end with an examination. If the soldiers pass it, the battalion will become a part of the Multinational Corps North-East, based at Szczecin.

The training began with information about a badly injured son of a local politician. The task of the military police was to organize a medical convoy and to transport the injured to the hospital. Along the way, the soldiers were attacked by the rebels. Fortunately, they were able to repel the attack.

Moments later, it turned out that one of the patrol teams hit a local Auriga man - Auriga being a fictional country where the exercise takes place. This fatal accident sparked protests and the soldiers had to negotiate with angry crowds.

"Sharp Lynx 12" reflect the realism of real operations. The roles of Aurigians and rebels are played by MPs from the Special Branch of Military Police from Minsk Mazowiecki. They are well prepared for this role since many of them were on missions to Afghanistan and Iraq, so they are well aware of the prevailing conditions there.

Some of them have not shaved for a month and regularly visited a solarium to look like the inhabitants of that distant country.

Original Polish text and photos: polska-zbrojna.pl

Life / Polish film and serial riddles [137]


That must be "Rękopis znaleziony w Saragossie", "The Saragossa Manuscript" directed by Wojciech Has, 1965

Language / -ski/-ska, -scy/ski, -wicz - Polish surnames help [185]


Your candidates are quite unlikely; even google search show 0 results. See some other examples below
Szublikiewicz - google: 0
Szublikowicz - google: 0
Szuplikiewicz - google: 0
Szuplikowicz - google: 0
Szulakiewicz - google: 50,400; MoiKrewni: 195 ;
Szułakiewicz - google: 29,200; MoiKrewni: 132 ;
Szubiakiewicz - google: 3,640; MoiKrewni: 13


Yes, Polish language has 9 extra characters, represented with diacritics. They are shown on this page just above the edit box. Some Polish database searches are sensitive to this. You can use the edit box here to write any Polish name properly, then copy and paste it to external search fields. Examples 5 and 6 above demonstrate such subtle difference in spelling (and in pronunciation).

Genealogy / THE MEANING AND RESEARCH OF MY POLISH LAST NAME, SURNAME? [4500]

Correction: there is no village Grymiączki in Poland. But there is village Grymiaczki, Gmina Suchowola, Sokółka County, Podlasie Voivodship.
However the old village name was "Hrymiaczki" (in Belorussian). The Grymiaczki name looks like misunderstanding, misspelling during Belarussian-Polish translation. In a very old source from XVIII c. there is a form Grzymiaczki. Hrymiaczki comes from Belorussian "hrymieć" - "grzmieć" in Polish. If they decided to Polonize that name after WWII why did not they use the name "Grzmotki", "Grzymiaczki" or "Grzmiaczki"?

Please note: The Polish-Belorussian spelling difference comes from Belorussian pronunciation shift: G => H, RZ => R. The spelling change follows the pronunciation change if the Belorussian words are transliterated back from Cyrillic to Latin. Apparently, the county authorities consider now changing back the village name to Hrymiaczki.

Etymology: It seems that the names of both villages are formed from the GRZYM / HRYM root; this in turn from the verb "grzmieć" (to thunder) and the noun "grom" (a thunderclap).

"Grzmieć" has its equivalent in Old Prussian "grumins" (dark vocalization) and "grimikas" (light vocalization), a ditty. In Lithuanian there are words "grume"=>to beat, "grumen, grumenti"=>to growl, "griausti, griausmas" => to thunder. In the old Czech the equivalent word is "hřmí". There is Russian "griemit'", and German "grimm, grimmig" => grim, fury.

Example: Rzeka grzmi na progach => Raka hrymoty na parohi => River thunders on cataracts
So I guess the name "hrymiaczki" would derive from small cataracts, which make the river to thunder - "hrymieć", "grzmieć".

Similar names:
In "Geographical Dictionary of Kingdom of Poland and other ..." (Filip Sulimierski, Bronisław Chlebowski) three other Hrymiacz-like names are mentioned:
Hrymiacze - a village, Ostróg County, used to belong to princes Ostrogskis, then to Great Chancellor Małachowski
Hrymiaczka (Hremiaczka) - a big village on Hrymiaczka river
Hrymiaczka - a river, left tributary of Uszyca

Surnames:
It seems that there are many words in Belarusian that have been formed from the base HRYM, and corresponding Polish words formed from GRZYM. Stankiewicze list the following two such groups of surnames.

Hrym => Hryma, Hrymajłło, Hrymajło, Hrymak, Hrymaluk, Hrymasz, Hrymaszewicz, Hrymcyszyn, Hrymczak, Hrymczyszyn, Hrymek, Hrymiewicz, Hrymik, Hrymnak, Hrymniak, Hrymnok, Hrymoć, Hrymowicz, Hrymów.

Grzym => Grzyma, Grzymacz, Grzymaczewski, Grzymajłko, Grzymajło, Grzymaka, Grzymakowski, Grzymala, Grzymalla, Grzymalski, Grzymała, Grzymałkiewicz, Grzymałła, Grzymałło, Grzymało, Grzymałowski, Grzymały, Grzymaszewski, Grzymek, Grzymel, Grzymka, Grzymkiewicz, Grzymoła, Grzymowicz, Grzymowski, Grzymski, Grzymulski, Grzymuza

In both cases, the probability that those names have been derived from the village name Hrymiaczki/Grzymiaczki is very unlikely. What is more probable is quite the reverse:

Grzym ==> Grzymiaczki
Hrym ==> Hrymiaczki

Original group of surnames:
But let us contrast it with the first group of names, which supposedly stems from German Grimm, Grym:
Grym => Gryma, Grymajło, Grymak, Grymal, Grymała, Gryman , Grymanowski, Grymański, Grymek, Grymel, Grymiel, Grymienko, Grymin, Grymiński, Grymis, Grymiuk, Grymko, Grymkowski, Grymla, Grymm, Grymmel, Grymula, Grymuliński, Grymulski, Grymuła, Grymułek, Grymuło.

Distribution of some selected Grym-like surnames:
Grym: total 72. Most in Wodzisław Śląski (25) and Jastrzębie-Zdrój (7)
Gryma: 89. Most Sosnowiec (17), Będzin (13)
Grymel: 237. Most Ruda Śląska (89), Mikołów (26), Bytom (24), Katowice (16), Chorzów (14), Tarnowskie Góry (10), m. Gliwice (8), Zabrze (8), Wodzisław Śląski (7), Żory (6). That's all Silesia

Grymm: 47. Most in so-called "recovered territories"

It seems that none of those surnames has anything to do with "Grymiaczki", Sokółka County.