Language / Polish slang phrases - most popular. [606]

??? good question. not being a 20 something (but around them a lot) I'd have to say that I don't think there is a neutral word like that. You might use 'hej' (pronounced like 'hey') to get someone's attention.

There are words that friends use with each other, especially 'stary' (literally "old (guy)") which has been around forever but is still used.

Other than that words used that mean 'guy' like gość (literally: guest) or koleś (literally 'friend') or even ziomal (something like 'homeboy') would be kind of confrontational when used with someone you don't know.

With people you know, the most common are either diminutive names or nicknames (which seem more widely used in Poland than in the US)

Law / Opening a Polish Bank Account by a foreigner in Poland. Recommendations. [299]


No I don't work there but I've always found the branch where I opened my account (kosciuszko street in poznan) to be very foreigner friendly. Maybe it's an exception? I don't know but I'm happy with them.

Law / Opening a Polish Bank Account by a foreigner in Poland. Recommendations. [299]


Total crap, I've helped foreigners open accounts at PKO BP within a week of arrival in Poland.

Tell the lady that she's wrong.

Polonia / POLES vs BULGARIANS [160]

First I've heard of Bulgarians not liking Poles.

I have heard that Polish tourists are not so popular with people that sell things at the Bulgarian tourist spots because they're considered cheap. On the other hand, I've heard hotel owners like them because they're generally cleaner and quieter than some other nationalities.

I've known some Bulgarians in Poland, most of whom like it fine here (late summer and longer cold season can get to them though).

Language / Funny/strange/deviant words in the Polish language [35]


Never heard it. I've only heard tusz in the meaning 'ink' (especially computer printers) and 'mascara'.

Language / Funny/strange/deviant words in the Polish language [35]

(c)huj in Polish refers to a uniquely male part of the anatomy.

Language / Funny/strange/deviant words in the Polish language [35]

I think it might be vowel harmony,

basically Polish doesn't have the sound in English 'man' and to Poles it sounds like either Polish a or e depending on the context and the choice of e or a in borrowings from English seems to depend on the previous vowel

barman
rockman (rocker)

dżentelmen (gentleman)
biznesmen
supermen

There might be some exceptions but I think that makes some sense.

Language / Funny/strange/deviant words in the Polish language [35]


ekstrahuje sounds just like 'ekstra chuje' (where ekstra means something like 'great!' 'wonderful!')

and while the 'correct' spelling is chuj the tradition in grafitti has usually been to write it huj, so it even looks like ...

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

chauduyphanvu,

maybe you'll be interested in this:

wietnam-polska.wikidot.com/

Life / Smoking vs. Grilling on Balconies / High Rises in Poland [66]

Since when is it rude to grill on the balcony?

I've seen/smelled it often enough here and done it too and no one's complained or looked at me funny.

Maybe it's some kind of weird Krakus thing?

Food / BREAD IN POLAND IS DETERIORATING [90]

My opinion is that yes, the overall quality of bread in Poland has deteriorated somewhat in recent years. I kind of have the idea that they're whipping more air into it now (year by year it gets squishier and squishier). But I don't know enough about breadmaking to say anything sure.

This is less true in the countryside but urban consumers are notoriously less picky and will buy crap and ask for more.

On the other hand, good quality bread is less important now. In communist times Polish bread was thick and nutritious. It was easy to think a person could live off it and many people essentially did.

There's a lot more variety in affordable food available now and bread isn't really the staff of life anymore (except for the poorest who are paying nutritionally for the expanded choices of the rest of us).

Excellent bread can still be found but it takes effort and it's more expensive. The quality of the everyday stuff for most people has absolutely deteriorated and no one with a memory can really deny that.

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


Can't say I've heard of this in terms of Central American languages. IME creaky voice is more commonly associated with SE Asia. Burmese and Vietnamese especially have tones that are partly distinguished by creaky voice.

There are many native american languages (N, C and S America) that have glottalizaed consonants (usually written p' t' k' s' etc) for these the throat closes while the consonant is pronounced and then opened (the exact timing differs from language to language). It often creates a distinct kind of catch in the voice, in the case of k' or q' it can sound almost like a click.

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


Oh, did I forget to mention it has tones?

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

Hej Ty! works too and also seems to be spreading.

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

Simplified basic rules on Polish vocative (there may be an exception here or there):

Male names the vocative = the locative, if you can say "about ...." thats also the vocative

If you don't know the locative the ending is

if the final consonant is hard, then the ending is -(J)e (that is e preceded by softening the consonant before it)

Robert = Robercie!

Ryszard = Ryszardzie!

Paweł = Pawle!

Wiesław = Wiesławie!

if the last consonant is already soft or -sz, -rz, -l, -ch or -k then the vocative is -u

Januszu!
Lechu!
Karolu!
Jacku!
Jasiu! (from jaś
Kazimierzu!

For women if the final consonant is hard then -a becomes -o

Anna = Anno!
Agnieszka = Agnieszko!
Barbara = Barbaro!

If the final consonant is soft, then -ia becomes -iu

Ania = Aniu
Asia = Asiu
Zosia = Zosiu

but if the final is -ja or -ia (where -i- is pronounced as -j-, almost like a separate vowel) then they act like hard stems

Natalia = Natalio
Patrycja = Patrycjo

If the final consonant is -l- or -sz- I'm not so sure, I'm pretty sure I've heard both Elo and Elu and Olu and Olo (I think the forms in -u are more common but I'll leave that for Poles to debate).

The vocative of Pan is Panie and the vocative of Pani is .... Pani. These aren't used on their own though, they're followed by a name or title.

Panie Norbercie! Pani Krystyno! Panie kolego! (Mr Colleague!)

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


The problem is that when you try to actively figure out how larger units are built it all stops making sense. Somewhere (in storage in NAmerica) I have a Navajo textbook. It has many wonderful qualities (inluding exchanges like the following (approximate working from memory)

"The police arrested me when I passed out in the mud."
"That is not good, my son."

Anyway, it also includes lots of declination tables but finding patterns is really hard because of massive non-linear morphonemic alternations (making Polish seem tame) but the fact that every little morpheme (and there's no end to them) changes everything around it (in a ripple effect in both directions).

Greenlandic (what little I know of it) seems almost simple in comparison. I've managed to carefully avoid Georgian which seems to be in the Turkish gargle-throated phonological Sprachbund which means I can't make phonological sense of it when I do hear it.

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

That page doesn't contradict me:

"the dative case is no longer a part of modern English usage"

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

How do you know about Navajo?

Yes, from the point of view of any European language it might as well be from another universe. I'm a linguist (who has a pretty good understanding of lots of non-western languages) and I can't make sense of the best Navajo grammars written (not for lack of trying).

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

First, as a rule linguists _hate_ the question 'how many languages do you speak?' Linguistics is about studying languages as functioning systems (and some other stuff). (but I'm not mad, it's just a hard question to answer and alien to most of my concerns).

The number of languages I'm really capable in isn't necessarily so impressive. On the other hand, the number of languages whose grammars I thoroughly understand is very high. At one time I could parse Japanese sentences with the best of them but I can't speak, understand (much less read) Japanese.

On the other hand, I think the term 'monoglot linguist' is an oxymoron and I don't respect anyone who calls themself a linguist and who only speaks one language but linguistics isn't primarily about learning languages.

Anyway, I like to rank languages by ability

NAmerican English : 1
Polish : 2
Spanish (at various times Iberian and Mexican) : 3
Esperanto : 4
German : 4
Hungarian : 6

Can read a fair amount but not speak or understand:

Norwegian
Portuguese
Italian
Swedish
French

Roughly at an equal level with thorough knowledge of grammar without much practical ability:

Turkish
Vietnamese
Thai
Japanese

There are others too but they're pretty obscure.

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


It depends on how you define 'correct'. According to many prescriptive grammarians

"Whom did you see at the ballgame?" is technically speaking correct.

But no native speaker actually says that. It sounds bizarre, maybe a little like pronouncing a heavy nasal vowel for every single -ę in Polish. Also technically correct but no one talks that way.

Probably 99.99 per cent of native speakers would say 'who' in that sentence.

'whom' is sometimes (not always) used directly after prepositions (especially when the who is a relative clause marker but if the who and preposition are separated most people will say 'who'.

Those are the people for whom I wrote the book.

vs

Those are the people who I wrote the book for.

who in the first sentence would sound wrong and whom in the second would sound wrong.

And English does not have a dative case anymore.

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

Hot damn! That means I'm like an effin' GENIUS! Eat it average intelligence fools!

Language / Polish slang phrases - most popular. [606]

Augmentative.

I would argue that -ch(a) is a diminutive (granted one that needs to be carefuly used). It's very popular among students IME.

On the other hand -(i)sko is a real augmentative (though I don't think it's really used with names).

Language / Polish slang phrases - most popular. [606]


a nie Justycho?

Love / Polish Pet Names For Girls. [156]

uh .... no.

Law / Poland - Temporary Residence card - Karta pobytu - required documents [146]


If I'm not mistaken, EU citizens wouldn't have to have an interview.
But then I'm not an EU citizen and I never had an interview as such (besides the normal process of visiting the offices to keep the karta up to date) so I'm not sure what the original person is talking about.

At any rate, for non-EU citizens seeking long term (or permanent) residence in Poland, the ability to function in the local language does not seem to be an unreasonable demand.

Law / Poland - Temporary Residence card - Karta pobytu - required documents [146]

Why should any government representative conduct an interview (about granting residency in a country) in a language other than the official language of the country in question?

Life / If I could introduce something from my country into Poland, I would.... [175]

Gregorz, I'm not British. I'm American and the last I knew (yes, it's been a while since I've been there) Polish amounts of litter are just not tolerated in most of the united states outside of inhuman cities/ghettos. You drop your candy wrapper on the sidewalk and people will tell you to stop being a pig.

Specifically I'd like to introduce American attitudes toward correct litter disposal to Poland.

Clear?

Life / If I could introduce something from my country into Poland, I would.... [175]

I'm not interested in "X is worse" defenses. Littering is wrong, period. It's unhygenic and is indicative of social breakdown. I have no trouble believing that Britain (which no longer exists as any kind of coherent society) has even worse litter problem than Poland but it's irrelevant. There's no excuse for pigs who drop their garbage anywhere (or throw it out of cars).

A few years ago on TV there was a news report from a neighborhood in Warsaw where rats had taken hold. There were several interviews with local people who were calling on the government to _do_ something!!!!!

Meanwhile, the bits of garbage blowing around the street (esp candy wrappings and potato chip bags) made it clear these selfsame people had been feeding the rats for quite some time.

Life / If I could introduce something from my country into Poland, I would.... [175]

THE IDEA THAT TRASH BELONGS IN A TRASH CAN AND NOT ON THE STREET OR TUCKED INTO BUSHES OR DROPPED WHEREVER YOU FEEL LIKE IT!!!!!!!!!!

DIDN'T YOUR MOTHERS EVER TEACH YOU _ANYTHING_??????????

The Polish attitude toward litter in public is certainly not one of the more attractive national characteristics and every once in a while drives me to a screaming frenzy.

Food / Polish head cheese [46]

Here's info about head cheese:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_cheese

In the southern US it's also called souse (I think technically they're different somehow but they're the same kind of thing).