Life / Differences between Irish, British, Polish, American and other nations culture, tradition, music - loose talk [239]


Correct me if I'm wrong. I always thought the Irish patonymics were O' O'Brien) and Mc (McHenry), whilst Fitz as in Fitzpartick originally meant Patrick's out-of-wedlock son.

Life / Differences between Irish, British, Polish, American and other nations culture, tradition, music - loose talk [239]


Poland's historically lopsided social structrue is what's wrong, and its vestiges are still with us. Poland has traditonally been mainly a land of peasant farmers with no more than 10% nobilty and almost no indigenous bugher class. The cities were largly planned, designed, run and developed by Germans, Jews dominated crafts and commerce and peasants brought their produce in from the surroundign countryside. There is nothing wrong with peasants or farmers, except that it is not they who by and large build castles, cathedrals and urban infrastrutcure, compose symphonies, sculpt statues, invent things, cultivate urban crafts or build industry -- the middle classes do.

Since in contemporary times many if not most average Poles believe that all the interesting, colourful, trendy and sophisticated things must be imported, they tend to be ashamed of whatever they regard as home-spun, folksy and inidgenously Polish but readily adopt foreign imports from Valentine's hearts to pagan-rooted Hallowe'en artefacts. By contrast, Polish house-to-house rounds by caroler-masqueraders done up as an angel, devil, grim reaper, soldier, gipsy, Three Kings and other familiar denizens of Old Poland are encounterede nowadays mainly in the remote countryside, since the custom is perceived as rural and therefore unsophisticated. It was widely practised in pre-war Polish cities. Even though pocket-money-starved youngsters could cash in on a custom in which householders offer them a few złots along the way, it has not caught on.

Of course, neithger have the Tescos, Carrefours and other Biedronkas that promote plastic pumpkins and Hallowe'en ever marketed any Polish carolling gear, as far as I know.

Life / Why there is always around a horrible smell of sweat in Poland [188]


I beat my breast. Will do!

Stick to the topic, please

Life / Differences between Irish, British, Polish, American and other nations culture, tradition, music - loose talk [239]


Can you honestly say you already knew all those nicknames?

Life / Differences between Irish, British, Polish, American and other nations culture, tradition, music - loose talk [239]


I should have said "English". From a strictly sociolinguistic perspective, what is the nickname Scots, Irish and Welsh use for the English? This has nothing do with insulting anyone, just intellectual curiosity. If interested, I can tell you what slang terms are used in the US for different ethnicities: Polack (Pole), Kraut, Squarehead (German), Dago, Wop, Greaser, Guinea (Italian), Kike, Hebe (Jew), Bohunk (Czech but also Hungarians and at times all Central East Europeans including Poles), Ukie (Ukrainian), N-word, Jungle Bunny, Jigaboo, Zigaboo, Spade (Negro), Spic or Spick (Mexican), Cannuck (Canadian), Scandihoovian (Norwedgian, Dane, Swede)...

Life / Differences between Irish, British, Polish, American and other nations culture, tradition, music - loose talk [239]


Are those silly jokes taking the stuffings out of the Irish still circulating in Pommyland? BTW do the Irish have a pejorative tag for Brits? Ameicans say Limey, in Oz it's Pommies. Wonder what the Scots say? You know copper wire was invented by Scotsmen...trying to pull a penny out of each other's hands!

Life / Differences between Irish, British, Polish, American and other nations culture, tradition, music - loose talk [239]


But did she know that? BTW not all Yanks* are as ignorant as you try to make out. That's just over 20 yards or about 71 feet.

*The word Yankee has different meanings depending on context:
1) Americans in general esp. when used by foreigners.
2) Northerners as opposed to southerners (the old Union v old Confederacy) in the USA, or those living above or below the Mason-Dixon line.
3) In New England, esp. Boston area -- WASPs as opposed to Irish and other Americans.
4) The name of NY's famous baseball team.

Life / Why there is always around a horrible smell of sweat in Poland [188]


Maybe she had the runs and was not within easy reach of a loo. What else could the poor lady do but "feed the bushes"?

Life / Why there is always around a horrible smell of sweat in Poland [188]


How do you know she was an American? Most Americans are exaggeratedly hygiene minded and require extreme privacy for bodily fucntions and changing.


Maybe she didn't want anyone to recognise her (ha-ha!)

Life / Why Polish people should be proud of being Polish? [370]

Merged: Are you proud to be Polish? If so why?

Some people say: What is there to be proud of? One has no control over what nationality one happens to be born into. Others are genuinely proud of their ancestry and cultural heritage. If you are amongst them, please give a reason or mutliple reasons why. Serdecznie dziękuję.

Life / Why there is always around a horrible smell of sweat in Poland [188]


My cousin recently went to India on business the first time and was aghast at the filth. He lived in a palace of a hotel, but there was a garbage dump just outside his window. And he saw not only "sacred" cows but Indians defecating right in the streets. And that "Holy River" -- people "purifying" themselves by bathing in water polluted by cremated and partially cremated human remains!

Genealogy / Is your line of the Polish family noble? [74]

Yes, there were nobles amongst the bearers of the Habowski surname. For details, please contact me.

News / Poland Sports News [1079]


Sports, arts and community things are hardly the top priorities of the omnipotent commercialist powers that be. That is prime city centre real estate that developers just can't wait to get their hands on and turn into upscale gated housding cum shopping faiclites. The only hope to reverse such a tendency is the current people-friendly PiS government which you dislike, but business and scam-friendly PO certainly won't do it.


The unquestioned heroine of the Rio games was hammer-thrower Anita Włodarczyk, referred to by the Polish media as "Golden Anita". She not only won the gold medal when she hurled her hammer an amazing 82.29 meters, but also broke her own world record by 1.21 meters. In addition, the two-time world champion and three-time European champion became the first woman in Olympic history to outdo the men's hammer-throw champion - in Rio an athlete form Tajikistan who scored a mere 78.68 meters.

One of the event's biggest disappointments was Polish men's hammer-thrower, two-time world champion Paweł Fajdek who not only was sure of a gold medal but planned to break the 86.74 meter record set by a Russian in 1986. It turned out that Fajdek didn't even make it through the elimination phase. Like a little boy, the 264-pound hulk dropped to the ground and cried! The honor of Poland's male hammer-throwers was defended by Wojciech Nowicki who won a bronze medal in the sport.

Oktawia Nowacka, a career soldier in the Polish Army, brought home the bronze in modern pentathlon, a sport combining fencing, free-style swimming, show jumping, pistol shooting and a 3200-meter cross-country run. A bronze medal was also won by woman wrestler Monika Michalik.

Discus thrower Piotr Małachowski had his heart set on Olympic gold, but had to settle for silver. His claim to fame, however, transcended the strictly athletic realm, when he decided to auction off his medal to help a little Polish boy. Three-year-old Olek (Aleksander) Szymański has a rare eye cancer and who stands to lose one of his eyes. The only hope for curing it is at New York clinic where the surgery costs $264,000. Małachowski got the ball rolling, and others have been pitching in.

This year's Polish Olympic team was not without its whiff of scandal. Brother weightlifters, Tomasz and Adrian Zieliński, were disqualified and sent home on doping charges. They hotly denied consciously ingesting any illegal substance, but the tests conducted by the anti-doping lab proved otherwise.

As the Rio Olympics were winding down, it appeared Poland might end up not with the 17 medals predicted by optimists but with the same ten the country had won at the previous three 21st-century games: Athens (2004), Beijing (2008) and London (2012). The balance was tipped by mountain biker Maja Włoszczowska who came second over a grueling, curvy, hilly, obstacle-strewn course. A major disappointment was the Poles' failure to win bronze in the handball finals where they lost to the Germans.

News / Poland Sports News [1079]


To what do you attribute that regression?


It's a lot like that ram-slam-bang-'em-up free for all known as American
a football. But nothing is more boring than cricket and baseball!

News / Poland Sports News [1079]


But that is simply a translation. Does any Anglophone
actually say that?
Perhaps "dire misery" might be better?

News / Poland Sports News [1079]

Merged: Gold Olympian Anita Włodarczyk campaigns for Skra fix-up

Anita Włodarczyk, Polish Olympic gold medallist in the hammer throw, is spearheading an effort to renovate or replace Warsaw's neglected, decrepit Skra stadium where she trains. Polish Televison showed an "obraz nędzy i rozpaczy" (anyone have a good translation for that?) of the ramshackle Skra sport centre. The gym where Anita works out has mouldy walls, a leaky ceiling and worn-out equipment. Gronkiewicz-Waltz's city hall, which has more money than the sports ministry, is being blamed for the mess.

Language / Slavic languages words similarities with Polish [238]


Low German is pretty close to Dutch!

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

Mr Gajl has responded to my query by saying that "in his research he has found Mazur and Mazurek surnames as gentry-related but their coats of arms remain unknown. If a company selling coats fo arms says otherwise but there is no proof, then it should be taken with a grain of salt."

Szanowny Panie, u mnie we wszystkich wersjach herbarza jest nazwisko Mazur i Mazurek jako szlacheckie. Przy obu jednak herb nie jest znany. Jeżeli firma, której celem istnienia jest sprzedawanie herbów informuje o herbie Dołęga to sytuacja wydaje mi się podobna do pytania do sprzedawcy o jakość towaru. Dopóki nie będzie podane i sprawdzone źródło informacji to jest ona niewiarygodna.

Jestem mało restrykcyjny w wypadku podania herbów mi nieznanych przez rodziny o ile status rodu jest pewny. Ale w wypadku tak jawnie komercyjnym to nie potraktuję tego poważnie.

Serdecznie pozdrawiam
Tadeusz Gajl


Do not lose faith. In my conrtinued exchange with Mr Gajl, I was using his 2003 armorial. He has since put out a 2007, 2011 and 2016 editions which contain thousands of additional names. We cannot rule out that Mazur may eventually get linked to a c-o-a.

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


I'm checking on it at my end and will share any resutls I find. BTW where are you based?

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


According to the armorial of Tadeusz Gajl, regarded as the most authoritative to date, no Mazur has ever made it into the ranks of the szlachta (Polish gentry). There were nobles amongst the bearers of the Mazurkiewicz (son of Mazurek) surname, in fact two separate noble lines belonging to the Pobóg and Łabędź clans. Noble bearers of the Mazurkowicz surname had an own-name coat of arms. It showed a key overlaying thee flowers. However, heraldry is being constantly updated thanks to continued research so eventually a well-born Mazur line may be discovered.


Here are the surnames whose noble lines belonged to the Dołęga clan. Mazur is conspicuously absent:

M
Macharski, Machciński, Machczyński, Mackun, Makowiecki, Malcewicz, Małkowicz-Sutocki, Marcinowski, Mazierkiewicz, Mazowiecki, Mażejko, Mączyński, Mąkowiecki, Mąstowicz, Mchowski, Mdzewski, Melicz, Melitz, Mellitz, Mikulski, Milcz, Miostowt, Mlicki, Mohylewski, Mohylowski, Mohyłowski, Moniuszko, Monstowicz, Monstwild, Montwid, Montwit, Mostowicz, Mostowski, Mostowt, Moszczeński, Możejko, Mycielski, Myśliborski.

Genealogy / Popular Polish First Names? [152]


In the US Polonia Chester was the traditional replacement for Czesław on a sound-similar basis. Similarly those baptised Mieczysław became Mitchell. Władysław > Walter, Stanisław > Stanley.

Genealogy / Popular Polish First Names? [152]

Stanley, Walter, Mitchell, John, Andrew, Dennis, Michael, Thomas, Casimir, Gregory, Edward,
Mary, Wanda, Anne, Helen, Victoria, Margaret, Gloria, Angela, Beatrice, Stella, Christine

News / Cardinal Józef Glemp has died aged 83. Cardinal Macharski too. [10]

Merged: Cardinal Macharski dead at 89

Cardinal Macharski, archbishop of Kraków from 1979 to 2005, has died.
in hospital, where he had been taken after he losing consciousness and suffering innjuries in a fall. During a visit to Poland for World Youth Days last week, Pope Francis visited and blesssed the comatose cardinal at the Kraków University Hospital.

USA, Canada / Poles in America: How do you pronounce your Polish surname? [128]


Interestingly, the Grycel surname exists in Poland but the Grycelski one does not. It's source could have been the word gryka (buckwheat) or the first name Grzegorz (Gregory).

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


JANOWSKI: Probably originated as a toponymic nick to identify a native of some locality such as Janów or Janowo (Johnsville, Johnston). Less likely but not impossible is the patronymic option where Janowski emerged to indicate the "son fo John" (English Johnson). Some 500 Janowskis live in the Gdańsk area, also known as Kashub country (Google Kashubs for details).


Ye,rs, my maternal grandfather went to the US as Jan Kupczak, but while there changed it to the more noble-sounding Kupczyński.

Language / Dziadzia / Babcia - help me with spelling/pronunciation [81]


Babunia or (when addresed directly) Babuniu (vocative).
Dziadziuś or (when addressed directly) Dziadziusiu.

Genealogy / Any one know anything of Koss surname? [22]


KOSS: probably a variant of Kos which is the Polish word for blackbird. In Poland its stronghold (about 900 users) is in the Baltic coastal area known as Kashubia. In Germany there are some 1,600 users of the Koss surname. In Poland Kos is far more common (about 6,000 bearers).

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

This is probably apocryphal, but I once heard that Nowicki was a name given to Jewish converts to Catolicism and that it originated as "Nowy Icek" (Icek beign a common Jeiwsh first name). But since surnames ending in -ski as well as -cki are ususally of toponymic origin, Nowicki probably originated to indicate a native of one of several villages in Poland called Nowica or Nowice.The names of those localities may be roughly translated as Newton, Newbury, Newville or something along those lines.

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


RŻEWSKI: root-word rżeć ( to neigh liek a horse); probably toponymic nick from Rżewo, a village in today's Belarus, formerly Poland. The village could be roughly translated as Neighville (doesn't sound half bad, eh?), so Adam (for instance) Rżewski would have originated to indentify some christened Adam as hailing from Neighville.

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


Tanak could be a hypocoristic (pet) form of the Ukrainian first name Atanas, the way Bill is from William and Meg is from Margaret.