News / Poland's post-election political scene [4080]


Interestingly, the złoty has been inching upward ever since the clamorous trough-defenders suspended their street free-for-alls which effectviely intimidated potential investors.
Up from a high of some 4.14 zł = $1 (I'm not cocnerned about EU play money) it is now trading at 3.90 zł. But if the KOD creeps resume their shenanigins, the złoty will start dropping again.

News / Poland's post-election political scene [4080]


You somehow were more kindly to the scam-ridden PO regime rejected by Polish voters last October. Now your guru is Petru, bankrolled by the pro-banking lobby.

News / Poland's post-election political scene [4080]


You one-sided, prejudiced, blinkered SOB. Will you ever find an interesting article saying something good about Poland's first post-1989 democratically elected majority government?

News / Poland's post-election political scene [4080]


It's the media are (media is plural of medium). Anyway, teh media are constantly reporting how this celebrity has split up with his live-in lover of two months and a two-headed calf was born in the Lublin region. The media will dig up any nonsense and ride it to death until the next bit of trivia comes along. What does that prove?

News / Poland's post-election political scene [4080]


So what? Every party is free ot set up its priorities, leadership structure and decision-making procedures as they see fit. Rather than meddling and badmouthing, outsiders should clean up their own act!

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


Krutek has been recorded in Poland but no-one at present uses it.
It may have come from the Old Polish adjective kruty (strong, harsh), a vestige which has survived in the modern word okrutny (cruel). But names ending in -ek can be of any Slavonic origin. Many surnames function in all or most of those countries, and it's not always easy to determine where they originated.

Genealogy / KUKULA ancestry [32]


KUKUŁA: cuckoo (in normal usage in diminutive form kukułka); typical peasant name dervied from the names of livestock, wildlife, tools, etc.
Hence Wrona, Kogut, Koza, Skowron, Byk, Lis, Łopata, Sito, etc.

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


DZIRKO: probably from Ruthenianised version of Polish dziurka (little hole) -- дірkа. You are right that -ko is a typical Ukrainian ending.

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


JACHIMIAK is the correct spelling (with the "ch" producing the "h" sound in German Bach and Scottish loch). It is derived from the first name Joachim and is a patronmyic meaning "Joachim's son".

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


What is the general Irish attitude towards Gaelicisms in spoken English? Pride-instilling as somethign of our own? Nice and quaint? Outdated? Substandard and frowned upon? Indifference? Something else?

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


NOWOBILSKI: dialectal Ruthenianised or peasant version of Nowobielski -- a toponymic nickname-turned-surname from the village of Nowa Biała in the Nowy Sącz area, highlander country.

News / Poland's post-election political scene [4080]


It's about time 26 years on! Morawiecki is also to only one talking about building up Polish entrepreneurship, designs, innovations and brands.

News / Poland's post-election political scene [4080]


Some say they are passing too much legislation too quickly, for you it's not enough. In other words, PiS cannot win. Whatever they do, a flock of disgruntled, mean-spirited nitpickers and fault-finders will crawl out of the woodwork...

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


Nie potrafię wyjaśnić, co czuję i dlaczego. Wiem tylko, że przyprawiasz mnie o uśmiech, a w brzuchu czuję motyle kiedykolwiek o Tobie pomyślę. Można to nazwać miłością od pierwszego wejrzenia, a może wreszcie spotkały się dwie bratnie dusze. Zwał jak zwał, mnie wszystko jedno. Po prostu kocham Cię!

News / Poland's post-election political scene [4080]


But the disgruntled PO losers and other trough defenders weren't amongst them. Not onyl did PiS not get a 100 day period fo grace but were attacked even before the got their cabinet in palce. They did not have a moment of peace and quiet to calmly develop their legislative potrfolio, but were under constant disctracting fire. That may have contributed to the climate of contingency and fast-track legislation.

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


JUŚKOWIAK: patronymic formed from hypocoristic (pet) forms of such forenames as Justyn or Józef (Justko, Józko)

AŚCIUKIEWICZ:patronymic probably formed from Aścik, a pet form of the mainly Ruthenian forename Astafij.


WALERIA: is a Polish first name, the feminine verison of Walerian. They come from Latin Valerius, originally the designation of a Roman clan.


ŚWIERCZEWSKI: toponymic derived from such localties as Świercze, Świerczewo or Świerczów (from świerk = spruce).

GÓRNICKI: patronymic from górnik (miner) = miner's son; or toponymic from the villages of Górnica or Górniki.

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


Very good! Also: off and on.

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


What would be the English equivalent of pobrzękiwać, porykiwać, pomieszkiwać?

News / Poland's post-election political scene [4080]


Two years were hardly enough. Any party that had a choice of a minority govt or two dodgy coalition partners would hardly fare any better. Now PiS are beign attacked for their outright win. I know the Delphs et al would love to have PiS saddled with with junior partners Petru and PSL.

News / Poland's post-election political scene [4080]


But stronger than a week ago. Things fluctuate. But just herd the PRL-rooted trough-defenders into the streets of Poland again, and the złozy will weaken. The sight of disgruntled, ranting, palacard-waving crowds streaming through the streets of Athens, Warsaw or wherever looks far more formidable on TV when viewed abroad and is a definite business turn-off! ALL WE ARE SAYING IS: GIVE PiS A CHANCE!

News / Poland's post-election political scene [4080]


So which plan of theirs was it that has given the złoty a new lease of life. From 4.04 to 3.94 to the dollar two days is impressive.

But herd the KOD chanter-ranters into the streets again and the Polish currency will take another pounding.

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

Kuciński appears to be an adejctival derivative friom the town of Kutno. Emilia nad Amelia, although they sound similar, are two etymogogically different first names. Emilia comes from Latin, Amelia from the Germanic tongue.

News / Poland's post-election political scene [4080]


Unlike the PO/KOR-ite clique that dominated the airwaves with the tired old Lises and Kraśkos under the thankfully now defunct Tusk/Kopacz regime,under pro-Polish PiS rule TVP are opening opportunities for fresh, young, aspiring jourmalsits. They are asked to send a short self-made video to twoje@tvp.pl (from memory, I think that's right).

News / Poland's post-election political scene [4080]


That's what the KOD creeps do not want -- they want a cheap-manpower Poland catering to foreign interest groups with tax breaks and other preferential treatment. But the złoty has rebounded to 3.94 = $1 today, whereas 2 days ago the greenback was fetching 4.03 złots. That's probably because the rabble-rousers didn't raise a rumpus on the streets last week -- that kind of commotion always causes market jitters.

As Jarosław Gowin put it, the leaders of the KOD movement are "people rooted in the former system". In other words nomenklaturites, their KOR-ite collaborators and Solidarity "fellow travellers"-- the main winners of the roundtable bamboozle!

Life / Doughnut [Pączki] Day... in Poland [70]


STO LAT, STO LAT, NIECH ŻYJE ŻYJE NAM...!

Life / Doughnut [Pączki] Day... in Poland [70]

Merged: Anyone already stocked up with pączki on this Jeudi Gras?

Today is Tłusty Czwartek. Statistically (or so TVP claim) every Pole consumes two of them. How about you? Prices in Warsaw this year range from 99 groszy (with plain white icing but devoid of the tradtional chopped candied orange rind garnish) to 3.50 zł. Anyone on PF fry their own? FYI in American Polonia Fat Tuesday (known in Poland as Ostatki - the final fling) is celebrated instead, probabyl due to the Mardi Gras connection in multi-ethnic America. Hamtramck, Michigan is the pączki capital of America. Thousands flock there from all corners of Metro Detroit and SE Michigan and queue for hours to stock up, although pączki are available in all area supermarkets on that day. They even have a Pączki Day parade and Pączki run (foot race).

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


That's a good example. Not only known but universally dreaded. But you will agree with my kwas mlekowy example, won't you? How about kwas mrówczy (formic acid) and kwas solny (hydrogen chloride)? Sure, eventually the kid will learn in middle or secondary school, but we are talking about he average 5-year-old. Dunno if anyone has ever done a comparitive study, but it would seem the Polish child of equal age and educatonal level should have an advantage in vocabulary building.

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


Every language has its upsides and downsides, its pluses and minuses, its easy things and difficult ones. In one sense, Polish easier for young children to acqurie vocabulary in than English. Above the basic level of everyday speech, English uses a great deal of Latin and Greek-derived roots which msut be memorised. One example: ask a 5-year-old what lactic acid is, and it'll probably draw a blank stare. In Polish kwas mlekowy is self-descriptive -- the child at least knows it's something sour and has to do with milk. Ptak drapieżny enables a Polish child to immediately picture an aggressivel clawing fowl which the word predator does not automatically suggest to an English 5-year-old. That is true of much scientifc terminology -- Polish tends to use indigenous roots and English -- Graeco-Latin ones.

But this varies from field to field. In the realm of medical specialists Polish tends to opt for foreign sources: laryngolog (ear, nose & throat specialist), nefrolog (kidney specialist), neurochuirurg (brain surgeon), etc. Ask an Anglo-speaking 5-year-old what kind of a doctor a stomatolog is and he'll probably say: "One that treats stomach aches."

News / Let's protest censorship in Poland's mainstream media! [90]

Merged: PO-censored films to be aired on TVP

A number of documentaries which PO-controlled public television kept shelved are finally seeing the light of day. The first was "Comrade General" (about Jaruzelski). The pro-Polish government are therefore keeping their pledge to make TVP impartial, reliable and balanced. Under the PO regime it had to serve the ruling party and mainly things bearing the Michnikite stamp of approval were shown.

Love / WHAT TRAITS DO POLISH MEN LOOK FOR IN A FEMALE? [34]


Tell him a joke and make him crack up.
Na balu tańczyła Pani Hrabina z Panem Jenerałem. W pewnym momencie Pani Hrabina puściła niewzykle smrodliwego bąka, zarumieniła się i szepneła błagałnie do Pana Jenerała: "Panie Jenerale, niech to zostanie między nami". A Pan Jeneral, wachlując się ręką, odparł: "A ja miałem nadzieję, że się rozejdzie!"