News / Austria's swing to the far right on Poland? [229]


I don't how you measure it but in absolute figures current redistribution programmes in Poland pale in comparison to most western Europe

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


you have an answer in your own question - Święcicki simply means from Święcice or of Święcice - surnames of that type were common for nobility ( a contraction of pan Święcicki in your case (the lord of Święcice)) but were not restricted to nobility (in later times when peasants were given (or adopted) surnames some ended up with surnames of that type) - if you have family records you can probably establish if your family had noble roots

the place name Święcice is not an unusual one and there may be a good couple of places named so in Poland and therefore there could have been several unrelated families bearing the surname (hence the mention of the surname in conection with various coats of arms).

as for Baltic ancestry - hmm I am not sure about it but it is quite probable that the whole north of Masovia has a Baltic genetic substratum (i.e. that there were a significant number of Slavicized Balts living in the area dating back to the migration of Slavs) - another possibility is the flux of genes because of frequent warfare including taking slaves and hostages between Prussians, Yotvingians and Polish Masovians with raids on both sides of the border - another possibility is that some splinter fraction of Prussians or Yotvingians seeked shelter on the Masovian side after the conquest of first Prussia then Yotvingia by the Teutonic knights (they would have been required to adopt christianity in that case)

Language / Polish language would look better written in Cyrillic Script? [212]


you need boats for rivers - how do you carry a boat when you travel from one river basin to another - Moravia is neither in Odra nor Vistula basin you know - and guess what travel from say Wrocław to Gniezno would last equally long on horse as using rivers - this is geography for you

Language / Polish language would look better written in Cyrillic Script? [212]


the similarity of the names of Polish Polans and Kievan Polans is not a coincidence - there were several Slavic tribes that split in the time of Slavic expansion - including Serbs, Croats, Volhynians and Golędzians/Galindians - some of the tribes were not even originally Slavic but took part in the Slavic migrations

Language / Polish language would look better written in Cyrillic Script? [212]


I am fully aware of that - what I am saying is there were attempts at peaceful christianisation of the Prussians - and they were met with violence from them, so one day a neighbouring Polish prince got an idea which looked smart to him to invite a knightly monastic order to christianise Prussians by force and potentially subjugate them for his principality - we all know how it turned out

Language / Polish language would look better written in Cyrillic Script? [212]


you may not be aware of that but Prussians were not Poles, neither Slavs - and they rejected peaceful christianisation quite violently (see saint Wojciech aka Adalbert case) - it was Konrad's ambition to conquer Prussians (and possibly Jotvingians - also not Slavs and pagans) - but it was also a measure of trying to at least getting them not to raid Masovia - especially Jotvingians' raids were quite devastating

Language / Polish language would look better written in Cyrillic Script? [212]


Kondrad Mazowiecki invited Teutonic Knights and gave them Ziemia Dobrzyńska to use them to conquer pagan Prussia for himself and his Masovian lineage - it turned out the Knights had other plans and conquered pagan Prusians for themselves and created their own state there

News / Charles Crawford on PiS just after the 2015 election [29]


as far as I know Kaczyński doesn't support a ban on abortion when the pregnancy is a result of a rape or when the pregnancy endangers the life or health of the mother - but you may think otherwise - it doesn't hurt instantly to be brainwashed you know

and I guess you are a supporter of abortion being legal in all instances as if it is somehow women's right - sorry to disappoint according to the polls most Poles don't share your view

News / Charles Crawford on PiS just after the 2015 election [29]

maybe it's not the most decent thing to do - but how is that different to what PO and PSL did

and beware it is still not counting in billions - like the sound screens against empty fields along the A2 motorway erected during the time of PO just to mention one thing from the top of my head

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

Właśnie otwarliśmy nowe luksusowe spa w Warszawie. By spopularyzować to miejsce, rozdajemy 100 voucherów o wartości 3000 złotych dla pierwszych 100-u osób, które zaakceptują naszą prośbę o dodanie do znajomych.

News / Charles Crawford on PiS just after the 2015 election [29]

PZU what?

News / Charles Crawford on PiS just after the 2015 election [29]

i surely know the abbreviation - I was asking cms what is using PiS more TKM than (is it proper English what I just wrote - I mean can you end a sentence with than? ) ;)

btw Ziemowit what are you views on the right to abort fetuses with a diagnosed Down syndrome

News / Charles Crawford on PiS just after the 2015 election [29]


more than what


examples?

do you compare some tens of millions granted for whatever reason to Radio Maryja (Fakt managed to document less then 30 million of these here fakt.pl/wydarzenia/polityka/dotacje-dla-rydzyka-pieniadze-ojca-rydzyka/7xnh2j7 - with billions spent on pointless advertising campaigns in PO-friendly media by the previous government

the total ban on abortion project was not the initiative of the leadership of the party and it never made it past first reading in the parliament if I recall correctly - I doubt PiS would adopt it without alterations

what does have Dezubekizacja to do with a square deal for pensioners and state employees

Language / IS "MURZYN" word RACIST? [686]


I don't mind Chinese, Vietnamese or Indian people - but please God save us from muslims

Food / Origin of the pierogi [127]


they aren't idenctical if filling is different - can you get sauerkraut and wild mushrooms pierogi in China? or even the most common farmer's cheese, potato and onion ones (aka pierogi ruskie) - I have never been to Ukraine so I have no idea what kinds of fillings they use - I wouldn't be surprised if they use similar or identical fillings though

Language / IS "MURZYN" word RACIST? [686]


interesting story and the black physician was very tolerant indeed

Language / IS "MURZYN" word RACIST? [686]


of course you mean the małpa word not the murzyn word, or?

UK, Ireland / Who can transport my car by trailer from UK to Poland? [23]


just a question - can you register a Left-hand-driven car in the UK?

Genealogy / Do I look Polish? (my picture) [375]

I agree with kaprys - he does sort of look Russian

Life / Tap Water quality in Poland [44]


actually it's in some big cities mostly - as some big cities rely on water from major rivers - and you know major rivers are a bit of a sewage - smaller places especially not on major rivers rely on underground aquifers sometimes quite deep

Life / Tap Water quality in Poland [44]

Kraków has actually very good water quality - the Kraków tap water comes from the Dobczyce reservoir on (the Raba if I recall correctly) river that flows from the mountains - the reservoir is restricted from any other use (no bathing and probably even no angling)

Life / Tap Water quality in Poland [44]


you of course mean by it that it will make you sick within hours or kill you outright - so yes in that sense it is safe

in the long run? - in the long run you are making a filter for chemicals from river water of yourself - thanks I will stay away - i lived in a town were water was partly from Odra river and partrly from Nysa Kłodzka river - and no it did not taste good at all (so was tap water in Wrocław when I studied there)

Life / Tap Water quality in Poland [44]


you probably have higher tolerance for 'syfy i paksudztwa' from the river water - you cannot filter them out completely, so good luck for you drinking tap water in the long perspective

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

@gumishu

There are almost 600 people under the surname Sikoń in Poland and only 14 people under the suraname Sikoński - so theoretically you grandpa's surname could have been Sikoński but I somehow doubt it

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


most probably Sikoń - I doubt it was altered much -if it were Sikoński or some such it would have been preserved in the French language - Sikoń could have been a nickname (turned surname) for a person who needs to pee often (sikać means to pee mostly, but also trickle) - peasants didn't have surnames for quite a long time in Poland (even up to 19th century) and they went under first names and nicknames

Life / Tap Water quality in Poland [44]


Warsaw derives most of it's water supply from the Vistula river and the river is well a sewer to an extent - I wouldn't drink tap water in Warsaw

Mrągowo is a different case - it is small and it lies in a clean area and on a lake (or oven two lakes)

History / Can anyone from Poland tell me about Auschwitz and The Ghetto? [625]

I wonder where you got that from - it doesn't stem form the New Testament I can assure you

Language / IS "MURZYN" word RACIST? [686]


you like patronising people rozumiemnic, don't you

Language / IS "MURZYN" word RACIST? [686]


have you met such people here? I haven't