Language / Best books to self-study Polish? [30]

Ronald Feldstein put out a popular and relatively acclaimed paperback Polish grammar some years back in fairly exhaustive detail. Sure it's been reprinted and, again, he really covers those counting patterns admirably for an American writing for Anglophone learners:-)

Problem with any such book on foreign language grammar is that considerable prerequisite knowledge is required for the stuff to make any sense whatsoever.

Were Polish my FIRST second language as an adult and I'd zero background from either childhood or even middle school, I'd have thrown in the towel after page fiveLOL

Po polsku / Polska miedzy Niemcami i Rosja. Zalety i wady. [512]

No, nie jestem zapewno, Alien.

Po polsku / Polska miedzy Niemcami i Rosja. Zalety i wady. [512]

Tak samo kiedy Polacy sie staraja mowic ze soba po angielsku:-)
Oni takze mowia od lasa do sasa a jednak sie jakos rozumieja!

Po polsku / Polska miedzy Niemcami i Rosja. Zalety i wady. [512]

No, to inna sprawa. Ukraina nie wodzi wojne przeciwko Ameryki:-)

Language / Best books to self-study Polish? [30]

Swan and Feldstein are by far the best for Anglophone Polish learners!
They break down the number quirks especially very clearly, even for me LOL

Food / Where can I buy lamb in Poland? [89]

You might have to look towards a specialty restaurant.

Food / Where can I buy lamb in Poland? [89]

Looks like you've been wracking your brains out for a rack of lamb LOL
Well, my limited experience in Poland is that lamb is indeed on the menu, but more for foreign or international -style eateries.

Po polsku / O co chodzi z tymi Żydami. [144]

Zelenskij, szaleny?

Po polsku / Polska miedzy Niemcami i Rosja. Zalety i wady. [512]

Niemcy w przyszlosci musia byc NIEPODLEGLI od Rosji, o tym to chodzi!

Po polsku / O co chodzi z tymi Żydami. [144]

Ach, Prus! Tak, jego dzielo tylko troche znam.
Dzieki za polecenie.

Po polsku / O co chodzi z tymi Żydami. [144]

Tego przyslowia niestety nie znam. Prosze o objasniene:-)

Life / Polish Classical Music [101]

And how!!

Po polsku / O co chodzi z tymi Żydami. [144]

Ale Luther on byl wiecznym nieprzyjacielem Zydow, bo oni nie chcieli zostac Chrzesianimi! A to bylo poczatkiem zakoncu zycia zydowskiego w Niemczech.

Life / Polish Classical Music [101]

Henri aka Henryk Wieniawski was a virtuoso violinist during the 19th century and composer of still oft played potboilers. Jewish in origin, Polish by birth and nationality, he was the first in a long tradition of Polish-Jewish violinists up until the late 20th century, among them Henryk Szeryng.

We tend to measure all Polish musicians against the incomparable Chopin or Szopen. This though is unfair, as there were numerous other influential composers, not to least of whom the recently deceased Krzysztof Penderecki!

Just got finished listening to Rubinstein's rendition of Chopin's Etude in A-flat (La Tristesse). After wiping my eyes, one realizes why the latter remains the soul of Poland, despite a French father:-)

Life / Banners and slogans at soccer games in Poland [63]

Nice to know.

Life / Banners and slogans at soccer games in Poland [63]

I've observed such at football games on TV, but it's not a usual and normally there no invective, in print anyway.
The fans are another story! LOL

Language / A study on how bilingual Polish-English speakers think [86]

Don't you fall for that bull, AntV!
Rich's just sour on Polish for his own reasons.
It can only help by speaking the language of the country in which you're either visiting, working or living....NO EXCEPTIONS.

Language / A study on how bilingual Polish-English speakers think [86]

Cool! I'm also readily available to help out, if more or less for the basics:-) Good move,
POWODZENIA CHLOPCU!

Language / A study on how bilingual Polish-English speakers think [86]

But AntV, you already speak English, I don't get it!

Language / A study on how bilingual Polish-English speakers think [86]

Translating English into Polish, whatever literary form, I've found far more challenging than the reverse.

Polish can be shortened in English, whereas the same cannot be said for the other direction.

In my bilingual edition of "Pan Tadeusz", the translation is far fewer pages than the original.

Furthermore, quantifying verbal aspects can be easily eliminated in English with far less contextual explanation required. Often, there's so much subtext or unmentioned,
hidden between the lines stuff, it would take almost entirely re-writing the English in order to accurately render the Polish.

Examples too numerous to list here.

Language / A study on how bilingual Polish-English speakers think [86]

??? Sense please, Rich? What are ya smokin', dude?

Language / A study on how bilingual Polish-English speakers think [86]

Paucity of language can often, but not always, lead to deeper understanding, Rich et al.
Not everything in English can be expressed in a sound bite!

Po polsku / Staram się polepszać się po polsku :) [85]

"No" bedzie po polsku jak "Like, uh-" po angielsku, prawda?

Language / A study on how bilingual Polish-English speakers think [86]

No sirree, only to my closest, bosom enemies!

Language / A study on how bilingual Polish-English speakers think [86]

RIgheeo! As the Dutch couldn't get the Germans to say S-C-H-E-V-E-N-I-N-G-E-N properly without messing up, no Nazi spy passed the baseball test, e.g. Ted William's batting average:-)

Po polsku / Staram się polepszać się po polsku :) [85]

Wedlug wielu uczen dzisiaj?? MATURA BZDURA!!

Po polsku / Staram się polepszać się po polsku :) [85]

Slicznie dziekjue, pawku, to bardzo milo Twojej stroni! Ale cwiczenie czyni mistrza, czy nie?

Language / A study on how bilingual Polish-English speakers think [86]

You're smart, pawian. I was nearly fooled once by somebody in Vienna, introduced to me as a Brit.
She tried to fool me with songs from G & S such as "Yum-Yum's Song" from the Mikado etc.
It nearly worked until it came down to loose horsing around together, the acid test of the native Anglophone; she failed the test:-)

Even when I lived in Berlin, I never pretended I was German. Oh, it took people nearly an eternity to figure out that I was from the States, but in the end of course, I never failed to blow my cover LOL

Po polsku / Staram się polepszać się po polsku :) [85]

No Rysku, dziekuje za pomoc!
Przy zdaniu trzecim musze w przyszlosci prosto pisac, tu masz racje:-)

Language / A study on how bilingual Polish-English speakers think [86]

In my opinion, it's the humor thing that get's 'em every time!
The issue of utter and complete indistinguishability from an English native speaker ALWAYS falls short when the English is too absolutely correct, both grammatically, lexically, even idiomatically.

Native speakers NEVER nail it all the time because they're actually speaking, not imitating their own language.

English, especially the US variety, is normally little else than one big slangy joke on itself, with precious little "correct" in casual aka natural expression.

Foreign mimic of English: Take a glimpse at our card and once you've decided, feel free....
Native speaker with zero interference: Once you know whatcha want, just give a holler....