Language / Slavic languages words similarities with Polish [240]

False friends abound in closely related languages, in Germanic, Romance too, as well as Slavic:-)

Genealogy / Silesian, old Polish heritage? [49]

At a Steuben Parade way back in the '8O's, various once marginalized groups such as the New Jersey Chapter of the Silesian-Americans, especially the Volga Germans and the Gottscheer Sudeten Germans, showed up with a vengeance, insisting they had every right to march together as other Germans, even appearing side by side the rest with their own float! One read "LUSATIA GERMAN AND PROUD".

Life / All Things Christmassy in Poland [439]

@Maf,
"When fear came a-knocking, faith answered the door but there was nobody home."
I agree with you, although I always wondered what a practicing Agnostic actually is, considering a practicing atheist means to believe in something which doesn't believe

in anything!

At least the former leaves room for doubt.

Language / Short Polish<->English translations [1050]

Apropos of nothing special, I was just thinking of what would be the Polish translation of "lockdown" and came up with "uziemienie". Don't know how I came up with that, but my Polish contact in Gdansk, seemed to think it sounded allright even though, apparently, the English "lockdown" is often used, albeit with a Polish pronunciation:-)

Life / All Things Christmassy in Poland [439]

Don't tell me you're an atheist, Maf!
:-)

Language / Slavic languages words similarities with Polish [240]

Do you know Russian and Ukrainian with equal facility?

Language / Slavic languages words similarities with Polish [240]

To Vlad: I'm American of German-speaking descent and Polish, later Russian, I studied at graduate school in my late 2O's while obtaining my doctorate in the psychology of second language acquisition and adult pedagogy. Are you Russian or Romanian, like Vlad Tepes?

Life / All Things Christmassy in Poland [439]

My wife's making "kluski z makiem plus grzadki ze cybulkami, koperem i kinkami" (noodles with honey and strained poppy seeds as well as beets with onions, dill and caraway seeds) along with the main dish, probably kielbasa of some variety:-)

And we don't even celebrate the holiday, but I've bitten her with the Polish bug!

Language / Slavic languages words similarities with Polish [240]

For the majority of Europeans in general, any time before 2000 is like ancient history, so astronomically short is their memory!
It's frightening really.

Recently met several Germans under thirty who only vaguely knew of (or worse, even cared about) the Fall of the Wall and the impact of the collapse of Communism. All three though had relatively well-paying banking jobs in Frankfurt aka Bankfurt or"Mainhattan", yet couldn't converse on even the lowest historical-cultural level...in English OR German LOL

Language / Slavic languages words similarities with Polish [240]

Makes perfect sense, Vlad. Thanks:-)
In French and German too, "citizen" relates to the word for citadel or fort, as those who defend their ramparts.

Language / Slavic languages words similarities with Polish [240]

Perhaps not quite germain, but I heard from a Russian acquaintance that immediately during early Glasnost, it was usual in Russia to hear "gospodin" and "gospozha" when referring, resp. to "Mr." and "Mrs.". This later was briefly replaced by "garazhin" for "citizen" when addressing strangers or in similarly formal encounters. Is this true?

Travel / Why does everyone seem to hate LOT Polish Airlines? [382]

I too enjoyed listening to the accents of foreign flight attendants, on MALEV for instance, AUSTRIAN AIR etc., if for no other reason to try to figure out what the deuce they were saying!

Travel / Why does everyone seem to hate LOT Polish Airlines? [382]

Having traveled on numerous European carriers, I'd say language has EVERYTHNG to do with it, now and probably into the future!
Unlike Latin, the first truly "international" language (excluding math, of course), English has gotten literally whittled down to near nothing from sheer over-and misuse!
Fluent, or near unaccented airline lingo still doesn't mean that the flight attendants actually "speak" English, merely, that they've studied and perfected for their job only the bare minimum of what they absolutely need to know, that's all.

Depart from the script and see what often happens.

Language / Short Polish<->English translations [1050]

Native speakers are entitled to a few typos:-)
German would read "jemandem die Haare zu Berge stehen"

Language / Short Polish<->English translations [1050]

Oops, thanks ForumUser!
I was really out of my depth here sans dictionary.

Language / Short Polish<->English translations [1050]

Just off the cuff, without the benefit of either a dictionary or context in front of me, I'd venture a spontaneous:
"to have silly notions" or something like that. Don't think it'd have a direct translation in English though.
However the German might read "Flausen im Kopf haben"
This though is pure guesswork:-) Sorry!

Travel / Why does everyone seem to hate LOT Polish Airlines? [382]

Standard "World" aka "Internationalish", apropos my pod-people analogy from the '57 Don Siegel classic:-)

It's essentially English, robbed of all its husk and kernel:

stupid brave has replaced "foolhardy"
railroad bridge has largely replaced "trestle"
brothers and sisters instead of "siblings"
etc.. at least here in the States. The latter has been deemed "snobby" vs, the former which is now "cool" LOL
What makes English English has by in large disappeared from the current
lexicon among those under eighty!

As with the pod people, it looks like English, even sounds like English...
BUT IT AIN'T ENGLISH.

Travel / Why does everyone seem to hate LOT Polish Airlines? [382]

@Rich,
It's a POLISH airline, get the name POLISH in the name??
Lufthansa's a GERMAN airline and the first language of the crew will be GERMAN!
Even if English is the language of international air travel, don't expect your Lot-flight attendant to sound as though she comes from Kansas.
Speak in your nearest NATIVE language, sir. Just remember, the best way around is (always) through:-)

UK, Ireland / Why are Polish people, especially women, so disrespectful toward the English? [442]

It's all a matter of perception, really.
Polish women have been terribly maligned over the years, as I've expatiated at length here on PF, being labled variously in such vile ways, I scarcely can repeat those epithets!

Well, if I were a youngish, university-educated, honest, and hard working Polish woman, enduring the constant stereotype of some sort of trollop etc., I'd definitely develope a hard outer skin, indeed, coming across as "disrespectful", if only the sense of being "SELF-respectful" first and foremost.

UK, Ireland / Why are Polish people, especially women, so disrespectful toward the English? [442]

For you either what, Alien? You mean, I believe, "Me too", that is, you also would have developed at bit of an attitude, shall we say. Can't say as I would blame you.

:-)

UK, Ireland / Why are Polish people, especially women, so disrespectful toward the English? [442]

I'd like to add at this point that lots of immigrant groups may seem arrogant, uppity, yes, even disrespectful towards the majority inhabitants of the "new" country to which they felt themselves forced to emigrate.

In Manhattan, where I grew up during the mid-60's and the long bygone era of German-born building supers and fixit men, many had well-paying, high-status positions as company engineers, with a steady salary, families and respect back in Germany. What a culture shock indeed to land here and be addressed by an Americanized nick name instead of "Herr Ingenieur!" and to work at a dizzying pay cut for doing more work than back in Europe, being called day and night to fix sinks or overflowing toilets for peanuts compared to the way they were treated back home.

Disrespectful towards tenants who treated them like mere lackeys?? You bet they were!

Polonia / What do Poles think of how they are treated in Germany, in comparison to the Muslim migrants [181]

I hold people accountable for their bad behavior, if that's what you mean.

Polonia / What do Poles think of how they are treated in Germany, in comparison to the Muslim migrants [181]

Allright, "standard bearer" then, as long as we're being politically correct!

Polonia / What do Poles think of how they are treated in Germany, in comparison to the Muslim migrants [181]

Why so touchy, Cojestdocholery?
You missed my point, apparently. I simply said that I have a high level of social bearing and comportment. Certainly, I didn't mean to cast espursions on anybody.

It's a fact though that those from poorer nations who immigrate to a richer one, will necessarily have to catch up in terms of education and so forth compared, say, with those with little literacy or formal education, that's all. It's scarcely their fault if they weren't born into the social advantages others have.

There's nothing wrong with wanting the best, is there? 'Course not! It's only natural, and yet the way standards have dropped so, it's a miracle people value cultural literacy and things which matter other than stuffing their faces.....or other parts of the human anatomy LOL

Polonia / What do Poles think of how they are treated in Germany, in comparison to the Muslim migrants [181]

... and proud of it! At least I have and maintain a standard-:)

Polonia / What do Poles think of how they are treated in Germany, in comparison to the Muslim migrants [181]

Reality, dude!

History / What do Poles owe to Jews? [599]

From your lips to G-d's ear:-)

History / What do Poles owe to Jews? [599]

It's a crying shame that far too many Jews have little respect for the very culture to which their ancestors contributed richly, almost exclusively after 1900.

The joke is really on them, the Israelis or sundry other Jews, probably from the US, who lapse into this disgusting Pole bashing!

History / Polish films with Jewish motifs [4]

@Pawian,
I watched a retrospective featuring this great Polish film at the Polish Consulate in NY many years ago for a Polish-language cultural evening in which I enthusiastically participated. By the end of the showing, there wasn't a dry eye in the entire house as the audience saw the charismatic Danuta Szaflarska singing the title song, glistening with tears upon just learning of her mother's death, yet bravely marching to defeat the Nazi enemy!

Polonia / What do Poles think of how they are treated in Germany, in comparison to the Muslim migrants [181]

I hear from German friends and acquaintances in Germany at present that most younger Poles already know considerable German from having studied it in Poland long before they ever arrived in the Federal Republic! The only thing, of course, is their accent, rather than their grammarLOL. Just think back a bit to the late Marcel Reich-Ranicki. Execellent to near perfect German. Accent?? UGGH! Furthermore, many educated Poles are remarkably quick studies in terms of language acquisition, particularly German as well as English.

It's essentially the older, less educated ones who tend to give Poland and the Poles a bad reputation:-) Working-class migrants probably from every country, including right

here in the US, are generally those who are a less than flattering advertisement for their respective countries.