The BEST Guide to POLAND
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Posts by Nomsense  

Joined: 20 Sep 2009 / Male ♂
Last Post: 30 Jun 2010
Threads: -
Posts: Total: 38 / Live: 8 / Archived: 30
From: Kraków
Speaks Polish?: I do

Displayed posts: 8
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Nomsense   
10 Oct 2009
Language / Polish was chosen the HARDEST LANGUAGE in the world to learn... :D [1558]

Can anyone actually hear a difference between "cieszę się" (I'm glad) and "czeszę się" (I combing my hair)?

Yes, very clearly (I'm a native speaker of Polish, though). I've noticed that you (meaning people from the so called Western Europe) also have a problem with "si" and "sz". "Si" is often incorrectly translated as "sh". For example, Gosia becomes Gosha. It irritates me a lot. Thank God I don't have any "si" or "sz" sounds in my name.
Nomsense   
10 Oct 2009
Language / Polish was chosen the HARDEST LANGUAGE in the world to learn... :D [1558]

You can't blame foreigners if they don't have that particular sound in their language.

I don't. The lack of care when spelling someone's name is what irritates me.

Ci is the same sound, just...wetter.

The tongue is in a completely different position.
Nomsense   
11 Oct 2009
Language / Polish was chosen the HARDEST LANGUAGE in the world to learn... :D [1558]

You will find many, many words in French with unpronounced letters.
If you want a short explanation, French was made purposedly more difficult several centuries ago, to make it more 'noble', so that only cultivated people could use it.
Before that time, French spelling was very easy.

My favourite example of such a word in English is "queue". I've heard English spelling was heavily influenced by French. That would explain it ;-) .
Nomsense   
13 Apr 2010
News / Polish President Lech Kaczynski and gov officials die in a plane crash in Russia [686]

What you choose to take for the simplest answer is usually inspired by the things you see and read in mainstream media.

I am quite amazed by the amount of disrespect many people show on these forums. Thank you for this lesson - I was hoping that something has changed but this reminded me of what Einstein said about the infinite human stupidity.
Nomsense   
27 May 2010
Language / Maria, what is the Polish form? [30]

That is what I've mentioned above, often person named Maria would prefer to be called by a nickname like Mariola- is it more clear now???

No, it doesn't happen often and it's completely irrelevant. The question was about the name Maria and not nicknames. You could as well say that some women whose first name is Katarzyna prefer to be called księżniczka.
Nomsense   
30 Jun 2010
Life / SOME OBSERVATIONS ABOUT POLAND AND POLISH SOCIETY [297]

I tend to agree that Poland is not a Western country. Poland is Central Europe, not Western, not Eastern, Central. Best example - people from Western Europe perceive Poland as being Eastern and people from Eastern Europe perceive it as being Western :-) . I wonder whether a parallel mechanism can be observed in regards to Japan.