The BEST Guide to POLAND
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Posts by Rain33  

Joined: 5 Jul 2011 / Female ♀ 		Last Post: 12 Dec 2011
Threads: Total: 14 / Live: 2 / Archived: 12
Posts: Total: 19 / Live: 5 / Archived: 14 		From: in Atlanta, Georgia, but born and raised in Ireland
Speaks Polish?: no
Interests: hockey

Displayed posts: 7
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Rain33   
8 Jul 2011
Language / Why is the Polish language so difficult? [309]

I often wonder why the Polish language is so difficult, as I sit here listening to my Polish neighbors argue in Polish for the fifteenth time. Is it because they do not realize that their language is so difficult to the native English speaker? Maybe it's because the Poles are so expressive in their own language; I often notice that the word order is less stringent. (I am going to try to this one of these days: make up a sentence and put the words in a haphazard order and see if they, my neighbors, comprehend it. I am wondering whether or not I can construct sentences like an English speaker does, only the words are in Polish? Why, oh, why can't I just say "Will you go to the movies with me tomorrow?," "I hear you like the Rolling Stones," "Where are you going?" I sometimes think Russian might be easier, although I don't know anyone who speaks it. Do the Poles want us to learn their language or no? I do not know.

Anyway, I am driving myself crazy with this Polish language. It is going to be the death of me.
Rain33   
9 Jul 2011
Language / Why is the Polish language so difficult? [309]

Re: word order - Polish word order is not random, but constructed according to emphasis, topicality, etc. Because English word order is fixed, we have to resort to other tricks.

Thank you so very much. I often wonder why Polish sentences are constructed like this. I guess I have to step away from my English and read the sentences word-for-word.

By the way, Does anyone know where I can type in Polish phrases and have them recited by a native Polish speaker? I want to know if I am saying the phrases correctly or not. The maid down the hall was going to do this for me, but she speaks very fast. I discovered that she is Kashubian, so she is probably not the best person to ask to recite something in Polish. Is there a website out there that will allow me to hear the pronunciation?
Rain33   
11 Jul 2011
Language / Why is the Polish language so difficult? [309]

True, Alex! And yet, Polish typically borrows heavily from non-Slavic word roots. Having said all that, Both Polish and particularly Czech use almost exclusively SLAVIC word roots for both the days of the week as well as the months and seasons, compared say with Russian in the case of the former.

So, in other words, Russian is easier than Polish?
Rain33   
26 Jul 2011
Language / Polish was chosen the HARDEST LANGUAGE in the world to learn... :D [1558]

've had a look at them and I must say that they do have their share of conjugational armour to penetrate. Yet, as we've seen, Lithuanian is hardly any more or less "irregular" than Polish, Icelandic, Finnish, German or Hungarian.

But, I'm not sure that Polish is the most difficult language in the world for English speakers. I found, and still find, Finnish to be a very, very difficult language to learn. Polish is difficult, but nothing compared to Finnish.
Rain33   
7 Dec 2011
Off-Topic / Ukrainian language [50]

I was wondering if anyone knows anything about Ukrainian. I have applied and got accepted to a university in Kiev, but I do not know Ukrainian. I do want to learn Ukrainian, but I am very afraid that said Ukrainians will beat me up because I am trying to learn the language. Someone, and I think it was my Polish neighbor, told me that the Ukrainian language does not exist. She says that most Ukrainians do not like foreigners learning the language because they are very xenophobic, and most do not welcome Americans, or Brits, who can speak Ukrainian. She says that Russian is prefered over there, and if I dare speak Ukrainian, I will get beat up by a bunch of Ukrainian hooligans because they perfer the Russian language over their own. That is why they speak Russian over there, my Polish neighbor told me, the Ukrainians don't like their own language.

I think she told me a story about some Ukrainian guy beating up her daughter in Lviv because she told them she was trying to learn the Ukrainian language.

Nobody? And I thought the few Ukrainians on this forum would answer.
Rain33   
12 Dec 2011
Off-Topic / Ukrainian language [50]

Thanks guys, I often thought Ukrainians did not like foreigners speaking their language. My Polish neighbor reinforced that belief nevertheless.