Language / The longest polish word in existence is..... [23]


So...can we get an English translation?

Language / A few words -"widzisz" and "mokro"... Curious about usage [11]


Hmm...I'm not seeing it on the Wiktionary declension table (en.wiktionary.org/wiki/mokry). But, that would explain it if it means "it is wet".

Would this apply to other words as well? Like "sucho" for "it is dry" and "choro" for "it is ill"?

Language / When do you use 'się'? And what does it mean? [37]

Alright, so a question or two...

Nominative –
Genitive się/siebie
Dative sobie
Accusative się/siebie
Instrumental sobą
Locative sobie
Vocative –

When would one use the locative? If the verb is in the locative?

And when would you use "sam"?

And would it be right to say "uczyłem się" for "I taught myself"?

Language / The meaning of some Polish Diminutives [23]

So what do the others mean? If "yk" implied light or small, what of the others?

And what are the other diminutives?

And when do you use them? I can't seem to locate anything online that explains them in depth...

Language / The meaning of some Polish Diminutives [23]

Let's see if I have this...

From Wikipedia:
kaczka (duck) → kaczuszka, kaczątko
ptak (bird) → ptaszek, ptaszeczek, ptaś, ptasiątko
pióro (feather) → piórko, pióreczko

These would be the declinations of the diminutive right? And they would mean "little" or "small" duck, bird, and feather right?

So then...would mały (small) (masculine) → maleńki, malusi, malutki, maluśki, malusieńki (Wikipedia again), mean "very small" or something like it?

And then...prędko (fast) → prędziutko, prędziuteńko, prędziuśko, prędziusieńko...would be "very fast"? Then what would "prędzej (faster) → prędziusiej" mean?

And then..."płakać (to weep) → płakuniać, płakuńciać, płakusiać" would mean to weep lightly?

And in your example..."piesek, kamyk" to "pieseczek, kamyczek"...would that be small dog (doggy) and small stone, to very small dog and stone?

Or am I still missing something?

Language / Polish was chosen the HARDEST LANGUAGE in the world to learn... :D [1558]

Not sure if this has been resolved...but with regards to the morze and może...they are exactly the same.

A great thing SzwedwPolsce posted in a thread of mine was a link to ivona.com, and said the voice "Ewa". Very clear pronunciation, and from what I've heard elsewhere by recordings in Polish it's very, very accurate in pronunciation (I've yet to find anything wrong with it)

Language / "Poles" or "Polish people" - which is better to use? [199]


First, the derogatory term is "Polack". Pollack I think is a surname.


No. Polak is NOT derogatory at all. After all it is Polish, and means "Pole". It's the American mis-spelling of it "Polack" that's derogatory. However, for me, "Polack jokes", being called a "Polack" and the like doesn't bother me. However, when I say "Polak" and get glances, I explain it's without the "c" and most folk around here then are okay with it.

But, it's mainly a thing of WHERE you are, and what the social norms are. Like, there are areas where if you called an African-American a n***er, it'd be tolerated, but other places, you'd best NEVER say that. But, Poles get that a lot in America, so don't go around saying that at work and you should be fine! (You might get some glances, but so long as you don't mind...ya know?)

Genealogy / Jasło and Osiek... Catholic churches [5]

Any idea on the ages of the churches in Jasło? My family immigrated from there in 1881, 1882, and 1902. And, from information obtained from outside sources, the surname had been in the area (apparently) from the 1400's until we left.

And I'll be sure to see what the archives has to offer.

News / Did you know that Polish army is the weakest in Central Europe?.. [150]

I've always wondered...how might an American Pole join the Polish Armed Forces?

Language / Having trouble pronouncing Polish words? [35]


It's not exactly "Jane"...more like "Jen"

ivona.com/?tk=W7S94tvr - (better way...hear it yourself)

Genealogy / BIALIK / Bialek, Kotecki, Witucki, Ezdebski Families - Jaslo and Poznan [17]

Merged: Polish Name - Bialik

Okay, so, from Wikipedia,
Surname masculine "Plural masculine or both masculine and feminine" Surname feminine Plural feminine
Kowalski Kowalscy Kowalska Kowalskie
Wilk Wilkowie --- (Wilkówna, Wilkowa) --- (Wilkówne, Wilkowe)
Zięba Ziębowie --- (Ziębianka, Ziębina, new: Ziębówna, Ziębowa) --- (Ziębianki, Ziębiny, new: Ziębówny, Ziębowe)

So...going off of "Wilk" as ending in a "k" as Bialik does, would it go...
Bialik Bialikowie --- (Bialikówna, Bialikowa) --- (Bialikówne, Bialikowe)?

Or would it be something else? So, would it be right to say the "Bialikowie" family? And, why is it that I've heard that the proper plural is "Bialika"?

Thanks.

Genealogy / BIALIK / Bialek, Kotecki, Witucki, Ezdebski Families - Jaslo and Poznan [17]

I'm aware of the origin of the name, and my Bialik's weren't from those areas (at least, since the middle ages).

What I'm curious about is what the singular and plural are. And, depending on whether the crowd is mixed, or all male or all female, etc. Or, if there's something better online that explains this.

And, I know that names ending in "ski", for instance Komorowski, I've seen them used in sentences as Komorowskiego (imagining it is being used in the genitive), but what would the same be for Bialik (since it doesn't have the "ski")?

Merged: Bialik - surname. Coats of Arms and Requests.

I hope I've put this in the right forum...probably should be two separate threads, but I want to condense.

A little info: Bialik - surname. I was told that the family is/was noble, bearing a coat of arms that was red with three things on them forming a point with a goat on top. I think that resembles the Jelita coat of arms the best. The Bialik's have the name origin in Biały, which became Białyk, which became Białik, and finally Bialik. But, from stuff I've now found on wikipedia, there are two coats of arms (names I don't recall right now) that had Biały's...but Jelita doesn't. Jelita does have several whose names are similar to Bialik and from a Jewish Surname Origin book it says that they stemmed from Bialik. The Jews also adopted the name, forming the Jewish Bialik's and the Polish ones (Chaim Bialik, the famous poet, belongs to the Jewish one). So...a question, is it possible that the family does have Jelita, or not? And really anything else anyone could tell me about the name would be appreciated.

And, another request, again, hope this is in the right spot...the Bialik's came from the Jasło area, and there is an Air Conditioning factory(?) or business(?) or something there today. I've sent emails, to no avail. Sent a letter, but not sure if it got there or if there has been a reply (with Polish post being not the best I read), so, I was wondering if any person in Poland would be so kind as to call them on my behalf and try to get some line of communication going. I'd be more than happy to provide the number from their website, but I think it best to not post it right yet or maybe it's best to send it via a private message, I don't know.

Anyway, gladly awaiting any help. Thanks in advance.

History / Are Poles happy with the current Polish borders? [134]


Look at the States for what? Ethnic diversity, yes. But, that doesn't mean people are intermarrying. Sure, enough are, but they're loosing their ethnic identity and cultural ties. Then we end up with these black people in power (be it as employer, mayor, president) and the sad part is that most of them insist on playing the race card and basically complaining for the hundreds of years of slavery (in their own ways, of course).

Ethnic diversity is still a rarity in many small rural areas in America too. And they usually have better (sometimes nepotistic) communities (things actually get done instead of complaining)

Language / Variations of these Polish Foul Words [6]

I don't know...why I asked what they mean and how they are formed, etc.

Found it here: sjp.pl/co/m%F3c

History / Kingdom of Poland Map [14]


That's why I was wondering about it. I'm also wondering with regards to the territory bordering what I believe is the Volga River, and including Crimea in the Black Sea.

All maps I've been able to find are of either before or after 1618 (when I've read Poland was at it's maximum extent).

And then on Wikipedia, found a map with caption "Rzeczpospolita in 1569; the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, having lost lands to the Russian state and to Lithuania's partner Poland, is much smaller than a hundred years earlier". So...how much larger was it a hundred years earlier and did that have a larger land-coverage than in 1618?

History / Poland during the Renaissance [146]

I understand there were the poets (Kochanowski and the like) and Kopernik, but what else did Poland "do" to benefit the world during the Polish Renaissance?