The BEST Guide to POLAND
Unanswered  |  Archives [3] 
  
Account: Guest

Posts by kaznoad  

Joined: 31 Oct 2010 / Male ♂
Last Post: 6 Nov 2010
Threads: -
Posts: Total: 30 / Live: 7 / Archived: 23
From: Poland, Warsaw
Speaks Polish?: yes

Displayed posts: 7
sort: Latest first   Oldest first
kaznoad   
6 Nov 2010
News / Polish Lithuanian Diplomatic War? At last. [533]

Why should there be an issue at all? I remember when the law was introduced about 10 years ago. It was dreamt up by ultra nationalists (and by now way does that exclude the left in Polish politics) as a reaction to their impression of increasing use of English in the country for names and business etc. The fact is that it is simply an unacceptable practice.
kaznoad   
6 Nov 2010
News / Polish Lithuanian Diplomatic War? At last. [533]

Then why has Poland introduced laws which forbid the registration of names it deems as being non Polish? An English friend of mine with a Polish wife and living in the country tried to register their newly born baby with a purely English (well Welsh actually) Christian name. The registration was refused. In the end not to be undone he went with his wife and registered the birth in the UK. They then presented the "de-facto" name to the Poles. Does this sound like civilised behaviour on the part of the Poles?
kaznoad   
3 Nov 2010
News / Polish Lithuanian Diplomatic War? At last. [533]

Poland will not use them when registering anyone officially - they'll just use the nearest comparable Latin letter. So - if Poles want to register their names using Polish letters, then they have to allow everyone else to use their letters, too. Can't see that happening, somehow.

If that is the case then so be it. I have no issue with this.

I have never seen her documents. However, I have noticed at every official event (in Poland or elsewhere) her name was always spelt using the German "u"

Well, in the UK, you won't catch people using ł, ś, ć, ó, ą, etc in official documents. Even things such as the EEA residency permit and driving licences will be in "plain" Latin letters. Likewise in most of Europe - the unique letters simply aren't recognised.

.
I agree - not usually in official documents. Nevertheless one reason for this is historical as it is related to the fact that until recently only English letters were available on typewriters in the UK. Foreigners in the UK commonly use their own spellings for most purposes and this does not cause either insult or any problem. For instance many French and Spanish names in the UK continue to be spelt with their unique linguistic letters. In fact the use of the female version of Polish names (i.e. ending in "ska") is increasingly common also in the UK, even if most English people do not understand its significance.
kaznoad   
3 Nov 2010
News / Polish Lithuanian Diplomatic War? At last. [533]

Would this be like how Poland refuses to allow the registration of RHD cars?

Well if you what to make such a ridiculous connection then it is clear who is being unreasonable in this case. I fail to understand your problem with the use of unique Polish letters. Poland's EU Commissioner until recently was Danuta Hubner. I can't write the correct spelling here but she used the German "u" or "umlout" in here name. Obviously this never caused the Poles any difficult so why would using Polish letters for Polish names create such a "difficult" problem in Lithuania. Incidently I would expect the Poles to be equally tollerant towards the Lithuanian minority in North Eastern Poland. Frankly speaking I think your position is childish.
kaznoad   
3 Nov 2010
News / Polish Lithuanian Diplomatic War? At last. [533]

So? Doesn't matter what it used to be like, all that matters is the here and now. And right now, Vilnius is Lithuanian.

I was not suggesting that Vilnius is Polish. However, there is still a sizeable Polish minority in the city and in some districts Poles actually are still in the majority. In such cases it seems only reasonable to recognise the actual situation. It is not just reasonable, but it is also required according to EU rules. I see no good reason why this should be so difficult to accept when in Poland the German minority has been given similar rights and privilages.
kaznoad   
3 Nov 2010
News / Polish Lithuanian Diplomatic War? At last. [533]

So if Poles are the majority in a part of London (for example) should London change it's street names to Polish?
and should the same apply to the Russians who live in Lithuania and London?

As far as I am aware London was never part of Polish territory. Much or Lithuania and all of Vilnius used to be in Poland. Perhaps you should read some history before making a fool out of yourself again.
kaznoad   
2 Nov 2010
Law / UK driving license mess in Poland [72]

Number 2 without a doubt. Of course you will actually need to still have some sort of UK address. If not use the address of any other family member - of course with their knowledge.