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Posts by PolkaZaGranica  

Joined: 8 Apr 2011 / Female ♀
Last Post: 4 Nov 2011
Threads: 2
Posts: 12

Speaks Polish?: Tak
Interests: Sports

Displayed posts: 14
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PolkaZaGranica   
4 Nov 2011
Work / Polish student overseas wanting to study in Poland:Which language do I choose to study in? [6]

Later I went to Poland to study Medicine.

Ah perfect! That's exactly what I'm planning to study.

but there comes a time when it all becomes very easy.

And do you mind me asking when that time came for you? I'm hoping it didn't take too long...?:)

Would you be able to come, say, 6 months earlier to begin "working-out" those Polish language muscles?

I'm sure If I do study in Poland, I'll have to arrive much earlier anyway to sort everything out. How much earlier, I'm not quite sure, but I'll forward the suggestion to my parents.

Don't take the easy way out. You'll probably regret it later.

That's a very good point. Thank you for the advice.
PolkaZaGranica   
10 Sep 2011
Language / Indian-Polish Accent. :P [26]

Your accent is....pretty convincing actually.

And your pronunciation for someone completely unrelated to Poland (Well apart from studying there), is excellent. I've got a few Indian friends here in SA, and after 12 years of being in school together, you'd think they could pronounce my surname by now. But they can't even do that, let alone say hello in Polish lol.

In fact I'd go as far as to say that your pronunciation and grammar is much better then that of some Polish kids I know that were born (And live) outside of Poland (sad fact).

I think someone has already said that you have a knack for languages. I agree with that person. :)
PolkaZaGranica   
14 Aug 2011
Work / Polish student overseas wanting to study in Poland:Which language do I choose to study in? [6]

I'll try keep this as short as I can:
Both my parents are from Poland. Hence I'm Polish.
But they moved overseas to South Africa. I was born in South Africa. I learnt Polish as a Kid.
Then I started school. Obviously I had to learn English. Over the years, as my studies consisted of just English, my Polish skills started disappearing to the extent that I spoke more English at home than I did Polish. Recently though I've started watching a whole lot more Polish movies, reading articles online etc. I'm able to communicate relatively comfortably with polish people here, but I still feel as if I struggle with the language. I still rely on my parents to translate pieces of Polish movies or articles (And when reading - I can be pretty slow in Polish...). I speak just Polish at home with my parents once again, after forcing myself to adapt.

Next year I'm off to university. My dream is to study in Poland. Here's where the problem comes in. If I were to study in Poland, should I study in Polish or English? Studies in English in Poland are more expensive than in Polish. I'd love to be able to keep the costs on my parents as low as possible. But if I study in English, I'll understand everything quickly, easily, first time. I'd be able to communicate easier with my peers who will also speak English.

BUT: Studying in Polish means lower costs on parents, meeting more Polish people of my age group (which I'd prefer to meeting English speaking people), and possibly learning my mother tongue (which I'd love more than anything). Then again- I might struggle. And this is university: there's no place for messing about right? Or will I manage with my knowledge of the language- and pick the rest up along the way quickly?

Anyway, I need opinions. Suggestions? :)

(I guess my attempt at keeping that short didn't work..)
PolkaZaGranica   
11 Aug 2011
Travel / Whats your favourite Polish city and why? [132]

Wroclaw ;) Probably because it's the biggest city I've gone to of the cities I've been to. Lol. I've been to Świdnica- but I disliked it, strongly. Too quiet a town for me. I've been to Brzeg as well, it's alright I suppose. I'd love to visit Krakow though :) And Warsaw! Can't wait till the day I do.
PolkaZaGranica   
11 Aug 2011
Love / Why do so many Polish girls dye their hair BLACK? [124]

In South Africa it's not just girls dyeing their hair black...I'd actually say it's more the guys now. I absolutely hate it when guys dye their hair like that (unless I suppose you're going grey). I don't understand the black hair craze. I really don't - we just call these kinds of people with the black hair, skinny jeans, piercings, dark clothes- emo's (But I suppose you knew that...). However come to think of it- most of the polish girls I know here have dyed their hair black at one stage or another...I guess being "emo" is cool?

Anyway - here's one Polish girl who hasn't dyed her hair black or any other colour for that matter *raises hand* lol :)
PolkaZaGranica   
30 Jul 2011
Work / Polish salaries - New statistics [38]

Wow, the salary seems REALLY low in both instances? Doesn't sound like something you could live off of, or am I wrong?

Oh and does anyone perhaps know how much on average doctors in Poland earn (In the public sector). I'm talking, fresh out of Med school doctors, AND specialised in for example, Neurology, or Family Medicine?
PolkaZaGranica   
8 Jul 2011
Life / How do Polish people in Poland respond to Polish people abroad....? [17]

And if any university student even mentions struggling under communism, then they've been in uni way too long and their opinions don't really matter :)

Actually, that's a very good point. Then I can check the "communism" part off the list.

You will be welcome at the beginning with curiosity;

I hope with not TOO much curiosity :)

But after that curiosity wears off, you will be treated as any other person

That's more what I was hoping for. Thank you so much for the opinion. Thanx to everyone actually for their opinions.

provided that your Polish accent will be not that much off.

Oh that might be a bit of a problem...My accent is a bit strange when I speak Polish. Hopefully that will change within a few years of studying in Poland?

So I'm guessing you were a little girl when you left Poland? I don't know if you still speak Polish but knowing it will make ur life much easier.

Not at all. I was born in South Africa :) I can speak and write in Polish. However, I do sometimes have problems understanding when people born and bred in Poland speak? I reckon though I should catch on quite quickly if I'm exposed to it every day.

Can anyone also advise me on the following in connection with what language I should study in, in Poland if I do go there? As you know it's a choice between Polish and English. Naturally the English studies cost more, but I'll be able to understand everything the professors say. On the other hand, if I study in Polish, the tuition fees are less, but I'm worried I might struggle in the beginning. I speak Polish with my parents, but I tend to insert English phrases a little too often when I'm lazy to think of the wording in Polish. Any suggestions?? Feel free to "test" my level of Polish if need be ;)
PolkaZaGranica   
8 Jul 2011
Life / How do Polish people in Poland respond to Polish people abroad....? [17]

I'm Polish and I live in abroad (as you can tell by my name).
I'm considering going to university in Poland, and I've been told by the very few Polish people living in my area, that Polish people (living in Poland) seem to be a bit....rude(?) to Polish people born and living abroad when they arrive in Poland. For example, that they might say you're not Polish, you know nothing about our history, you're not part of this country, you weren't here when we fought for our freedom from communism, you're different from us etc. and that Polish citizens living abroad would be treated as "lower class"??

This doesn't really bother me, and it won't affect my final decision on whether I study in Poland or not. Besides, it all sounds a bit silly and ridiculous to me, and in my mind I doubt that Polish people living in Poland would say these things? Or am I wrong? Or would they (By "they" I mean more specifically varsity students in Poland) be welcoming, and curious about the society you came from? I'm just curious as to how people would react to me... if at all. (I live in South Africa by the way).
PolkaZaGranica   
9 May 2011
Language / Too many English words in the Polish language! [709]

Agreed!!

But *Sigh* the youth of today, are so lazy and clumsy with their grammer (AHEM, actually I'm guilty as charged:/).

Still as annoying as it is, it's difficult to make people stop talking like that. We're a global network of people that are more connected by the day. We know more about the world and we have easier access to everything in the world. We incorporate a lot of what the world does into what we do and we change things to make them easier and to fit in. It's going to be extremely difficult to change this way of speaking. Sure we should save our language, but look at how the EU is trying to bring European countries together? Who knows, one day there may well be a single global language, everything else forgotten (Which is sad actually).
PolkaZaGranica   
8 May 2011
Food / Polish food at home or out? [57]

Well we buy the Polish sausages from a near by butcher, but otherwise everything we eat for lunch is Polish and prepared from scratch :) There's nothing better then Polish food :) Lol. I think maybe theres one meal a week we eat that's not typically all polish, but that's it? And we rarely eat take aways, like maybe once a month/2 months?
PolkaZaGranica   
8 May 2011
Life / Uptight Poles [262]

Being a Polish girl, I'd take that in offence ;) However I've myself been told by friends I'm uptight (I don't live in Poland). And yes so maybe I am...but trust me, there are Polish women out there that are extremely nice and relaxed (need I say- my parents are pretty darn "relaxed"). However yes I tend to half agree with your statement, compared to the country I live in, Polish women are a little more "serious", but I don't think uptight is the right word... But look, every country has its share of people, every country has their uptight ones and their relaxed "Rastafarians".

Just tell your friend you had a problem with what she said, or just don't hang out with her if it's an issue? There's plenty more people you can befriend. :)
PolkaZaGranica   
8 May 2011
Life / Passing your Polish language and culture to your kids [74]

I know that this reply is going to be relatively late (AND LONG- sorry for that) after all the fighting has died down, but I do have an experience to add.

Personally, I'm still in school, overseas of course in a country where I've been taught in an English school my entire life. I remember as a kid, my mom would buy a ton of polish books and teach me the Polish language. I remember going through the "elementarz", learning "wiersze" and so on. My parents have always spoken only Polish to me at home, so when it was time for me to be enrolled in first grade well lets just say I hardly spoke a word of English. But the school accepted me anyway based on other skills I had and because I quickly caught onto the language. Within a year my English grew significantly and I didn't have a problem with communicating with kids my age (But might I add- people always seem to point out that I have an accent lol). Since then I've learnt an additional two languages, and speak them relatively fluently.

Despite that, my mom continued to work on my polish including writing through primary school. My parents never stopped speaking Polish to me at home, however I started adding more english phrases into my sentences, to the point that around 7th/8th grade I spoke only english at home whereas they spoke only polish to me. Of course I understood them, but for some reason I'd found speaking in polish harder (Or perhaps I was getting lazy). Now however I'm restraining myself from speaking english at home- there is NO WAY I want to forget the language of my heritage.

And thank goodness for that, because due to my parents forcing me to speak Polish at home - it makes it so much easier for me to study in Poland for university (it's my dream to study there).

Point is: I reckon parents should force their kids to speak Polish/their language additionally to the language of the country their staying in. You never know what the child will decide in the future, or which language will benefit them. Maybe none of them will benefit them, but why take the risk. If handled correctly, the child shouldn't get particularly confused between languages at all. Practice makes perfect. And it's a great way of the child to somehow keep in touch with their heritage :) If I ever become a parent, I'll make sure my kids speak polish. It'll make me feel sad if they don't. But hey-that's just me.