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Posts by Rain33  

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

Displayed posts: 33 / page 1 of 2
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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.
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   
31 Jul 2011
News / Will Poland ever host the Olympics? [18]

Poland, to the best of my knowledge, has never hosted the Olympic games--Summer or Winter. Do you think Poland will ever host the Olympics in the future?
Rain33   
29 Jul 2011
Language / Snow white (cartoon) in Polish [3]

I wonder what Walt Disney thinks of the Russian version of Snow White's Heigh-Ho? There is a version of the "silly song" out there in youtube space. Here is the video: ...
Rain33   
28 Jul 2011
Language / Snow white (cartoon) in Polish [3]

I was looking for some videos on youtube and ran across Snow White in Polish. I thought this video was very entertaining, especially "Heigh-Ho" part towards the end.

Here is the video:


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   
26 Jul 2011
Language / How do Poles feel about foreigners learning their language? [105]

Poles still are oodles kinder than the Hungarians

This post reminds me of my own past: My mother is Hungarian, and her English is very, very poor, although she is able to read and write in the language; my father is part-Hungarian, and he is able to communicate very well in both English and Hungarian. I, however, can speak Hungarian but can't read or write a lick in the language--imagine that!

My mother, who grew up during Gerő's reign, told me and my brother a story about an Oxford English professor who lost his way at a train station. The professor saw my mother, her father and his friends nearby and rushed towards them. He was struggling to communicate to my grandfather's friends in Hungarian, even restoring to using his fingers to indicate what he wanted; my grandfather and his friends thought this action amusing and started to mock the poor gentleman until my mother intervened: "Don't mock him you old fools," she said.

To make a long story short, that English professor, years later, married my mother who gave him two children, my half-siblings. Sometimes in a foreign country you stick out like a sore thumb and are thus ridiculed, other times you are admired for struggling to learn the native language.
Rain33   
25 Jul 2011
Life / Calendar of Polish Name Days [36]

Merged: Name Day

What is a Name Day? I see a list of names at the bottom of this forum, but I don't know why there are certain names on certain days. Why are Name Days celebrated after all? Are they like birthdays?
Rain33   
23 Jul 2011
Language / Locative case and prepositions in Polish [13]

I'm using three different grammar books: "Polish: an essential grammar" by Dana Bielec, "Teach yourself Polish" by M.Corbridge-Patkaniowska (1948 edition), and "Let's Learn Polish" by Zofia Bastgen (there is a section on grammar in the back of the book.)

Learning a language is so daunting--there's so much to learn and absorb, creating sentences on your own, pronunciation, conjugation, vocabulary, etc, etc.
Rain33   
22 Jul 2011
Language / Locative case and prepositions in Polish [13]

I hate asking so many questions on this forum; my teacher once told me that asking too questions is a sign of rudeness, so I will refrain from asking any more.

Anyway, my question. Does anyone know what other prepositions take the locative case? I only know of two prepositions that take the locative case so far-- w and przy--but I keep thinking that there must be others. Can anyone list all the prepositions that take the locative case?
Rain33   
22 Jul 2011
Language / Colloquial Polish [8]

I bought the book at a used bookshop in Chicago three years ago--with the analog cassette tapes. I don't know if libraries still carry the book, but it's worth a try.
Rain33   
21 Jul 2011
Language / Colloquial Polish [8]

I am reading "Let's Learn Polish" by Zofia Bastgen. The book consists of several dialogues, but the dialogues seem very stuffy and outdated, even though it was printed in Warsaw in 1978, not very long ago (at least not to me!) Here are some examples on pages 25 and 33:

A: Przepraszam. Czy pan tu mieszka?

B: Nie. Dlaczego pan pyta?

A. Pytam, bo szukam ulicy Ogrodowej.

I haven't run across the word "bo" in a long time. But, then again, I'm visualizing how ridiculous a native English speaker would sound if the speaker walked up to you on the street, tapped you on the shoulder and said: "For I am looking for my car." It just looks easier to say "szukam ulicy Ogrodowej" than tacking on that extra preposition. I don't know if "bo" is used in colloquial, everyday speech.

Here is another example:

Janek: Czy masz trochę czasu?

Tadek: Kiedy?

Janek: Teraz, zaraz.

Tadek: Mam godzinę czasu, potem załatwiam jedną sprawę na Starym Mieście.

Janek: No, to siadaj i opowiadaj, co słychać u ciebie.

Tadek: Nie mam pojęcia, o co ci chodzi.

I usually just see Co słychać instead of co słychać u ciebie.
Rain33   
20 Jul 2011
Language / Ukrainian language similar to Polish? [236]

I've always wanted to learn Ukrainian but couldn't find a program or an individual that could teach me it. Thank you, Nathan.
Rain33   
19 Jul 2011
Language / Virile and non-virile confusion [7]

Good lord, I could understand computer viruses or, for that matter, human viruses much more easily than Virile and devirilised nouns in Polish. This relates, of course, to an article written by Dunstan Brown in Lingua on subgender in Polish and Russian.
Rain33   
19 Jul 2011
Language / Virile and non-virile confusion [7]

I am confused with something called virile and non-virile in grammar. Can anyone explain this confusing concept?
Rain33   
19 Jul 2011
Language / Difference between "cię" and "się" [10]

I think I understand, although sometimes I see ci in the middle of a sentence and don't know why it's placed in the middle of a sentence.
Rain33   
19 Jul 2011
Language / Ukrainian language similar to Polish? [236]

I to this day cannot find a software program that would teach me the Ukrainian language. I usually have no trouble finding Russian, Hungarian, Polish or even Latvian software programs that teach the language. I found byki, but do not know if there is a Teach Yourself series on Ukrainian, if there is not, there should be. Ukrainian needs to be learned.
Rain33   
15 Jul 2011
History / Looking for a good book on modern Polish politics [4]

I am wondering if any one can recommend a book on Polish politics since the collapse of Communism and the dissolution of the PUWP. I am having trouble locating a good English book on the subject, or for that matter, on Ukrainian politics since 1989. Does anyone have any suggestions or recommendations? I am interesting in Polish and Ukrainian politics, although my interest falls more heavily on the Polish side.

There are plenty of books on interwar and post-war Poland, but I can't seem to find very many books on politics in post-Communist Poland.
Rain33   
15 Jul 2011
History / Worst leader of the PUWP? [3]

I got the idea for this thread from Pennboy, who started a thread about the greatest Polish king in history. So, I thought talking about Poland's communist years would provoke some interesting discussion and insight. So, here it goes. Who, in your opinion, was the worst party leader of the PUWP and why?

Bolesław Bierut
Edward Ochab
Władysław Gomułka
Edward Gierek
Stanisław Kania
Wojciech Jaruzelski
Mieczysław Rakowski
Rain33   
14 Jul 2011
Language / How do Poles feel about foreigners learning their language? [105]

In my particular case, most Poles cannot detect from my Polish that I was born, raised and educated in the good ol' USA.

That makes me feel better. I originally thought Poles might be offended if you tell them you are trying to learn their language, and learn it well. I don't want to offend anybody.
Rain33   
14 Jul 2011
Language / How do Poles feel about foreigners learning their language? [105]

Ok, I just have one question for Polish natives and Americans/British people living in Poland. My question is simple: How do Poles feel about foreigners learning their language? Are they like the French, who feel affronted when a foreigner confronts them in French, even though the foreigner's French pronunciation is wonderful and magnificent? Or do you, and I'm speaking to Poles in this sense, think the person is generally strange.

I ask this question because my professor wants to take us to Poland for study abroad credits. My Polish neighbors are already giving me the "Polish experience" here. They invited me over for obiad, which I mistakenly thought was lunch because that's the time I usually have lunch. I said a few words to my Polish hosts--"Dzień Dobry," "Dziękuję"--and they smiled at me, actually smiled, and the older gentleman took off his hat for five seconds, put it back on again, and asked me a few words in Polish, some of which I knew, some of which I didn't know. The granddaughter, who is my age and writes beautiful English poetry for a living, said that I had complimented them. When I asked her what I had said that gave her grandparents such joy, she said that I had spoken some Polish to them, and that was the greatest compliment that I could give.

Others think differently, of course. "If you don't have the pronunciation down pat, you won't be understood," I sometimes hear, although the folks that say these things have never been to Poland. I also hear this:"Polish people don't think it's polite when foreigners use their language," "Don't try to learn Polish, most Poles don't like it when you speak their language," "Polish people look down on others who try to speak their language; it's sort of like trying to be someone you are not and failing miserably," and, "I don't know why people are always trying to learn Polish. It's not like the Poles are dying to communicate with us in their native tongue. Ha, Ha, Ha!" (ok, I took this quote completely verbatim, so the laughter has to stay in.)

I have mixed feelings about going to Poland after listening to the above comments. After all, if I don't go, I feel that I will be missing a huge opportunity. Besides, when I am ever going to get the opportunity to study nuclear physics in Warsaw again? Or when will I ever get the chance to visit Wawel castle in Krakow? I don't know now....
Rain33   
11 Jul 2011
Language / Why is the Polish language so difficult? [246]

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   
9 Jul 2011
Language / Why is the Polish language so difficult? [246]

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   
8 Jul 2011
Language / Why is the Polish language so difficult? [246]

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   
7 Jul 2011
Language / Is fluency in Polish for an English speaker possible?! [30]

Listening and then (in private, of course!) later mimicking the pronunciation along with other errors most Polish speakers make in English, can often be a useful guide as to how they pronounce and speak their own language-:)

Some friends of mine e-mailed me a couple of Polish songs with Polish lyrics. Do you think listening to Polish music and following along would help?

Speaking of Polish music, I saw this video on youtube. Does anyone where I can get the Polish lyrics for this song?:


Rain33   
6 Jul 2011
Language / Difference between "cię" and "się" [10]

I'm sorry about the subject line; I don't know how to change it from cie to cię or sie to się, even though I tried. My question is this, what is the difference between cię in a sentence and się in a sentence? For example, I love you is kocham cię, but to say that you are bore yourself, you say nudzę się. When do you use się instead of cię, or cię instead of się. What does cię and się mean? I'm so confused!!
Rain33   
6 Jul 2011
Life / Questions about Poland (traffic / fines, school year, talking about past, minimum wage) [21]

Ok, I have a number of questions for Polish tourists and natives alike:

1.) Is it illegal in Poland to make a right turn at a red light? In other words, could you get a fine for turning right at a red light, even if no one is coming?

2.) How expensive are the fines if you do get a ticket for speeding?

3.) How many days of the week do Polish children go to school? In America, the children go to school only five days--Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday--and are off on the weekends. Do Polish children go to school on weekends as well?

4.) Do Polish people talk a lot about the past? Do they frequently talk about World War II, Jozef Piłsudski, the insurrections, life under Bolesław Bierut, Władysław Gomułka, Edward Gierek, Stanisław Kania, Wojciech Jaruzelski, Lech Wałęsa? Would they mind if a foreigner asked them about said historical topics?

5.) What is the minimum wage in Poland?
Rain33   
5 Jul 2011
Language / Is fluency in Polish for an English speaker possible?! [30]

I also have difficulty with some of the vowels in Polish. The "ę," for instance, always throws me for a loop. I will probably always stumble over that vowel. For example, when I try to say "Piękny," it always comes out like I'm saying "pinknay" or something like that. The ł sound is hard for me, too. I could go on and on.

This is the key. Don't exaggerate your own or your neighbours' expectations; they'll be thrilled (especially as they're not in Poland, this always adds an extra dimension) with a simple greeting - cześć/witam/dzień dobry - and you can take it from there. In fact, it's your neighbours who'll give you the best exposure to the language on an everyday level.

Yeah, they seem like nice people. I am just afraid that they might not understand it when I try to talk to them in their own language or, even worse, think I'm crazy. Oh well, I just need to get confidence.