Off-Topic / Slavic languages - oldest European languages. [12]

Merged:

Your perception of Slavic languages

I'm interested to know what other people (especially those who's first language is not Slavic) think about sound of other Slavic languages. For example, does it sound to you beautiful, annoying, irritative, very strange, neutral etc? Also what people who's first language is a Slavic one think about other Slavic languages? How do you find them in comparison to other World languages?

History / Do Polish people in general dislike Russia or Germany more? [369]

Well, in my understanding to threat to Poland Russia needs to occupy whole Ukraine or Belarus first of all. Do you think it is realistic even by itself? Or you expect they are planning their invasion through Baltic sea and small Kaliningrad enclave? Still, I think Poland has try whatever possible to secure their defense and strengthen its army like any other normal country do. I'm just a bit cautious about all this military blocks and possible war hysteria that may lead to unpredictable consequences.

Language / IS "MURZYN" word RACIST? [686]

[moved from]


Murzyn (Polish pronunciation: [muʐɨn]) is the most common Polish word for a black person. It is generally seen as a neutral word,[1] while other contemporary critics, mostly of non-Polish ethnicity, claim that it has pejorative connotations.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murzyn

In Russia, the term негр (negr) was commonly used in the Soviet period without any negative connotation, and its use continues in this neutral sense. In modern Russian media, the negr is used somewhat less frequently. Chyorny as an adjective is also used in a neutral sense, and conveys the same meaning as negr, as in чёрные американцы (chyornye amerikantsy, "black Americans"). Other alternatives to negr are темнокожий (temnokozhy, "dark-skinned"), чернокожий (chernokozhy, "black-skinned"). These two are used as both nouns and adjectives. See also Afro-Russian.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/*****#Elsewhere

Just for your future knowledge.

News / Three Poles beaten in front of family. The supects are American soldiers [36]

And why Poles and other Europeans have to be troubled about cultural or mental weirdness which exist in US or elsewhere? They suppose to have freedom of speech and call whatever they want whatever they like. If US soldiers don't like that they can return back home.

Language / IS "MURZYN" word RACIST? [686]

@Dougpol1
Why people suppose to care in 21 century which word is "offensive" for someone or not? Freedom of speech! Central or Eastern Europe doesn't care about US created weirdness!

Language / IS "MURZYN" word RACIST? [686]

According to some Russian info sources (I'm not sure it is absolutely reliable, but still I think the info is likely correct) Ukrainian ministry of education and science issued "anti-discriminatory measures" in 2018 and decided to eradicate from Ukrainian textbooks an offensive words such as negry (a neutral word in Ukrainian and Russian for a black Africans), cyganie (a neutral word for the gipsy) and zhydy (a neutral word in Ukrainian and Polish for Jews). In Russian this word was neutral too, before the beginning of the 20-th century, but later was displaced by the Bolsheviks from Russian language for some strange reasons, possibly as imaginably offensive by somebody.

Also (what is the most strange) such words as "the parents", "the family" "the relatives" and similar are also became undesirable. To explain why ministry of education murmurs something about poor orphans in Donetsk who may feel discriminated.

I wonder how much normal and regular Ukrainians are going to laugh about that. Also I wonder why Americans export in Central and Eastern Europe their mental problems...

I think that the very idea of some "prohibited words" which cannot be said in public and regarded as "offensive" is unacceptable and is a dangerous advance against freedom of speech. Also I'm very cautious about responsibility for saying any words or any kind of insults. At least for the reason of controversy and vagueness and false accusations and "witnesses" which can spark an ethnic conflict or "discredit" an innocent person at ease.

Language / IS "MURZYN" word RACIST? [686]


What about mumbo-jumbo?

Off-Topic / Ukraine - a country in Central Europe? [28]

Clearly? The distance between Lisbon (Atlantic coast) to Kiev is around 3.000 km. The distance between Kiev and Yekaterinbourg (the foothills of Ural mountains) is around 2.000 km. I think we can say that only European part of Russia is clearly the Eastern Europe. But because the largest part of Russia is located in Asia, this term is useless when applicable to some particular country. Therefore the very term "Eastern Europe" suppose to gone as a Cold War relic.

Off-Topic / Ukraine - a country in Central Europe? [28]

@Alexbrz
It would be if we divide Europe into the East and West plainly. But if you do insist that there is also the Central Europe, then we need to assume there is a point which conditionally have to be taken for the geographical Center of Europe and conclude the Central Europe is anything that lays in significant distance to the West and East from this point. First of all we need to agree where this point is. Some sources claim it is located in Western Ukraine.


en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geographical_midpoint_of_Europe

Also we need to agree where is the Western edge of Europe is. If in the East it is defined by the Ural mountains which plainly show it, in the West the Iberian peninsula bulges out far away into Atlantic sea, makes this definition more complicated. But even if we take Lisbon for the marker, as you said, the total distance from Lisbon to Yekaterinburg is approximately 5400 km and if we will divide this distance into three equal parts 1800X1800X1800 km (which stand for Western, Central and Eastern Europe) then Kiev and the largest part of Ukraine will be in Central Europe.


How is it all relevant? In my understanding "East" and "West" are purely geographical characteristics.

Off-Topic / Ukraine - a country in Central Europe? [28]


I think it would be interesting to initiate a legal suit against Wikipedia and some other sources similar to geographic literature publishers, but personally I'm not too obsessed with it to do something like this. I think that at least they suppose mention an alternative points of view in their definitions. Also I wasn't able to find any info how a legal process against Wikipedia can be initiated at all, and in which country this company is even legally based.

Off-Topic / Ukraine - a country in Central Europe? [28]

Wikipedia defines Germany as a country in central-western Europe.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germany

I think they suppose to define Ukraine as a country in central-eastern Europe, by analogy, if not purely Central European.

Unfortunately I'm not sure how Canadian citizen can apply in court on California-based company.

Off-Topic / Ukraine - a country in Central Europe? [28]

However the map you've posted doesn't show entire Europe, because if it does you would see that Kiev is also nearly in the middle!

Off-Topic / Ukraine - a country in Central Europe? [28]

Read my postings above. I've already wrote that: "total distance from Lisbon to Yekaterinburg is approximately 5400 km and if we will divide this distance into three equal parts 1800X1800X1800 km (which stand for Western, Central and Eastern Europe) then Kiev and the largest part of Ukraine will be in Central Europe.

In this way only Russia can be 100% associated with Eastern Europe.

Off-Topic / Ukraine - a country in Central Europe? [28]

I don't care about time zone too much. I'm not obsessed with this theme too much either, this is a once in a many years I recalled it in my memory and decided that PF would be an interesting place to discuss it. I understand Polish desire to go away from the Cold War relics, when all Europe was divided into "Us" and "they". Quite interesting that the term "Central Europe" which included Poland, Czechoslovakia and some other countries was accepted in the USSR. In the West (and up to beginning of 2000-th) they divided Europe in West and East and even Eastern Germany was part of Eastern Europe according to US definitions.

Off-Topic / Ukraine - a country in Central Europe? [28]

I think an another variant is to go from division of Europe into West/Center/East in geographic literature altogether. Is Europe so large we need to divide it in parts? Why not to write that Germany, Poland, Ukraine, Russia are just countries in Europe?

Off-Topic / Ukraine - a country in Central Europe? [28]


In a few billions of years? Maybe. Continental drift, you know...

Off-Topic / Ukraine - a country in Central Europe? [28]


Maybe they will continue this efforts in Russia, Belarus and Ukraine?

Off-Topic / Ukraine - a country in Central Europe? [28]

The shortest distance between Kiev and Berlin is 1.200 km, the shortest distance between Ukraine and Germany is around 800 km.

News / Future of Polish-Ukrainian relations [560]

Merged:

The future of Polish-Ukrainian relations

How do you see the future of Polish-Ukrainian relations? Do you want to see them improved and contacts increased or you prefer do not see any change? Is there any tensions between Poles and Ukrainians in Poland or some irritation toward Ukrainians?

Genealogy / Mongolian the Golden Horde - do Poles have Mongolian ancestry? [256]


Is there any reliable info source which could prove this statement?

News / Future of Polish-Ukrainian relations [560]


Not only Poland. Lot of Ukrainians also worked in Czech republic or Slovakia or visited them. Those are even better examples. Not forget also uniqueness of the Balkan Slavs.

Off-Topic / Russophiles can no longer defend their beloved Russians. [84]


And what are those differences? It would be glad if you would include in comparison some other Slavic countries like Ukraine.

News / Future of Polish-Ukrainian relations [560]


Slovenia? (I don't care about their difference from Russia in particular).

News / Future of Polish-Ukrainian relations [560]

I think Slovenian may take the third place among Slavic languages in sense of beauty after Russian and Ukrainian. What do you think about that? I like Slovenian culture too. Do you think one day Ukraine may borrow culture from Western Slavs?

News / Future of Polish-Ukrainian relations [560]

When I lived in Ukraine decades ago I didn't remark there would be a cult of anyone in Ukraine. The vast majority of population was and is obsessed with completely different daily problems. For example SURVIVAL.

Off-Topic / Ukraine, Belarus, Russia in EU in 2030? [88]


Do you think their economies are too weak to even get close?

Off-Topic / Ukraine, Belarus, Russia in EU in 2030? [88]


Why stop just at that?

History / MAP OF POLAND IN 1880'S [95]

This map doesn't seem to be correct. Siberia, Caucasus and Central Asia were parts of Russian Empire in 1880-th.