News / Poland to officially demand $1.32 trillion WW2 reparations from Germany [457]

According to today's NYT (New York Times), Germany has been ordered by the Holocaust Claims Conference to pay out $1.2 billion in compensation, both to survivors along with their families, as well as to the Ukraine War Fund! As you probably already know, numerous nonnegenarian Holocaust survivors presently living in Ukraine have been evacuated to Germany because of the current crisis.

Adds a new twist, doesn't it.

Life / Trendsetter from Poland. [76]

Which ones, Alien? Perchance Miss Poland?
:-)

Life / Polish movies with English subtitles [87]

Problem with most subtitles is that they rarely if ever faithfully capture the flavor of the original language!

I usually try to watch all movies in their original language, even when it's in a language I know only minimally, such as Russian:-)

Recently caught a video production of a Gorky play (name presently escapes me) and tried listening to the Russian without watching the subtitles. I noticed throughout the beginning that the characters were portrayed as essentially uneducated proletarians, a favorite Gorky theme, and yet the subtitles translated their obviously common language in practically academic vocabulary. LOL

Even with my primitive knowledge of the language, I knew that "I say, my good sir, you're talking though your hat!" simply didn't, indeed couldn't, ring true.

Life / Polish movies with English subtitles [87]

The Italians got it spot on: "Traduttore, traditore" = translator, traitor!
A translation is ALWAYS a different work from or version of the original, a mere copy of what once was, useful, yet in the end never the same.

Life / Trendsetter from Poland. [76]

@Alien, ergo every Polish woman dreams of a German manLOL
The Brazilians are no different. Ck. out "Hour of the Star".

Life / Trendsetter from Poland. [76]

Why is being German necessarily a drawback, Alien?

Life / Polish movies with English subtitles [87]

Believe I saw an advertisement for a Romanian film "Dracul", though not based on the Hollywood-style folk legend, but rather a serious biographical treatment of the life of Vlad Tepes, as he actually lived! I decided to ck. out the local art film houses and found one which did show it.

Interestingly enough too, the film was quite inadequately subtitled, but with my knowledge of Latin, French, Spanish, and some phrasebook Italian, I could more or less understand much of the basic conversations. Reading however, proved far more difficult for some reason.

Life / Trendsetter from Poland. [76]

What do you mean exactly? Do you mean, Germans are naturally a little stiff? Is that what you were trying to say?

History / The British Royal Family and Poland: Any connection? [70]

Thanks for your engaging answers!
Was merely wondering as to the political as well
as cultural "proximity" between the Thames and the Vistula:-)

Life / Trendsetter from Poland. [76]

Not stiff ENOUGH??
Interesting. I would have thought the contrary, considering how often emotional and non-stiff upper lip the Poles frequently are.

History / The British Royal Family and Poland: Any connection? [70]

Useful observation, jon. Many thanks.

Life / Trendsetter from Poland. [76]

Aha, I see.

Life / Trendsetter from Poland. [76]

@Alien,
Can't necessarily speak for ALL Polish women, however, if Poland might well be termed "The Slavic Tiger", then Polish women would therefore be "The Slavic Tigresses", right?

Life / Trendsetter from Poland. [76]

Really? I've always heard it's just the opposite:-)

Life / Trendsetter from Poland. [76]

Well, I'm in touch daily/digitally with Germany.
Perhaps my information is faulty:-)
Could be, you know!

History / The British Royal Family and Poland: Any connection? [70]

Off topic, yet tangentially connected, curious whether or not Polish cuisine is popular in the UK amongst the broad population or is it deemed a bit too rustic?

If you look at it, "English" cooking essentially didn't exist for the Upper Classes, who typically hired a French cook, at least among the landed gentry:-)

Not until Mrs.Beaton did for Britain what Artusi did for Italy, was there really a national cuisine in England.

Life / Trendsetter from Poland. [76]

@Milo,
I'm not dead wrong as usual!
We're simply of different minds owing to different experiences, that's all, no need to get personal, old chap:-)

Life / Any good Polish films to watch? [110]

Don't forget though, "Noz w wodzie" is a product of the '60's, therefore, it had almost a sort of experimental, hand-held camera feel to it.

Life / Trendsetter from Poland. [76]

An interpretation is NOT a factual report, Miloslaw!
"Poland is located in Asia." FACTUALLY WRONG
"German men lust after Polish women" - NEITHER WRITE NOR WRONG, MERELY AN INTEPRETATION

Trust you see the difference.

Whoops, "right", just a silly typo)))

History / The British Royal Family and Poland: Any connection? [70]

Your misconceptions concerning the United States ain't so hot either, pal! I was in fact in your lovely country a total of four times, once as a teen, second as a young husband with my kids, third on business, fourth and last during the late '90's and therefore am merely sharing my humble impressions of English cuisine.....a lot more than shepherd's pie and warm ale, let me tell you:-)

Care to hear my take on the origins of RP??
lol

USA, Canada / CHRISTINA'S in Greenpoint HAS CLOSED ITS DOORS! [9]

Sure, with Reps, the average middle-class American couldn't even afford to go out to eat, he-he!

USA, Canada / CHRISTINA'S in Greenpoint HAS CLOSED ITS DOORS! [9]

@Alien
By "original Americans", do you perhaps mean "Native Americans" aka "American Indians", or simply anyone born and bred in the United States?

Poles in this country have gotten undeservedly bad press for nearly a century and so there's this idiotic stereotype afoot that somehow Polish food is bland, boring, and tasteless.

We know that nothing could be further from the truth!

USA, Canada / CHRISTINA'S in Greenpoint HAS CLOSED ITS DOORS! [9]

Understood. Thanks for clarifying.
I guess the reason is the one I just gave you.

History / The British Royal Family and Poland: Any connection? [70]

That as compared to either the late Queen Elizabeth or some of her closest entourage:-)

History / The British Royal Family and Poland: Any connection? [70]

Appreciate the information, as always!

Admittedly, pronunciation, as with language, does change and yes, I surely noticed a change between the Queen's early broadcasts compared with her much later ones, although to a Yankee ear, almost imperceptible.

We must both confess as well that the impact of the "Swinging '60's" certainly obliterated that which was once deemed highbrow and the like.

Nowadays, everyday life has become so boringly homogenized into a veritable Mulligan's Stew of all ethnicities under the sun, seemingly speaking the same dumbed down Globish, one almost yearns for the choleric pomposity found in Rumpold of the Bailey or that ilk.

Here in this country, I'm still flabbergasted that "Frasier" lasted as many seasons as it did, brilliantly farcical as it was.

Language / Helping Non Polish Student studying in Public School [32]

An acquaintance of ours and a former teacher in Poznan, currently in Forest Hills where we used to live, told me that certain classes where she used to teach fourth grade did try to cater to non-native Polish pupils, although of course the class was conducted only in Polish!

This might either have changed (although Magda and I spoke only a few months ago on Zoom) or have been just an exceptional case, I honestly couldn't say for certain.

Life / Trendsetter from Poland. [76]

Will have to try them:-)

History / The British Royal Family and Poland: Any connection? [70]

@jon,
All I can add is that when I contrast the way average middle-class, even more proletarian, Americans speak nowadays, I can practically fall asleep waiting for the point, for something interesting or concrete.

When I was in school during the late '70's, boy oh' boy would our teachers let us have it if we even started to ramble, and not only in English class!

General written English too is often riddled with basic errors, from official banking correspondence to notices in our public laundry area. It's so embarrassing, don't you think?