UK, Ireland / Britain... What the Poles did for us. [444]

Sometimes I can feel like a stranger in my own country, but at other times, things feel as though they are just the way they've always been. This is in part due to the way there is a kind of segregation these days, and partly because things haven't been simple for a very long time. In my neighbourhood, there are a few different colours and creeds of people, and this is a good thing. But in other areas, there is no such array of different kinds of people - monocultures of different groups of people who do have no real interest in participating in any kind of greater social cohesion and may even just lap up the excesses of fake-liberalism that allow them to lead an insular existence.

UK, Ireland / Britain... What the Poles did for us. [444]


Many people here are tolerant but without being stupid. The system seems to be one of over-the-top, fake tolerance that just takes the p!ss out of those who genuinely believe in live and let live.

Language / Old Polish Vs New Polish [29]

There are what are called "historically soft consonants": c, cz, dz, dż, sz, ż and rz. They are hard consonants, but somehow (don't ask me how) were once soft consonants (like ć, ń, ś, ź). I don't understand what that's all about, but it could make some difference.

The book I'm learning from also seems to have a few words that may be a bit dated now. For example it gives "mię" as an alternative version of "mnie" - something I once saw an argument about on PF (apparently nobody says "mię" these days. Another example is "jaje" as another word for egg, the usual form being "jajko". A former teacher of mine found "jaje" particularly funny and I can only guess why.

News / What is Poland's politics towards Norway? [56]

Neutrogena's good stuff if your hands get dry. It only takes such a tiny amount too.

Where's my fee for this?
What? You mean I was supposed to be funny? No chance.

Life / Reasons for moving to Poland [291]


Welcome back to PF, young lady.

Work / Average monthly salary in Poland is around 1000 PLN (few hundred bucks). [387]

He has extra large Wellingtons?

Nope! I don't wish to know either.

Love / Polish Women Versus Your Local Women ? [289]

Hot... at this time of year?

Language / Polish Swear Words [1242]

K-Report

Krzysztof, Robek, Alek and Alanek have all been heard using the k word.
George says: "These people swear too much."
Edward says: "I don't like to hear it."
Charles says: "I don't like beer. I prefer gin."
Ziggy "Where are the Spiders" Stardust says: "F****** hell, that's some ****ing totally ****ed up ****!"

You may have guessed by the unlikely names that I have slightly mixed things up here. So who said what? Who even gives a gówno?

Za duzo przeklinac w kurwia mnie, apparently.

Off-Topic / PF - The Omnibus Edition [1502]

Actually, I quite enjoyed your story there... it's the best bit of this page, all of which I have read.


My apologies to all those with sympathy for Scandinavians. I will eat all the swedes.

Off-Topic / PF - The Omnibus Edition [1502]

Edit > Find

osio



Should I read any of this page? Maybe I'm just not famous enough. I might just get one of my minions to read it for me.

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

Isn't it a bit like "Is Polak offensive in an obscure language in the interior of Papua New Guinea?"
I would imagine it depends entirely on how the word is used. If a Pole wanted to be offensive to a black person, it is most likely they wouldn't be speaking Polish to them, and there are more than enough offensive words, of which some may be known to Polish people anyway.

Anyway, back off topic...

If some British accents are plummy or peachy, and the New Zealand accent is obviously kiwi, I reckon mine might be somewhere between fig and loganberry.

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

What about plummy?

Brummie doesn't sound plummy, does it?

But on topic at last...
Have there been moves by anyone to blacklist the word murzyn? As it is an old word, it may be deemed as wrong simply because of that (by certain nutty PC types).

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

pithy?

Food / Polish Potatoes [42]

Be careful if you offer a bilingual Pole a saucepan of boiled potatoes. Masz.

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

• 
  A what?
  

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


She already has. She was originally Priscilla White.

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


Being in the farmyard, perhaps we should familiarise ourselves with calf slang.

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

There is the English surname Ramsbottom. It is still rude to call someone a ram's bottom, eh Seanus?

Life / "Londynczycy" - new Polish soap [62]

Would anyone be interested in my current work, a screenplay under the working title "Welwyn Garden Cityczycy"?

Life / "Londynczycy" - new Polish soap [62]

Happy, positive stuff with people all getting on really well and being nice to eachother does not make good drama.

The closest I can think of to an equivalent would have to be BBC's one-off sequel to "A Very Peculiar Practice", which was "A Very Polish Practice". Unfortunately, I can't remember anything about it other than that at least some of it was set in Poland and it had Peter Davison in it. Different kind of thing altogether really.

Life / Importance of Religion in Poland [187]


They are the key words that are relevant to this thread, but you could remove the words "catholics", "about" and "catholicism". There - I thought it about time I made a crass generalisation about an entire country. It will be Belgium next time... on a Wednesday.

UK, Ireland / What do you hate about England and English people? [142]


Too right. We get more snow in autumn and spring than in winter.

Genealogy / Dreja and Lama surnames [9]


Chris Dreja, guitarist then bass player in the Yardbirds from 1963-1968ish.

Life / Do Russians and Poles get along? [53]

From what I have seen, Poles and Russians (outside of their native habitats) are more likely to get on well than say, Poles and Lithuanians. Having said that, there may be a tendency amongst some (perhaps many) Russians to feel some kind of natural authority based on the history of Russia in relation to other eastern European countries... sorry, I mean eastern and central European countries.

Life / Do Russians and Poles get along? [53]

A workmate of mine was telling me about the people with whom he shares a house. There is a mixture of Poles, Slovaks and a Russian. He said that the Russian bloke seems to think that being Russian means he's the boss. We've had the same kind of mix at work, and there was once a problem with a drunken Russian swearing and getting violent (he didn't like Poles or English people!) But by and large, other than him, they all seemed to get on alright.

Life / Why there is always around a horrible smell of sweat in Poland [188]


Yes they do.
No they don't.
Yes they do.
No they don't.
Of course they flipping do! Stuck in an office, usually with recycled air, bad heating systyems, people wearing shirts with collars and ties - unnaturally uncomfortable attire. Maybe smelly manual labourers is a London thing. Out here in the country, everyone smells of freshly cut hay, honeysuckle and wood shavings.

There's no point arguing with a guest though.
Yes there is.
No there isn't.
Yes there is.
No there isn't.

Life / Why there is always around a horrible smell of sweat in Poland [188]


Many would swear more strongly after such a rant. Cholera? K**** more like.


I do manual work. We manual workers all (for I am their spokesman) reckon that it's people in stuffy offices with no fresh air who smell bad.

Language / Polish grammar made easy [23]

I just liberally throw it into sentences where it doesn't belong.

Za dużo / za mało - I say these all the time.
Będę za pięć minut - I'll be five minutes (I actually use this to mean anything between 30 seconds and a couple of hours)

But now I know it can mean behind as well.
Does it go with the instrumental?


Good 4 u.

One criticism of the site is that in the questions about case endings, it asks for the endings by the name of the case, for example:


which is only good if you know the cases by name rather than by what they do.

Language / Polish grammar made easy [23]

Actually, the best thing about the one exercise I did on there is that I have learnt one new word.

Za!

How could I have not known this word before. Not that definition of it anyway!

Language / Polish grammar made easy [23]

Thanks, sheepie. I just went through/on/at/by one of the 100 question multiple choice quizzes on there. I got loads right first time and most of the rest of them right on the second attempt. It's easier when it's multiple choice. It's also easier to work from Polish into English than the other way around.