Abrupt Poles explained !

It actually isn't. Languages that have gutteral speech sounds, or sounds that come from the back of the throat are considered harsh. German, Dutch, Danish, Arabic, etc.

French is actually considered gutteral but it is highly rhythmic so it doesn't sound as harsh.

Polish is not considered gutteral. I don't think it is the language or sounds of the words but rather the delivery. And this is learned.

Considered harsh by whom? The whole of humanity? You can't take a brush stroke and declare "all of humanity has declared the glottal stop ugly". That's ridiculous.

Where on earth are you pulling your "facts" from?

interestingly only Arabic and a certain variety of English has a glottal stop - or should I say 'glo'al stop'.
it is interesting though about languages and levels of perceived 'politeness'.
Like in Polish it is normal to start a sentence with 'Listen!' - in English one would sound like a rude ******...

OK that first sta'ment was rubbish,lots of languages have it.

And that's exactly why you don't compare languages in this way. It's like comparing apples and oranges. It doesn't help you learn a language and it only leads to frustration.

right Magda, and equally the distancing requests commonly used in English probably sound bonkers to learners.....
'excuse me you wouldn't know the way to amarillo by any chance would you?' - insane.

they sound very English, that's for sure... ;-)

According to the findings of the study it could help English and Polish speakers to avoid cultural misunderstandings.

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but the asking a question in that method is typically British. North American English is not usually spoken in this manner.

so in North American English it would be ....'is this the way to Amarillo?' (sorry couldn't resist...)

Not as long as one or the other say things like "this is rude" / "this sounds silly".
It's much better to simply learn / accept a foreign language as it is, warts and all ;-)

With an estimated 1 million Poles in the UK, it is understandable they access funding for this research


I am Mr A political when I am a guest.

In Polish it is rude to start the sentence with "I" ("Ja"). Or al least they used to taeach us that at school:

Pupil: "Ja sie spoznilem bo zaspalem" (I am late because I have overslept)
Teacher: "Nigdy, przenigdy nie zaczynaj zdania od "ja", to bardzo niegrzeczne. (Never, ever start the sentence with "I", it is very rude)

so what would you say then?...the lateness is because I overslept?

"Spoznilem sie, poniewaz zaspalem" "Am late, because have overslept"
Like in "I have already seen this movie", you say "Widzialem juz ten film" not "Ja widzialem juz ten film". Puting "ja" at the very start of the sentence, you sound somewhat egomaniac, stressing that it was "I" that "have seen" or "overslept", while it is obivious, from the rest of the sentence, that you are talking about youlesv, no need to stress it so much, as if you have been the most important person on the planet :-)

In fact, it is not VERY rude, but after years of being corrected in schools, I feel weird when starting sentence with "I". Even in English.

rozumiemnic:



Yep, in such cases in Polish the subject is often implied and using additional "ja" or "my" is unnecessary. It doesn't mean that it is thrown away, only that it's already 'included' in the verb. By starting the sentence with 'I' you might sound like you're arguing/disagreeing with the other person(s) or want to bring additional attention to yourself

example:
- "MY zrobiliśmy ten projekt" instead of "Zrobiliśmy ten projekt"(both mean "We've done this project") - by putting pressure on "My" we imply that the other group wasn't involved in finishing the project or that only some of us finished it (others being lazy and wanting to take the credit for doing it)

- "JA znalazłem skarb" ("I've found the treasure") - an arrogant way of saying that it was ME (and no one else) who discovered it and I want everyone else to acknowledge my achievement or that it belongs to me.

You seem to think that there's a universal pattern of rude/polite intonation between languages and what comes out as polite/rude in English, remains so in Polish. Well, this is not the case. The fact is that in Polish statements usually have falling intonation, which may sound harsh or impolite to English ears, as in English most statements have rising intonation. In Polish, rising intonation is reserved for questions. If you say an obvious statement with rising intonation, you come out as hesitant and not sure of yourself ("are you asking or saying?")

There's no reason to be proud of your English intonation transferred to Polish, as it simply makes your Polish less understandable (a listener expects a certain intonation pattern to go with certain types of sentences and feels a bit lost if the two don't match) and your intentions might easily be misunderstood too. Learning the proper intonation is a huge part of learning to speak a foreign language. This is something to work on, not to boast of. And, contrary to what you seem to think, by no means it makes you sound more polite.


Now, this is simply ridiculous. I assure you that all native Polish parents are able to teach their children proper intonation - proper for the Polish language, that is.

Maybe some Poles are just rude and it comes out in the intonation;).

Simple lack of manners shows in the intonation.

English was my third/fourth language... the most spoken were Bohemian Czech and Portuguese. Also Basque, German, Castal, Cherokee and smatterings of celtic. as reflected where we started and where we'd been. My full Russian in -laws spoke, dominican sp. , 3 dialects of chinese, thai, french and german. And english of course.

I fell in love with spoken Polish for thinking it "softer" than Russian, Czech(with exceptions of certain words), German, Cherokee. even Basque my ears still remember. I like it better than french. The person I exchange language with is quite personable and polite.

When I saw this post I was curious but really couldn't see it..and "rudeness" only direct answering and pragmatic logic.

And my dearest is ever so polite in speaking in English. Genteel. He was abrupt at times.. like when leaving call. Not so much now that we are involved.

Makes me feel like m'lady is gonna get tacked on any second. and he is nothing but kind and helpful to his two younger sisters that barge in his room on any given. Even when annoyed he doesn't raise voice or say very rude things (that I can tell).

Inflections sound like a raised voice sometimes but the content points it as tonal.

well yeh I know slavic languages are pro-drop....

Well I never. I didn't know I was speaking in prose! ;-)
Hadn't heard that particular term before...

Ordinary ways of expressing needs in Polish could sound abrupt or ill-mannered when Polish speakers use them to construct sentences in English.
Poles are more likely to use imperatives in their interaction.
English-speakers tended to say, for example, "can you pass the milk?", while Poles often simply said "pass the milk."
Every culture has its own social rules and values, but we often don’t notice them because they are ingrained in the way we use language, not just in the words we use but in grammar and sentence structure. If we understand these differences better, we can understand where other people are coming from, while also reflecting on what our own language says about us and how we relate to others.

I guess there is a difference in the British/Polish culture and their habits.

Pole being polite



Poles being rude.