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Our new linguistic acquisitions from the Polish forums


Chemikiem
3 Mar 2019 #61
OMG, I will never remember them all,

Probably not, but we are here to help you :)
To be honest, a great deal of normal English conversation consists of slang and idioms/sayings. Language is constantly evolving and I was having just this discussion with a close friend a few months ago. The conversation started with her wanting to know what ' up sh1t creek without a paddle' meant, and a very long convo about Polish and English idioms was the result. I am quite surprised how much similarity there is between idioms of different languages.

Random, that mine of information:

Of mostly Americanisms from the ones you are quoting. I hadn't heard of 'double down' either.
johnny reb 47 | 6,795
3 Mar 2019 #62
her wanting to know what ' up sh1t creek without a paddle' meant,

That is the good old Yankee English slang version Pam.
The proper English version is, "Up a perpetual tributary without the means of propulsion".
The Yanks version has more flare to it and not so stiff lipped.

Instead of learning from his mistakes, he's doubling down.

And when a person "doubles down" once to often it comes back and bites them in the ass ten fold.
OP pawian 221 | 24,014
3 Mar 2019 #63
Probably not, but we are here to help you :)

Yes, I appreciate it. :)

To be honest, a great deal of normal English conversation consists of slang and idioms/sayings.

Yes, I can see it here, one or two posters are sometimes incomprehensible.

And that is why they are so f***ing boring with that straight-from-school manner of speech

School materials, online exercises, class textbooks teach only High English. Each day I deal with a few sources which only offer texts like this:

So, even though you study hard and seem prepared for the test, the tension you cannot control prevents you from completing the tasks well and withing the time limit. People suffering from this condition talk of their minds going blank on different exam questions. This leads to frustration caused by the realisation that your poor performance does not stem from your lack of intellect or exam preparation but from a stressful situation.

After 30 years of doing such texts, I have had no chance to acquire/get the knack of too many idioms. Also, I correct dozens of my students` papers a week and it is natural they don`t use any idioms. If they do, they try to copy Polish ones with poor results.

However, I always warn my students not to be surprised when they go to a native country and try to use their school English there, unless they speak to the Queen or other aristocrats.
OP pawian 221 | 24,014
8 Mar 2019 #64
Libtards have become rare recently, but

soy boy, beta boy, cuck, cucked

are frequent invectives. I guessed their meaning from the context but prefered to check them out. And found and interesting explanation:
urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Soy%20Boy

Noun: a pejorative used by /pol/yps and other reactionaries to describe men who oppose them. The term soyboy is considered a personal attack akin to "You're not a REAL MAN" or "You're a sissy cockboy!" The word is typically used as an insult against anyone who is left of Ronald Reagan . Considering the appearance of many of these /pol/yps in real life, the word is most likely projection
TheOther 6 | 3,674
9 Mar 2019 #65
soy boy, beta boy, cuck, cucked are frequent invectives

Consider the source, Pawian.
OP pawian 221 | 24,014
9 Mar 2019 #66
Sorry, but what do you mean? It sounds a bit ambiguous.
TheOther 6 | 3,674
9 Mar 2019 #67
It's only a certain very vocal clientele here on PF who use that vocabulary.
OP pawian 221 | 24,014
9 Mar 2019 #68
:):) Yes, exactly. But even those posters are a good source of knowledge, after all.

That reminds me of my mother who used to repeat she was ready to allow me to read/study obscene sources to acquire the language. She meant German (I was made to learn it from the age of 6). :):)
TheOther 6 | 3,674
9 Mar 2019 #69
But even those posters are a good source of knowledge, after all.

Absolutely. They are perfect objects to study the effects of right wing ideology on the human brain. Observations indicate that this particular political affiliation causes a power outage between the ears... :)

read/study obscene sources to acquire the language. She meant German

LOL! So what did you do? Watch German S/M po*rn? Listen to Rammstein?
OP pawian 221 | 24,014
9 Mar 2019 #70
LOL! So what did you do? Watch German S/M po*rn? Listen to Rammstein?

Rammstein, which I like a lot, is a few decades younger than my kid obligatory German learning. :):) Even such great rock groups as Accept, Helloween, not to mention Scorpions, are younger. :):)

No, my mum was joking because she caught at a straw to make me learn German. I was too young to realise the importance of foreign languages, so my private tutors had a really hard time with me. They complained to my parents who were helpless, either. :):) But today, when we run experimental double foreign language classes in our school, the childhood trauma becomes sort of tamed. :):)
TheOther 6 | 3,674
9 Mar 2019 #71
I know that German was widespread before the wall came down. Polish state archives for example wouldn't reply to letters in English. You had to write in German or Polish to get an answer. Nowadays English seems to have replaced German as the second language, right?
OP pawian 221 | 24,014
9 Mar 2019 #72
Yes, German isn`t so trendy anymore. :( Cold war times, when it was easier to find a teacher of German than English, are gone. :) But it isn`t our fault. A few years ago a student of mine refused to learn English, as he prefered German. I was helpless, admonitions proves useless, and he barely scraped with Es. After leaving school, he went to Germany and got employed at an airport. He spoke good German but it wasn`t enough to deal with international passengers, so he had to polish his English at last. He showed up at school a few months ago with his Indian girlfriend and admited I had been right. :)
Ziemowit 14 | 4,278
9 Mar 2019 #73
He spoke good German but it wasn`t enough to deal with international passengers, so he had to polish his English at last.

As an international language English is irreplaceable (as Latin was once or as French was later on), yes. But as soon as you get out of the airport in any European city, you instantly discover that English is just a tool which can be helpful, but it will never replace the local language if you want to "feel" a true nature of the country a little bit. And even as little as some few words and phrases will do: first of all, you will not be a blind man in front of numerous boards and descriptions which are typicaly written in the local language. Public communication is a perfect example: if I did not know French, I wouldn't be able to get out of the toilet on a French train once - no words written in English inside the toilet and the mechanism for releasing the blocked door was not obvious at all. If you realize that, you are a different (and a happier) kind of tourist than if you can only rely on your English. I experienced this in the Netherlands, even though I learned just a few phrases for the purpose of my trip there. In Berlin, a lady at the local kiosk which I visited on every day always preferred to talk in German to me, even though she knew English quite well and mein Deutsch ist nicht so gut. And at a local bakery it was nice to get to know immediately what they meant when they asked you zum Mitnehmen? rather than staring at them and expecting an utterance in English.
Chemikiem
10 Mar 2019 #74
soy boy, beta boy, cuck, cucked are frequent invectives.

I have only ever heard those words on this forum. I am guessing they are in common usage amongst the American far-right brigade. I can't imagine anyone in the UK using those expressions tbh.
Lyzko 45 | 9,346
10 Mar 2019 #75
English remains the catch basin for all international communication today! Where once, lacking a qualified interpreter, exceeding (though not excessive) care was usually taken in the use of English abroad, indeed sparingly at best, and for good reason, in this generation, some of the most lackluster English usage passes for acceptable and the rationalizations are enough to make one lose his mind.

Typically, international types will be talking past one another, at least from the point of view of accuracy, almost blissfully unaware of what they AREN'T saying:-)
OP pawian 221 | 24,014
10 Mar 2019 #76
And that is why they are so f***ing boring with that straight-from-school manner of speech.

On second thoughts, it was school English that taught me those long official-sounding words like, e.g., presumptuous, indispensable, melliflous, sophisticated, incomprehensible, parsimonious, extraordinary.

Today I can use them and understand when used

Your attitude is reprehensible.

Lyzko 45 | 9,346
11 Mar 2019 #77
Aside from some occasional typos, "On second thoughtS" instead of :"thought", your English is excellent, pawian, I must concur.
OP pawian 221 | 24,014
11 Mar 2019 #78
Thank you very much but I know it lacks naturality a lot, I am sometimes at a loss with collocations and when I get distracted, I can use how instead of what.

BTW. my schools taught me we should use thoughts not thought.. I remember well they emphasised that plurality. :)

idioms.thefreedictionary.com/on+second+thoughts.
Lyzko 45 | 9,346
11 Mar 2019 #79
You're most welcome, pawian! English is not easy.
OP pawian 221 | 24,014
15 Mar 2019 #80
Mostly likely he is only virtue signaling rather that presenting his well thought over opinion

Sth new every day. When I read about virtue signalling a few times, I thought it was similar to whistle blowing. At last I looked it up and wow - a new meaning. Interesting that I don`t remember seeing it in previous years. Now I can read it in every thread. Strange.

Is it correct to say virtue signallist?
Chemikiem
15 Mar 2019 #81
Now I can read it in every thread

I have noticed it is increasing in usage, but only ever used by the right-wing brigade on here.
OP pawian 221 | 24,014
15 Mar 2019 #82
Again, those notorious right-wingers. :) But at least they are of linguistic use for me. :)
delphiandomine 88 | 18,163
15 Mar 2019 #83
I'm surprised you haven't picked up on the usage of the word 'incel', pawian!
OP pawian 221 | 24,014
15 Mar 2019 #84
It is one of your favourites. :):) Actually, I looked it up a few days ago. First I thought it is mispelled or shortened imbecile Yes, let`s add it to the list of acquisitions.
delphiandomine 88 | 18,163
15 Mar 2019 #85
shortened imbecile

It does fit, I have to admit ;)

Apparently you can't actually call someone it, but 'if the glove fits'...
Chemikiem
16 Mar 2019 #86
usage of the word 'incel'

I had to look this up too, but it's apparently been in use since the 90's. Very appropriate for some on here I must say ;)
johnny reb 47 | 6,795
16 Mar 2019 #87
How about some of the others that are, "Holier than thou" on here I must say. ;-)
OP pawian 221 | 24,014
16 Mar 2019 #88
"Holier than thou"

It isn`t new to me, similar sayings are "More papal than the Pope".
OP pawian 221 | 24,014
17 Mar 2019 #89
you're bang on the money.

Delph, another one from you, apart from you got it in one. and probably another one which I forgot now.

When I read it on the homepage out of context, I thought you are accusing sb of being materialistic. :) I will use it instead of bullseye.

urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Bang%20on%20the%20money
delphiandomine 88 | 18,163
17 Mar 2019 #90
Pawian, please, your poor stude....pupils ;) will be terrified when you tell them that they're bang on the money after you call them to the blackboard ;)

(OT, but "to call someone to the blackboard" is a Polish thing, isn't it?)


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