Posts in May 2009

Welcome to Hel!

Posted by Anna Ikeda
May
31
2009

Hel (with one “L”) is a very pleasant place, I know because I went there yesterday. I would post some photos, however the file upload problem hasn’t been resolved yet (but the guys from Transparent are doing what they can to get it sorted out).

So, instead of looking at pretty pictures of Hel, you’ll have to read my descriptions of the place. In that case, let’s make them short: Hel is indeed lovely, but I wouldn’t want to be there during letnie wakacje (summer vacation) - the place turns into a madhouse.

If you can’t make it to Hel in person, you can always visit the town’s official webpage. It’s called GoHel.pl. “Go Hel” also seems to be the official city slogan. But oddly enough, there’s no English language version of the website. It’s in Polish only. (Why then “Go Hel”? To appear more “European” and what-not?)

What got me interested (and confused) was this sentence:
Witamy w Helu! (Welcome to Hel)

“Hmmm…. odd,” I thought. “Weren’t is used to be ‘Witamy na Helu’ once upon a time, or am I going totally senile?”

You see, Hel is an interesting place, not only because it’s at the very tip of Poland, but also because nobody’s really sure how to correctly say “I’m going to Hel”, or as it turned out yesterday - “Welcome to Hel.”

I’ve always thought that “Witamy na Helu” was correct. Apparently not, according to the Urząd Miejski in Hel. It’s “Witamy w Helu.”

Ok, fair enough, we say “Witamy w Gdańsku” and “Witamy w Warszawie” and Hel simply wanted to conform. I can live with that.

But how do we say “I’m going to Hel”?

I’ve always thought that “jadę na Hel” was correct. 99% of the population, if asked about it, would automatically answer “na Hel.” But apparently, it’s only correct if you’re talking about the entire Hel Peninsula. Then you “jedziesz na Hel.”

If however, you’re only talking about the town of Hel, then you “jedziesz do Helu.” At least that’s how a helpful Hel dweller explained it to me yesterday.

Whatever. People in Hel can say “Witamy w Helu” all they want. They’re not going to convince me.
So there!

I’m planning to return “na Hel” soon!

:)

 
Posted under Geography, Polish Language
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Polish Spelling Needs a Revolution (or at least - a sensible reform)

Posted by Anna Ikeda
May
28
2009

I’m beginning to develop very strong feelings for Krystyna Bochenek. I’m not quite sure what kind of feelings, but I am sure they are strong. Why, you want to know? Ok, I’ll tell you.

I was watching the news yesterday, or rather, ignoring the news, as I normally do, until I heard a reporter saying something about how hard this wonderful language of ours was. By the time I managed to lift my head and pay attention, the shot changed to a group of school age kids grumbling about Polish orthography. By the time I managed to actually comprehend what was being said and process the information, the shot changed once again. This time to a lady who was saying something about a language, or rather spelling, reform. That Polish was long overdue for one – the last one had been before WW2.

The lady turned out to be Krystyna Bochenek and I realized I vaguely recalled hearing her name before. Ah yes, a politician? Or a journalist? I went to google her name and saw that I was correct on both accounts. Ms. Bochenek is a very multi-faceted person, and her passion is the Polish language. “Well, so is mine,” I thought. Good, at least we have something in common then.

Except that Ms. Bochenek is also an actual polonista (a person with a university degree in the Polish language, or as we are very fond of saying here – “Polish philology”) and I only pretend to be one on the internet.

So, where do the strong feelings come in? Well, if I heard Ms. Bochenek correctly, she wants to do something about simplifying the way some Polish words are spelled. (I love you, Ms. Bochenek!)

If you want to know my opinion (and even if you don’t, I’m going to give it to you anyway), it’s about time!!! If I had my way, “ó” would be the first to go. I hate that letter. More than you can imagine.

I’d get rid of “ż” – can you imagine how much neater using a Polish keyboard would become?
And I’d replace all single “h” with “ch” to make life easier.

(If my high school Polish teacher is reading this - I’m so sorry, I know you’re probably experiencing a sudden and profound sense of déjà vu.)

Alas, Ms. Bochenek is not going to go that far in her proposed language reform. She wants to limit herself to the problem of “razem czy osobno” – whether we write certain words together or not. Like “na pewno” or “napewno”. And “naprawdę” or “na prawdę”.

Hint: it’s “na pewno” and “naprawdę”.
What? You want to know the logic behind it? There is none. Dude, it’s Polish we’re talking about here, OK?

I’d implore Ms. Bochenek to be bold and go further than this. I’d call for a total spelling revolution! Just imagine what would happen if “ó” and “ż” disappeared altogether!

We’d need new dictionaries, which means plenty of new books would have to be printed and sold, which means plenty of people would keep their jobs. And that’s definitely a good thing in this economic crisis.
Somebody (well, pretty much all of us) would need to buy those new dictionaries, hence a big spending spree would follow. Again – good for the economy.

School grades would improve overnight. Kids, who otherwise might have been doomed to careers as cleaners and dishwashers in the UK, all because they couldn’t spell properly in their own language, would regain their confidence and dream big, maybe even of becoming Polish teachers. In the UK, naturally.

See what I mean? This is a win-win situation! Polish spelling needs a complete overhaul and we just need one brave person to step forward and say “enough’s enough” and “let’s break the tyranny of orthographic dictionaries!”

But of course, as with any revolution, this one would bring with it serious problems, too. Like for example, what would we do with Professor Miodek?

PS. A very cool interview with Ms. Bochenek, about life, universe and being a woman in politics is here. Only in Polish, unfortunately.

 
Posted under Polish Language
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Mother’s Day in Poland

Posted by Anna Ikeda
May
25
2009

Tomorrow is Mother’s Day in Poland. Yes, here we celebrate it on the 26th of May. Why then and not on a weekend (like it should be)? Well, we’re just different.

But seriously, I don’t know why it’s the 26th of May in Poland. Personally, I find it very inconvenient. Let’s say you’re a mother and you had a busy day at work, then you go home and if you’re lucky your kids did the cleaning and cooking and shopping and all that. And then you can sit down, relax and celebrate together.

But most likely, the only thing your kids did was buy you a bunch of flowers. And maybe a card.

I’m not sure if this is just my impression, but Mother’s Day is not as commercialized here as it is, for example, in the US. True, flower shops have signs “Dzień Matki – 26 maja!” (Mother’s Day – 26th of May) and I saw some ads here and there reminding people to buy prezent dla mamy (a gift for mom). And that’s about it. It all seems very relaxed in Poland. Or maybe I’m not paying that much attention.

Still, personally I’d prefer to have this celebration during a weekend. Any weekend would do. Then mothers can herd their kids and guilt them into doing all sorts of housework (because there’s no need to worry about school the next day, there’s no homework waiting to be done), and the family can really spend time together, enjoy each other’s company and make this day a special one for mom.

And here? Quick, quick, it’s late already, eat your supper, oh yes, the cake (if the kids or their dad remembered to buy a cake in the first place), yes let’s have some cake, thank you, lovely flowers (wilted already), have you done your homework? And what about the dishes? You want ME to do the dishes on Mother’s Day? And the mom gives in, because the kids have to finish their homework. There’s no time to go to the movies, or have a picnic, or go to visit grandma.

Laugh at me all you want, but I do hope that someday Dzień Matki in Poland will be moved to a more convenient time. Like a beautiful May weekend when moms can sleep in and their kids make breakfast. A whole day off to celebrate would be the best present that mothers could get.

And to all the mothers, Polish or otherwise, who read this blog – have a wonderful Mother’s Day! Because every day should be Mother’s Day!

Wszystkiego najlepszego z okazji Dnia Matki!

 
Posted under Culture
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Who’s Who in the Family

Posted by Anna Ikeda
May
22
2009

Today’s post is about something that even I have problems with. Brother’s wife wife’s brother and sister’s husband and husband’s sister and sister’s daughter’s best friend’s neighbor’s son. Or something like that.

Either I’m monumentally stupid, or it’s really easy in English. Just stick “in-law” at the end of anything you’re not quite sure of (when talking about the “other” side of the family) and voila, your work there is done. So, whether you’re talking about your wife’s sister or your brother’s wife, you simply say “my sister in-law”, right?

Well, it’s not quite so easy in Polish (why would it, it’s Polish after all!) and all these people have their own individual names.
So, to be sure I get it right (because I hardly ever get it right) I consulted a book and my aunt. And while sometimes even Polish dictionaries can’t agree on what is correct, I know for a fact that my aunt is never wrong.

OK, so here’s the list (according to the book and my aunt):

  • brother’s wife – żona brata – bratowa
  • sister’s husband – mąż siostry – szwagier
  • wife’s brother – brat żony – szwagier
  • wife’s sister – siostra żony – szwagierka
  • husband’s sister – siostra męża – szwagierka

And there’s more:

  • sister’s daughter – córka siostry – siostrzenica
  • brother’s daughter – córka brata – bratanica
  • sister’s son – syn siostry – siostrzeniec
  • brother’s son – syn brata – bratanek

And now for the fun part, because we all love our in-laws, right?

  • daughter’s husband – mąż córki – zięć
  • son’s wife – żona syna – synowa

and

  • wife’s (or husband’s) father – ojciec żony (lub męża) – teść
  • wife’s (or husband’s) mother – matka żony (lub męża) – teściowa

When it comes to people like mother’s brother or father’s brother, back in the olden days (like about 20 years ago) they were called “wuj” and “stryj” respectively. But now, they’re just called “wuj”, or diminutively “wujek”, regardless of whose brothers they are.

And how for example would my father refer to my husband’s father in Polish? I have no idea. My dad has no idea either. He just said “father of my son-in-law” (ojciec mojego zięcia). Hey, works for me!

PS. And just to see if you remember your noun cases, can you tell which one we’ve been using today to describe all these people?

 
Posted under Grammar, Polish Language, Vocabulary
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Going to the Dentist

Posted by Anna Ikeda
May
20
2009

I’ve been reading and hearing all these stories about tourists from Germany who travel to Poland to get major dental work done, because it’s so much cheaper here and the quality is good, or so they say. So, I thought I’d try it myself and since I had a couple of fillings to replace anyway, why not?

I asked around and one dentist came highly recommended. Supposedly she was very good and very skilled with panicky patients. And since I can be very panicky, I made an appointment.

Now, I have to explain something. I used to train taekwondo, and if you take the sport seriously, chances are that even when using a mouth guard, you will have a couple of teeth to patch up sooner or later. And I took my taekwondo very seriously. Add to that my legendary sweet tooth and now you know why I was forced to experience the pleasures of dental visits on five continents.

So I had plenty of control samples to compare the doctor in Poland with. Unfortunately, she fell short on all accounts. While I can take a beating in the dojang, I am a total wuss when it comes to dental work. And this lady, the champ that she was, attempted to fix my tooth without anesthesia. Even though I asked for a shot. She simply stated that she wasn’t going to give me one for such a simple procedure. Needless to say, the visit was a total failure. Yet, because I’m a glutton for punishment, I returned to her for another appointment. Again, she proceeded to drill me live. I briefly considered kicking her in the head (it was easy in the position I was in), but settled on escaping from the chair while she went to fetch something. I ran and didn’t look back.

A couple of days later it turned out she had overcharged me dearly for that first visit. Her prices were positively mainstream European. So, she was no good and ridiculously expensive.

Since I had a half-hacked tooth in my mouth, I had no choice but to find another dentist. And to find one quickly.
I called up a clinic right by where I’m staying, explained the situation to a very patient receptionist (who even spoke decent English and wanted to show off) and made an appointment.

My new dentist looked all of fifteen years old. She had braces on her teeth, for crying out loud! I was afraid. Very afraid. But she turned out to be fast, gentle and competent. She fixed everything that needed fixing. Under anesthesia. Her assistant was top-notch too. Do I dare to say this baby-faced chick with braces was better than my totally awesome dentist across the ocean? Yes, she was. She was much cheaper too. Her prices started at 100 PLN per tooth.

So, yes, if I lived in Germany, I would definitely travel to see her again.

Useful words:

  • ząb (masculine, plural: zęby) – tooth audio
  • stomatolog (masculine, plural: stomatolodzy) – dentist, but you can also say “dentysta” (plural: dentyści) audio
  • dziura (w zębie) – cavity audio
  • ból zęba – toothache audio
  • próchnica (feminine, no plural) – caries, tooth decay audio
  • dziąsło (neuter, plural: dziąsła) – gum (in your mouth) audio
  • plomba (feminine, plural: plomby) – filling (dental) audio
  • zakładać plombę, or - zaplombować – to fill a tooth audio
  • leczenie kanałowe – root canal audio

and the most important of them all:

  • znieczulenie (masculine, plural: znieczulenia) - anesthetic audio
 
Posted under Vocabulary
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