Posts from February 2010

Two Ears and Two Eyes

Posted by Anna 4 Comments
Feb 25 2010

I was writing something yesterday, in Polish, as it happens, and I almost had a nervous breakdown. Why? Plural forms of “number + noun” combinations are enough to drive anyone insane, even a native Pole.

And it all looked so simple! I was talking about body parts, more specifically, those body parts that come in twos.

There was little problem with hands and legs:

  • dwie ręce – two hands
  • dwie nogi – two legs

What was enough for a trip to an insane asylum was when I got to those body parts that are neuter in gender (when singular). You know, stuff like eyes and ears.

In English, it’s all so easy: one eye, two eyes. One ear, two ears. And your work here is done.

In Polish, first you have to figure out what kind of ear or eye you’re talking about.
When the noun is singular, it’s fairly easy.

  • ucho (noun, neuter) – ear: the organ that detects sound, OR: something shaped like an ear, like a handle on a jug, for example.
  • oko (noun, neuter) – eye: the organ that detects light, and sends electrical impulses along the optic nerve to the visual and other areas of the brain, OR: something shaped like an eye.

Confused yet? No? OK, you just wait. You will be.

So far so good. Then I tried to use these words as plural nouns. And remember, I was talking about body parts.

  • uszy – ears, when talking about body parts
  • oczy – eyes, when talking about body parts.

but:

  • ucha – ears, when talking about something shaped like an ear
  • oka – eyes, when talking about something shaped like an eye.

OK, that wasn’t too bad, right? Yeah, I thought so, too. And then I tried to say, or rather – write: two ears and two eyes. (And here, feel free to insert your favorite curse word, or two.)

It took me two słowniki ortograficzne and quite a bit of googling to get it right. And that was just in the nominative case! I’m not going to touch the other cases with a ten foot pole (or a Hungarian, for that matter).

Ok, so how do we say “two ears” when talking about body parts?

  • Dwoje uszu.

Yeah, where did that come from?

And how about “two eyes” (body parts again)?

  • Dwoje oczu.

Finally, my friend, trying to be helpful suggested: “Oh, what the heck, just say ‘a pair of eyes’ and ‘a pair of ears’.”

Yeah, easy for you to say.
Is it “para uszu” or “para uszów”? And is it “para oczu” or “para oczów”? Or maybe “para ócz”?

I give up. I need to call an expert. Where is Maciej Malinowski – mistrz polskiej ortografii, when you need him?

Being Cool (episode 2)

Posted by Anna No Comments
Feb 22 2010

Today Adam continues his very fascinating story of the emergence of “cool” in Poland in the 00s.

Today we will follow up on being cool and the language of youth in the noughties. It was apparent from episode one, that fashions in this country do change quite rapidly. A new word could suddenly become hot, and then just as suddenly fall out of favor and become passe.

Like the word passe itself. Together with trendy (or trendi) and miejski (urban), it defined the noughties. Thanks to these words we knew what was hip, what was in, and what was out. Though things are pretty straightforward with trendy and passe, the emergence of miejski would probably need some more explanation.

The word miejski (urban) reflected the long-lasting superiority complex that the more fortunate inhabitants of major cities have felt towards the people from small villages and little towns. They have not adopted the new religion of capitalism so eagerly as the cityfolk, were not as comfortable in this new reality and coped with more difficulty. It was, and is, reflected in the state of provincial places which are usually rather run down. Its inhabitants tend to be poorer, and perceived as backwards by those city dwellers. For a long time wiejski (peasant – adjective) was a negative word, almost a curse. Wieśniak (literally peasant – noun, masculine) has for a long time been a synonym for someone who doesn’t know manners, who doesn’t follow hygiene, and is not very intellectually developed. Miejski, therefore, by contrast, has to mean all the positive and higher things in life.

Culmination of the period when passe, trendy and miejski were… trendy was probably the publication of a novel titled “Paris London Dachau” by Agnieszka Drotkiewicz in 2004. This was an utterly bizarre romance story, written in the newly invented style of broken prose (połamana proza). It oozed with consumption of trendy goods and ideologies. Its protagonists dropped names of brands like commas, and spoke quotes from 20th century philosophers, song lyrics and television. Was it a satire on the period of lans? Was it its affirmation? Or was it the needle that broke this growing bubble, so that some of us could wake up and see how odd we were becoming? Preoccupied with being cool, wearing cool, and quoting fashionable philosophers like Baudriliard to criticize it in a cool way at the same time?
Whatever it was, one thing was certain – this book was a very miejska książka (urban book).

But it was also an end of an era.

Episode 3 will deal with “young” Polish words that entered the mainstream and actually stayed there – used since by both the young and old.

Surviving the First Hello

Posted by Anna 8 Comments
Feb 20 2010

Another totally awesome post by our resident guest blogger – Adam.

We will get back to being cool in Poland in my next post. This time, inspired by the adventures of some newbies to Poland, I would like to tackle the issue of being polite.

The rules on how you behave vary from country to country. In Britain, for instance, it is customary to acknowledge the presence of another person, but try not to be invasive. There you would be asked, “How are you?” and you would reply that everything is fine. Which is their way of saying hello.

This would be unthinkable in Poland.

In Poland you should only ask how someone is (jak się masz?), only if you REALLY care. Not just to say hello. Because you will hear the real answer. And you can hear any sort of answer.

Some people might go into very personal details of their family situation, finance, health, or whatever – which might make you feel uncomfortable. The most common and the most polite way in Poland is to complain. If anyone ever asks you how you are, here is a list of popular complaints:

  • - to co się dzieje w polityce przechodzi ludzkie pojęcie! (politics is going mad!)
  • - mam bóle głowy (I have headaches)
  • - te dziury w drogach, nie da się żyć w tym kraju (look at the potholes, it’s impossible to live in this country)
  • - przez te korki marnuję pół dnia! (I’m wasting half a day stuck in traffic!)
  • - szef mnie nie lubi (my boss doesn’t like me)
  • - jak tu utrzymać trójkę dzieci, kiedy płacą ludziom marne grosze (how does one feed three kids when they pay you peanuts)
  • - nic ciekawego nie pokazują w telewizji (there’s nothing good on tv these days)

And on the other hand, the worst social faux-pas is to brag. You should never talk about how great your financial situation is, how wonderful your life is, how much your partner loves you, or your newest promotion – especially to a person you don’t know very well, like a neighbor. People just will be stunned, or think you’re a bouffon. If there is nothing bad going on in your life, which you could complain about, go for “jako tako” (I’m doing so-so) or “okej” (O.K.).

The correct way to say hello in Poland is to actually say hello. Dzień dobry (good morning), dobry wieczór (good evening), cześć (hi!), witam (hi!). And remember the golden rule: don’t care – don’t ask. If you want to be polite to a stranger, make some general observation – about the weather, surroundings, or recent news.

Another thing an English speaker should keep in mind, is that the Polish language sounds monotonous. The accent almost always falls on the second-to-last syllable. There is little variation in intonation or melody. Therefore, when a Polish person asks a question, expresses sympathy or compassion – not much of this is reflected in the tone of their voice. A simple question “Może jeszcze herbaty?” (would you like more tea?) might sound rude.

Most of our readers are probably well aware of the custom of addressing grown-ups as Pan/Pani (Sir/Madam) rather than ty (you). However, if you meet someone who is addressed in a special way due to their position or occupation, it is polite if you do it, too. Here’s an example: if you meet a priest (ksiądz), even though you are an atheist (ateista), it would be polite to address him as “ksiądz” rather than Pan: “Proszę księdza…“, “Co słychać u księdza?“, etc.

Anyway, jak się macie czytelnicy i czytelniczki Polskiego Bloga? :)

Środa Popielcowa – Ash Wednesday

Posted by Anna No Comments
Feb 17 2010

So…. Karnawał (carnival) is over! No more parties, no more dancing, no more drinking until you fall down under the table. It’s all about somber (and sober) penance now.

Yes, today was Środa Popielcowa (Ash Wednesday), and in a country as Catholic as Poland that is indeed an important observance. The beginning of Wielki Post (Lent). The time for personal sacrifices in the name of religion.

How is Lent observed in Polish families? It all depends on how religious they are. Most people would simply give up eating meat on Fridays during those 40 days before Easter. And I remember that babcia (grandmother) had also said something about herrings. Apparently, only herrings without cream are acceptable during lent. And coffee without sugar. And no dessert.

And let’s not forget about rekolekcje wielkopostne (Lent retreat) when you go to church and pray. As far as I remember (though I might be wrong, personally, I’ve never participated in those activities), rekolekcje end in Spowiedź Wielkanocna (Easter confession). Every Catholic should go to confession at least once a year and that’s what Spowiedź Wielkanocna is for.

I don’t know if it still works like that, but a few years back, parishes distributed confession slips to all faithful (old enough to need confession) during Lent. Then when you were actually in the confessional doing your confessing, you gave that slip to the priest. That way the church knew who participated and who didn’t.

So, now we have 40 (well, 39 now) days of prayer, penance and sacrifice ahead of us to prepare us for Wielkanoc (Easter).

And speaking of sacrifice, what are you giving up for Lent this year?

Sympathy for “Sympatia”

Posted by Anna No Comments
Feb 15 2010

Valentine’s Day (walentynki) came and went and I hope it was a pleasant occasion for you with czekoladki (chocolates), kwiatki (flowers) and romantyczna kolacyjka (romantic dinner).
(Yes, all of the above are diminutive nouns, but that’s how we would say it).

What this Valentine’s Day made me realize was how confusing the word “sympatia” is for both Poles (when speaking English) and foreigners who are learning Polish.

I was reading a blog by a Polish woman, but written in English, and she mentioned something along the lines of “I am going to spend the day with my sympathy.”

At first it didn’t even register. “Sympathy”? Somebody died on Valentine’s Day?

And then I remembered my high school days and figured it out what she was talking about. And what she was talking about was her “sympatia” – boyfriend.
Sympatia is a handy all-purpose word, it can mean “boyfriend” or “girlfriend”, or generally, somebody you have a crush on and are not even at a boyfriend-girlfriend level (yet).

So, what about “sympathy”? That’s współczucie in Polish.

Confusing? Just a little.

“Sympatia” (noun, pl. sympatie) comes from the word “sympatyczny” (adjective, feminine: sympatyczna).

Sympatyczny chłopak (when talking about a guy), or sympatyczna dziewczyna (when talking about a girl) is someone who is nice, fun, loveable, pleasant and helpful. In other words, all the qualities we want in our prospective mates, right?

So there you have it, sympathy and sympatia are definitely two different things. And just because they sound vaguely similar in both languages, it doesn’t mean they can be used interchangeably.

Back to the Top