Posts tagged with "diminutives"

Polish Diminutives – one more time

Posted by Anna 4 Comments
Apr 7 2009

I think I should add a brief explanation regarding my previous post on diminutive proper names.

I am fully aware that if you really want to you can create zdrobnienia of just about any name out there, including Agnieszka, for example. The difference between some names and others is this: while very few perfect strangers would think to address a grown woman they don’t know as “Pani Agusia” (Agnieszka), they consider it perfectly normal and natural to say “Pani Krysia” (Krystyna) or “Pani Asia” (Joanna).

A few weeks ago when I was calling the pharmacy to find out if my prescriptions were ready for pick up, the pharmacist said this: “Pani Aneczko, lekarstewka są gotowe” (polite Pani, then my name in one of its diminutive forms, medicines are ready). For a sec I had to think who this “Pani Aneczka” was. And no, I’m not friends with the lady who works at the pharmacy, I don’t even know her name. But just because she knows my name, where I live and what kind of yeast infection treatment I use, she thinks it gives her the right to call me “Pani Aneczka”???

And “lekarstewka”??? Isn’t it a bit of an overkill? But unfortunately, this is what happens in Polish.

  • lekarstwo (neuter, plural: lekarstwa) – medicine

The pharmacist used “lekarstewka” – plural of “lekarstewko”, which would be what exactly, huh? Itsy bitsy medicine?

This use of diminutives in every day conversations is so widespread, that I don’t even remember the last time I was offered something other than “herbatka” (tea, diminutive) or “kawka” (“kawunia” or “kawusia” in some cases, either way, it’s coffee, diminutive) to accompany a “ciasteczko” (cake, diminutive) or a “kawałeczek placuszka z jabłuszkami” (piece of apple pie/cake, diminutive).

You know you are fully fluent in Polish when you stop getting confused if I asked at the store whether you prefer “szyneczka” (ham, diminutive) or “polędwiczka” (different kind of ham, diminutive). And then make your own “kanapeczki z pomidorkiem i ogóreczkiem” (sandwiches with tomato and cucumber, diminutive) with “plastereczki” (slices, diminutive) of either your “szyneczka” or “polędwiczka“.

Though wait a sec here.

“Kanapka” is one of those goofy nouns. It’s a diminutive already – of “kanapa” which means “sofa.” But “kanapka” is a sandwich. And “kanapeczka” (sandwich, diminutive) is what you may offer your unexpected guests for a quick lunch. And oh yeah, “kanapeczka” doesn’t have to be small. One of my friends makes “kanapeczki” (plural of diminutive sandwiches) the size of wagon wheels.

And now, if you excuse me, because this is tydzień wielkanocny (Easter week), I have been tasked with preparing a traditional Polish Easter in this far-away exotic land that I am currently visiting. So, I need to go out and buy “jajeczka” (eggs, diminutive) to make “pisaneczki” (painted eggs, diminutive) and sort out a nice “koszyczek” (basket, diminutive) for “święconeczka” (diminutive of “święconka“ which is an assortment of food put in a basket and taken to church to be blessed on Great/Holy Saturday.)

There’s no church here to take my “święconka“ to, but I guess it’s the thought that counts, right?

Wesołych Świąt Wielkiej Nocy!!! – Happy Easter!!!

Diminutives of Proper Names

Posted by Anna 15 Comments
Apr 3 2009

Are you ready for more zdrobnienia (diminutives)? I’m not… But I thought I’d give them a shot anyway.

I told you already that I’m not particularly fond of diminutives. And if there is a thing I dislike even more, that will be diminutive forms of proper names. Hate the stuff. Really.

Lucky are the people whose names don’t lend themselves to casual diminution. That would be Jacek, Andrzej, Paweł, Michał, for example. Yes, you can say “Jacuś, Andrzejek, Pawełek and Michałek” but chances are you wouldn’t do it when talking to grown men. And the ladies? Agnieszka, Sylwia, Beata, Iwona come to mind. Agnieszki are truly lucky. Their name stays as is. Frankly, I can’t even think of what its diminutive form would be. If that’s the case, then this must be the proverbial exception that only goes to prove the general rule – that most Polish names are not even used in their “birth certificate” forms.

Take my name, for example. Anna. Simple enough, right? Not when, as Barb very helpfully pointed out, you can also have Ania, Anka, Anusia (or Aniusia), Aneczka, Andzia, Anula, Anulka, Anunia and probably a couple of others that I’d rather forget about.

My sister’s name is equally simple in its basic form – Maria. But I’ve never met a Polish person who would call her “Maria” – “it’s just too churchy,” as one lady explained. Instead, she’s Marysia, Marysieńka, Mania, Mańka, and so on.

Diminutive name forms are so ingrained into out collective Polish psyche that even professional men and women don’t see anything odd with introducing themselves as “Magda so-and-so” (really: Magdalena) and “Darek so-and-so” (really: Dariusz).

And so Barbara becomes “Basia” and Jolanta – “Jola”, Joanna – “Asia”, Izabella – “Iza”, Zofia – “Zosia”, Aleksandra – “Ola”, and so on. There’s no rhyme and reason to it. This is something that you will need to learn on a case by case basis.

Guys’ names are easier, but just a little. Most of the traditional Slavic names are simply impossible to use in everyday conversations in their proper forms – Zbigniew, Sławomir, Jarosław, Mieczysław, etc. They morph into: Zbyszek, Sławek, Jarek and Mietek. Other male names, especially when talking to adults you’re not all that familiar with, stay pretty much the same: Maciej, Piotr, Krzysztof (though you can say “Krzysiek” if you feel you know the dude well enough and he won’t mind), Mateusz, Łukasz, Janusz, etc…

As for my own name, I will tolerate “Ania”. The other diminutives of Anna – even my own family doesn’t use them. And what about my sister? My dad calls her “Marie.” When I asked him why, he simply said “it’s shorter.”

When Diminutives Aren’t Diminutive

Posted by Anna No Comments
Mar 24 2009

This is odd, but during the last two weeks two different readers, in two different countries, in two different ways mentioned the issue of Polish diminutives. So, who am I to argue with such a coincidence? And because I don’t want any bad karma hanging over my head (those “sexist” occupation nouns can wait), we shall start on the subject of diminutive forms today. We will only start, because, honestly, thick volumes were written on this subject.

Polish seems to be THE language for diminutives. And I’m not talking here only about first names, like for example mine (and by the way, see how many variants you can create from “Anna”), but normal everyday nouns. And adjectives. And adverbs. And other assorted parts of speech. I’ve even heard verbs beaten into submission and mangled into zdrobnienia (singular: zdrobnienie).

But not all diminutives are what they appear on the surface.

Take the word “śmietana,” for example. Its diminutive form is “śmietanka“. Almost all dictionaries translate both words simply as “cream.” But hey, it just wouldn’t be Polish, if it were THAT simple, now would it?

For most Polish speakers and dairy manufacturers, “śmietana” signifies sour cream. If you add “bita” in front of it, then you have “bita śmietana” which is definitely not sour, but whipped cream. And “śmietanka” normally refers to the stuff you pour into your coffee. If you were trying to use śmietana instead, you could be in for a rude surprise – few people I know like their coffee with sour cream.

So yeah, technically, śmietanka is a diminutive form of śmietana, but somewhere along the way they’ve evolved to mean different things.

Another one of those “fake” diminutives is “sałata” and “sałatka”:

  • sałata – lettuce,
  • sałatka – salad.

And then there’s “chusta”. And “chustka”. And “chusteczka”.

  • “Chusta” is what babushki wear on their heads. It can also mean “hijab”.
  • “Chustka” would be what a fashionable lady wears around her neck as an accessory.
  • And “chusteczka” especially when followed by “higieniczna” is what you blow your nose into.

There is some overlap in meaning between the last two words, but mostly when spoken by older people.

These are just a few examples to show you that not all diminutives are what they appear to be. In our next installment, we will tackle diminutive versions of names. So yeah, just how many different ways can you say “Anna” anyway?

PS. I even found photos of packages of both śmietana and śmietanka, but due to technical difficulties with uploading pictures, I will have to add them at a later date

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