Posts tagged with "Polish Language"

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

Brussels Says – Get Rid of “Pani” and “Panna”

Posted by Anna 7 Comments
Mar 18 2009

What is this I’m hearing about the paper pushers in Brussels telling us to not use words such as “Pani” and “Panna”? Or “Madame” and “Mademoiselle”, “Frau” and “Fraulein” and so on… Seriously, does anyone still even bother with those panna/mademoiselle/fraulein forms?

The great majority of people I know never even use the word “Panna” when addressing a young woman. In my family, the only person who was allowed to call us that was my grandpa, when he was still alive. I only identified myself as “Panna” when asked for marital status on official documents. But that was when I was still a single woman. In normal conversations, people have been calling me “Pani” since time immemorial. Even when I was very much a panna at the age of 17.

So, I have absolutely no idea what the EU’s problem is with “Pani.”

Is it their lack of understanding of our beautiful, but convoluted language?

Back in the olden days “Pani” referred to a married matron, that much is true. But these days it’s just a simple, polite expression to address any and all women and has nothing to do with whether these women are married or not. For crying out loud, there are private high schools in this country, where the staff are required to address their students as “Pan so-and-so” and “Pani so-and-so.”

So, the first part of this language directive from Bruksela is utter nonsense, but I must admit I kind of agree with the second part.

They don’t want us to use the feminine forms of certain nouns describing occupations. Oddly enough, this is something I’ve already been doing for years. And I just know this will not endear me to my Polish-speaking readers, who are rather orthodox about preserving the purity of the Polish language. (As if Polish could be pure. Yeah right!)

Instead of saying, for example, “listonoszka” (female mail carrier) I’ve always been saying simply “listonosz” (mail carrier), or if I wanted to be really specific, then: “pani listonosz”.

Same with “policjantka” (policewoman). I just say “funkcjonariusz policji” or “oficer policji”.

What really irks me is the double standard of how we refer to TV weather people. You know, those types who tell you it will be snowing in morning and smile, as if it was the best news ever. The women doing the smiling and telling are commonly known as “pogodynki” (singular: pogodynka). Comes from “pogoda” (weather).

But the guys are “prezenterzy pogody” (singular: prezenter pogody). Why the difference? What? Guys don’t want to be called “pogodynki”? Well, technically, “pogodynka” is a feminine noun, but what’s the big deal? Just call him “pogodynek” instead. But of course, it would be considered goofy and unprofessional. So it looks like it’s OK to call a woman by a cutesy, unprofessional nickname, but not a guy. Not fair.

My system of using the masculine version for both men and women is also very economical, especially when you’re just learning Polish. Because then you don’t have to think too much about: “what the heck do I call this woman with the dental drill”?

Hint: in my world, she would be “dentysta” (dentist, masculine form), just like a man. Or “a torturer”, depending on the situation. (And did you know that modern dental drills can rotate at up to 800000 RPM?)

Here’s the news blurb about this EU decision (in Polish).

And next week, I’ll give you a whole bunch of those masculine-feminine occupations. You’ll have to wait until next week, because on Friday we’ll be drowning Marzanna. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to drown something. Anything to bring on warmer weather!

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