Informal correspondence in Polish seems to be much less stressful for the students of Polish as a foreign language than generating formail emails (more on formal correspondence in our entry of 4th February). When writing to a friend you can use any greeting you like. In an opening phrase there may appear forms that are common for verbal communication: Cześć – Hej – Sie ma (very colloquial!) – Witaj (we have mentioned this controversial greeting in part 1 of our series on email correspondence) or a simple Dzień dobry. If we’re writing to someone close to us we may, or even should, use forms like Kochany, Kochana, Kochani (literally: darling, beloved one(s)). The adjectives Drogi, Droga, Drodzy, Drogie are just as common. However, in the context of correspondence, those adjectives CAN’T BE translated as the English Dear or the French Cher(e). We can write Droga Aniu, Drogi Marku, Drodzy Koledzy, but not Drogi Panie Dyrektorze (check out our entry of 4th Feb to find out what form we use in this case).
VOCATIVE CASE IN CORRESPONDENCE: TO USE OR NOT TO USE?
When talking about the greetings, the discussion always returns to the vocative case, which has been slowly disappearing from the Polish language. An example of that is the situation when we put recipient’s name in the opening phrase. Accordingly, we should write Cześć Aniu, Marku, Tomku, Kasiu, but these days the nominative case is used more and more often and we make forms, such as Cześć Ania, Marek, Tomek, Kasia. Informal correspondence is governed by less restrictive rules than the formal one, but the use of the vocative case is advised not only for the sake of accuracy, but also to express our emotional attitude towards the recipient. The form Cześć Aniu sounds more intimate and warmer than Cześć Ania. Interestingly, if we decide on the greeting with the adjective Droga/Drogi or Kochany/Kochana, the only possible form is the vocative one (Droga Aniu, Drogi Marku, Kochana Kasiu), the use of any other form is a glaring error.
SEMI-FORMAL GREETINGS
The Polish language is sometimes so formalised that it becomes hard to use even for the native Polish speakers. For this reason, in cases where we cannot be on first name terms with someone, either because of cultural or professional circumstances, the semi-formal forms come in handy. The students of Polish frequently ask what forms like Pani Aniu, Panie Marku mean, and what degree of intimacy they refer to. Most foreigners find such a collocation shocking and unacceptable in their native languages (e.g. in the German language). Meanwhile, such forms of address, common in the Polish culture, help to avoid numerous obstacles and longueurs of the formal language. Remember, however, that you need to know a person at least a little and be peers in the hierarchy of a company or organization. When we start an email with a semi-formal greeting, we can write Pani Aniu, Panie Marku, but DO NOT collocate those forms with Szanowny/Szanowna (literally: honorable). The only acceptable option is Szanowny Panie, Szanowna Pani.
Next part of our series on writing emails in Polish will follow soon, in the meantime check out our FB profile. The information you can find there will help you to learn more than how to write emails in Polish.
