NAMES OF NATIONALITIES IN POLISH

FEMALE NAMES OF NATIONALITIES

Students of Polish as a foreign language don’t have much difficulty using names of nationalities. The instrumantal case, which we use to talk about nationalities, is a regular one, and its endings are easy to remember (Jestem Francuzem/Francuzką – Hiszpanem/Hiszpanką – Polakiem/Polką – Rosjaninem/Rosjanką). There are only a few difficult moments, especially in case of the female forms, which might be a challange because of alterations. Accordingly, we say: on jest Norwegiem/Włochem/Czechem/ Słowakiem/Grekiem/Turkiem, but ona jest Norweżką/Włoszką/Czeszką/Słowaczką/ Greczynką/Turczynką.

UNTYPICAL NAMES OF NATIONALITIES IN POLISH

There are more problems with the nationalities that didn’t exist in the minds of Polish speakers until quite recently. That’s usually because the inhabitants of the given country used to be the citizens of another, bigger country. Who we have in mind are, first of all, the inhabitants of the former Soviet Union and Yugoslavia. While it is relatively easy to name some of them, such as Liwin – Litwinka (Lithuanian), Estończyk – Estonka (Estonian), Gruzin – Gruzinka (Georgian), Chorwat – Chorwatka (Croatioan), the other ones are a fascinating cultural and linguistic mosaic. We should remember that the citizens of Moldova are called Mołdawianin and Mołdawianka, Montenegro (Czarnogóra) – Czarnogórzec and Czarnogórka, Azerbaijan – Azer and Azerka (or Azerbejdżanin and Azerbejdżanka), Kyrgyzstan – Kirgiz and Kirgijka, Tajikistan – Tadżyk, Tadżyjka, Kazakhstan – Kazach, Kazaszka, Armenia – Armeńczyk and Armenka (or Ormianin and Ormianka), Latvia – Łotysz and Łotyszka.

COUNTRIES WITHOUT NAMES OF NATIONALITIES

There are countries, whose citizens don’t have a specific name in the Polish language. That is the case of The Republic of South Africa (RPA), Ivory Coast (Wybrzeże Kości Słoniowej), The United Arab Emirates (ZEA, Zjednoczone Emiraty Arabskie), Vatican (Watykan), Liechtenstein, Fiji. And there appear names that are so rare or hard to use, e.g. Monakijczyk – Monakijka, Andorczyk – Andorka, Sanmaryńczyk – Sanmarynka, that when speaking we go for the easier forms to use and say: mieszkaniec/mieszkanka Monako, Andory, San Marino (the inhabitant of Monaco, Andorra, San Marino).

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POLISH LEARNERS' STRUGGLE WITH... DATES

DATES  IN THE POLISH LANGUAGE

Który dziś jest? (What’s the date today?) – the question seems fairly easy, however... Well, we all know that appearances can be deceiving. Then, how to answer that question correctly? Do we say: dziś jest piętnasty stycznia (15th January), or perhaps piętnastego stycznia? When do we say dwa tysiące piętnasty, and when dwa tysiące piętnastego?
Foreigners often ask those questions in Polish lessons when they learn how to read the dates correctly.
To make things harder, native speakers of Polish themselves make mistakes, too, which doesn’t help at all.

WHICH DAY OF THE MONTH IS IT?

So, how to say the dates in Polish correctly?
When asked: Który dziś jest? we should answer: Jest piętnasty stycznia dwa tysiące piętnastego roku (It’s 15th January 2015).
Forms such as piętnasty styczeń we should avoid like the plague, since they are not only wrong, but also simply absurd. If we make an effort to figure out their meaning, we should grab a calendar and check how many months of the year called styczeń there are. The form piętnasty styczeń means the fifteenth January (as if there were many months called January and we are referring to the fifteenth of them), not the fifteenth OF January. It’s the form we use when we say piętnaste piętro (the fifteenth floor), or drugi zawodnik (the second competitor). Therefore, when reading the date 15/01 we should put the name of the month in the genitive case and say piętnasty STYCZNIA. That means we have in mind piętnasty dzień stycznia (the fifteenth day of January), not the fifteenth month called styczeń. That is both gramatically and logically correct.
If someone asks us when we could meet, then we can answer: piętnastego stycznia dwa tysiące piętnastego roku (on 15th January 2015).

WHAT CAN WE SAY IN POLISH ONCE IN A THOUSAND YEARS?

And what if we want to say what year it is? Let’s simply not forget that the Polish language loves declension and use it. Say: jest rok dwa tysiące piętnasty (it’s the year 2015), but w roku dwa tysiące piętnastym rozpoczynają się nowe kursy języka polskiego w Po Polsku (in 2015 new Polish courses start at Po Polsku), in which case we have to use the locative.
We should also mention rok dwutysięczny (the year 2000). This form we can use once in a thousand years. There was rok tysięczny (the year 1000), there was rok dwutysięczny (2000) and there will be trzechtysięczny (3000). But NEVER EVER SAY  dwutysięczny pierwszy. That’s a terrible mistake. Remember that the year 2001 one we read: dwa tysiące pierwszy (thousands and hundreds are used in the form of cardinal numbers and tens and units take the ordinal form).

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We wish all our readers interesting Polish lessons (not only of Polish as a foreign language) w dwa tysiące piętnastym roku!

TAILS, STROKES AND DOTS, OR THE ORIGINAL LETTERS OF THE POLISH LANGUAGE

HOW IMPORTANT ARE TAILS IN POLISH LETTERS?

A funny sentence has been circulating online for a while now, it says: „The Polish language is friendly, it wags its tails at us“.
Many foreigners learning Polish ask whether all those strokes, dots and tails are necessary. The truth is that the Polish language cannot do without them not only for historical reasons, which are important, or because of Polish spelling rules, but because they are also diacritical marks that make up a completely new letter (there are 9 of such in the Polish alphabet). Therefore you have to remember that a little tail, a small stroke or a dot can completely change the meaning of a word.

SMALL STROKE – BIG CHANGE IN MEANING

Need an example? The statement Idź do kąta! I przynieś karton, który tam stoi (go to the corner and fetch the carton from there) has a completely different meaning from the sentence Idź do kata! (go away, you’re not welcome here). Kąt means „corner“, while kat is a person that used to carry out executions, an executioner. As you can see, the difference is enormous.

There are many more examples like that. When asked: Co masz w dłoni? (What’s that in your hand?“) we can anwer either nic or nić. The former means that we have nothing there (nic – nothing), whereas the latter means that the person we’ve asked is probably planning to sew, since nić means „thread“.
Żona means „wife“, while zona is a word that means „zone“, which is not common, but still in use these days. The word pół (1/2, half) is completely different from pól (genetive form of the noun pola – fields). Kos is a bird (blackbird), whereas koś is an imperative form of the verb kosić (to mow, to scythe). When I want someone to start driving, I call: jedź! (go!, drive!),  and if I want to encourage someone to eat, I say: jedz! (if you don’t remember how to conjugate the verbs, or you’re not sure whether to use a stroke or a dot, check it here)

WHAT MAKES THE POLISH LANGUAGE WHAT IT IS

It can be said that without all the tails, strokes and dots the Polish language wouldn’t be itself :)
Therefore, it is advisable that the attention  should be drawn to the dots, tails and strokes so that the learners do not confuse nos (nose) with noś (the imperative form of the verb nosić – to wear).

NEW YEAR WISHES IN POLISH

NEW YEAR DILEMMAS

Neither the end nor the beginning of the year, i.e. the moment when most of us enjoy doing nothing, is the time free of language dilemmas for the students of Polish. How to extend New Year greetings and wishes in Polish? What year is it? I’m having a sylwester or Sylwester (New Year’s Eve party)?

DO SIEGO ROKU – WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

Szczęśliwego Nowego Roku is the phrase we hear most often at the end of December and beginning of January. Although it is not too easy to pronounce, foreigners diligently learn these exact words, and forms,  in the classes of Polish. Students also ask what the expressions Do siego roku means, since they can often see it displayed in public places during the holiday season. The expression is derived from ... the Proto-Slavic language, in which the word siego was the Genitive form of the pronoun ś/si, the equivalent of today’s pronoun ten. Do siego roku means the same as do tego roku (until this year), i.e. this year that is coming. The expression used to be one of the wishes, greetings, extended on Christmas Eve.

The party we have on New Year’s Eve is called sylwester. It takes its name after the nameday of Sylwester, which is on 31st December. If we know a man whose name is Sylwester and he was kind enough to invite us to his nameday party, we can say either: Idę na sylwestra (small letter here, since it’s the name of the party), or do Sylwestra (capital letter here, since it’s a proper name).

ROK DWUTYSIĘCZNY OR  DWA TYSIĄCE PIĘTNASTY? (YEAR 2015)

And then, what year is it? There is only one correct answer: dwa tysiące piętnasty. Remember that when learning Polish this year. All the best!

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CHRISTMAS IN TRADITIONAL POLISH STYLE

POLISH CHRISTMAS CELEBRATION 

Christmas is a time everyone always looks forward to and anticipates. And Christmas celebrated in „Polish style“ is shrouded in myth and legend among foreigners. There are stories of tables groaning with food, multi-generational family reunions and beautiful Polish Christmas carols sung by whole families. It is not surprising, since Polish Christmas celebration traditions are not only rich, but also simply beautiful.

SPARE PLATE ON POLISH TABLE

In Poland the celebration begins with the Christmas Eve supper (kolacja wigilijna). It’s a time of joyful anticipation. Everything must be very well prepared and, as the Polish nicely put it, „zapięte na ostatni guzik“ (buttoned up).
First, we decorate the Christmas tree, then we lay the table. We often put a bundle of hay under the white tablecoth, which is a reminder of a manger where Jesus was born. There is always one place-setting more than there are guests who will be sitting at the table. The spare plate is meant for a „weary wanderer“, a traveller who might knock on the door on that night. The Polish tradition refers to the search for a place to spend the night by Mary and Joseph and says that on the Christmas Eve night everyone should let in an unexpected guest if one stands at their door.

                                                    What do you call a Christmas tree in Polish?

                                                         Other riddles refering to the Polish language you can find here

TWELVE DISHES FOR THE CHIRSTMAS EVE SUPPER

Nowadays, you can find twelve dishes (the number refers to twelve apostles and twelve months), but it wasn’t always like that. In the old days nine dishes were served at mansions of nobility and eleven at mansions of magnates. The odd number was believed to bring prosperity and abundance to the household in the upcoming year. The dishes served on Christmas Eve vary from region to region, however, they should always contain all the fruits of the earth, coming from the fields, woods, gardens and water. Therefore, traditional dishes are made with poppy seeds, grains of cereals, cabbage, mushrooms, honey, fruit and fish. Poppy seeds and cereals would provide wealth and offspring, fish would provide health, cabbage would give people strengh and vitality, mushrooms – prosperity and good fortune, honey – well-being and long life, and fruit – love and harmony. If you have a lesson on Christmas in your Polish class, you’ll find out that there’s no Christmas without barszcz z uszkami (beetroot soup with ravioli), pierogi z kapustą i grzybami (dumplings filled with cabbage and cooked dried mushrooms), śledź (herring), karp (carp), or kompot z suszonych owoców (dried fruit compote). There must be makowiec (poppy seed cake), piernik (gingerbread), babka drożdżowa (yeast cake) and kutia (sweet grain pudding).
The Christmas Eve supper doesn’t begin until the appearance of the first star in the sky. Before we sit at the table and start feasting we share opłatek (wafer) and wish each other good fortune and happiness, since Christmas is a time of forgiving and reconciling.

WHO BRINGS POLISH CHILDREN GIFTS?

After the supper many Poles sing Christmas carols. That is also a moment when Święty Mikołaj (Saint Nicolas), Gwiazdor (in Wielkopolska, Kujawy, Kaszuby and Western Pomerania), Aniołek (in Małopolska), or Dzieciątko Jezus (Child Jesus, as they call him in Upper Silesia) bring gifts.
At midnight whole families attend Pasterka, the Midnight Mass at the local church, which takes its name after pasterze (shepherds), who were the first ones to welcome the newly born Jesus. That is the night when everyone enjoys the beginning of Christmas.

                      You’ll learn in our courses of Polish for foreigners how to wish someone a Merry Christmas 

HOLIDAYS IN WŁOCHY (ITALY): IN RZYM (ROME) AND MEDIOLAN (MILAN). ON EXONYMS IN THE POLISH LANGUAGE.

UNUSUAL NAMES OF COUNTRIES IN POLISH

On hearing that sentence many students doing a  Polish course get really confused. Where has the speaker been? Włochy... what country is that? And where is Rzym located? True... Exonyms, i.e. names given to foreign geographical names in another language, Polish in our case, may puzzle many students of Polish. Suddenly, the inhabitant of Berlin finds out that he is from Niemcy (z Niemiec), and the citizen of Hungary is from ... Węgry (z Węgier). We’ll get back to the names of the three countries later on (Włochy – Niemcy – Węgry). For now, let’s take a look at the names of some of the foreign cities.

POLISH NAMES OF WELL KNOWN EUROPEAN CITIES

 It is relatively easy to guess what names we have in mind when we say Paryż (Paris), Londyn (London),  Lizbona (Lisbon), Wilno (Vilnius), Haga (the Hague), or Bruksela (Brussels). These have simply been transcribed using Polish sounds. Polish name of the capital of Belgium might sound a bit confusing when compared to the English way it’s pronounced, but if we think of the French Bruxelles, the Polish form is not that surprising anymore.
When talking about your holiday plans or a business trip it’s good to know that Ghent is Gandawa, Rome – Rzym, Milano – Mediolan, Wien – Wiedeń, Beijing – Pekin, Munchen – Monachium, Firenze – Florencja, Koln – Kolonia, and Cape Town is... Kapsztad.

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WHERE DOES THE NAME NIEMCY COME FROM?

In Polish classes teachers are often asked about the etymology of the names Niemcy, Włochy and Węgry.
It is believed that the form Niemcy is derived from the word memy, which described a person who speaks unintelligibly, not clearly. In short, the name appeared as a result of communication problems our ancestors had with the tribes inhabiting the area of today’s Germany.
The word Włochy derives from the Proto-Slavic name describing Romans, which we took over from the Germans, who initially called all Roman tribes Walh. And that name comes from the name of a Celtic tribe – Volcae. Among the Slavs, the term Wołch became common. Using this word the Slavs referred to all Romans, while in the Polish language it only referred to the inhabitants of the Apennine Peninsula.
In the Polish language as well as in other languages the name Hungary refers to the tribe of Huns, who used to inhabit the area of today’s Hungary before the ancestors of the present inhabitants . The Polish form Węgry is a transformed name of tribes that sounded like Onogur/Ongur. The Slavs are believed to have pronounced that as w-ągri.

THE LOCATIVE CASE OF NAMES OF COUNTRIES

When talking of the three above-mentioned countries we should bear in mind that they all have a plural form in the Polish language, and that they take an unusual ending in the locative case. Mówimy o (we talk about), opowiadamy o (we tell about), mieszkamy (live), pracujemy (work), and studiujemy (study) w Niemczech, we Włoszech but na Węgrzech.

Here you can learn more on the Polish declensions

I’D LIKE A KILO OF APPLES (POPROSZĘ KILO JABŁEK), OR SHOPPING IN POLISH

A FEW PHRASES AND NUMBERS

It would seem that doing the shopping is more or less the same wherever in the world we are. It’s enough to learn the names of several products, numbers and some practical phrases in a language, e.g. Polish, and you’re ready to go to the shops. Naturally, you can always “take the easy way out” and go to a supermarket. However, even before going there it’s a good idea to look up the names of departments, because the Polish piekarnia sounds nothing like the German “Backerei”, English “bakery” or Spanish “panderia”. Apart from piekarnia you might need words like pieczywo(bread and bread-like goods), nabiał (dairy products) or chemia gospodarcza (household chemicals). Having learned those words you won’t be confused once in a shop, and it’ll spare you the unnecessary run around the shop in search of one product.

KILO MEANS KILOGRAM

However, if you decide to go to a corner shop, you should do your homework and go over the „weight“ topic. Obviously, the official unit of mass in Poland is a kilogram, whose prototype is in Sevres, France. The question is, how it works in the Polish language. It is generally known that users of every language have habits of their own.
First of all, all Polish shoppers use the short form of the word kilogram. Therefore, a Pole buys 2 kilos (dwa kilo), not 2 kilograms, of apples, potatoes or plums at the market. For the same reason you should ask for pół kilo (half a kilo – 500 grams) of cheese.

BETWEEN GRAMS AND DEKAGRAMS

We hardly ever buy half a kilo of ham, though, unless we are throwing a big party. When we feel like a sandwich with ham we should ask for (attention!) 15 dekagrams (15 deka) of it. And here’s when many foreigners ask themselves: „What is DEKA?“. The answer is simple, it’s short for „dekagram“ (=100 grams). The Polish use dekagrams, not grams. That’s why when in a shop we ask for 20 deka, not 200 grams of cheese. Shop assistants will definitely understand if the customer says: Poproszę 250 gramów tych pysznych ciastek (I’d like 250 grams of those delicious biscuits), but it does sound a bit unnatural.

                                    In Polish we ask for „20 deka“ of cheese rahther than „200 gramów“

You will definitely learn about this habit in classes of Polish for foreigners (see here for more information on courses). If you’re not sure of something, ask your teacher, one of your Polish colleagues, check out our facebook profile, or remember to read our blog regularly.