Archive for July, 2008
Four Tankmen And a Dog Posted by Anna on Jul 29, 2008
I woke up this morning humming the theme song from “Czterej pancerni i pies” (Four Tankmen And a Dog). Don’t ask me why – I must have had some really wacky dreams last night. Mercifully, I remember nothing. So how did this song get stuck in my head this morning? A total mystery to me…
Of House and Home Posted by Anna on Jul 25, 2008
Today’s topic is actually a little off topic but Thomas made a very interesting comment under the last post, and I thought it would be worth taking a closer look. I’ve always assumed that the “house” and “home” confusion was exclusive to foreigners who learn English. And for some very strange reason it’s never even…
Mr. Geremek’s Funeral Posted by Anna on Jul 23, 2008
This past Monday I was listening to the funeral services for Bronisław Geremek. Only listening, because I’m not into state funerals with full honors, unless of course, it’s one of the world’s famous despots who’s dead – their funerals are always fun. But the service on Monday was very dignified, sad and solemn. Bronisław Geremek…
Genitive Case, part 2 Posted by Anna on Jul 21, 2008
Since we’re in the midst of a little grammar kick, I thought we might as well continue. But to keep things interesting, we should let the adjectives rest for a while and talk about something else. Remember when we discussed the genitive case – dopełniacz? Yes, I know, it was a while back. So here…
Polish Adjectives, part 1 Posted by Anna on Jul 17, 2008
In my last article, while talking about “grand beaver dwelling places” (oh yes, we talk about some strange things here) I briefly touched on the subject of adjectives. So I suppose it’s only fitting to finally give those adjectives a post of their own. Polish adjectives get a bad rap among foreign speakers, but totally…
Bobrowniki Wielkie Posted by Anna on Jul 14, 2008
One of the readers, Ed, had a question about a village called Bobrowniki Wielkie, located somewhere near Tarnów. Ed’s mother was born in Bobrowniki and he wanted to know more about the place. Initially, I was stumped, I never heard of it myself. But no worries, after a bit of searching, I found some info…
Pronunciation Samples Posted by Anna on Jul 11, 2008
At last! I know you’ve been asking about pronunciation, and I know you’ve been requesting phonetic equivalents for all the Polish words I’m introducing in each post. The problem with phonetic approximations is that if we use English sounds, then for those readers who are not native English speakers, such examples will not make much…