Archive for 'Vocabulary'
Deadly Weekend on the Roads Posted by Anna on Jun 15, 2009
Much can be said about Polish roads and Polish drivers and none of good, unfortunately. Until last weekend I had thought those were nasty exaggerations, at least for the most part. I drive from time to time in Gdańsk and while it can be scary, it’s certainly not suicidal. Last weekend, however, has totally changed…
Essential Phrases – part 1 Posted by Anna on Jun 9, 2009
Take any random phrasebook (any language will do) and look inside. You will see a whole bunch of very useful expressions that, no doubt, are essential to your survival in a foreign land. Phrases such as: “Where is the national museum?” (Yeah right, like you are really going to understand the answer. A lot easier…
Who’s Who in the Family Posted by Anna on May 22, 2009
Today’s post is about something that even I have problems with. Brother’s wife wife’s brother and sister’s husband and husband’s sister and sister’s daughter’s best friend’s neighbor’s son. Or something like that. Either I’m monumentally stupid, or it’s really easy in English. Just stick “in-law” at the end of anything you’re not quite sure of…
Going to the Dentist Posted by Anna on May 20, 2009
I’ve been reading and hearing all these stories about tourists from Germany who travel to Poland to get major dental work done, because it’s so much cheaper here and the quality is good, or so they say. So, I thought I’d try it myself and since I had a couple of fillings to replace anyway…
Polish, English or Ponglish? Posted by Anna on May 7, 2009
No, I am not talking here about the butchered combination of Polish and English that some of my fellow countrymen, who spent more than two months abroad, are so fond of. I’m talking about the signs I saw at one of the largest bookstores in Gdańsk. I went to Dom Książki (literally: dom = house…
About the Mammas and the Pappas – in Polish Posted by Anna on Apr 23, 2009
The other day I was discussing motherhood with one of my friends. No, I am not planning to have a baby, I have two cats and I’m quite happy with them for the time being. However, my friend has a baby and we were going over the joys and perils of motherhood and the problems…
Polish Diminutives – one more time Posted by Anna on 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…