I really don\u2019t understand why it\u2019s so hard to find a grammar book. A Polish grammar book, that is. In English.
\nI spent the entire weekend schlepping from one bookstore to another, sometimes in the rain, and the only result was sore feet. My sore feet, that is.
\nI went to normal bookstores and to \u201clanguage\u201d bookstores and I would have raided the local libraries, too, except that during the weekend them public libraries were closed. Yes, shame to admit it, but I was ready to nick a book. I am that desperate for a Polish grammar book in English. A GOOD Polish grammar book in English.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s relatively easy to find Polish grammar books in Polish. I saw several different editions. It\u2019s even relatively easy to find Polish grammar books in German, Russian and French, or even in Turkish. But not in English. Really puzzling, if you ask me. I wanted to know why it was so but the ladies at the Pol-Anglo bookstore in Wrzeszcz<\/strong> could only offer me their blank stares for an answer. They didn\u2019t know. Nor did they know whether such a book is even currently available. They told me to look on the internet and come back to them with a name of the author and\/or publisher \u2013 THEN they would be able to tell me if such a book could be ordered. I had more luck at the English Unlimited store on the other side of the street. There, a nice girl behind the counter very helpfully offered me \u201cGramatyka j\u0119zyka polskiego dla cudzoziemc\u00f3w<\/em><\/strong>\u201d (Polish Grammar for Foreigners) by Barbara Bartnicka<\/strong> and Halina Satkiewicz<\/strong> and published by Wiedza Powszechna<\/strong> (ISBN 83-214-1068-5). Alas, the book was written in Polish. Now, I might be a bit slow on the uptake sometimes, but this one has me puzzled even now, which is two days later. What\u2019s the point of writing a Polish grammar book for foreigners in Polish? If someone\u2019s only learning Polish, do you really think he or she can read an entire, complicated (yes, complicated, because after all it\u2019s Polish grammar we\u2019re talking about here) book in Polish?<\/p>\n Poland has advanced by leaps and bounds in so many other areas so is it really that hard to prepare and publish a good, simple, sensible, PRACTICAL book to help foreigners learn our beautiful (well, sometimes it IS beautiful) language? OK, rant over. Words for today:<\/p>\n Did you notice? The word \u201cksi\u0119garnia<\/strong>\u201d begins with the same three letters as the word \u201cksi\u0105\u017cka<\/strong>.\u201d And if you suspect what I think you suspect, you are absolutely right. These words came from the same common source. But wait, there\u2019s more:<\/p>\n See, it all started with a big, fat book. And I finally found the book I was looking for on the internet \u2013 \u201cConcise Polish Grammar for Foreigners\u201d<\/em> by Magdalena Foland-Kugler<\/strong> (ISBN: 83-89913-51-8). I loathe buying books, and especially language books, without being able to see what\u2019s inside, but I guess in this case I have no choice.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I really don\u2019t understand why it\u2019s so hard to find a grammar book. A Polish grammar book, that is. In English. I spent the entire weekend schlepping from one bookstore to another, sometimes in the rain, and the only result was sore feet. My sore feet, that is. I went to normal bookstores and to…<\/p>\n
\n\u201cNow, prosz\u0119 Pani,<\/strong> if I had all that info do you really think I\u2019d be asking you?\u201d<\/em> I said. They stared at me some more. One of them even blinked.<\/p>\n
\nAnd while I\u2019m on the subject of advancing, what\u2019s the point of having a new shining airport terminal in Warsaw WITHOUT any wireless hot-spots?<\/p>\n\n
\n