{"id":557,"date":"2009-05-28T15:08:06","date_gmt":"2009-05-28T19:08:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/polish\/?p=557"},"modified":"2009-05-28T15:08:06","modified_gmt":"2009-05-28T19:08:06","slug":"polish-spelling-needs-a-revolution-or-at-least-a-sensible-reform","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/polish\/polish-spelling-needs-a-revolution-or-at-least-a-sensible-reform\/","title":{"rendered":"Polish Spelling Needs a Revolution (or at least – a sensible reform)"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m beginning to develop very strong feelings for Krystyna Bochenek<\/strong>. I\u2019m not quite sure what kind of feelings, but I am sure they are strong. Why, you want to know? Ok, I\u2019ll tell you.<\/p>\n

I was watching the news yesterday, or rather, ignoring the news, as I normally do, until I heard a reporter saying something about how hard this wonderful language of ours was. By the time I managed to lift my head and pay attention, the shot changed to a group of school age kids grumbling about Polish orthography. By the time I managed to actually comprehend what was being said and process the information, the shot changed once again. This time to a lady who was saying something about a language, or rather spelling, reform. That Polish was long overdue for one \u2013 the last one had been before WW2.<\/p>\n

The lady turned out to be Krystyna Bochenek<\/strong> and I realized I vaguely recalled hearing her name before. Ah yes, a politician? Or a journalist? I went to google her name and saw that I was correct on both accounts. Ms. Bochenek<\/strong> is a very multi-faceted person, and her passion is the Polish language. \u201cWell, so is mine,\u201d<\/em> I thought. Good, at least we have something in common then.<\/p>\n

Except that Ms. Bochenek is also an actual polonista<\/strong> (a person with a university degree in the Polish language, or as we are very fond of saying here \u2013 \u201cPolish philology\u201d) and I only pretend to be one on the internet.<\/p>\n

So, where do the strong feelings come in? Well, if I heard Ms. Bochenek<\/strong> correctly, she wants to do something about simplifying the way some Polish words are spelled. (I love you, Ms. Bochenek!)<\/em><\/p>\n

If you want to know my opinion (and even if you don\u2019t, I\u2019m going to give it to you anyway), it\u2019s about time!!! If I had my way, \u201c\u00f3<\/strong>\u201d would be the first to go. I hate that letter. More than you can imagine.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d get rid of \u201c\u017c<\/strong>\u201d \u2013 can you imagine how much neater using a Polish keyboard would become?
\nAnd I\u2019d replace all single \u201ch<\/strong>\u201d with \u201cch<\/strong>\u201d to make life easier.<\/p>\n

(If my high school Polish teacher is reading this – I’m so sorry, I know you’re probably experiencing a sudden and profound sense of d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu.)<\/em><\/p>\n

Alas, Ms. Bochenek<\/strong> is not going to go that far in her proposed language reform. She wants to limit herself to the problem of \u201crazem czy osobno<\/strong>\u201d \u2013 whether we write certain words together or not. Like \u201cna pewno\u201d or \u201cnapewno\u201d. And \u201cnaprawd\u0119\u201d or \u201cna prawd\u0119\u201d.<\/p>\n

Hint:<\/span> <\/strong>it\u2019s \u201cna pewno\u201d <\/strong>and \u201cnaprawd\u0119\u201d. <\/strong>
\nWhat? You want to know the logic behind it? There is none. Dude, it\u2019s Polish we\u2019re talking about here, OK?<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019d implore Ms. Bochenek<\/strong> to be bold and go further than this. I\u2019d call for a total spelling revolution! Just imagine what would happen if \u201c\u00f3<\/strong>\u201d and \u201c\u017c<\/strong>\u201d disappeared altogether!<\/p>\n

We\u2019d need new dictionaries, which means plenty of new books would have to be printed and sold, which means plenty of people would keep their jobs. And that\u2019s definitely a good thing in this economic crisis.
\nSomebody (well, pretty much all of us) would need to buy those new dictionaries, hence a big spending spree would follow. Again \u2013 good for the economy.<\/p>\n

School grades would improve overnight. Kids, who otherwise might have been doomed to careers as cleaners and dishwashers in the UK, all because they couldn’t spell properly in their own language, would regain their confidence and dream big, maybe even of becoming Polish teachers. In the UK, naturally.<\/p>\n

See what I mean? This is a win-win situation! Polish spelling needs a complete overhaul and we just need one brave person to step forward and say \u201cenough\u2019s enough\u201d<\/em> and \u201clet\u2019s break the tyranny of orthographic dictionaries!\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

But of course, as with any revolution, this one would bring with it serious problems, too. Like for example, what would we do with Professor Miodek<\/strong>?<\/p>\n

PS. A very cool interview with Ms. Bochenek<\/strong>, about life, universe and being a woman in politics is here<\/a>. Only in Polish, unfortunately.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m beginning to develop very strong feelings for Krystyna Bochenek. I\u2019m not quite sure what kind of feelings, but I am sure they are strong. Why, you want to know? Ok, I\u2019ll tell you. I was watching the news yesterday, or rather, ignoring the news, as I normally do, until I heard a reporter saying…<\/p>\n

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