I have to tell you about something that happened this week. And after you hear this story, please tell me what you think\u2026<\/p>\n
So, I had to write an email to somebody. A perfect stranger. A person I\u2019ve never met. A person who happens to hold an important position at one of the institutions of higher learning in Poland. I had an informal question to ask about Polish language materials.<\/p>\n
Because the person is relatively young (younger than me, in fact) and because it was a rather general inquiry directed not necessarily to that particular person (as I wasn\u2019t sure who would read my email), and because the name of the person was not included in the email address, I thought I should start my letter in a rather neutral manner with a rather neutral greeting in a rather non-committal way.<\/p>\n
So, to keep things simple, I wrote \u201cwitam<\/strong>\u201d in the header. And boy oh boy, apparently I screwed up. And screwed up big time.<\/p>\n I had no idea that there were such strict rules regarding this simple word. I\u2019ve always thought that \u201cwitam<\/strong>\u201d was a more polite way of saying \u201chello\u201d (and yes, it can also mean \u201cwelcome\u201d). Tons of people use \u201cwitam<\/strong>\u201d as \u201chello\u201d and I bet none of them ever got chewed out the way it\u2019s happened to me.<\/p>\n Because apparently, by using \u201cwitam<\/strong>\u201d to greet a stranger, I\u2019m implying that I am more important than him\/her, have higher standing and higher position and what not. In other words, that\u2019s how the ruling class greets the paupers. And it rubbed my correspondent the wrong way. Big time.<\/p>\n My humble \u201cwitam<\/strong>\u201d galled the person so much that in response I got a lecture on manners, culture (or my lack of it) and my totally inadequate qualifications to talk to others about the Polish language. Because apparently, according to my correspondent, if I can\u2019t get such a simple thing as a proper greeting right, I am totally unsuitable for more involved conversations on topics such as grammar, spelling, and what it means to be Polish.<\/p>\n Przegi\u0119cie totalne<\/strong>, wouldn’t you say? A total overreaction, at least in my opinion. And when it comes to \u201cwitam<\/strong>\u201d, the internet is not a good place to look for references. It seems that at least in cyberspace \u201cwitam<\/strong>\u201d is a commonly accepted greeting.<\/p>\n But then I consulted \u201cPoradnik poprawnej polszczyzny<\/strong><\/em>\u201d, and wouldn\u2019t you know it? In my face. According to the experts, I committed a terrible faux pas. By using \u201cwitam<\/strong>\u201d, I made it clear that I think very highly of myself and consider myself superior to my correspondent.<\/p>\n And what do I think about all this? Those experts should just move on with the times and get a grip. Polish, just like any other language, is evolving, and it seems to me that those experts would like for it to stay in the middle ages.<\/p>\n What do you think? Was it an overreaction on the part of my correspondent, or am I really a classless snob who doesn\u2019t know jack?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I have to tell you about something that happened this week. And after you hear this story, please tell me what you think\u2026 So, I had to write an email to somebody. A perfect stranger. A person I\u2019ve never met. A person who happens to hold an important position at one of the institutions of…<\/p>\n
\nBut because I take such comments very seriously, I went searching for answers.<\/p>\n