Polish, as I understand it

 Grzegorz Brzęczyszczykiewicz is not the only Polish name that can cause foreigners difficulty. When presented with a Polish name for the first time, your average anglophone will feel a little dizzy, seemingly caught in a vortex of consonants.  Their brain screaming ABORT!  ABORT!  Or at best they will make an attempt that sounds closer to the noise of a dying wasp than to the actual name. The most hazardous stage is just beyond total ignorance, when a little bit of knowledge really is a dangerous thing, where the Dunning-Kruger effect comes into play and we soon discover that even the simplest of names can land us in trouble. Faced with the seemingly simple surname of Pycz and confident in the knowledge that cz is pronounced like the English ch, I proceeded to pronounce the name as picz.  Which is a very different word indeed.  Nobody wants to be addressed as Mrs.Twat. I know another Englishman who was brimming with confidence in the knowledge that S and Z...

I was totally engrossed in the book, it was fascinating. To be engrossed in something is to have all your attention in it.  When I am engrossed in a book, I don't notice if someone is trying to talk to me. People can be engrossed in conversation (especially if it is gossip) Gossip is a kind of conversation, often about other people's private lives and rumour. If people are engrossed in conversation it is probably salacious gossip. Salacious is an adjective to describe the topic as being of a sexual nature. Byłem całkowicie pochłonięty tą książką, ona była fascynująca. Być pochłoniętym czymś , to mieć całą swoją uwagę w czymś.  Kiedy jestem pochłonięty książką, nie zauważam kiedy ktoś mówi do mnie. Ludzie mogą być pochłonięci rozmową (szczególnie jeżeli jest to plotkowanie) Plotkowanie to rodzaj rozmowy, często o prywatnym życiu innych ludzi i plotkach. Kiedy ludzie są pochłonięci rozmową, to jest to prawdopodobnie lubieżna (sprośna) plotka. Lubieżny to przymiotni...

Peppa Pig - Swimming Initially, I thought the Polish version of Peppa Pig, always had Peppa's little brother George called Jacek.  However, there are plenty of episodes where he is called George.   Pływanie.   Swimming Vocabulary Deseczka - diminutive of deska - board / float.  Deska na basen / Deska do pływania Motylki - Butterflies , but refers to motylki do pływania - water wings / armbands Spróbować - to try Nurkować - to dive Chlapać - to splash (imperfective) (Po)skakać - to jump (Po)patrzeć - to take a look Głuptas - silly (noun) Doskonały - perfect (Po)trzymać - to hold  Widok - view (noun) Bliżej - closer Suszyć - to  dry Konewka - watering can Polewać - to wet  by pouring Upuścić - to drop / let go of Umieć - to know (have learnt) Potrafić - to be able / can  (auxiliary verb) Trafić - to hit (the target etc) Po polsku / in Polish Jestem Świnka Peppa I'm Peppa Pig To mój mały brat George This is my little brother George T...

I was asked recently what the difference between garden and yard is.  My first thought was that Americans tend to say yard and in the UK we say garden, but I don't think that is the best answer. Garden, noun. An area of ground next to a house often with lawn, flowers, trees, shrubs. Yard, noun.  A relatively small uncultivated area attached to a house or other building.  So an area with no plants. A yard is also synonym for garden in North America and in some UK dialects. A yard can be enclosed area of land for some work use.  Like builders' yard, shipyard, dockyard and farmyard. If someone says backyard or front yard, it is likely that they are meaning front garden and back garden. Yes, I did write backyard as one word and front yard as two.  Because backyard is used more often, over time it went from two separate words, like front yard, to being hyphenated, back-yard, and now as one word, backyard. Garden.    To teren przy domu zasadzony roślinami...

Peppa Pig - George has a cold. Firstly, in some Polish versions of Peppa Pig, her little brother George is called Jacek. In my translations into English I will use George.  The diminutive form of Jecek is Jacuś, like saying Georgie.  Jacek jest przeziębiony.   Przeziębienie is a cold.  Przeziębiony is an adjective form.  Literally: George is coldy, but best translation is: George has a cold.  In the original English, the title is George Catches a Cold. Po polsku / in Polish Jestem Świnka Peppa I'm Peppa Pig To mój młodszy brat Jacek This is my younger brother George To Świnka Mama This is Mummy Pig A to Świnka Tata And this is Daddy Pig Ale dzisiaj leje! Oh, today it's pouring! Ale means but, but is also used at the beginning of statements for emphasis. Peppo, Jacku! Włóżcie płaszcze od deszczu Peppa, George! Put on [your] raincoates Kiedy pada deszcz, Peppa i Jacek muszą włożyć nieprzemakalne ubrania When it rains, Peppa and George must put...

First, let's take the English buffoon .  What example could I give?  Imagine if the UK Prime Minister had a history of making himself look ridiculous in public.  Try to picture a man, who can make a suit look untidy, stuck mid way on a zip-wire, his fat gut bulging through the harness, his trouser legs pulled up above his socks.  As he sways impotently in the wind, he waves a small cheap union flag in each hand.  This unlikely image is the very epitome of  buffoon .  A buffoon is a joke. A fool.  A ridiculous character.  Laughable. The Polish word bufon looks similar and shares the same etymological routes, but is it a false friend?  Does it mean something different? Like our own buffoon , the Polish bufon comes from the French bouffon for jester.  It is also a derogatory term, but the meaning in Polish seems to be a selfish, conceited person.  A bighead.  I'm sure that if we scour the ranks of world leaders, we might j...