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Mooby’s Polish Slog - Team Żubr - TAC2012 | ||
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 Language Learning Forum : Language Learning Log |  | |
| Vos Diglot Senior Member Australia Joined 5568 days ago 766 posts - 1020 votes  Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Dutch, Polish | Message 9 of 108 23 January 2012 at 1:25am | IP Logged |
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A 1000 hours by the end of the year, that's quite the goal indeed. Definitely a good number to aim for. Just imagine
how good your understanding of Polish will be by the end of the year! Little Red Riding Hood may actually be the perfect book to begin Polish with, given I never read it in English, yet of course know the story well. Any chance you found a version somewhere online? Also I really enjoy your vocab additions each week (Mózg!). Question, as you live in the UK, any chance you've thought about perhaps spending a few weeks here and there in Poland over the course of the year? I'd imagine you'd be able to find quite a few cheap flights on a regular basis so shouldn't cost too much for a nice trip to say Kraków, Gdańsk or Zakopane. That way you could experience some of the culture, practice your Polish and see some amazing environments. Have you ever been before? Anyway, hope all is well and have a great week with your Polish! 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Mooby Senior Member Scotland Joined 6107 days ago 707 posts - 1220 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Polish | Message 10 of 108 23 January 2012 at 10:38am | IP Logged |
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Wiem, wiem Vos, jestem stuknięty!
I know, I know Vos, I'm nuts (crackers, barmy, off my rocker)! Fortunately, my Polish conversation partner lent me her audio-book version of Little Red Ridinghood (ISBN: 83-60225-04-4). It comes from a set of about twenty, so I'll have more stories to enjoy later. I've thought a great deal about going to Poland this year for the first time. I'm disabled though and it's a bit daunting to think of travelling anywhere. I could go on an organised trip but I hate 'package holidays', although it may be less hassle than struggling on my own in a wheelchair. Then there's holiday insurance to think about if I fall ill and need help, that won't come cheap. I'm thinking of going on a language course in Poland, say for a week or 10 days because they can be quite fun and I'd feel more looked after. I'm hoping that once I've gone there a couple of times I'll know my way around independently. The other alternative is to go with someone, I have a number of Polish friends who go back to see their families but I don't want to get in their way - maybe I just need to ask around. Either way, I need to attempt it this year. Like any challenge in life; you can do it if you really want to, including learning Polish. Wiem, wiem.....stuknięty! 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Mooby Senior Member Scotland Joined 6107 days ago 707 posts - 1220 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Polish | Message 11 of 108 29 January 2012 at 9:29pm | IP Logged |
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Anki = 1946 words
Hours Studied = 20 (Total: 35) Here's a few things I've been doing this week: 1) Read a few poems and anecdotes by Jan Twardowski a famous Polish poet and priest. I'm enjoying his wit, for example this little poem: Overheard Written Down The door shuddered 'Who is it?' 'Death' He entered with a teeny-weeny scythe like a matchstick Surprise. Eyes agog He said; 'I came for the canary' 2) I had an hour with my Polish tutor. We looked at hard and soft consonants which is a bit of a minefield to me at the moment. Some hard consonants can be softened [like 'T'] others can't be [such as 'G']. My understanding is very vague and theoretical at present; drills and compositions are needed. 3) Listened to about 5 episodes (odcinki) of the TV soap Samo Życie. My listening has definitely improved and even when I can't recognise the exact word I can distinguish between words and visualise them written down. This soap ran for about 8 or 9 years and there are over 1500 episodes. There's no way I'm going to plough through all that, I'm only up to episode 53! Besides some of the characters are getting on my nerves. 4) Made a start on the Genitive (Dopełniacz) Case. This is the one that indicates noun possession among other things. Spent a while composing very simple phrases like: The dog's bone Kość psa The roof of the house Dach domu I won't be nominated for the Pulitzer, but you gotta start somewhere. Words of the Week Stokrotka - 'Daisy' (as in the little white flower). 'Sto' means 'a hundred' so the name reflects the ubiquitous nature of this plant. Stokrotny is the adjective meaning 'a hundredfold' e.g stokrotne dzięki - 'a hundredfold thanks'. Wrogi - 'hostile' Samodzielny -'independent' (self-sufficient) Dokoła - 'around' (for example 'six men sat around the fire') and 'all around' (e.g 'she danced all around the table'). Owszem particle - 'yes certainly' 'why yes' (e.g. 'Why yes, granny snores but not as loud as that!'). This word keeps cropping up in books and on TV, so I'm glad I've got it pegged down. Tunes of the Week Homogenik, our fellow bison, introduced me to these two tracks by Brodka. Brodka Track 1: 'W pieciu smakach'. She reminds a little of the English singer-songwriter Kate Bush. Brodka Track 2:'Teledysk-Krzyżówka Dnia. Such imaginative artwork. You'll need to watch this a few times to take it all in. Do zobaczenia. Edited by Mooby on 30 January 2012 at 5:51pm 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Vos Diglot Senior Member Australia Joined 5568 days ago 766 posts - 1020 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish Studies: Dutch, Polish | Message 12 of 108 30 January 2012 at 12:18am | IP Logged |
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Great post Mooby, and a good many hour of study done last week, nice work. I really enjoyed that poem, will have
to bookmark that fellow. I just made a list yesterday of the hard and soft consonants as my textbook kept making reference to them, and also listed the common changes of certain hard consonants when they undergo declension (t - c etc). There's a good pdf which you can download which talks about these things (link below). Owszem, a very useful word which I hadn't heard previously. Thanks for sharing. Polish Alphabet and Sounds Have a great week Mooby! 2 persons have voted this message useful | |
| Mooby Senior Member Scotland Joined 6107 days ago 707 posts - 1220 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Polish | Message 13 of 108 05 February 2012 at 3:17pm | IP Logged |
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Anki = 1985 words
Hours Studied = 15 (Total: 50) I'm caught in the passivity trap at the moment. I'm listening and reading and vocabulary building, but not producing (text or speech). I did manage to construct an email to my conversation partner, and it took over 20 minutes to write a couple of sentences. However, it forced my brain to select, configure, order...be active for a change. I must try to write more, preferably something everyday, because it helps to cement my grammatical understanding as well as getting the dusty parts of my mind responsible for active language a much-needed kick up the backside. Agnieszka is getting on my nerves. She's plays a young journalist wannabe in Samo Życie and seems to have a pained expression on her fragile face every single episode, with everyone running after her trying to reassure and comfort. I feel like shouting 'Arghhh.....Just grow up!' I'm up to odcinek 56 and not sure if I can take anymore. I think I'll perservere for a bit, concentrating on the speech and overlooking some of the acting (over-acting). After all, it is helping my listening. Words of the Week Zgaga - 'heartburn' (indigestion). Also means 'pain in the neck' colloq.. Example: 'I think Lady Gaga is a 'zgaga'....' Niby - 'supposedly' / 'seemingly'. A handy little conjunction. 'He went into the shop supposedly to buy something, but he was really intent on stealing'. Spod - 'from under' prep.. Example: 'the wolf appeared from under the blanket'. Zuchwały - 'Impertinent' ('audacious' / 'daring'). Also 'Cheeky'. A cheeky grin, a daring dress, an impertinent boy. Wyskoczyć - 'to jump out' (e.g the window) and 'to pop out' (e.g 'I'm just popping out for 5 minutes, see you soon') Culture of the Week For music, I've selected the Polish National Anthem. I really like it. The Anthem's title is 'Poland is not yet Lost' written by Józef Wybicki in 1797 to boost the morale of the Polish troops serving in Italy. They needed encouraging as two years earlier (1795) Poland was wiped from the political map by Austria, Prussia and Russia in the Third Polish Partition. Poland had to wait until 1918 to regain independence. With this in mind I can't help swelling up with pride when I listen to the anthem, even though I'm not Polish! For film, we have Dekalog. A well-known series of ten films (loosely based on The Ten Commandments) directed by the acclaimed Krzysztof Kieślowski. Set in and around a large housing project in Warsaw the films are gritty, melancholic and powerful. I've got the twin DVD set but you can watch the first two here: Dekalog 1 Dekalog 2 Both films are shown in six parts, with English subtitles. I wish all my fellow bisons good grazing. Edited by Mooby on 21 February 2012 at 10:22pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Amerykanka Hexaglot Senior Member United States Joined 5173 days ago 657 posts - 890 votes Speaks: English*, Spanish, Polish, Latin, Ancient Greek, Russian | Message 14 of 108 08 February 2012 at 2:24am | IP Logged |
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Cześć, Mooby! That's neat that you were reading some of Jan Twardowski's poems. I really like his poetry,
but it can be hard to understand. In general I'm much better at understanding prose than poetry, and when the poetry's in a foreign language, it certainly doesn't help. I really like the Polish national anthem, too. It is very stirring! Have you listened to Maria Konopnicka's "Rota"? It was considered as a possibility for the Polish national anthem, being a very patriotic poem, but Mazurek Dąbrowskiego won out. I like both songs very much! Oh, and by the way, your words of the week are very neat! They are always so original! 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Mooby Senior Member Scotland Joined 6107 days ago 707 posts - 1220 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Polish | Message 15 of 108 12 February 2012 at 8:20pm | IP Logged |
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Anki = 2005 words
Hours Studied = 14 (Total:64) @Amerykanka. I'm mostly reading short anecdotes written by Jan Twardowski. As they're only a paragraph or two long I can digest them without getting bogged down. As he was a priest as well as a poet, I have improved my religious and clerical vocabulary considerably, although I omit the really obscure stuff. Thanks for mentioning Konopnicka, I've just finished listening to "Rota", very solemn. I think I prefer the one by Dąbrowski. All the best with your studies this week. Right. Time to put all this study to practical use, so let's get into Polish mode: Mój postęp był powolniejszy zeszły tydzień niż chciałbym. Był sporo śniegu w mojej wsi, więc dużo wydałem czas zbierający drewno opałowe dla pieca. Nie mogę dobrze się skupić gdy jestem zimny! Spodziewam się więcej zamętu przyszły tydzień, ponieważ dostanę nowej łazienki. Będe głośny i zakrurzony, ale staram się uczyć. My progress was slower last week than I would have liked. There was quite a bit of snow in my village, so I spent a lot of time collecting firewood for the stove. I can't concentrate well when I'm cold! I am expecting more chaos next week because I am getting a new bathroom. It will be noisy and dusty, but I will try to learn. Please can people correct the above. I tend to order words in an English manner, so I'm sure changes will need to be made! (Not to mention the grammar)..... Words of the Week Inaczej - 'Differently' or 'Otherwise'. Examples; 'I would have cooked the chicken differently' and 'Stop fooling around, otherwise there'll be trouble'. Zagubiony - 'Lost' / 'Stray' (stray dog etc....) Wróżka - means both 'Fairy' and 'Fortune teller', interesting how these two identities are closely linked in the Polish language, and less so in English. Drżeć / Zadrżeć - 'to tremble' (shake, quiver). It's important to roll the 'r' in this verb because there's a similar looking one, Drzeć meaning 'to tear' (rip). Wieprzowina - 'Pork'...it has to be Poland's favourite meat; all the Poles I meet either eat pork, chicken or fish but rarely beef or lamb. Tune of the Week I couldn't find much new to post this week, so I'll offer Pociąg z Daleka 'The train is coming from faraway', a children's song by Ryszard Rynkowski. It's hugely popular so I'm sure students of Polish will have come accross it already. But just in case....enjoy! Edited by Mooby on 21 February 2012 at 9:56pm 1 person has voted this message useful | |
| Mooby Senior Member Scotland Joined 6107 days ago 707 posts - 1220 votes Speaks: English* Studies: Polish | Message 16 of 108 21 February 2012 at 8:17pm | IP Logged |
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Anki = 2050 words
Hours Studied = 15 (Total: 79) Nie dużo robiłem zeszły tydzień, ale teraz mam nowa łazienka! Choć nie jest dosyć już skończona. Zresztą wygląda świetnie. Będę miał gorący prysznic dziś wieczorem, wtedy moja kolacji zanim oglądający jeszcze jeden odcinek 'Samo Życie'. Nadal Agnieszka jest denerwująca! I didn't do much last week, but I now have a new bathroom! Although it's not quite finished yet. Anyway, it looks great. I will have a hot shower this evening, then my supper before watching another episode of 'Samo Życie'. Agnieszka is still annoying! Words of the Week Tylny adj. - 'back / rear' (the back wheel, the rear window). Do tyłu adv. - 'back / backwards'. This is the adverb of the previous word. E.g. 'He glanced backwards'. Napastnik - 'assailant' or more frequently 'striker' (goal scoring player in football). Napastnica - Feminine form of the above, but also means 'foxglove' (flower) and 'digitalis' (heart medication). Czcić - 'to worship / honour' Łąka - 'meadow'. I enjoy voicing this word, sounds a bit like 'wonka'. Sad News I just discovered that Wisława Szymborska passed away this month. She won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1996, and was described as the 'Mozart of Poetry'. I've got two of her poetry books ('Here' and 'Miracle Fair') and have enjoyed her engaging ironic style. I like her 'Conversation with a Rock', (this translation refers to 'stone' instead of 'rock' and I don't think it's quite as well translated as the version by Joanna Trzeciak - I can't find a link to that unfortunately). A short poem to end with: Przykład Wichura zdarła nocą wszystkie liście z drzewa oprócz listka jednego, pozostawionego, żeby się kiwał solo na gołej gałęzi. Na tym przykładzie Przemoc demonstruje, że owszem - pożartować sobie czasem lubi Example A gale stripped all the leaves from the tree last night except for one leaf to sway solo on a naked branch With this example Violence demonstrates that yes of course - it likes its little joke from time to time. 1 person has voted this message useful |
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