# OMG - I've just signed myself up for Polish classes
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-ive-just-signed-myself-up-for-polish-classes/202113
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [September 17, 2003, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-ive-just-signed-myself-up-for-polish-classes/202113 "2003-09-17T12:14:55Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2003, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-ive-just-signed-myself-up-for-polish-classes/202113/1 "2003-09-17T12:14:55Z")
I must be mad, insane, deranged even. Why? To prove my boyfriend’s dad wrong? For fun? Just because I can?
Actually, all of the above. See, they boyfriend’s father is half Polish, and takes great pride that he can actually speak the language. Me, I’m a languages freak - I can speak quite a few, and understand an awful lot more, and I enjoy learning languages. Now, the boyfriend’s father challenged me about a year ago, that there would be no way that I would be able to speak Polish before I reached middle age (bear in mind I’m early to mid twenties at the moment). So, I’m out to prove him wrong. I must be insane.
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### Author:  [@slortar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slortar)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2003, 12:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-ive-just-signed-myself-up-for-polish-classes/202113/2 "2003-09-17T12:32:47Z")
Actually, I’m a bit jealous. Sounds like fun.
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### Author:  [@Pergau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pergau)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2003, 2:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-ive-just-signed-myself-up-for-polish-classes/202113/3 "2003-09-17T14:39:51Z")
I was just wondering when I read the thread title: French or Wax?
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### Author:  [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2003, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-ive-just-signed-myself-up-for-polish-classes/202113/4 "2003-09-17T15:25:52Z")
It should be fun. Well, I’ll find out tonight, cause that’s when the first class is - in just under 2 hours time in fact…
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### Author:  [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2003, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-ive-just-signed-myself-up-for-polish-classes/202113/5 "2003-09-17T15:36:16Z")
You are insane, but then you’re in good company. I wish I had the time these days to do something wacky like that! But I figure I should get straight the languages I know half-assed first.
(I’m jealous. Maybe you can start a Straight Dope Polish Word-a-Day thread? I’ll swap you for Russian if you want! I used to know about 20 sentences in phonetic Polish; worked for a law firm with lots of Polish clients, but only one Polish-speaking employee. It was lots of fun trying to take messages when she was at lunch.)
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### Author:  [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2003, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-ive-just-signed-myself-up-for-polish-classes/202113/6 "2003-09-17T15:41:17Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Eva Luna \*
> \*\*You are insane, but then you’re in good company. I wish I had the time these days to do something wacky like that! But I figure I should get straight the languages I know half-assed first. \*\*
Thank you 🙂 I figure that since I can speak or understand most Western and Northern European languages, why not try an Eastern European one just for fun. That plus the ego thing. 🙂
[QUOTE\*\*(I’m jealous. Maybe you can start a Straight Dope Polish Word-a-Day thread? I’ll swap you for Russian if you want! \*\*[/QUOTE]
Good plan. I say we do it, it’ll be fun. I’ll post it tomorrow after my first lesson. 🙂
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### Author:  [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2003, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-ive-just-signed-myself-up-for-polish-classes/202113/7 "2003-09-17T15:55:51Z")
Powodziena! Zycze przyjemnengo spedzenia czasu 🙂
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### Author:  [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2003, 4:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-ive-just-signed-myself-up-for-polish-classes/202113/8 "2003-09-17T16:08:37Z")
Er, I’ll get back to you on that one, when I can tell what it means 😉
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### Author:  [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2003, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-ive-just-signed-myself-up-for-polish-classes/202113/9 "2003-09-17T16:14:20Z")
Prosze sie nie przejmowac.
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### Author:  [@Fretful\_Porpentine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fretful_Porpentine)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2003, 4:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-ive-just-signed-myself-up-for-polish-classes/202113/10 "2003-09-17T16:31:11Z")
Good luck! If it helps, I signed up for Czech classes once for an even sillier reason, and I seem to have survived the experience. (Of course, the only thing I can remember how to say in Czech is “I will tie your hands to the bed,” which is one of those phrases of, uh, limited usefulness. But I’m sure you’ll do better.)
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### Author:  [@lovelyluka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lovelyluka)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2003, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-ive-just-signed-myself-up-for-polish-classes/202113/11 "2003-09-17T17:15:55Z")
Only thing I know about Polish comes from a friend’s account of the language when she visited Poland: she was astounded a 20-letter word could have three vowels.
So, umm, good luck.
And **Pergau** , when I saw the thread title, I too wondered if this was the place to talk about how to refinish my furniture.
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### Author:  [@moi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/moi)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2003, 6:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-ive-just-signed-myself-up-for-polish-classes/202113/12 "2003-09-17T18:43:53Z")
Hey, Angua, have a great time. I’m more than a bit jealous. I know the Polish Cultural Center in Philly offers courses, but I’m horrendous with languages (years of French, and I still understand only basic phrases, but can’t put together sentences).
C’est la vie!
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### Author:  [@Already\_in\_Use](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Already_in_Use)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2003, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-ive-just-signed-myself-up-for-polish-classes/202113/13 "2003-09-17T19:33:35Z")
Well, at least you’re taking something useful in the modern world. I just started taking ancient Egyptian, Aten knows why.
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### Author:  [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2003, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-ive-just-signed-myself-up-for-polish-classes/202113/14 "2003-09-17T19:35:20Z")
Dobry wieczor people. 🙂
I’ve just got back. It was fun. Learning the language is going to be interesting, seeing as our textbooks are written totally in Polish.
So, word of the week is njusy (pronounced newsi) meaning news. 🙂
The SDMB - where you learn something new every day. 😛
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### Author:  [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2003, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-ive-just-signed-myself-up-for-polish-classes/202113/15 "2003-09-17T22:00:50Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Angua \*
>
> So, word of the week is njusy (pronounced newsi) meaning news. 🙂
That sounds awfully Anglicized! Are you sure? In Russian, phonetically transcribed, it would be _novost’_ (emphasis on the first syllable; the apostrophe on the end denotes the soft sign, a palatalization that doesn’t exist in English – sorry!)
I’ll check with my buddy Kasia.
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### Author:  [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2003, 10:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-ive-just-signed-myself-up-for-polish-classes/202113/16 "2003-09-17T22:48:08Z")
Huh. What with all the astronomy stuffesses you do, methinkd it was lens grinding you was gett’n into.
Don’t me type purdy?
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### Author:  [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)
#### Post date: [September 17, 2003, 11:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-ive-just-signed-myself-up-for-polish-classes/202113/17 "2003-09-17T23:31:51Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Angua \*
> \*\*So, word of the week is njusy (pronounced newsi) meaning news. 🙂 \*\*
**Eva Luna** is right I’m afraid, njusy is slang term.
The formal Polish word for news is wiadomosci. A newspaper is a gazeta.
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### Author:  [@Capcha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Capcha)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2003, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-ive-just-signed-myself-up-for-polish-classes/202113/18 "2003-09-18T01:06:40Z")
Bardzo sie dobrze…
err…i can speak and read, but as far as writing, it’s hard for some reason…
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### Author:  [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2003, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-ive-just-signed-myself-up-for-polish-classes/202113/19 "2003-09-18T01:57:58Z")
**Angua** , you just get cooler and cooler. 🙂
Polish is on my list, but fairly far down; I suspect that if I found a Polish girlfriend, that would change rather quickly. I certainly live in the neighbourhood for it… according to the last census, 12,5 % of the people in my ward of the city have Polish as a mother tongue. And sometimes they all seem to be living within three blocks of me. 🙂
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### Author:  [@Angua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Angua)
#### Post date: [September 18, 2003, 8:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/omg-ive-just-signed-myself-up-for-polish-classes/202113/20 "2003-09-18T08:14:22Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Tapioca Dextrin \*
> \*\ ***Eva Luna** is right I’m afraid, njusy is slang term.
>
> The formal Polish word for news is wiadomosci. A newspaper is a gazeta. \*\*
D’oh! Yes it is. My bad.
**NCB** , you do type purdy. 🙂
Hmm… Lens polishing, nope don’t have the skill or patience for that, (but I’m happy to learn a language with 7 cases and three tenses, where the word changes its ending depending on its role in the sentence - the mind truly does boggle!). Mind you, the Poles make very pretty glass things.
**Sunspace** , thank you. 🙂
However, we still haven’t learnt the alphabet yet, or how to pronounce those pesky consonant combinations. Still, I suppose that’s next week’s lesson.