Connections.

[kiya]

We live for words and die for words
Principles we can afford . . .

--"One By One", Chumbawamba

Discussion on rasfc about languages. Political influence on.

My great-grandparents (great-great? Mom hasn't been consistent) were subversives. Taught Polish when it was illegal.

Need to learn language. Honor ancestors who would have died for it.

Memory.

Comments

Re: Similar thought, had to share.

[kiya]

Slavic. Western branch, I believe.

Yeah, western Slavic. (Russian's eastern Slavic.)

It's more or less Latin-alphabet, with a few additions (like three different Zs, which I can't remember which is which in the pronounciations, need to brush up).

Apparently the grammar's a bear. (Inflections through seven cases would just be the beginning!)

Re: Similar thought, had to share.

[larksdream]

It's complicated, but not significantly more so than many languages. I have a friend who is 100% American (by which I mean, unilingual) and he's not doing half bad with it. I lent him some books and things; would you like me to find out what's been most useful for him? Also google for Polish-American organizations in your area (they are called Polonia); there is sure to be a class or two available in a college town.

There are two funky z's (plus the standard vanilla z, which is pronounced as you'd expect). The one with the dot is to z what "sh" is to "s", a "zh" sound like in Zsa Zsa Gabor. The one with the apostrophe-like mark is a softer version, the same sound made with the tongue further forward and its middle pressed up.

Re: Similar thought, had to share.

[kiya]

I know there are Polonia organisations around here; this was a major settling point for a wave of Polish immigration around the Depression.

I would love recommendations. Yay. (I've got one of those tape-learning things around somewhere, which I think will do me for having the sound around to correct myself by, but which are just wrong for actually getting my head to learn stuff.)

Re: Similar thought, had to share.

[larksdream]

I would love recommendations.

I shall inquire from my friend who's learning. :-)

Re: Similar thought, had to share.

[larksdream]

My friend Matt says:

The book I've learned the most from is called "Polish: A Rough Guide Dictionary Phrasebook". It's published by Rough Guides. The book of yours I got the most out of is the "Teach Yourself Polish: A Complete Course for Beginners."
[snip]
I forgot to mention the software I bought which obviously is good since there is some audio involve. It's called "Learn Polish Now". I found it on Amazon.

Re: Similar thought, had to share.

[kiya]

Woot! Danke.

Also woot-woot, one of those I already own. :)