This was written 4th of August 2020, but I put it here, 5 years earlier, for my 52 in 52 challenge.
Yes, I know, "cheating", but - you don't want to do it like I do it. Because I'm frivolous and easily distracted, and... well, not really. I'm multitalented polymath, and superfocused, just not in one thing for a very long time... I am into what ever it is I'm into 100%, but only for about three weeks. So I NEED to learn a language in a week. At least the basis of it. And then I - PERHAPS - can upkeep it for the rest of the time, by using it to research my other interests.
So - back to business, Polish.
It suddenly became important to learn Polish, because I started reading The Witcher :-D
I love it. I absolutely love it. But I'm reading a translation, and I have a feeling that the original is even better. So, you see, I HAVE to learn Polish.
Day 1:
The alphabet
Learn these "useful phrases"
Learn the numbers
How to say dates in Polish
Buying things in Polish
Learn the vocabulary for the first chapter of Witcher :-D (Or... the first "real" chapter of the Last Wish, The Witcher)
It's just about 400 words.
So, today I checked the frequency list of the words in that chapter, and then I had to check what ALL these words were to find out the true frequency of the words, as Polish is a lovely, flexible language. :-D (Three main genders, 7 common cases, and several tenses, absolutely beautiful :-D)
The most common words (used more than 5 times in one or another form)
and, with, in, at, to, "kto" and "co", no, to be, to have, oneself, innkeeper, stranger, sword, guest and guards
The 11 first ones are also on the 100 most common Polish words -list. :-D
I can tell you it took me a LOT of time to organize these words, but I'm very pleased with the work I've done.
some interesting things I found out:
Polish nouns have gender, which affects some things, like declensions and numbers etc.
Some words can have both genders, and one of the examples caught my eye, because in my mind it should be the exact opposite :-D
"żołądź: masculine - "acorn", feminine - "glans penis"
(In Swedish the word is "ollon"; acorn is "ekollon", beechnut is "bokollon", and glans is just "ollon". Now you know why the Swedes smile when they hear about the Swiss town of Ollon. Maybe they'll change the name back to Olun or Aulon ;-))
They also divide the masculine nouns into three categories; inanimate things, animate things (living things) and persons. Cucumber is a living thing :-D I mean, of course it is, I just find it cute that the Polish people acknowledge plants as lifeforms :-) (Vegans don't.)
"Son of a bitch" is "psie nasienie" - "dog's seed". Cur cum. Somehow it sounds worse. :-D
(And continuing the "doggy" to "curry"... ew.)
Yes, I know, "cheating", but - you don't want to do it like I do it. Because I'm frivolous and easily distracted, and... well, not really. I'm multitalented polymath, and superfocused, just not in one thing for a very long time... I am into what ever it is I'm into 100%, but only for about three weeks. So I NEED to learn a language in a week. At least the basis of it. And then I - PERHAPS - can upkeep it for the rest of the time, by using it to research my other interests.
So - back to business, Polish.
It suddenly became important to learn Polish, because I started reading The Witcher :-D
I love it. I absolutely love it. But I'm reading a translation, and I have a feeling that the original is even better. So, you see, I HAVE to learn Polish.
Day 1:
The alphabet
Learn these "useful phrases"
Learn the numbers
How to say dates in Polish
Buying things in Polish
Learn the vocabulary for the first chapter of Witcher :-D (Or... the first "real" chapter of the Last Wish, The Witcher)
It's just about 400 words.
So, today I checked the frequency list of the words in that chapter, and then I had to check what ALL these words were to find out the true frequency of the words, as Polish is a lovely, flexible language. :-D (Three main genders, 7 common cases, and several tenses, absolutely beautiful :-D)
The most common words (used more than 5 times in one or another form)
and, with, in, at, to, "kto" and "co", no, to be, to have, oneself, innkeeper, stranger, sword, guest and guards
The 11 first ones are also on the 100 most common Polish words -list. :-D
I can tell you it took me a LOT of time to organize these words, but I'm very pleased with the work I've done.
some interesting things I found out:
Polish nouns have gender, which affects some things, like declensions and numbers etc.
Some words can have both genders, and one of the examples caught my eye, because in my mind it should be the exact opposite :-D
"żołądź: masculine - "acorn", feminine - "glans penis"
(In Swedish the word is "ollon"; acorn is "ekollon", beechnut is "bokollon", and glans is just "ollon". Now you know why the Swedes smile when they hear about the Swiss town of Ollon. Maybe they'll change the name back to Olun or Aulon ;-))
They also divide the masculine nouns into three categories; inanimate things, animate things (living things) and persons. Cucumber is a living thing :-D I mean, of course it is, I just find it cute that the Polish people acknowledge plants as lifeforms :-) (Vegans don't.)
"Son of a bitch" is "psie nasienie" - "dog's seed". Cur cum. Somehow it sounds worse. :-D
(And continuing the "doggy" to "curry"... ew.)
No comments:
Post a Comment