gigi
Kindergarten kid
Posts: 1,470
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Post by gigi on Apr 28, 2009 1:41:32 GMT 1
...Tufta, your information interests me, for as you may have guessed (or maybe not) that my grandfather's name was Zygmunt (changed to Zygmont after immigrating). We are not sure exactly where he came from (this is the biggest puzzle I'm working on now), but some relatives thought he came from a small town near Warsaw. His father was the mayor there and also a lawyer. Jeanne, I wonder if the fact that he was mayor could help you to track down your grandfather's birth place (or at least where he was living when your great-grandfather was mayor). I assume residency is a requirement for being mayor. I wonder if there are records on past mayors, and if so how far back they go. Do you know a possible time frame for him holding that office? |
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Post by tufta on Apr 28, 2009 9:48:27 GMT 1
some relatives thought he came from a small town near Warsaw. His father was the mayor there and also a lawyer. Jeanne, do you have any more info on the town? Bo, doesn't all diminutive form sound 'childlish' or just... loving or friendly (Polish meaning of 'friendship')? Augmentative form? I had to check it as well. zdrobnienie - zgrubienie  PS. I like rock! |
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gigi
Kindergarten kid
Posts: 1,470
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Post by gigi on Apr 28, 2009 14:54:34 GMT 1
Bo, doesn't all diminutive form sound 'childlish' or just... loving or friendly (Polish meaning of 'friendship')? Augmentative form? I had to check it as well. He must accept some of it - he responds to 'Bo'.  Just remember not to call him 'Jurek'...  ;D ;D |
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Post by Bonobo on Apr 28, 2009 22:33:30 GMT 1
Bo, doesn't all diminutive form sound 'childlish' or just... loving or friendly (Polish meaning of 'friendship')? Augmentative form? I had to check it as well. He must accept some of it - he responds to 'Bo'. Just remember not to call him 'Jurek'... ;D ;D But I accept Jureczek.... Strange but many relatives tend to call me that ... and a few acquaintances... |
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Post by Bonobo on Apr 28, 2009 22:42:09 GMT 1
Augmentative form? I had to check it as well. zdrobnienie - zgrubienie I didn`t know there is zgrubienie. I have used it beyond my conscious perception of the language. Słuchawiory is my fav. |
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Post by tufta on Apr 29, 2009 16:43:30 GMT 1
He must accept some of it - he responds to 'Bo'. Just remember not to call him 'Jurek'... ;D ;D But I accept Jureczek.... Strange but many relatives tend to call me that ... and a few acquaintances... Gigi, start calling Bo - Jerzyk ,and see what happens |
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gigi
Kindergarten kid
Posts: 1,470
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Post by gigi on Apr 29, 2009 23:44:16 GMT 1
Gigi, start calling Bo - Jerzyk ,and see what happens Do you think he will want to change avatars then?  |
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Post by jeanne on Apr 30, 2009 2:18:15 GMT 1
Jeanne, I wonder if the fact that he was mayor could help you to track down your grandfather's birth place (or at least where he was living when your great-grandfather was mayor). I assume residency is a requirement for being mayor. I wonder if there are records on past mayors, and if so how far back they go. Do you know a possible time frame for him holding that office? Gigi, I did think of that angle, but I would have no idea how to proceed with it... As far as the time frame goes, my grandfather immigrated in 1908, so I would guess possibly from 10 years before to that date would cover it. He had to be mayor during the time my gf was still in Poland, because my gf passed on the stories (what few he had, or was willing to share) to his children. |
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Post by jeanne on Apr 30, 2009 2:28:41 GMT 1
some relatives thought he came from a small town near Warsaw. His father was the mayor there and also a lawyer. Jeanne, do you have any more info on the town? Tufta, Regretably, I don't. I do have great intentions of researching further, but so far have not found the time to do so. I'm hoping this summer to research marriage records at the church archives here in the US to see if possibly there is Baptism info on them. Other than that my only other leads are two possible names on ships' manifests that may be German translations of his name. For example, Zygmunt to Sigmund, and the last name spelled in German what it sounded like in Polish. If I had unlimited time and money, I'd be right on this!! ;D |
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Post by Bonobo on Apr 30, 2009 23:26:23 GMT 1
Gigi, start calling Bo - Jerzyk ,and see what happens Do you think he will want to change avatars then? Nowp. Bairds ar dizgahstlying. Di onlee iksepshen is stox. Ay still riteynd diz avatar in di ade forem.  |
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Post by jeanne on May 1, 2009 1:31:25 GMT 1
Nowp. Bairds ar dizgahstlying. Di onlee iksepshen is stox. Ay still riteynd diz avatar in di ade forem. I thought you ran out of homemade wine??  |
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Post by Bonobo on May 1, 2009 18:24:56 GMT 1
Nowp. Bairds ar dizgahstlying. Di onlee iksepshen is stox. Ay still riteynd diz avatar in di ade forem. I thought you ran out of homemade wine?? Yes, and such are results of being dry. I start gibbering. |
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Post by jeanne on May 2, 2009 2:24:33 GMT 1
I thought you ran out of homemade wine?? Yes, and such are results of being dry. I start gibbering. Aha!...yes...'gibbering'! ;D ;D ;D |
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Post by Bonobo on Sept 17, 2009 12:03:05 GMT 1
In English or Polish? Laundry is spelled wrong and it probably shouldn't say "throw", but "insert". Over the years I realised that native speakers have a different perception of mistakes than learners or teachers of the language.  What about the instruction? Shouldn`t it be in plural? The instructions. I remember such a case at matura exam a few years ago - the Polish sentence contained Polish instrukcja which is in singular. Students who kept the singular form in their translation scored 0 points. That`s what my non-native speaker puritan teacher`s correction skills say. |
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Post by Bonobo on Feb 14, 2010 17:08:21 GMT 1
1. In a presentation title is it better to write: We and our countries or Our countries and us ? Or sth else?
2. Read this dialogue from a textbook for children:
A: How much milk do the goats give you?
B: The goats give us all our milk and the chickens give us all our eggs.
Shouldn`t it be their instead of our ?
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Post by jeanne on Feb 14, 2010 21:56:35 GMT 1
1. In a presentation title is it better to write: We and our countries or Our countries and us ? Or sth else? How about "Our Countries and Ourselves"? Well, it is correct ("our") if the meaning should be that the family gets ALL its milk and eggs from those particular goats and chickens, and from no other sources...i.e. stores. If the meaning should be that the goats and chickens give their milk and eggs only to the family and none go to other people or to stores, then it should be "their". |
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Post by Bonobo on Feb 14, 2010 22:25:27 GMT 1
Thanks, Now I see it.
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Post by Bonobo on Sept 15, 2010 22:29:57 GMT 1
I have always problem with it: Should I say good job or good work?
I use them interchangeably.
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Post by jeanne on Sept 21, 2010 0:10:40 GMT 1
I have always problem with it: Should I say good job or good work? I use them interchangeably. Using them interchangeably is correct. |
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Post by Bonobo on Feb 7, 2011 22:17:03 GMT 1
I just read a book to my kids. Zoo babies. Various animals are blatantly genderised in this style:
The baby monkey can swing freom his tail. He loves to eat a banana.
Other cases:
Bird -she.
Elephant - he.
Giraffe- she.
Seal - he.
Zebra - she.
Hippo - she.
etc
Some of them caused me a problem with translation because the gender of monkey and others in Polish is contrary to what I read.
Now I wonder, is it really the language gender in the book or the baby animals are simply females or males?
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Post by jeanne on Feb 7, 2011 23:06:43 GMT 1
I just read a book to my kids. Zoo babies. Various animals are blatantly genderised in this style: The baby monkey can swing freom his tail. He loves to eat a banana. Other cases: Bird -she. Elephant - he. Giraffe- she. Seal - he. Zebra - she. Hippo - she. etc Some of them caused me a problem with translation because the gender of monkey and others in Polish is contrary to what I read. Now I wonder, is it really the language gender in the book or the baby animals are simply females or males? I think when this happens in a book, it is the author's attempt not to be sexist, and to make sure they use both genders in an attempt at equality. There was a time (like when I was growing up) that they would have all been referred to as "he," unless they were obviously female, i.e. a mother monkey. I also notice this phenomenon in articles such as medical literature, education-related literature, etc. when referring to patients or students. They vary the reference from "he" to "she" frequently. |
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Post by Bonobo on Feb 8, 2011 9:26:25 GMT 1
I think when this happens in a book, it is the author's attempt not to be sexist, and to make sure they use both genders in an attempt at equality. There was a time (like when I was growing up) that they would have all been referred to as "he," unless they were obviously female, i.e. a mother monkey. I also notice this phenomenon in articles such as medical literature, education-related literature, etc. when referring to patients or students. They vary the reference from "he" to "she" frequently. Oh, so they don`t have a gender hidden in the name, like in Polish, which is highly genderised and all nouns, no matter if they connote people, animals or objects, can be called he, she or it? Eg., monkey is małpa and I can always say she instead, without even knowing its sex. I knew it also happens with some nouns in English, e.g., ship is she, death is he (she in Polish) etc but wasn`t sure with those animals. I thought it was a new occurence in the language. Cultural difference: Death in Poland  |
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Post by jeanne on Feb 8, 2011 12:44:22 GMT 1
Oh, so they don`t have a gender hidden in the name, like in Polish, which is highly genderised and all nouns, no matter if they connote people, animals or objects, can be called he, she or it? Eg., monkey is małpa and I can always say she instead, without even knowing its sex. I knew it also happens with some nouns in English, e.g., ship is she, death is he (she in Polish) etc but wasn`t sure with those animals. I thought it was a new occurence in the language. No, in English nouns do not have a gender, except, of course when what the noun stands for has a gender, for example, "mother," "brother". Even in the case of a ship, it is technically an "it", but people prefer to personify it by giving it the female gender...(it used to be the same with hurricanes, which used to always be given female names. Now in an effort to eliminate the sexism apparent in that, for the last 30 years or so, names of hurricanes alternate between feminine and masculine.) Also, "death" really does not have gender either, it also is an "it"....any gender applied to it is done by poetic license of the author or speaker. |
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Post by Bonobo on Feb 8, 2011 15:06:25 GMT 1
No, in English nouns do not have a gender, except, of course when what the noun stands for has a gender, for example, "mother," "brother". Even in the case of a ship, it is technically an "it", but people prefer to personify it by giving it the female gender...(it used to be the same with hurricanes, which used to always be given female names. Now in an effort to eliminate the sexism apparent in that, for the last 30 years or so, names of hurricanes alternate between feminine and masculine.) Also, "death" really does not have gender either, it also is an "it"....any gender applied to it is done by poetic license of the author or speaker. Oh, my goodness!! What about The Grim Reaper? Isn`t he a He? |
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Post by jeanne on Feb 8, 2011 16:22:40 GMT 1
Oh, my goodness!! What about The Grim Reaper? Isn`t he a He? Yes...by poetic license!! The Grim Reaper is a personification of death...death remains an "it". ;D ;D ;D |
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Post by Bonobo on Feb 11, 2011 13:10:44 GMT 1
Oh, my goodness!! What about The Grim Reaper? Isn`t he a He? Yes...by poetic license!! The Grim Reaper is a personification of death...death remains an "it". ;D ;D ;D Ok. I take it. There are always exceptions:  |
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Post by valpomike on Feb 11, 2011 17:20:17 GMT 1
She is hot, when I go, I want her to come for me.
Mike
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Post by Bonobo on Feb 22, 2011 21:57:01 GMT 1
Class reunions are great, I have never missed one. In fact, our group had such a great time, we want to have one more often, and I hope we do. Mike Mike, you have just used Present Perfect tense!! I always believed that Americans have a natural tendency to disregard this tense. Infamous: Did you ever travel by plane and other such stuff is purely American, isn`t it? How come you are using PP tense now? Is it the influence of our forum? |
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Post by Bonobo on Mar 13, 2012 19:05:19 GMT 1
Jeanne, my eldest son wrote sth suspicious:
When you have a plant, you must water its soil.
I know it should be you must water it but I am still trying to save his young ass. Is it possible to say so?
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Post by jeanne on Mar 14, 2012 1:53:45 GMT 1
Jeanne, my eldest son wrote sth suspicious:
When you have a plant, you must water its soil. I know it should be you must water it but I am still trying to save his young ass. Is it possible to say so? Though the phrase is not generally used, it is technically correct. Rather than say it is incorrect, I would classify it as awkward. People would know what is meant by it, but it sounds out of the ordinary. |
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;D ;D
