the POLSKI blog

Polityka, one of the oldest and best Polish weekly magazines, has launched its Kindle version. I’m not sure whether it’s available for other ereaders too, but the Kindle version is surprisingly good. Polityka – despite its title – doesn’t just focus on politics, but is a high-quality liberal weekly whose topics span a wide range: [...]

I have noticed in the past couple of months an increase in the number of friend requests from my old friends and acquaintances in Poland. And indeed, official numbers suggest that after years of relying on Nasza Klasa, Poles are now flocking to Facebook. A recent post on the Social Bakers website claims that in [...]

Or do you? It’s a commonn misconception that you need to pay to use the loo in Poland. Yes, maybe in some places, but not everywhere. In the past, most places, including restaurants and bars, would have toilet attendants who’d charge you a small set fee to enter the loo (and in some cases provide [...]

Kocham Cię. I love you. More language of love – here. More “Polish your Polish” – here. Kocham Cie image by Funky Tee, via Flickr, used under the CC licence

Go on, admit it. You’ve ALWAYS wanted to impress your friends with a Polish tongue twister. Right? And if you think “She sells sea-shells on the sea-shore” is difficult, try these. Here is my top five. Let’s start with one of the most difficult pieces of Polish literature, a short poem by Jan Brzechwa, called [...]

During my recent trip to Poland I noticed that English words, phrases and names have become a norm in everyday language. Don’t get me wrong, English borrowings have always been present in Polish.  What I’m talking about here is the presence of a huge number of foreign-sounding (mainly English) phrases or names, which often replace [...]