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Did you ever think someone was scary because they looked different, or ate strange foods? Well, they might think the same about you! One of the things we all need to do is celebrate diversity (doceniać różnorodność). We shouldn’t think badly of people from other cultures because they are different than our own culture.

Sometimes we judge people from other countries unfairly, because one person from that culture did something bad. Well, has your whole family ever been blamed for something your little sister did? It doesn’t seem fair does it? It’s just as unfair to blame a whole culture for what two or three people do.

So here’s some things that YOU can do to help yourself understand other cultures:

1. Find COMMON GROUND! (Znajdź wspólny grunt!) Just remember that even though some people look different on the outside, that doesn’t change how they are on the inside. They still have the exact same feelings! What other things do you share in common? Read about other cultures to find out more about them.

2. Don’t blame ALL BECAUSE OF ONE! (Nie obwiniaj wszystkich z powodu jednego!) So lets say someone from another culture is being mean, and you decide to avoid everyone from that culture. Well think about it. Why are you blaming them for something they didn’t have anything to do with? Put yourself in their shoes. How would you feel? Putting yourself inside someone else’s head can be a very powerful way to understand WHY they are acting the way they are.

3. Try to MAKE FRIENDS with people from other cultures (Spróbuj zaprzyjaźnić się z ludźmi z innych kultur). You could ask them what they know about their culture, or what it was like in their country, if they can remember, or if they ever lived there at all. Try foods from that culture, or ask them if they know any words in that language. You might be surprised at how neat other cultures can be!

And remember, different doesn’t mean bad (inny nie znaczy zły)!

Do następnego razu… (Till next time…)

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When it comes to Polish translation, in certain contexts, the swear words (curse words), przekleństwa,  have their both prominent and well-deserved role to play. True, English is not completely toothless in this respect, but still there is no comparison. The Poles lead by far.

Sex related swear words are most useful and most common. Let’s see, the so called four letter word, or to be explicit, “fuck” – no need to be prudish here – after all it is a linguistic exercise we are involved in corresponds rather well to its Polish counterpart, although, already from the beginning Polish has an advantage here – with a whole nine letter-word. There are certain similarities regarding the use of the word in both languages, a few examples:

To fuck – pierdolić

To fuck off – odpierdolić (się) 

To fuck up – spierdolić

The Polish word, however, is much more flexible than its English counterpart and has many more uses, which can make it a bit hard to translate. There are so many verbs can be replaced by the “p”-word!

To beat up – napierdolić

To break – rozpierdolić

To run – spierdolić

To steal – podpierdolić

To throw away – wypierdolić

and so on…

Another “nice” Polish swear-word is “kurwa” literally a “whore”, although in some contexts translated as a “bitch”, or even as “shit”, a very useful word indeed. Please, note that although the “k”-word is also a swear word, it is often used instead of a “comma” in the speech, giving the speaker a chance to recover before continuing the argument.

Of course, the “kurwa” words still can be used as a regular swear word describing the quality of the person in question. “Ty kurwo”, meaning literally “you whore”, works well, but I’d rather translated it as “you bitch”, unless it has to do with the profession of the person concerned.

Speaking of the word “bitch”… When I first moved to United States, some of my friends called me like that “in a nice, funny way” (as I was explained this situation) couple times. When they were jealous about something or I did something well. It was supposedly a fun, non insulting way. Well…do not try doing it in Poland! Poles do not have such a sense of humor!

Variation on the “k”-word is a “genealogical”-swearword: “skurwysyn”, i.e. in the literal translation “the son of a whore”, although translated frequently as “the son of a bitch”, which comes close. It is yet another widely used Polish expletive that is a must in anyone’s Polish vocabulary. Although, it does not have a direct correspondence in Queen’s English, the American “mother-fucker” comes close and could be used in some contexts to translate it. But the Polish “s” word is much more flexible than that. It can denote someone we dislike, someone that played a nasty trick on us, even a person we admire – all depending on the context and the way to pronounce it (which is hard to convey in translation.) Please note that the incest word that is used to translate the Polish “skurwysyn” is more or less a taboo in Polish.

The subject of swearwords is huge and a suitable subject for a number of doctoral dissertations, at least. I haven’t even touched the surface: what about calling someone “świnia” – a “pig”, which can mean many different things, besides denoting the proper animal, “diabeł” the devil (go to the devil, that translates as “go to Hell” is a frequently used swearword), “cholera” the name of the disease, yet another swear word, but also a way to abuse a person as well (similar in the function to the English “bastard”) and many, many more.

Here are some more words for you:

Bullshit - Bzdura!

You cunt - Ty pizdo

Asshole, Bastard - Skurwielu

Idiot, cretin - Bałwan

Gut - Bandzioch

Limp dick, loser, slouch – Cienias

Nut, loony, schizo - Czubek

Ass, klutz, dork, nerd, asshole – Dupek

Dick-head, shithead – Frajer

Cretin, dolt, fool, idiot - Głupek

Shit, crap - Gówno

Cock, prick, meat, rod – Kutas

You’ve got ants in your pants – “Masz w dupie robaki”

You’ve got a screw loose - Odjebało ci

Idiot, moron – Palant

Dried-up old turd, old coot – Pryk

Mind your own fucking business - Trzymaj się swojego fiuta

I’ll chop your balls off - Wyrwę ci jaja

I smell a rat - To mi śmierdzi

and many, many more….

Do następnego razu… (Till next time…)

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