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Lidia K.

Lidia K. +

Temat: obsolete words still used in Poland

I'm hoping this may have an educational effect in the long run.

Have you come across any English words used by Poles, preferably in Poland, that are out of use or old-fashioned or have a different meaning than the one intended by the speaker?

Please write them down here but with an explanation so it sticks to our minds.

I'd like Jarek to start with the "member" misunderstanding. Many of us don't get why he's so joyful whenever this word appears.

Thank you.Lidia K. edytował(a) ten post dnia 09.05.08 o godzinie 20:00
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Temat: obsolete words still used in Poland

Lidia K.:
I'd like Jarek to start with the "member" misunderstanding.
How do I put it...
Many of us don't get why he's so joyful whenever this word appears.
Exsqueeze me?

EDIT: On second thought I often say one picture is worth more than 1000 words.


Obrazek
Jarek A. edytował(a) ten post dnia 10.05.08 o godzinie 17:14
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Lidia K.

Lidia K. +

Temat: obsolete words still used in Poland

Jarek, I'm afraid we'll need your verbal explanation as the pic doesn't open.

BTW. When I was starting to learn English, I learnt that the word "frock" meant a woman's dress. Is it still used in this sense?

Something like:
Gosia, did you see that tight frock Ewa was wearing at work yesterday? She does look fat, doesn't she?Lidia K. edytował(a) ten post dnia 10.05.08 o godzinie 16:32
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Temat: obsolete words still used in Poland

BTW. When I was starting to learn English, I learnt that the word "frock" meant a woman's dress. Is it still used in this sense?

I have never heard it used in any other context. It simply isn't very commonly used nowadays. My mum sometimes says it, but I don't think I've ever heard my sister use the word.
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Temat: obsolete words still used in Poland

I've been in Poland for such a long time that I've almost forgotten the correct usage of many words.

For example, 'phone to someone' would have sounded horrible to me some time ago, but now I even catch myself saying this.

Anyway, here are a few that spring to mind:

spedition we would say 'haulage'
sibling this is not used outside sociology textbooks.
consequent meaning consistent.
scold we say 'tell off'.
spinster this has extremely negative connotations.
pathological family try saying 'problem' family.

A couple of 'rude' ones:

whore this sounds like something from an eighteenth century novel. If you want real 'power' try the word 'slag'.
bitch Poles imagine this is a terrible insult, something equivalent to 'kurwa'. In reality all it means is 'female dog'. Obviously it is not a nice thing to call a woman, but the word is not really a charged one, at least not in British English.

I'm sure there are many, many more, but this is all I can think of at present.
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Kari W.

Kari W. education

Temat: obsolete words still used in Poland

warren whitmore:
An American viewpoint on these words:
Anyway, here are a few that spring to mind:

spedition we would say 'haulage'
I didn't know this word. Turns out, it's German, not English. Whew!
sibling this is not used outside sociology textbooks.
We still use this word when asking someone about their family. "Do you have any siblings?"
consequent meaning consistent.
scold we say 'tell off'.
Scold is used in context of children. "I scolded her and sent her to her room."
spinster this has extremely negative connotations.
This is rarely used and is quite comical if it is.
pathological family try saying 'problem' family.
This phrase hardly seems to say anything. Does it mean a "crazy" family or a family plagued by disease?

A couple of 'rude' ones:

whore this sounds like something from an eighteenth century novel. If you want real 'power' try the word 'slag'.
We don't have "slag" here and "whore" still has some gravity.
bitch Poles imagine this is a terrible insult, something equivalent to 'kurwa'. In reality all it means is 'female dog'. Obviously it is not a nice thing to call a woman, but the word is not really a charged one, at least not in British English.
Calling someone a bitch used to be an insult, but it seems to have evolved into a sort of "term of endearment". Girls call each other bitch with love in their hearts and when fighting with anyone, being called a bitch will simply get a shrug of the shoulders in response. However, if you call a girl a cunt, she'll gasp and tear your head of with her teeth - and it's not used for men as it is in the UK.
I'm sure there are many, many more, but this is all I can think of at present.
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Kari W.

Kari W. education

Temat: obsolete words still used in Poland

Gosia, did you see that tight frock Ewa was wearing at work yesterday? She does look fat, doesn't she?

This would not be used today. Hee hee, it's kinda funny though.
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Ilter K.

Ilter K. Business Developer,
Music Producer, AVID
Certified Instru...

Temat: obsolete words still used in Poland

pathological family try saying 'problem' family.
This phrase hardly seems to say anything. Does it mean a "crazy"
family or a family plagued by disease?
Kind of "crazy", yes.
The word "pathological" is used in many countries instead of "psycho" or "lunatic".
So pathological family means rather "a family with weirdo individuals" or "a family with -almost- lunatic members"
Kari Wolk:
sibling this is not used outside sociology textbooks.
We still use this word when asking someone about their family. "Do you have any siblings?"
Same here. I've heard it many times from Americans.

I can't really recall any "obsolete" or outdated English words used by Polish natives right now. Maybe later I can add a few.
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Lidia K.

Lidia K. +

Temat: obsolete words still used in Poland

Thanks Steven, Warren, Kari and Ilter!
And Jarek, too ;)

Kari, it's good to have an American view on the same thing.

That's precisely what I was asking for.

Steven and Kari, so what would be the message if I said frock in the above context? That I'm using funny words? Speaking like your mum, Steven?

I think I know the negative association of the word spinster quite well ;)

Pathological family in Polish (rodzina patologiczna) means a seriously dysfunctional family, with alcohol, crime or prostitution problem, though there are many definitions as it is in the case in sociology and related sciences.
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Lidia K.

Lidia K. +

Temat: obsolete words still used in Poland

Och, and the typical confusion of consequent and actual.

examples, examples, pls!
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Temat: obsolete words still used in Poland

Lidia K.:
Pathological family in Polish (rodzina patologiczna) means a seriously dysfunctional family, with alcohol, crime or prostitution problem, though there are many definitions as it is in the case in sociology and related sciences.

I know.

But English people who are unfamiliar with Polish would have absolutely no idea what a 'pathological' family might mean.
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Lidia K.

Lidia K. +

Temat: obsolete words still used in Poland

You mentioned such families living in Szczecin so it's not you that I was explaining :)

But what would English people think if one said so? Blank mind?
Or something like the cursed instrumentalization?
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Temat: obsolete words still used in Poland

I was told that in the Canadian version of French language people still use a lot of old terminology that is actually quite funny for people using "homeland" French.
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Temat: obsolete words still used in Poland

Lidia K.:
You mentioned such families living in Szczecin so it's not you that I was explaining :)

But what would English people think if one said so? Blank mind?

Blank mind. Exactly.

But because my wife is always going on about 'pathological families' it has entered my vocabulary.

Btw, I'm not sure if the phrase 'blank mind' would be used by natives.

You could say, when I mentioned 'X' all I got was a blank look.warren whitmore edytował(a) ten post dnia 11.05.08 o godzinie 15:39
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Lidia K.

Lidia K. +

Temat: obsolete words still used in Poland

warren:

Btw, I'm not sure if the phrase 'blank mind' would be used by natives.

You could say, when I mentioned 'X' all I got was a blank look.

thanks, you're right! probably it was based on the Polish expression "pustka w glowie"... ;)
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Anna Dorota Zagórna

Anna Dorota Zagórna HR linguist

Temat: obsolete words still used in Poland

And "to be keen on sth"? A typical phrase from a beginners' coursebook. One British native speaker once told me it is a bit outdated.
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Temat: obsolete words still used in Poland

Anna Dorota Zagórna:
And "to be keen on sth"? A typical phrase from a beginners' coursebook. One British native speaker once told me it is a bit outdated.

I would disagree.

IMHO 'keen on' is perfectly O.K..
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Temat: obsolete words still used in Poland

Lidia K.:
warren:

Btw, I'm not sure if the phrase 'blank mind' would be used by natives.

You could say, when I mentioned 'X' all I got was a blank look.

thanks, you're right! probably it was based on the Polish expression "pustka w glowie"... ;)

Yes, I'd give you a blank look as my mind went blank. However I wouldn't tell you that I had a blank mind.
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Sylwia Łubkowska

Sylwia Łubkowska Nauczyciel oraz
tłumacz j.
angielskiego

Temat: obsolete words still used in Poland

When proofreading Polish-into-English translations (done by Poles), I often come across 'realis(z)ed' meaning 'zrealizowany' as in 'zrealizowana transakcja'. I believe one should say 'completed' instead?

Another example, this time of my own mistakes, was the use of 'organism' where 'body' or 'system' would be better.
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Temat: obsolete words still used in Poland

Anna Dorota Zagórna:
And "to be keen on sth"? A typical phrase from a
beginners' coursebook. One British native speaker once told
me it is a bit outdated.

"Keen on" is definitely still in use.
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