levitator

I have always been wondering what was the historical reason, during the evolution of the French language, that some words universally beginning with "s" like "school" or "study", in French begin with "é" instead: "école, étude" - does anybody know?

It is a valuable help but only as a tool, as it is very much imperfect. I find the best method to translate between english and Polish is to insert a big block of text and then work out the odd words and expressions one by one, using a more exact dictionary. It may seem complex but still takes a lot less time than traditional translation, especially since business-oriented vocabulary is quite well developed in the google translator.

Polish: Good afternoon. ---->We don't have one! We say "Dzień dobry" (good day) all day, until the evening when we say "Dobry Wieczór" (good evening) Where do you live? --->Gdzie mieszkasz? What is your nationality? --->Z jakiego kraju jesteś? What is your job? --->Czym się zajmujesz / jaką masz pracę?

I agree it depends where you live and with what nation you intend to speak / do business with. In Poland, although the English language is in the first place, German and Russian are also popular because of the proximity. Outside of that, we study languages based on which culture or language we find interesting.

:karate: I also read that article, I think they determined that by checking at what age the children reach the "linguistic maturity" i.e. the ability to fluently use the language and with Polish children it was no sooner than at the age of sixteen! (or maybe it just means us Poles are a little slow...)

I tried learning Lojban for some time but to be honest saw no point in that after a while - I can always appreciate that a language looks pretty but in the end the practical aspect is the most important.

I tried learning Lojban for a while because I liked the looks of it. But just as the most people in this thread - I realised it is pretty much pointless and not likely even to impress anyone. Hobbies are the best when you can share it with other people, and when they result in something useful or pretty. This however seemed to me as a hobby for hobby's sake and I decided not to waste my time on it anymore.

I'd say, if it has legs, it can "stand" on them - simple but I think it applies in most cases. If it rises from the floor in a more or less upright position - "standing" is also ok, I think it has to be a bit intuitive. If it lays flat on the floor, well - that is obvious. I think "sitting" is the least often used in reference to inanimate objects, and can usually also be replaced with "standing".

Movies have been an invaluable mean to me to learn english. Actually, belive it or not, I learned the most english while binge-watching "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" over and over again, back when it was not so popular in Poland, and only english version was available. Actually I took it upon myself to create subtitles for several episodes, just so I could show them to my polish-speaking family and friends. I learned a lot in the process!

I just thought of another one! Also making use of the polish language's ability to put several consonants next to each other: Pocztmistrz z Tczewa, Rotmistrz z Czchowa. "A postmaster from Tczew (town name), a chief-captain from Czchów (another town name)"

That's really informative, thanks! The ability to connect words to make new ones reminds me of German, where also such long, "infinite" words can be found

Vasta vastaa vasta vastaavasta vastavastaavasta. (The bath whisk answers only for the respective person responsible for the bath whisk.) I love this one, since it looks like the same word repeated over and over! Would you be able to dissect it to show which part means what? Of course, if it is too much hassle, do not bother

Polish: male speaking: "Jestem Twój" female speaking:" Jestem Twoja"