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The Polish language is interesting as it has just a few Roman/Latin influences and did not get reformed in modern times - unlike many other European languages.

The Polish language is interesting as it has just a few Roman/Latin influences and did not get reformed in modern times - unlike many other European languages. Poland did not exist for a long stretch of time, 1795-1918, it was partitioned between Prussia, the Habsburg empire and Russia. Poland had provoked those powers with a radical, modern constitution. The Polish language was forbidden, hence only got taught in underground schools, thereby preserving its old nature. Learning it now can drive you crazy due its chaotic "rules". The partition is also the cause of famous Poles having French names - Frederic Chopin, Marie Curie. The partition and soon to follow WW2, Holocaust and Russian occupation have beaten a fierce paranoia and national identity into modern Poles.

ajuc 8y ago
Are you Polish? Because what you wrote is mostly wrong. Polish is probably the Slavic language with the most foreign influences, at least compared to other western Slavic languages or Balkan languages I've seen. Czech language is more "pure" exactly because it was reconstructed from peasant-speak when nationalism became fashionable and educated Czechs turned to their language. Meanwhile Polish language was continuously used by all layers of society all through the partitions, so it accumulated lots of foreign influences as the fashions changed (from Latin/Italian/German/French/English). It's a significant cultural phenomena, to the point that people in 16th century already complained that everybody uses "makaronizm" (Italian or Latin words) to show-off that they know foreign languages. Polish language wasn't forbidden for majority of the territory that was occupied, and in these parts where it was forbidden - it was only forbidden for a period of time, not the whole time. > The partition is also the cause of famous Poles having French names - Frederic Chopin, Marie Curie. No, it's not. Chopin's father was French, and Maria Skłodowska-Curie (as she preferred to be called, at least when she was in Poland) married a French guy named Curie. Also - Polish language had small reforms every few decades, but I agree it's overdue another, big one.
- shadowtree 8y ago
  Why did those Poles end up in France? Maria Skłodowska, as you know, had to study in a clandestine university in Warsaw due to the Russian occupation. What was Russification? Germanification? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russification#Poland_and_Lithuania https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russification#Poland_and_Lithu... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanisation_of_Poles_during_the_Partitions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanisation_of_Poles_during_...
  - ajuc 8y ago
    > Why did those Poles end up in France? Same reason talented Poles now go to London or New York. > What was Russification? Germanification? Mostly futile attempts to make people speak different language than they speak. Language was banned in some places, for some time. And they achieved nothing - if anything, Polish Romantism movement was flourishing because of the "forbidden fruit" effect.

ajuc 8y ago

Are you Polish? Because what you wrote is mostly wrong. Polish is probably the Slavic language with the most foreign influences, at least compared to other western Slavic languages or Balkan languages I've seen. Czech language is more "pure" exactly because it was reconstructed from peasant-speak when nationalism became fashionable and educated Czechs turned to their language. Meanwhile Polish language was continuously used by all layers of society all through the partitions, so it accumulated lots of foreign influences as the fashions changed (from Latin/Italian/German/French/English). It's a significant cultural phenomena, to the point that people in 16th century already complained that everybody uses "makaronizm" (Italian or Latin words) to show-off that they know foreign languages. Polish language wasn't forbidden for majority of the territory that was occupied, and in these parts where it was forbidden - it was only forbidden for a period of time, not the whole time. > The partition is also the cause of famous Poles having French names - Frederic Chopin, Marie Curie. No, it's not. Chopin's father was French, and Maria Skłodowska-Curie (as she preferred to be called, at least when she was in Poland) married a French guy named Curie. Also - Polish language had small reforms every few decades, but I agree it's overdue another, big one.

shadowtree 8y ago
Why did those Poles end up in France? Maria Skłodowska, as you know, had to study in a clandestine university in Warsaw due to the Russian occupation. What was Russification? Germanification? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russification#Poland_and_Lithuania https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russification#Poland_and_Lithu... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanisation_of_Poles_during_the_Partitions https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Germanisation_of_Poles_during_...
- ajuc 8y ago
  > Why did those Poles end up in France? Same reason talented Poles now go to London or New York. > What was Russification? Germanification? Mostly futile attempts to make people speak different language than they speak. Language was banned in some places, for some time. And they achieved nothing - if anything, Polish Romantism movement was flourishing because of the "forbidden fruit" effect.