5 ms·

Is gmena a typo or does Polish seriously have “gm” as a digraph? I have seen a reasonable amount of written Polish but I’ve never noticed “gm” before. That stri

Is gmena a typo or does Polish seriously have “gm” as a digraph? I have seen a reasonable amount of written Polish but I’ve never noticed “gm” before. That strikes me as really reaching, get a different alphabet, already.

ajuc 1y ago
"Gmina" is correct. It's the lowest administrative unit in Poland. There's a few other words with "gm", like "gmerać" (to fiddle with sth), "gmin" (plebs, common people - same root word as gmina I'd imagine), "gmach" (a huge building, usually of some public institution). It's not a digraph tho, it's just pronounced as "g" and then "m"? I'm like 99% sure it's a German loanword. Most of city/administration/building language in Polish comes from German - dach (roof), szyba (glass pane), rynek (main market square), ratusz (city hall), burmistrz (city mayor), rynsztok (gutter), etc. All through middle ages Poland imported lots of germanic settlers and had them build whole new towns from scratch in Poland in exchange for tax breaks. There's a town called "Niemcy" (Germans/Mutes) like 10 km from where I live :), and there's a village called "Dys" nearby. What's the problem with using latin script for gm by the way?
- MandieD 1y ago
  As someone who speaks German but not Polish, “Gemeinde” was the first thing that came to mind seeing that “gmina” is a collection of rural villages, because that’s what the smallest incorporated settlements here are called (at least in Bavaria). Gemeinde -> Markt -> Stadt
MandieD 1y ago
Even Germany has Gmünd: Schwäbisch Gmünd, Georgensgmünd…
internet_points 1y ago
> get a different alphabet, already English has entered the chat
saghm 1y ago
English has fairly common words with "gm", just not at the beginning of words. Figma and enigma immediately spring to mind. I'd even argue that people say "Big Mac" roughly the same speed as the above words. Plus, there's even that meme word from a few years ago (like a crude, less punny version of the "updog" joke, if that helps narrow down what I mean)
rdlw 1y ago
It's not a digraph, it's pronounced /gm/
AlexeyBelov 1y ago
Why are _all_ your comments in this post negative?

ajuc 1y ago

"Gmina" is correct. It's the lowest administrative unit in Poland. There's a few other words with "gm", like "gmerać" (to fiddle with sth), "gmin" (plebs, common people - same root word as gmina I'd imagine), "gmach" (a huge building, usually of some public institution). It's not a digraph tho, it's just pronounced as "g" and then "m"? I'm like 99% sure it's a German loanword. Most of city/administration/building language in Polish comes from German - dach (roof), szyba (glass pane), rynek (main market square), ratusz (city hall), burmistrz (city mayor), rynsztok (gutter), etc. All through middle ages Poland imported lots of germanic settlers and had them build whole new towns from scratch in Poland in exchange for tax breaks. There's a town called "Niemcy" (Germans/Mutes) like 10 km from where I live :), and there's a village called "Dys" nearby. What's the problem with using latin script for gm by the way?

MandieD 1y ago
As someone who speaks German but not Polish, “Gemeinde” was the first thing that came to mind seeing that “gmina” is a collection of rural villages, because that’s what the smallest incorporated settlements here are called (at least in Bavaria). Gemeinde -> Markt -> Stadt

MandieD 1y ago

Even Germany has Gmünd: Schwäbisch Gmünd, Georgensgmünd…

internet_points 1y ago

> get a different alphabet, already English has entered the chat

saghm 1y ago

English has fairly common words with "gm", just not at the beginning of words. Figma and enigma immediately spring to mind. I'd even argue that people say "Big Mac" roughly the same speed as the above words. Plus, there's even that meme word from a few years ago (like a crude, less punny version of the "updog" joke, if that helps narrow down what I mean)

rdlw 1y ago

It's not a digraph, it's pronounced /gm/

AlexeyBelov 1y ago

Why are _all_ your comments in this post negative?