What will the Polish give the UK?

I've been wondering, the UK is quite a multi-cultural place, not only from the people who live here, but also the language and food, amongst other things.

No doubt this is a legacy from the days when we had an empire. The British, as a nation adopt things from other nationalities, sometimes changing, or Anglicising them. An example might be a curry, but changed to chicken tikka masala, which is unknown in India, it's a purely British dish (allegedly).

So. Here's the question. With the influx of Poles to the UK, what do you think might be the legacy left here? Words? Food? Anything really.

The Brits are a bit like the Borg.... ;)

to paraphrase a American donut; ask not what Poles will live in UK, ask what UK would like to keep.

Hmmm, this isn't an entirely serious thread. As I guess we wont know for many years, until the word or thing has become a part of the national psyche, I'm just asking what do people think will end up here.

I personally quite like the swear word Kourvamuch! (sorry about the spelling) It "works" for me... so much so I've found myself using it in preference to F*ck sake! Or sometimes mixing it, without thinking about it so it comes out as F*cking Kourva!

:)

new words... new food... new driving techniques... style/fashion.

POLISH WOMEN

Ah! then things are looking very good ;)

indeed :)

For now it's about £6 bn in revenues. What will it be in the future, time will show.

Sorry, I don't understand this. Where's this £6 billion coming from? Am I going to see any of it? :)

You might expect to see one or two lines of sliced German sausage in supermarkets replaced with Polish ones.

As for effects on the language - most of the foreign additions to the English language have come from cultures we have tried to emulate (eg. American, French), places we conquered (India) or further back, people who invaded us (Norman French, Vikings). The Latin influences are a fairly typical thing across Europe, although we have a habit of using foreign words because we think they sound better, even if we can't pronounce them.

Most English people couldn't pronounce the word 'k****'. That would be an obvious swap for the Polish taking on the words 'sorry' and 'f***'.

Sorry, I got OTT here. £6 bn in taxes comes from all the immigrants, not from Poles only.

Businesses and the government will benefit from this-not us.

Regarding your original question I think the legacy the Polish influx will leave will be food-but mostly among those British people who like trying all kinds of food.

When you look at the size of the British Empire encompassing one quarter of the World at one time, it is surprising how very few foreign words have entered the English vocabulary, i.e. Indian words ect. When I watch M jak Milosc, a series produced in Poland, it is surprising how many English words are being mixed with Polish so it is more likely that Poland via American commercial ventures will pick up overseas habits not only foreign motor cars, Japaneses technology, English words (sorry, fair, break, sure the list is almost endless), McDonalds and Pizza Hut and all these new stupid t.v. series such as the Polish version of Blind Date and Who Wants to be a Millionaire? Polish culture leaves very little of itself in other cultures as the Poles learn from others and not vis versa, that is, us from them, so it is natural for the looser, culturally at least, for that to be Poland. Poland lacks a sense of strong national identity and always tries to emulate other countries.

i like these, having parts of other cultures introduced is very important if the UK is going to live together and not in separate divisions.


lol, i think we'll leave them alone after some of the things i've seen on youtube :)


Now there's something i really like, lol. However i don't think the government could say this officially :):)


while i appreciate all the tax paying immigrants i think we should minus the money for the illegals, of course i do not include Poles in this as they cannot be illegally in the UK.


spot on on the monetary side, the poles do however have more to offer than money.

Postie, The UK's cultural diversity predates the Empire; to see this, answer the question; who are the British?
From what I see, I think the Polish people have a rich Culture, in every sense of the word, and some of the benefits from that are bound to remain, but most of all; I think the effect of their hard-working reputation will endure:->

Yes, Polish people can be hard working when they want to be. They enjoy using their hands to make things but they are not really lovers of culture, opera and classical music and deep culture. They enjoy welding and riveting things together more than literature and deep philosophy.

usually involves money, lol :)

How can business and government benefit and not anyone else?

Money enters the top of the pyramid, & filters down, the top - Business & Government - always benefits [i]more[i] than anyone else

Do you mean the "deep culture" that Polish patriots were forced to practice in Russian mines in Siberia? You're damn right. Poles detest a culture that is that "deep".

Always! It is fun to watch them in the markets. The English and the Germans look at old books, magazines and war medals whilst the Poles look at screw drivers and the Polish lassies look at jeans, shirts and socks!


I am sure when it comes to culture, everybody can make a long list of Russian poets and writers. Try to name even one Pole!

ok, how 'bout kopernik, mickiewicz, chopin, just to name a few...

nothing to do with the uk but there are some...

Ever hear about Joseph Conrad?

Just the Noble prize winners in Literature:
Henryk Sienkiewicz, Władysław Reymont, Czesław Miłosz, Wisława Szymborska

That's 4 for a country with a population ranging from 30 to 39 million. Russians boast 5 with the population about 3.5 times larger. (I have not included Isaac Bashevis Singer, of Jewish background, who was born and educated in Poland. But I have included Pasternak who was also Jewish, living in the USSR and writing in Rssian.)

Yes, I have heard of him.

"deep culture", you are rude and ignorant. I'm not Polish but I'd like to weld and rivet you to a lump of concrete. And drop you into the ocean.

lol, good one

without them riveting things together , you would be enjoying your philosophy in a
tent..

Im not sure what point to this topic is, since we have had Polish communities in the UK for a very long time who intigrated and got on with life and in some ways I think the first lot of Polish that came probably had more to offer and they probably conserved their Polishness - its a different generation that are arriving now and are coming for a different reason....just my 2p worth.

40 procent vodka!c'mon guys this stuff that you drink in the uk a mere 37.5% is for children.you gotta get tougher !

As tough as those "deeply cultured" Russians?