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difficult English words for Polish speakers?


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hyypiaThreads: 3
Posts: 46
Joined: Feb 17, 07 		  Feb 17, 07, 22:22 /  #
my polish friends always misuse the word "teach" and "learn"
DagmaraThreads: 1
Posts: 39
Joined: Dec 14, 06 		  Feb 17, 07, 22:43 /  #
For me after 20 years of speaking English, I still once in a while have a problem with "o", "u" and "a" in words like:

map mop

hut hot hat
davidpeakeThreads: 18
Posts: 515
Joined: Nov 7, 06 		  Feb 28, 07, 04:16 /  #
sheep, ship, ****, sheet

she sells seas shells by the sea shore
BubbaWooThreads: 46
Posts: 4,438
Joined: Sep 26, 06 		  Feb 28, 07, 04:21 /  #
THEN and THAN

read this forum to see the confusion
szarlotkaThreads: 14
Posts: 3,340
Joined: Feb 20, 07 		  Feb 28, 07, 04:34 /  #
What about difficult English words for English speakers, like:

• Colour and color
• Centre and Center
• Tap and Fawcet
• Grey and gray

Two nations divided by a common language
Lee_EnglandThreads: 5
Posts: 80
Joined: Feb 28, 07 		  Feb 28, 07, 11:43 /  #
Quoting: Wroclaw
It would if it were correct.


Mate that's what I was taught in school. So if it's incorrect, someone wasn't doing their job properly!!
shewolfThreads: 5
Posts: 1,829
Joined: Dec 23, 06 		  Feb 28, 07, 12:21 /  #
Quoting: szarlotka
What about difficult English words for English speakers, like:

• Colour and color
• Centre and Center
• Tap and Fawcet
• Grey and gray


I've also noticed English speakers leave out "the" in certain sentences. Like "She's in hospital" instead of "she's in the hospital" or "I play piano" instead of "I play the piano".
HuegelThreads: 1
Posts: 333
Joined: Jul 26, 06 		Edited by: Huegel   Feb 28, 07, 13:04 /  #
oh god, the one that gets my goat and any other dairy animals in the vacinity at the time is the <insert expletive of choice here> could care less.

That means you COULD be more worried, annoyed, bothered about something. I could NOT care less however, means there is no single topic that interests you less than the one you are talking about. How hard is that?

Oh and coming in a close second is write me. Write me what? A letter? A poem? What? I demand to know, you have to tell me!! But if you just want to say write me, then PLEASE for the love of god and all things English, use the little word to. Write to me.
clunkshiftThreads: 4
Posts: 94
Joined: Feb 6, 07 		  Feb 28, 07, 14:48 /  #
Quoting: shewolf
I've also noticed English speakers leave out "the" in certain sentences. Like "She's in hospital" instead of "she's in the hospital" or "I play piano" instead of "I play the piano".


Seriously, this is deliberate because the answer is not specific: "in hospital" is a predicament, not a location. "I play piano" is a statement of fact about accomplishment - any piano will do. I do some proof reading of translations from Polish and constantly knock out "the" or change it to "a" as necessary.

More obscure is the southern English phrase "going (up) to town" - this means London - which is a city.

I don't know how Poles get on with this phrase - but it kills the French:
"the synthesizer is over there".
ella   Mar 9, 07, 20:37 /  #
Quoting: clunkshift
I don't know how Poles get on with this phrase - but it kills the French:
"the synthesizer is over there".


Maybe not as bad as u may think:
" de syntisajza is ova dee"
More difficult for me is to remember to pronounce "th" correctly, but I find out that "quick English" is making it better ,but it's not working with "three" !! (usually I pronounce it as "free" or "tree"- and what a pain).
BoglerThreads: -
Posts: 16
Joined: Mar 18, 07 		  Mar 19, 07, 04:40 /  #
More specifically , going "up town" refers to going to the "West End" of London
BubbaWooThreads: 46
Posts: 4,438
Joined: Sep 26, 06 		  Mar 19, 07, 05:06 /  #
Quoting: Huegel
That means you COULD be more worried, annoyed, bothered about something. I could NOT care less however, means there is no single topic that interests you less than the one you are talking about. How hard is that?


thank you for pointing that out H... it winds me up stink as well... and could you please explain the difference between THEN and THAN which seems to cause endless confusion...
ellaThreads: -
Posts: 56
Joined: Mar 10, 07 		  Mar 19, 07, 17:40 /  #
Quoting: BubbaWoo
thank you for pointing that out H... it winds me up stink as well... and could you please explain the difference between THEN and THAN which seems to cause endless confusion...


then = at that time: "...then we went to see..."

than = in comparison with: "..more than four...."


i'ts like in polish : "moze" and "morze" ,two different meaning
BubbaWooThreads: 46
Posts: 4,438
Joined: Sep 26, 06 		  Mar 19, 07, 17:42 /  #
thanks ella
Elabella   Jul 19, 07, 04:13 /  #
I find that my husband (from Poland) still finds it difficult to pronounciate the numbers "33 " even after being in an English speaking country for 24 years. His friends (who are Polish too) also find it hard to say "fifty" correctly. Oh well.
dannyboyThreads: 24
Posts: 298
Joined: Feb 15, 07 		  Jul 19, 07, 05:07 /  #
Words that my Polish Girlfriend finds difficult:

1. Let me get you a beer - you DESERVE it
2. Stop the bodybuilding, your physique is perfect
3. Here, have some money, I don't want it
4. Here, you have the remote control, lets watch Strongman/Boxing/Porno
5. Would you like me to strip?
6. I'm Sorry
7. It was my fault
8. You were right
9. Would you like your ice-creams?
10. Wanna play with my boobs for a while?
PawelThreads: 4
Posts: 145
Joined: Jan 5, 07 		  Jul 19, 07, 05:10 /  #
Quoting: dannyboy
Words that my Polish Girlfriend finds difficult


Man i have the same problem especially Number 5,10,3 and 4
How strange! I think its because there polish.
dannyboyThreads: 24
Posts: 298
Joined: Feb 15, 07 		  Jul 20, 07, 11:06 /  #
You are wise beyound your years my friend, wise indeed.
osiolThreads: 59
Posts: 4,714
Joined: Jul 25, 07 		  Jul 25, 07, 10:21 /  #
A workmate I'm helping to learn English picked up on Antidisestablishmentarianism amazingly quickly - in about an hour or so, and remembered it the next day. He said it was because I 'learned' him.
ola123   Jul 25, 07, 10:28 /  #
Ireland, Iceland, Island I spell all the same :(.
szarlotkaThreads: 14
Posts: 3,340
Joined: Feb 20, 07 		  Jul 25, 07, 10:28 /  #
Quoting: ola123
Ireland, Iceland, Island I spell all the same :(.


LOL - I bet every plane journey is an adventure then..... which country am I in?
confen   Aug 9, 07, 05:47 /  #
Quoting: ola123
Ireland, Iceland, Island I spell all the same :(.

No they are not pronounced in the same way, Ireland (in Southern British RP, ie no rhotic r) is pronounced with an intrusive /j/ rendering it /aijələnd/ with three syllables
AniolekThreads: 4
Posts: 28
Joined: Apr 11, 07 		  Aug 9, 07, 05:57 /  #
All the Polish people I know cannot pronounce "Squirrel"
glowaThreads: 1
Posts: 305
Joined: Apr 6, 06 		Edited by: glowa   Aug 9, 07, 06:22 /  #
Quoting: clunkshift
I don't know how Poles get on with this phrase - but it kills the French:
"the synthesizer is over there".

what kills the French is 'South Station'

3, 33 yeah, these numbers annoy me a lot, at the worst, i happened to spit when saying 3

333, the number of the... half-beast - make a Pole read that out loud :), will sound half-hellish
KrzysztofThreads: 2
Posts: 1,146
Joined: Jul 26, 07 		Edited by: Krzysztof   Aug 9, 07, 06:51 /  #
I can't understand why you need different prounouciation for "to produce" and "a produce" (and similar verb/noun pairs), it just makes less sense than Polish "h"/"ch" or "¿/rz"
glowaThreads: 1
Posts: 305
Joined: Apr 6, 06 		  Aug 9, 07, 06:52 /  #
what's 'a produce'?
szkotja2007Threads: 38
Posts: 2,543
Joined: Dec 29, 06 		  Aug 9, 07, 07:05 /  #
Quoting: glowa
'a produce'?

a product - don't think there is such a thing as a singular "produce"
KrzysztofThreads: 2
Posts: 1,146
Joined: Jul 26, 07 		  Aug 9, 07, 07:10 /  #
a produce is a term for agricultural products (vegetables, fruit, meat) - but it's rather used in English, not American
FISZThreads: 31
Posts: 2,607
Joined: Jun 14, 06 		  Aug 9, 07, 08:46 /  #
Quoting: Krzysztof
but it's rather used in English, not American

This is what we call veggies-fruits in America 'produce'. It's used every day in our grocery stores. We do have produce departments too ;)
MichalThreads: -
Posts: 2,408
Joined: Feb 27, 07 		  Aug 9, 07, 09:01 /  #
Quoting: szkotja2007
on't think there is such a thing as a singular "produce"

The produce is a collective noun. A country's produce is what a country produces.
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