Need some translation advice on a letter to my Polish girlfriend's father.

♂

Jun 28, 10, 15:56 #1

Hi all,

I plan to propose to my Polish girlfriend this year and as a mark of respect would like to send a mail to her dad first. I am learning Polish (slowly) and have had to rely heavily on various automated translators to create the letter. The problem is that they all see to interpret it differently. Can someone please tell me if there are any glaring problems with it? I am including the Polish and what it is supposed to say in English :) I should point out that her parents are keen for grandchildren - I'm not jumping the gun with my final comment ;)

Thanks in advance!

Szanowny Panie,

Przepraszam, jeśli mój list jest zbyt nieformalny lub nieścisły, ale jeszcze nie mówię (ani piszę) dobrze po polsku i nie rozumiem etykiety dobrze.

Krótko mówiąc, chciałbym prosić o rękę pana córkę. Pan pozwolenie jest dla mnie ważne.

Ona nie wie, że pytam bo chciałbym to być niespodzianka, ale ona jasno wyraziła zainteresowanie.

Jeśli pan zgadza się, planuję prosić w grudniu. Mam prosić teraz tak, że mogę rozpocząć do poszukiwania a odpowiednia pierścieniowa.

Wiem, że nie jestem Polakiem i trudno jest nam rozmawiać ale nadal Ja będzie uczyć się polskiego i swoją przyszłość wnuki będą uczyć się również.

Z szacunkiem,

Dear Sir,

I apologize if my letter is too informal or imprecise, but I still do not speak (nor write) fluent Polish and do not understand the etiquette well.

In short, I would like to ask for your daughter's hand. Your permission is important to me.

She does not know that I'm asking because I want it to be a surprise, but she has made her interest clear.

If you agree, I plan to ask in December. I ask you now so that I can begin to look for a suitable ring.

I know that I am not Polish, and it is difficult for us to communicate but I will continue to learn Polish, and your future grandchildren will learn as well.

Respectfully,

♂

Jun 28, 10, 16:24 #2

gotb34:

Ona nie wie, że pytam bo chciałbym żeby to była niespodzianka, ale jasno wyraziła zainteresowanie.

gotb34:

Jeśli pan zgadza się, planuję prosić w grudniu. Mam prosić teraz tak, że mogę rozpocząć do poszukiwania a odpowiednia pierścieniowa.

Za pańską zgodą. Planuję poprosić o rękę w grudniu. Pytam teraz, bo chciałbym zacząć poszukiwanie pierścionka zaręczynowego.

Wiem, nie jestem Polakiem i trudno jest nam rozmawiać ale nadal będę uczyć się polskiego i pańskie przyszłe wnuki będą się go uczyć również.

Don't forget (I you she he) aren't necessary.

na 4+ :)

gotb34Threads: 1 Posts: 4 Joined: Jun 28, 10 ♂	Jun 28, 10, 16:38 #3
Thanks a lot! I expected my attempt to be more of a disaster :)

terriThreads: 1 Posts: 385 Joined: May 3, 09 ♀	Jun 28, 10, 19:37 #4
Let us know how it goes....we're keeping our fingers crossed for you.

♂

Edited by: enkidu Jun 28, 10, 19:49 #5

I wouldn't change a word!
Of course - your letter is written in a rough Polish and consists some mistakes, but on the other hand is completely understandable. It shows how hard are you trying to learn this difficult language and shows your deepest respect and commitment that way.
Personally - I think this is touching. And I think that your future in-law would appreciate that.
You may lose this touch of authenticity if you would try to polish (no pun intended) it too much.

BTW - Pan (when addressing someone) shall be always written with the capital P.
Ja (when referring to yourself) on the other hand - "ja"

Good luck, mate!

(yep - I am native Polish speaker)

shushThreads: 5 Posts: 552 Joined: Dec 20, 09 ♀	Jun 28, 10, 19:53 #6
I agree with enkidu - i would leave ur letter as you wrote it without correcting mistakes.

♂

Edited by: skysoulmate Jun 28, 10, 20:05 #7

enkidu:

I wouldn't change a word!
Of course - your letter is written in a rough Polish and consists some mistakes, but on the other hand is completely understandable. It shows how hard are you trying to learn this difficult language and shows your deepest respect and commitment that way.
Personally - I think this is touching. And I think that your future in-law would appreciate that.
You may lose this touch of authenticity if you would try to polish (no pun intended) it too much.

BTW - Pan (when addressing someone) shall be always written with the capital P.
Ja (when referring to yourself) on the other hand - "ja"

Good luck, mate!

(yep - I am native Polish speaker)

I too agree with enkidu. Don't be perfect just try to be respectful and that's what your letter shows.

Something else. It's perfectly ok to combine your own traditions with the Polish traditions. Personally my letter would start with "Szanowni Rodzice ... (Agnieszki, Małgosi, etc.)" - "Dear Parents of Agnieszka, Małgosia, etc."

It might be an old Polish tradition to ask the father for his daughter's hand and I love traditions but I also like to elevate the mother's role in the process. Just my take on it...

Good luck to you and hope for some happy news soon! :)

terriThreads: 1 Posts: 385 Joined: May 3, 09 ♀	Jun 28, 10, 22:22 #8
We'll have him married and with children before he's even had a chance to ask the girl...

♂

Jun 29, 10, 09:54 #9

Thanks a lot for your input everyone :) I think I'll take your advice and stick with the original version - I'm not concerned about making mistakes as long as the message is comprehensible.

One other question - I haven't met her parents yet but will be doing so in a couple of months (September). Should I delay the letter until after I meet them? We're planning a nice tropical holiday around Christmas so I'd like to propose then...

enkiduThreads: 18 Posts: 983 Joined: Sep 23, 08 ♂	Jun 29, 10, 13:46 #10
gotb34: One other question - I haven't met her parents yet but will be doing so in a couple of months (September). Should I delay the letter until after I meet them? We're planning a nice tropical holiday around Christmas so I'd like to propose then.. I think that you should send this letter in advance in order to give your future family to get used to this idea.

gotb34Threads: 1 Posts: 4 Joined: Jun 28, 10 ♂	Jun 30, 10, 09:36 #11
Thanks enkidu. I'm wondering if this is a general consensus - I'm very wary of doing something 'wrong' :)

gotb34Threads: 1 Posts: 4 Joined: Jun 28, 10 ♂	Jun 30, 10, 23:08 #12
Update: Approval granted ;D

pgtxThreads: 49 Posts: 6,327 Joined: Feb 14, 09 MEMBER ♀	Jun 30, 10, 23:09 #13
gotb34: Update: Approval granted ;D Yay! Congrats!

123zThreads: 2 Posts: 38 Joined: May 2, 11 ♀	May 4, 11, 13:25 #14
This is one of the sweetest, most heartfelt and honest i read here. You seem to be a good and honest guy, your girl is so lucky she have a man like you. Good luck in the relationship.

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