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Ambulans displacing karetka

posts: 6

♂

Oct 7, 11, 08:40 #1

Is it true that the term 'ambulans' has replaced or is largely replacing 'karetka pogotowia'? Do people now say 'trzeba wezwać ambulans' or is it still 'trzeba wezwać pogotowie'?
In Poland these days one can see a vehicle with SNALUBMA wirtten across their front so motorists see AMBULANS in their rear-view mirrors. And yet in PRL, the most common use of ambulans was ambulans pocztowy (postal van).

a.k.	Oct 7, 11, 09:15 #2
'trzeba wezwać pogotowie'? this one. Is it true that the term 'ambulans' has replaced or is largely replacing 'karetka pogotowia'? No. Both are in use.

MagdalenaThreads: 5 Posts: 1,389 Joined: Aug 15, 07 ♀	Oct 7, 11, 11:37 #3
If anything, ambulans is more old-fashioned.

ZiemowitThreads: 10 Posts: 1,063 Joined: May 8, 09 ♂	Oct 7, 11, 11:45 #4
An ambulance is something bigger than karetka pogotowia. In the case of a heart attack, they would most propably send an ambulance (and it is highly possible that those have by now replaced all the karetki once in use which were rather small cars), but I wouldn't even care to work out the difference. They will be sending whatever will suit them, I shall simply be using the term "karetka".

Polonius3Threads: 1,005 Posts: 4,833 Joined: Apr 11, 08 ♂	Oct 7, 11, 21:51 #5
I thought it was to assimilate to international terminology. In TV news reports I have even seen Israeli ambulances which (besides their Hebew hen-scratching) have the backwards word AMBULANCE thereon.

♂

Oct 7, 11, 22:42 #6

I don't know about them young 'uns, but "wezwać pogotowie" sounds like what most people would say most of the time.

The main thing that's changed is what's written on them, which is probably intended for maximum comprhension (including non-Polish drivers). Even the dimmest monolingual anglophones should be able to understand AMBULANS (thought judging by some brits I've known I might have to amend that....).

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