How bad was it? '' a 'luxury' apartment with electricity and heating"

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Aug 16, 11, 13:52 #1

I began studying Polish in the States in 1997. This was at a large university and the textbook we used had some remarkable dialogues in it. Frequently we read about the life of Pan Orlowski, the director of a company in Warsaw. Pan Orlowski had a 'luxury' apartment with electricity and a heating. What kind of impression could a person get of Poland upon reading something like that? Was it really that bad in the 70s and 80s when that textbook may have been written? I lived in Poland from 1999 through 2007 and can't say that I saw anything quite that drastic. That being said, when I bought an old apartment in the city center, I had to heat it with the fireplace because there was no heat. That's kominek and not piec.

pawianThreads: 90 Posts: 5,415 Joined: May 30, 08 ♂	Aug 16, 11, 14:03 #2
Was it really that bad in the 70s and 80s when that textbook may have been written? Blocks of flats with central heating, electricity, hot and cold water and flushed toilets were already built in 1950s. The text which put stress on such things was weird, indeed.

Zman	Aug 16, 11, 14:05 #3
It was hardly weird, it just aimed at teaching you vocabulary, that's all.

pawianThreads: 90 Posts: 5,415 Joined: May 30, 08 ♂	Aug 16, 11, 14:08 #4
It was hardly weird, it just aimed at teaching you vocabulary, that's all. Come on, there are other ways of teaching vocabulary. I have worked with about 40 English textbooks so far and none had a text about Mr Smith who lives in a luxury apartment with electricity and heating. Electricity is mentioned and even stressed in the text about Queen Mary`s Doll House and such.

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Aug 16, 11, 14:12 #5

The text which put stress on such things was weird, indeed.

Definitely weird - I wonder if it was adapted from a Russian textbook?

I know the USSR had huge problems with housing at one point. I was reading one maniacal story about how a new block caretaker refused to hook the lift up to the electricity until everyone had moved in - just because they might damage the lift with furniture!

Was it really that bad in the 70s and 80s when that textbook may have been written?

No, quite the opposite - in Poznan, Rataje and Piatkowo were both built during those times. In fact, the 80's saw quite a lot of construction despite the dire economic situation.

Monia

Aug 16, 11, 14:47 #6

This was at a large university and the textbook we used had some remarkable dialogues in it. Frequently we read about the life of Pan Orlowski, the director of a company in Warsaw. Pan Orlowski had a 'luxury' apartment with electricity and a heating.

It was odd . If they want to teach a Polish language and give a degree , they should first obtain for their library the appropriate manuals. I do not know, which year this book is from , but the electricity, heating or running water in Warsaw were available and were not any kind of luxury. Perhaps with the exception of the post-war period , when the city was being rebuilt.

Warsaw was in ruins after the war and the reconstruction of the city started after the war . The newly established apartment buildings were equiped with electricity, water and heating.

It is a scandal that you learned about the city life which was not existent at the time you were studiing .

patrickThreads: 9 Posts: 120 Joined: Aug 3, 11 ♂	Aug 16, 11, 15:09 #7
That textbook was published in 1983 and can still be bought new on Amazon for $35. I applaud the author of the book for getting a textbook out there when there probably weren't too many, but man what kind of image is he sending about Poland?

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Edited by: Marynka11 Aug 16, 11, 15:24 #8

That textbook was published in 1983 and can still be bought new on Amazon for $35.

I've taken some Swedish classes in the 90ties. We've used a book that was reprinted in the early 90ties as well. We've learned that Mr. Angstrom has a black-and-white TV set, and Mrs. Svenson has a color TV set. So my point is, it's always good to look at the original publishing date. I can image US doesn't have a big market for Polish learners so the textbooks might be just old, and the selection might not be that great.

Monia	Aug 16, 11, 16:17 #9
I applaud the author of the book for getting a textbook out there Maybe you should make a comment at the Amazon site about such moronic information contained in that book ,I think you should .

JonnyMThreads: 16 Posts: 4,487 Joined: Mar 9, 11 ♂	Aug 16, 11, 16:36 #10
Maybe you should make a comment at the Amazon site about such moronic information contained in that book ,I think you should . I remember a Polish language textbook from the PRL years with the phrase "What lovely brown polyester"!

patrickThreads: 9 Posts: 120 Joined: Aug 3, 11 ♂	Aug 16, 11, 18:56 #11
Maybe you should make a comment at the Amazon site about such moronic information contained in that book ,I think you should . There are plenty of books out there with moronic information, but I really doubt that Amazon is going to start yanking them just because.

Monia	Aug 16, 11, 20:37 #12
that Amazon is going to start yanking them just because. Yes I realise that, but the reason for that is to inform people about its contents .

grubasThreads: 20 Posts: 1,452 Joined: Feb 1, 10 ♂	Aug 16, 11, 20:40 #13
What' the title of mentioned textbook?

patrickThreads: 9 Posts: 120 Joined: Aug 3, 11 ♂	Edited by: patrick Aug 16, 11, 20:43 #14
but the reason for that is to inform people about its contents . And what would Amazon write about Mein Kampf, which is not only on Amazon, but it's free for the Kindle? The title of the book is First Year Polish.

grubasThreads: 20 Posts: 1,452 Joined: Feb 1, 10 ♂	Aug 16, 11, 20:53 #15
The author Oscar E. Swan seem not to be Polish so maybe electricity and heating seem luxurious to him?

patrickThreads: 9 Posts: 120 Joined: Aug 3, 11 ♂	Aug 16, 11, 21:03 #16
The book is a real classic. The pictures, cartoons and dialogues are surreal.

grubasThreads: 20 Posts: 1,452 Joined: Feb 1, 10 ♂	Edited by: grubas Aug 16, 11, 21:09 #17
That being said, when I bought an old apartment in the city center, I had to heat it with the fireplace because there was no heat. I am surprised you had kominek there but you didn't have piec kaflowy???Very,very strange.

grubasThreads: 20 Posts: 1,452 Joined: Feb 1, 10 ♂	Aug 16, 11, 21:34 #18
The author is not a Polish,that's for sure.The introduction to this textbook is avaliable online,I looked it up and the language used there does not sound natural to me e.g Spotkali się i przywitali się,you don't use się twice in a sentence like this Spotkali się i przywitali is enough.

patrickThreads: 9 Posts: 120 Joined: Aug 3, 11 ♂	Aug 16, 11, 21:44 #19
I am surprised you had kominek there but you didn't have piec kaflowy???Very,very strange. I suppose they took out the piec and put in a fireplace for a summer project, and then realized in winter that it wasn't such a god idea.

grubasThreads: 20 Posts: 1,452 Joined: Feb 1, 10 ♂	Aug 16, 11, 21:51 #20
I suppose they took out the piec and put in a fireplace for a summer project, and then realized in winter that it wasn't such a god idea. Most likely you are right.

SzwedwPolsceThreads: 13 Posts: 1,915 Joined: Feb 21, 09 ♂	Aug 16, 11, 21:51 #21
hat textbook was published in 1983 and can still be bought new on Amazon for $35. I applaud the author of the book for getting a textbook out there when there probably weren't too many, but man what kind of image is he sending about Poland? Now there are quite a lot of Polish textbooks for English-speakers.

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