I speak Polish, and What's Your Super Power?

Hey everyone 👋. Did you ever hear or see that funny slogan anywhere? For those who didn't - it's referring to the fact that Polish is recognized as one of the hardest languages on Earth, and learning it can really drive you crazy. Of course, as a native speaker I may not be fully objective, and so I don't fully agree with that statement. But I like our 'Polish superpower' joke 😉. And as always ... every joke keeps a grain of truth in it.

Understanding Culture Through the Meaning of Words.

According to OxfordWords Blog source Polish 🇵🇱 "is a West Slavic language, sharing a high degree of similarity and mutual intelligibility with Czech and Slovak, but using a less transparent spelling system which relies heavily on diacritics."

However clearly and logically it may sound or not, the truth is that Polish could be confusing! And indeed, not so easy to learn. But no worries. I'm not going to start teaching you my language here on Steemit. Just wanted to show you a bit of its funny side. This time, following a few examples based on the English word 'friend' - contrary what you could expect from a Polish speaking person.

Ready? Let's begin.

Will Friends Be Always Your Friends? Linguistics Ambiguity in Polish.

(Friends Avenue, Warsaw)

Polish people do not really use the term "friend" (przyjaciel) as loosely as it is done in English. 'Przyjaciel' for us is reserved for friends of let's call it a 'long-standing' relationship. So it would rather describe a close friend and the very special person. But still not necessarily the best one, as we also have a word for that, adding a superlative as 'najlepszy'. All in all, 'przyjaciel' itself would be dedicated to somebody you know for quite a long. So a person you really care about, trust and easily could share your secrets with.

But if you are not a 'friend' - then what?

Quite often, instead, we use some other words, still belonging to a 'friendship' related category. Each, with a dedicated meaning in it. More generalized or precise, and somewhat function-specific terms. Usually referring to 'a relationship on a certain level', like for example: "znajomy", "kumpel", "kolega" etc. All describing 'someone we know', which, however, depending on the context, could get an extra specifier. Kind of a background, like: business vs. casual, past or present, purely private-level, or/-and even the sexual one. Here I dare to say that "znajomy", optionally translated as (eng.) 'acquaintance' , would stand as the lowest in the hierarchy. Describing just somebody familiar. Thus, a person we knew or know, up to some point.

On the other hand, "kumpel" and "kolega" could cover the whole meaning of what English describes as 'friends'. Simply starting from 'those we know' or have something in common, like coworkers and colleagues - through pals, and buddies, ending with 'some kind of 'friends' too.

As you can see there are many different 'levels' of friendship labels in Polish. But sure, once you are called 'przyjaciel', you should feel honoured, and truly important. 😊

Hope you enjoyed this topic. Wish you meet many great people on your way. Some of which you could call your real friends.

And, for those whose langue is not originally English, how does it look in your country? Do you also distinguish between various stages of friendship? Happy to hear back from you, dear Steemians. Cheers! 💖