Learn about formal Polish
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Intro |
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| Michael: How does formal Polish work? |
| Igor: And when is it used? |
| Michael: At PolishPod101.com, we hear these questions often. Imagine the following situation: Damian Dąbrowski, a high-school student, meets the mother of his neighbor friend, Karen Lee. He says, "Mrs. Lee, how are you?" |
| Damian Dąbrowski: Jak się Pani ma? |
| Dialogue |
| Damian Dąbrowski: Jak się Pani ma? |
| Karen Lee: Dobrze, dziękuję. A ty? |
| Michael: Once more with the English translation. |
| Damian Dąbrowski: Jak się Pani ma? |
| Michael: "Mrs. Lee, how are you?" |
| Karen Lee: Dobrze, dziękuję. A ty? |
| Michael: "Fine, thanks. And you?" |
Lesson focus |
| Michael: In this lesson, we will be looking at how formal Polish works. Compared to English, Polish is quite formal and, although it is slowly becoming less so, it is still important to know how to use formal language so you don't offend anyone by mistake! |
| If you are in a casual, informal situation, perhaps with friends, family, or people of the same age, usually it will not be necessary to use formal Polish. One uses formal language when talking to people who are older than you, or who have seniority or authority over you. For instance, when you are talking to your boss or to a stranger, these are both formal situations and you would use the appropriate Polish. The dialogue for this lesson contains some formal Polish. I hope you noticed. |
| [Recall 1] |
| Michael: Let's take a closer look at the dialogue. Do you remember how Damian Dabrowski says, "Mrs. Lee, how are you?" |
| Igor: Jak się Pani ma? |
| Michael: In this situation, Damian is talking to the mother of a befriended neighbor. Because she is older and also because she is the mother of his friend, he must address her formally. This is why he uses the word: |
| Igor: Pani |
| Michael: which translates to "Mrs." or "madam" in English. If Damian were talking to an older man or to a man in a position of authority or seniority over him, he would use the formal word: |
| Igor: Pan. |
| Michael: This word means "sir" in English. The greeting would then sound like this: |
| Igor: Jak się Pan ma? |
| Michael: If addressing more than one person, while using formal language, one should use the word |
| Igor: Państwo |
| Michael: if you are talking to more than one person, and the group is of mixed gender. This could be, for example, used if talking to a married couple, |
| Igor: Jak mogę Państwu pomóc? |
| Michael: meaning "How can I help you?" If it's a group of only men, one should address them by saying, |
| Igor: Panowie |
| Michael: meaning "misters," such as in |
| Igor: drodzy Panowie.. |
| Michael: literally "dear misters," and if it's a group consisting only of women, the right word to use is |
| Igor: Panie, |
| Michael: meaning "madams," as in |
| Igor: drogie Panie |
| Michael: meaning "dear madams." A very common way to address mixed groups, for example in formal speeches, is |
| Igor: drogie Panie, drodzy Panowie |
| Michael: which can be translated as "dear ladies and gentlemen." |
| However, there is also one additional word one can use to formally address a young, unmarried woman. It is the equivalent of "miss" in English and it sounds like this: |
| Igor: Panna |
| Michael: You might hear it or read it somewhere, but we don't recommend you use it. These days, people in Poland don't really use it anymore and it might make you sound old-fashioned. Sometimes, it's even said in a mocking way so it's best to avoid its use. |
| [Recall 2] |
| Michael: Now, let's take a look at our second sentence. Do you remember how Karen Lee says, "Fine, thanks. And you?" |
| Igor: Dobrze, dziękuję. A ty? |
| Michael: Did you notice how Karen didn't use the Polish word for "sir"? If you recall, it sounds like this: |
| Igor: Pan |
| Michael: Instead, she just used the informal word for "you," which is this: |
| Igor: Ty |
| Michael: This is because Damian is younger than her and she doesn't need to use formal pronouns with him. In fact, it would be weird if she did! |
| [Summary] |
| Michael: In this lesson, we discussed which pronouns to use when talking to people in formal situations. We talked about the use of the Polish word for "sir" |
| Igor: Pan |
| Michael: And we talked about the Polish word for "madam" |
| Igor: Pani |
| Michael: These are both examples of formal Polish pronouns. We also looked at the informal word for "you," which sounds like this: |
| Igor: Ty |
| Michael: Let's consider another example using these words. If you meet an older person and want to ask "Where do you live?," it would be rude to ask them like this: |
| Igor: Gdzie mieszkasz? |
| Michael: Why? Well, this question is impolite, since it indicates the usage of the personal pronoun, |
| Igor: Ty. |
| Michael: Instead of using that informal pronoun, if the person were an older woman, you would ask: |
| Igor: Gdzie Pani mieszka? |
| Michael: And if they were an older man, you would ask: |
| Igor: Gdzie Pan mieszka? |
| Michael: As you can see, it's not terribly difficult to remember, but it is very important! |
| Expansion/Contrast (Optional) |
| Michael: When using Polish formal language, you should also consider the words that you choose. |
| There are words that shouldn't be used in formal settings—for instance, slang words. Polish people might get offended if you use word |
| Igor: wypas |
| Michael: meaning "super." Also, greeting someone using informal greetings such as |
| Igor: cześć |
| Michael: meaning "hi" is very out of place when using formal language. |
| If addressing someone who is considered of a high social status, even pan and pani might not be enough. In this case, it's very common to add the word |
| Igor: szanowny |
| Michael: meaning "respected" and add the occupation. This is especially true for formal emails and letters, especially in an academic environment. So, if you are writing an email to your academic instructor, you will write: |
| Igor: Szanowny Panie Profesorze |
| Michael: When using spoken language, you will not need to add "respected," but the rule about keeping the job title remains when addressing people with highly esteemed jobs or holding certain titles. So when talking to a medical doctor, you will address them saying |
| Igor: Panie Doktorze |
| Michael: which can literally be translated as "Mr. Doctor." When addressing someone this way, you will use the vocative case. This is why |
| Igor: Pan |
| Michael: needs to be declined in the vocative case, and takes the form |
| Igor: Panie |
| Michael: Some jobs and titles that will require you to use this specific way of address are president |
| Igor: Prezydent |
| Michael: chairman |
| Igor: Prezes |
| Michael: Professor or PhD |
| Igor: Profesor, doktor |
| Michael: or a journalist, who will typically be addressed as |
| Igor: Pan Redaktor |
| Michael: or, if we are addressing a female journalist, |
| Igor: Pani Redaktor |
| Michael: literally meaning Mr. or Mrs. Editor. |
| Cultural Insight/Expansion (Optional) |
| Michael: It is quite important to note that certain greetings in English, which might be almost rhetorical, are not this way in Polish. For instance, in English, if we asked, "How is it going?," we would not expect a detailed response from the other person. This kind of question, just like the question "How are you?," is treated more like a formality than an actual inquiry about the person's well-being. It's different in Poland because, in Polish, if you ask, "How is it going?" |
| Igor: Co słychać? |
| Michael: it is possible that you will get quite a lengthy response! You might also be expected to continue the conversation with more specific questions based on the information they have just given you. In other words, when you ask someone how they are in Polish, they are likely to take the question literally and answer you in detail! |
Outro |
| Michael: Do you have any more questions? We're here to answer them! |
| Igor: Do zobaczenia! |
| Michael: See you soon! |
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