Some things about the Polish naming structure are easy. For example, all women's names end in -a and all male names end in a consonant. Because just about everyone has a Catholic or traditional Slavic name, there aren't that many names overall. Most of them, even if they look or sound foreign at first, are going to have an English equivalent.
For example, if someone told you their name was pronounced like the English words "me how", what would that be? What if I told you it was written like this: Michał? Any guesses? It's the Polish version of Michael!
How about Mikołaj? That is the Polish version of Nickolas. Again, another dull name in English amplified to be much more fun in Polish! Maybe I just have a thing for the letter Ł (called "ow" but has a W sound).
How about this one: Dżesika. This is the modified Polish spelling of Jessica! Apparently, Jessica is though as a very posh name, presumably from people who first heard it abroad. According to a friend, it's a name that poor people will give to their kids to seem more well-off than they are. Maybe similar to calling your kid Diamond or Mercedes in the US?
Name days are important and are more likely to be celebrated than a person's actual birthday. Your name day is the birthday of the saint you were named after. Although people may give you gifts on your name day, it is customary for you to bring cake to share or buy other people drinks to help you celebrate. Aisha is an Arabic name, therefore I don't have a Polish name day, which is just fine with me- I don't want to buy drinks for a bar-full of acquaintances!
Although I red a lot about the formality of introductions before starting work (firm handshakes and titles are important, always address people as Pan/Pani [sir/ma'am], and do not use first names until you are invited to) I have found people to be much more casual in reality. First names, or often their diminutives, are used readily and almost immediately. And that is where my problems lie...
Every name has multiple versions (diminutives) and I don't know when it's appropriate for me to use them! For example, I work with a woman named Anna, but she most commonly is referred to as Ania and sometimes Aniu. Less common, but still valid versions are Anka, Anusia, Aneczka, Andzia, Anula, Anulka, or Anunia. I also work with a Stanisław, who most commonly goes by Staś or Staszek, however Stach, Stan, Stańko, Stasio, or Stasiek are also acceptable.
Clearly the purpose is not always to shorten the name, but I get the sense it's different than having nicknames or pet names since they can be used by acquaintances and coworkers. Some versions of names are reserved for children only, but I don't know which versions those are and I don't know at what age kids grow out of their childhood diminutives. From what I've gathered, the only rule is to not use the full name once you've moved to the diminutive stage with someone. I'm telling you, this is complicated and I don't want to mess it up!
I thought about going by the name Joanna for a while, since one of the diminutives is Asia (pronounced Asha), which sounds pretty similar to my name. Instead, I'm going by my name, but pronounced (I-sha). It's the same way my name was pronounced when I went to German school so it still feels like my real name.
I haven't had as much interaction with surnames (of course they say surname instead of last name) other than the fact that each surname takes up half a line of text! How about these monsters: Trzetrzelewska, Dzieduszycki, Siesztrzewitowski, Brzęczyszczykiewicz...oh my! Luckily I haven't had any obligation to try and pronounce these out loud to anyone.
Every last name derives from either the person's relations, occupation, or place of origin. For example, the common -ski suffix implies affiliation with something. So Warsawski means "of Warsaw". Simple enough, except many surnames will change based on gender so that the female versions end in -a. So if I were married to a Pan Warsawski, I would become Pani Warsawska. Luckily though, last names don't change so I don't have to worry about it beyond the initial introductions with someone.
Well, as far as I know I haven't made any major faux pas but please share any advice if you have it!
I don't have any name-related photos this week, but Cameron and I attempted homemade pierogis last weekend:
It starts with homemade dough, courtesy of Cameron's kneading skills.
The best dough cutter we could find was a champagne flute.
We filled them with mashed potatoes and cheddar.
Since they are so small you need to be fairly dexterous to press them by hand. In a lot of kitchen stores you can find pierogi presses to help with this step
Once folded, you crimp the edges with a fork.
The pile of uncooked dumplings.
Boil until they float...
...and then fry them to give them some texture.
While good on their own...
...they are much better when paired with fresh dill, crisped onions, homemade applesauce, and sour cream. Adding toppings is not very Polish but we're not very Polish people yet.
No comments:
Post a Comment