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{{Short description|Combination of Polish and English}} |
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'''Poglish''', '''Polglish''' |
'''Poglish''', also known as '''Polglish''' and '''Ponglish''' ([[Polish language|Polish]]: {{lang|pl|polglisz}}, ''język polgielski''; [[German language|German]]: {{lang|de|Ponglisch}}), is a [[portmanteau|blend of two words]] from [[Polish language|Polish]] and [[English language|English]]. It is the product of [[Macaronic language|macaronically]] mixing [[Polish language|Polish-]] and [[English language|English-language]] elements ([[morpheme]]s, [[word]]s, [[grammar|grammatical structure]]s, [[syntax|syntactic element]]s, [[idiom]]s, etc.) within a single [[Speech communication|speech]] production, or the use of "[[false friends]]" or of [[cognate]] words in senses that have diverged from those of the common [[etymological]] root. Such combining or confusion of Polish and English elements, when it occurs within a single [[word]], [[terminology|term]], or [[phrase]] (e.g., in a [[hybrid word]]), may, inadvertently or deliberately, produce a [[neologism]]. |
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Poglish is a common phenomenon among persons [[bilingual]] in Polish and English; and is a manifestation of a broader phenomenon, that of [[Language transfer#Examples|language interference]]. As with the mixing of other language pairs, the results of Poglish speech (oral or written) may sometimes be confusing, amusing, or embarrassing. |
Poglish is a common phenomenon among persons [[bilingual]] in Polish and English; and is a manifestation of a broader phenomenon, that of [[Language transfer#Examples|language interference]]. As with the mixing of other language pairs, the results of Poglish speech (oral or written) may sometimes be confusing, amusing, or embarrassing. |
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Several portmanteau words have been formed, blending the words "Polish" and "English". ''Polglish'' (from as early as 1975) was followed by ''Pinglish'' (1984), ''Polilish'' (1997), ''Ponglish'' (2002), and ''Poglish'' (2006).<ref>Lambert, James. 2018. A multitude of ‘lishes’: The nomenclature of hybridity. ''English World-wide'', 39(1): 29. DOI: 10.1075/eww.38.3.04lam</ref> |
Several portmanteau words have been formed, blending the words "Polish" and "English". ''Polglish'' (from as early as 1975) was followed by ''Pinglish'' (1984), ''Polilish'' (1997), ''Ponglish'' (2002), and ''Poglish'' (2006).<ref>Lambert, James. 2018. A multitude of ‘lishes’: The nomenclature of hybridity. ''English World-wide'', 39(1): 29. DOI: 10.1075/eww.38.3.04lam</ref> |
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An expression that has been used by some native Polish-speakers to denote the mixing of Polish- and English-language elements in oral or written speech is " |
An expression that has been used by some native Polish-speakers to denote the mixing of Polish- and English-language elements in oral or written speech is "half ''na pół''" ("half-and-half"). |
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==Mis-metaphrase== |
==Mis-metaphrase== |
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One of the two chief approaches to [[translation]], "[[metaphrase]]"{{mdash}} also referred to as "[[Dynamic and formal equivalence|formal equivalence]]", "[[literal translation]]", or "word-for-word translation"{{mdash}} must be used with great care especially in relation to [[idiom]]s.<ref>[[Christopher Kasparek]], "The Translator's Endless Toil," ''[[The Polish Review]]'', vol. XXVIII, no. 2, 1983, p. 87.</ref> [[Madeleine Masson]], in her biography of the [[Poland|Polish]] [[World War II]] [[Special Operations Executive|S.O.E.]] agent [[Krystyna Skarbek]], quotes her as speaking of |
One of the two chief approaches to [[translation]], "[[metaphrase]]"{{mdash}} also referred to as "[[Dynamic and formal equivalence|formal equivalence]]", "[[literal translation]]", or "word-for-word translation"{{mdash}} must be used with great care especially in relation to [[idiom]]s.<ref>[[Christopher Kasparek]], "The Translator's Endless Toil," ''[[The Polish Review]]'', vol. XXVIII, no. 2, 1983, p. 87.</ref> [[Madeleine Masson]], in her biography of the [[Poland|Polish]] [[World War II]] [[Special Operations Executive|S.O.E.]] agent [[Krystyna Skarbek]], quotes her as speaking of "lying '''''on''''' the sun" and astutely surmises that this is "possibly a direct [[translation]] from the Polish".<ref>Madeleine Masson, ''Christine: a Search for [[Christine Granville]]...'', London, Hamish Hamilton, 1975, p. 182.</ref> Indeed, the Polish [[idiom]] "''leżeć '''''na''''' słońcu''" ("to lie '''''on''''' the sun", that is, to [[sunbathe]]) is, if anything, only marginally less absurd than its [[English language|English]] [[Dynamic and formal equivalence|equivalent]], "to lie '''''in''''' the sun".<ref>[[Christopher Kasparek]], "Krystyna Skarbek...," ''[[The Polish Review]]'', vol. XLIX, no. 3, 2004, p. 950.</ref> |
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=="False friends"== |
=="False friends"== |
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Some erroneous [[lexeme|lexemic]] substitutions made by ''[[Polish diaspora|Polonia]]'' |
Some erroneous [[lexeme|lexemic]] substitutions made by ''[[Polish diaspora|Polonia]]'' – members of the [[Poland|Polish]] [[diaspora]] – are attributable not to mis-[[translation#Etymology|metaphrase]] but to confusion of similar-''appearing'' [[word]]s ([[false cognate]]s or "[[false friend]]s") which otherwise do not share, respectively, a common [[etymology]] or a common [[meaning (linguistic)|meaning]]. |
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Thus, some Poles living in [[English-speaking world|Anglophone]] countries, when speaking of "''cashing'' a check", will erroneously say "''kasować'' czek" ("to ''cancel'' a check") rather than the correct "''realizować'' czek" ("to ''cash'' a check"). |
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==Latin calques== |
==Latin calques== |
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A remarkably high proportion of Polish [[terminology|term]]s actually have precise [[Translation# |
A remarkably high proportion of Polish [[terminology|term]]s actually have precise [[Translation#Etymology|metaphrastic]] [[Dynamic and formal equivalence|equivalent]]s in English, traceable to the fact that both these [[Indo-European languages]] have been [[calque]]d, since the [[Middle Ages]], on the same [[Latin]] roots. |
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=="Chicago Polish"== |
=="Chicago Polish"== |
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Some [[Chicago Polonia|Polish expatriates in Chicago]] |
Some [[Chicago Polonia|Polish expatriates in Chicago]] – especially those who have lived there a long time – speak Poglish on a daily basis. A most common feature of their Poglish is the [[Polonization]] of English words. A Polonian attempting to speak this kind of Polish-English melange in Poland would have great difficulty making themself understood. |
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==In popular culture== |
==In popular culture== |
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[[Anthony Burgess]]' novel, ''[[A Clockwork Orange (novel)|A Clockwork Orange]]'', has been translated |
[[Anthony Burgess]]' novel, ''[[A Clockwork Orange (novel)|A Clockwork Orange]]'', has been translated into Polish by [[Robert Stiller]] in two versions: one rendered from the book's original English-Russian melange into a Polish-Russian melange as ''Mechaniczna pomarańcza, wersja R'' (A Mechanical Orange, version R); the other, into a Polish-English melange as ''Nakręcana pomarańcza, wersja A'' ["A" standing for the Polish word for "English"] (A Wind-Up Orange, version A). The latter Polish-English version makes a fairly convincing Poglish text. |
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[[BBC Look North (East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire)]] Television produced a report on Poglish in [[Boston, Lincolnshire]], which has a large Polish population. |
[[BBC Look North (East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire)]] Television produced a report on Poglish in [[Boston, Lincolnshire]], which has a large Polish population.<ref>{{cite news|title=Giving voice to Ponglish|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/7500077.stm|work=[[BBC News]]|date=2008-07-10}}</ref> |
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A large number of English-derived neologisms exist in Polish, |
A large number of English-derived neologisms exist in Polish, spoken especially by Poland's youth. Phonetically-read English words, such as "''szoping''" {{IPA|[ˈʂɔpiŋk]}} ("shopping"), tend to occur, and are seen as slang expressions. |
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==See also== |
==See also== |
Revision as of 17:37, 12 December 2023
Poglish, also known as Polglish and Ponglish (Polish: polglisz, język polgielski; German: Ponglisch), is a blend of two words from Polish and English. It is the product of macaronically mixing Polish- and English-language elements (morphemes, words, grammatical structures, syntactic elements, idioms, etc.) within a single speech production, or the use of "false friends" or of cognate words in senses that have diverged from those of the common etymological root. Such combining or confusion of Polish and English elements, when it occurs within a single word, term, or phrase (e.g., in a hybrid word), may, inadvertently or deliberately, produce a neologism.
Poglish is a common phenomenon among persons bilingual in Polish and English; and is a manifestation of a broader phenomenon, that of language interference. As with the mixing of other language pairs, the results of Poglish speech (oral or written) may sometimes be confusing, amusing, or embarrassing.
Several portmanteau words have been formed, blending the words "Polish" and "English". Polglish (from as early as 1975) was followed by Pinglish (1984), Polilish (1997), Ponglish (2002), and Poglish (2006).[1]
An expression that has been used by some native Polish-speakers to denote the mixing of Polish- and English-language elements in oral or written speech is "half na pół" ("half-and-half").
Mis-metaphrase
One of the two chief approaches to translation, "metaphrase"— also referred to as "formal equivalence", "literal translation", or "word-for-word translation"— must be used with great care especially in relation to idioms.[2] Madeleine Masson, in her biography of the Polish World War II S.O.E. agent Krystyna Skarbek, quotes her as speaking of "lying on the sun" and astutely surmises that this is "possibly a direct translation from the Polish".[3] Indeed, the Polish idiom "leżeć na słońcu" ("to lie on the sun", that is, to sunbathe) is, if anything, only marginally less absurd than its English equivalent, "to lie in the sun".[4]
"False friends"
Some erroneous lexemic substitutions made by Polonia – members of the Polish diaspora – are attributable not to mis-metaphrase but to confusion of similar-appearing words (false cognates or "false friends") which otherwise do not share, respectively, a common etymology or a common meaning.
Latin calques
A remarkably high proportion of Polish terms actually have precise metaphrastic equivalents in English, traceable to the fact that both these Indo-European languages have been calqued, since the Middle Ages, on the same Latin roots.
"Chicago Polish"
Some Polish expatriates in Chicago – especially those who have lived there a long time – speak Poglish on a daily basis. A most common feature of their Poglish is the Polonization of English words. A Polonian attempting to speak this kind of Polish-English melange in Poland would have great difficulty making themself understood.
In popular culture
Anthony Burgess' novel, A Clockwork Orange, has been translated into Polish by Robert Stiller in two versions: one rendered from the book's original English-Russian melange into a Polish-Russian melange as Mechaniczna pomarańcza, wersja R (A Mechanical Orange, version R); the other, into a Polish-English melange as Nakręcana pomarańcza, wersja A ["A" standing for the Polish word for "English"] (A Wind-Up Orange, version A). The latter Polish-English version makes a fairly convincing Poglish text.
BBC Look North (East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire) Television produced a report on Poglish in Boston, Lincolnshire, which has a large Polish population.[5]
A large number of English-derived neologisms exist in Polish, spoken especially by Poland's youth. Phonetically-read English words, such as "szoping" [ˈʂɔpiŋk] ("shopping"), tend to occur, and are seen as slang expressions.
See also
- Bilingualism
- Code-switching
- False friends
- Hybrid word
- Language contact
- Language interference
- Language transfer
- Mixed language
Notes
- ^ Lambert, James. 2018. A multitude of ‘lishes’: The nomenclature of hybridity. English World-wide, 39(1): 29. DOI: 10.1075/eww.38.3.04lam
- ^ Christopher Kasparek, "The Translator's Endless Toil," The Polish Review, vol. XXVIII, no. 2, 1983, p. 87.
- ^ Madeleine Masson, Christine: a Search for Christine Granville..., London, Hamish Hamilton, 1975, p. 182.
- ^ Christopher Kasparek, "Krystyna Skarbek...," The Polish Review, vol. XLIX, no. 3, 2004, p. 950.
- ^ "Giving voice to Ponglish". BBC News. 2008-07-10.
References
- Christopher Kasparek, "The Translator's Endless Toil," The Polish Review, vol. XXVIII, no. 2, 1983, pp. 83–87.
- Madeleine Masson, Christine: a Search for Christine Granville, G.M., O.B.E., Croix de Guerre, with a Foreword by Francis Cammaerts, D.S.O., Légion d'Honneur, Croix de Guerre, U.S. Medal of Freedom, London, Hamish Hamilton, 1975.
- Christopher Kasparek, "Krystyna Skarbek: Re-viewing Britain's Legendary Polish Agent," The Polish Review, vol. XLIX, no. 3, 2004, pp. 945–53.