Italian + Polish with comprehensible input

[cjareck]

Nie było wcale mi trudno. (Not sure if that's right, it popped into my mind as soon as I wrote the English sentence).

It isn't incorrect, it even doesn't sound weird, but I do not think that a native speaker would use it. I asked my wife (my advisor in most language-related cases), and she immediately said what I also had in mind Nie było to wcale trudne. You may also use "ciężkie" (heavy) in this case. That word means difficult or heavy depending on context.

hedgehog.chess already explained most o what I was going to say about the book. I would like only to add that the language may be little old, but children read it in primary school and understand it. Sienkiewicz was writing in the times when there was no Poland. He created some unforgettable books describing Polish golden era (or rather silver) - 17th century - Trylogia with Ogniem i mieczem, Potop and Pan Wołodyjowski. Many young people were reading them, and when the time has come they volunteered to fight for Polish independence during and after the First World War. That was Sienkiewicz's goal, and that is why his works are so important in Polish history.
Sorry for this lecture on the topic, but History is not only my work but also my love Just behind my wife and children of course.

[StringerBell]

As a source of out of copyright Polish books and audiobooks you could try wolnelektury.pl. From what I've seen there are even translations of books like The Adventures of Tom Sawyer or The Jungle Book with audio.

And I’ve just remembered that there is also some stuff in reineke's thread Polish resources if you haven’t checked it already. It’s the second time I’ve forgotten about it so I better put it in my signature

Thank you for those suggestions, I will definitely pursue them!

It isn't incorrect, it even doesn't sound weird, but I do not think that a native speaker would use it. I asked my wife (my advisor in most language-related cases), and she immediately said what I also had in mind Nie było to wcale trudne. You may also use "ciężkie" (heavy) in this case. That word means difficult or heavy depending on context.

Thank you! I was hoping that if it came out weird you would let me know. At least I didn't come up with total nonsense.

hedgehog.chess already explained most o what I was going to say about the book. I would like only to add that the language may be little old, but children read it in primary school and understand it. Sienkiewicz was writing in the times when there was no Poland. He created some unforgettable books describing Polish golden era (or rather silver) - 17th century - Trylogia with Ogniem i mieczem, Potop and Pan Wołodyjowski. Many young people were reading them, and when the time has come they volunteered to fight for Polish independence during and after the First World War. That was Sienkiewicz's goal, and that is why his works are so important in Polish history.
Sorry for this lecture on the topic, but History is not only my work but also my love Just behind my wife and children of course.

This is really interesting; I didn't know that about Sienkiewicz. I think I will give this book a try and hopefully not get stymied by the antiquated language. I'll just keep reminding myself that if Polish schoolchildren can understand it, then I would like to be able to deal with it, too!

[cjareck]

I think I will give this book a try and hopefully not get stymied by the antiquated language. I'll just keep reminding myself that if Polish schoolchildren can understand it, then I would like to be able to deal with it, too!

I am sure you can handle it. If you encounter something complicated, just ask!
You may also try Alfred Szklarski's books. "Złoto Gór Czarnych" was the first book I read myself. I was eight years then, and I did not understand everything but enjoyed reading a lot. The books about Tomek Wilmowski (I read some of them) are very good and similar to the W pustyni i w puszczy, but their language is surely more modern.

[reineke]

Andersen>W pustyni i w puszczy > Quo Vadis>Ogniem i Mieczem

Ogniem i Mieczem is on high school reading lists.
W pustyni i w puszczy is a children's book.

W której klasie jest lektura ogniem i mieczem?

"W drugiej gimnażjum na 100 % "

"Ja jestem w 6kl. i pani powiedziała, że możemy to przeczytać jako dodatkowa książka (żeby poprawić ocenę). Ale w 6kl. nie jest obowiązkowa"

Stephen King is a good choice too.

[hedgehog.chess]

This log is quickly becoming THE log for learners of Polish, so I think it will be ok for me to repost my answer to StringerBell from my log to avoid doubling recommendations.

I've enjoyed reading through your log. I'm hoping that since your native language is Polish, you might be able to give me some suggestions. As I was reading through the types of children's/young adult books you've started with, I was thinking, "that's what I should be reading in Polish!" but I'm not sure where to start. Would you be willing to suggest some titles?

It’s been a while since I last read a children’s book:) But from the top of my head: Jan Brzechwa might be the author for you. His rhymes are absolutely fantastic, and we are having a blast with my daughter while reading them. ”Akademia pana Kleksa” by the same author is a strange book but it was an essential reading at my primary school. Julian Tuwim also springs to mind when the rhymes are concerned. And his “Lokomotywa” is world-class.
Translations of Astrid Lindgrens books should also do.
As for the YA literature: Edmund Niziurski, Zbigniew Nienacki, Adam Bahdaj are the authors I read a lot, and I mean a lot. The problem could be their works are from the 50s-60s so some of the vocabulary is out of use now. No one will tell you that something is “morowe” but “cool,super, fajne”.
The whole “Tomek w…” series by Alfred Szklarski was also interesting.
Something more girly you say… Ok, how about the whole “Jeżycjada” series(more than 20 books) by Małgorzata Musierowicz. My wife has them all Plus side-the last book was published last year I think so they are more up to date when it goes to vocab. Minuses-flowery language, it can be hard for a non-native speaker to get the jokes, and there are a lot of them. The first volume in the series “Hihopter” is meant for younger publicity, maybe you could try it to see if the style fits you. Oh, and there’s also “Karolcia” by Maria Krüger.

[cjareck]

It’s been a while since I last read a children’s book:) But from the top of my head: Jan Brzechwa might be the author for you. His rhymes are absolutely fantastic, and we are having a blast with my daughter while reading them. ”Akademia pana Kleksa” by the same author is a strange book but it was an essential reading at my primary school. Julian Tuwim also springs to mind when the rhymes are concerned. And his “Lokomotywa” is world-class.

I totally agree with the above! I would only add that one has to read "Locomotywa" according to the text - the beginning is very slow, but the end is really fast. Like here

As for the YA literature: Edmund Niziurski, Zbigniew Nienacki, Adam Bahdaj are the authors I read a lot, and I mean a lot. The problem could be their works are from the 50s-60s so some of the vocabulary is out of use now. No one will tell you that something is “morowe” but “cool,super, fajne”.

I read at least one book by Nienacki from the "Pan Samochodzik" series. It was awesome. I classmate of my oldest daughter reads them now (12 years old).

The whole “Tomek w…” series by Alfred Szklarski was also interesting.

As I stated above, these are excellent books. I read them when my computer was in repair Along with translations of Karl May.

[quote="hedgehog.chess"]
Something more girly you say… Ok, how about the whole “Jeżycjada” series(more than 20 books) by Małgorzata Musierowicz. My wife has them all /quote]
My wife has only one or two of them, but she read them all and was laughing a lot during this process. The action of at least one book is in my Toruń. And I must say that all the places there are real.

[Mooby]

This is really interesting; I didn't know that about Sienkiewicz. I think I will give this book a try and hopefully not get stymied by the antiquated language. I'll just keep reminding myself that if Polish schoolchildren can understand it, then I would like to be able to deal with it, too!

If you find yourself getting bogged down in antiquated language, feel like a break and don't mind reading non-Polish authors, I'd highly recommend the Polish editions of Le Petit Nicholas by Goscinny and Sempé. I started with "Nowe Przygody Mikołajka" which contains 80 stories over 624 pages. The language is accessible and many of the stories are hilarious.

[cjareck]

I'd highly recommend the Polish editions of Le Petit Nicholas by Goscinny and Sempé.

If you wish to read something funny, I also recommend this. My oldest daughter had to read some stories from this series at school when she was in fourth grade, I think. The whole family enjoyed it!

[StringerBell]

Wow, so many people to thank!

Thank you, Reineke, for the list of public domain resources. I completely forgot that was even an option (even though at some point I did consider some public domain Italian stuff on LibriVox). I have been recently considering some Stephen King for modern reading in Polish that hopefully isn't too difficult, but as much as I want to jump right into it, I already have a few too many irons in the fire, and I should probably stick with children's level stuff so that every day isn't a bloody fight with comprehension.

Thank you, hedgehog.chess for posting those suggestions. I started reading Dzieci z Bullerbyn after you suggested Ingrid Lindgren, and I should have remembered that you gave a bunch of other good suggestions, but unfortunately my memory really is garbage. So I really appreciate that you reposted here on my log as a reminder, which I sorely needed!

Thank you, Mooby! I think I will order myself a few ebooks of Le Petit Nicholas (which I found on Empik for ~$5 each). Hopefully, I remember to do it!

And last but not least, thank you, cjareck! It feels like I'm always thanking you for your help, I should just write: thank you, cjareck in my signature. I couldn't find Złoto Gór Czarnych on Empik, so I'll have to see if I can find it somewhere else.

[cjareck]

And last but not least, thank you, cjareck! It feels like I'm always thanking you for your help, I should just write: thank you, cjareck in my signature. I couldn't find Złoto Gór Czarnych on Empik, so I'll have to see if I can find it somewhere else.

No problem
You may find this book (an old edition) on Allegro HERE it costs 18 zlotys. And it is in hardcover, what is really important since in paperbacks the glue was terrible at this time, and books really fell apart during reading. To buy it you have to register on Allegro (which may be a good idea if you wish to buy books in Polish). In case of any trouble contact me via PM, and I will help you.