English translation

Hello, we are on a channel about learning Polish. But is it worth learning Polish at all? Who would want to… who would bother learning a language which is spoken basically only in Poland? And since even in Poland, in large cities, we can easily communicate in English, why do we need Polish? Why learn a language that we don’t really need to know?

If you are watching this video, please activate the subtitles. This video is entirely in Polish, because it is addressed to people who learn Polish, but I know that not everyone can understand everything I say, therefore, watching this video with subtitles is recommended in such case.

So in this video I would like to show you my perspective on why it is worth learning Polish. Of course, each of you may have your own motivation, your own goals related to the Polish language: whether it’s family, whether it’s relations, whether it is work/study related issues. But I would also like to show you (this kind of) additional perspective related to the science of rare, unpopular, unusual, (non-standard) languages, such as the Polish language.

We can use (such) quote from the actress, Ingrid Bergman as inspiration, who knew five languages: „English for acting, Italian for romance, French for diplomacy, German for philosophy, and Swedish for privacy or secrecy.” Both Swedish and Polish (actually) have this advantage that few people understand them which allows you to feel safe in this language – we create a bit of our own world.

The second argument may be a quote from Kató Lomb who said that „language is the only thing worth knowing, even poorly.” I also understand it a bit through the prism of the words of Nelson Mandela who said that by learning another person’s language, we get to the heart of that person. I think this applies, especially for rare languages. As Poles, we always appreciate when a foreigner makes the effort and learns the Polish language.

I also have the experience that the rarer a language is, the more it is appreciated. When I speak Italian or Spanish, for example, my knowledge of Italian or Spanish is considered something common in those countries. I mean, there are many foreigners who have learned these languages. However, there are few people who have learned a language such as Polish or Swedish. And what follows? The mere fact of learning such language allows you to quickly create bonds with people from a given country, through a certain attractiveness resulting from the fact that that you have a rare skill, and at the same you show a certain openness, a certain sympathy for this country, to the people who live [in this country] and they speak its language.

And the third reason why it’s worth learning rare languages ​​like Polish is that it’s a bigger challenge. That is, if there is, for example, a person who speaks several Romance languages, let’s assume it was French, Italian or Spanish, then these languages ​​are not that different from each other. And if this person would like to learn more languages, the natural choice is a language that is neither too difficult, nor too easy. And it’s either Slavic or Germanic languages that belong to the same group of Indo-European languages, so they have some similarities, but at the same time some differences that make it just right for a person who wants to learn a slightly more difficult language than the languages ​​she knows so far.

For example, it is estimated that for an English-speaking person, learning Spanish or Italian would take about 600 hours, while learning Polish requires about 1,100 hours. A bit like the difficulty level in games, when each subsequent level requires a little more time, a little more skill to get through it, Polish can be perceived as (a kind of) next level for a person who likes learning languages.

So this is my perspective, not an obvious one, on learning Polish. First of all, it is a unique language, precisely because of its unpopularity. Secondly, such languages ​​are characterized by the fact that speaking them is more appreciated by the community who speaks this language. And thirdly, it is a certain challenge, a certain adventure, a certain discovery, a certain (kind of) unknown land, which only getting to know can bring us a lot of satisfaction.

Let me know what you think about this. If you are here, you are probably learning Polish, or you would like to learn it, or you like this language… (Just) write in a comment why… what made you watch this video. I’d love to hear your perspective. If you are watching this video, you can also download the transcript where you can follow what I say, at your own pace, while using the English translation that will help you understand any unknown words or phrases.