# Hello, Mama, I hope you are all right.



## hash

Hello mama, i hope you are alright. Ive heard so much about you, kamila adores you. 
My polish isnt good infact its terrible. Kamila never teaches me any polish so its a problem. 
It would be very nice for you to come here one day. Hopefully i will get a chance to come to poland soon. Thank you for your present. Try not to worry about kamila she is in safe hands. Love harsh


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## jazyk

Since I feel my Polish is particularly good today  ,here's my attempt:

Witam, Mamo. Mam nadzieję, że Pani się dobrze ma. Słyszałem tak dużo o Panie. Kamiła kocha Panią.
Mój polski nie jest dobry, mówiąc prawdę, jest straszny. Kamiła nigdy mi nie uczy polskiego, to problemem.
Było by miło, jeśli Pani mogła przyjechać tutaj jednego dnia. Mam nadzieję, że ja będę móc jechać do Polski wkrótce. Dziękuję za prezent. Niech Pani się martwi o Kamiłą, ona jest w bezpiecznych rękach. 

Pozdrawiania,
Hash


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## jazyk

Oh, I forgot to tell you. I'm not sure about that mamo, maybe mom works well in English, but in Polish I think it would convey too an intimate relationship between you two. I'd use her name instead. That's also why I used pozdrawienia (which is not exactly love) in the translation. And Pani (you - formal) instead of ty (you - informal).


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## desponia

Hello!
The translation by jazyk looks OK. To make ii sound just a bit better:

Witam, Mamo. Mam nadzieję, że Pani się dobrze ma. Słyszałem tak dużo o Panie. Kamila kocha Panią.
Mój polski nie jest dobry, mówiąc prawdę, jest straszny. Kamila nigdy mnie nie uczy polskiego, co jest problemem.
Było by miło, jeśli by Pani mogła przyjechać tutaj kiedyś. Mam nadzieję, że będę mógł pojechać do Polski wkrótce. Dziękuję za prezent. Niech Pani się martwi o Kamilę, ona jest w bezpiecznych rękach. 

Pozdrawiania,
Hash

Unfortunately, it still doesn't sound properly. I'll try to transleta it once more later, when I have more time.


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## janek

Hi, 

The translation by jazyk is good language-wise, but is a bit artificial from the point of view of an informal letter (sorry jazyk, no offence!). Below is a translation which is not word-for-word, but a bit more "warm", and still not too intimate. I assumed that you have never seen the person you write to, but you want to establish a friendly relationship.  

It all depend on what are your relations with the said *mama*. I would drop that, unless she is your mother or mother-in-law. If she *is* your mother-in law, just add *Mamo *after Dzień Dobry (but before the exclamation mark  )

Dzień Dobry!

Mam nadzieję, że dobrze się Pani miewa. Tyle o Pani słyszałem - Kamila Panią uwielbia. 
Nie znam dobrze polskiego - prawdę mówiąc, prawie wcale. Kamila w ogóle mnie nie uczy języka, stąd nie jest mi łatwo. 
Liczę, że któregoś dnia przyjedzie Pani do nas. Mam również nadzieję, że uda mi się wkrótce przyjechać do Polski. Bardzo dziękuję za prezent. Proszę się nie martwić o Kamilę - jest w dobrych rękach. 

Pozdrawiam serdecznie, 

Harsh


***
Good luck!

Oh yes, and sorry for the spelling mistakes in English text (yes, I've checked the Polish translation five times to be dead sure that it's seamless, and forgot to proofread what I've written above)


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## Jana337

Is it common to capitalize nouns in Polish letters? If so, which ones?

I will split this into a new thread if it is worth it. 


> Mam nadzieję, że dobrze się* Pani *miewa.



Jana


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## janek

In this case, I used capital letters to show affection/respect. 

The use of capital letters in correspondence to show affection/respect is an individual choice of the author. It is not obligatory, however, in some cases choosing NOT to use this option may be taken for disrespect, like:

_Szanowny Panie Dyrektorze!_
_Zwracam się do Pana z uprzejmą prośbą..._

 - when writing a formal letter of request to a director. 

Capital letter is used when addressing persons in official and unofficial correspondence, including formal administrative letters, as well as names of people close to us, and this includes also adjectives and pronouns:

_Pozdrawiam serdecznie Ciebie i całą Twoją rodzinę!_
/Best regards to You and all Your family!/

Names of third persons may also be written with a capital letter if they are close to us or to the addressee:

_Niech żyje nasz Kochany Kierownik Sprzedaży!_
/Long live our Beloved Sales Manager!/

_W imieniu małego Krzysia i Jego Rodziców składam najszczersze podziękowania wszystkim Ludziom Dobrej Woli, którzy przekazali pieniądze na leczenie._
/On behalf of little Chris and His Parents, let me express my deepest thanks to all the People of Goodwill who donated money for the treatment/

We can also stress our respect to symbols, items, phenomena, historical events etc., but this is a very high-flying and flamboyant style:

_Choć minęło wiele lat, wciąż tęsknił za Ojczyzną._ 
/Many years have passed, but he still pined for his Homeland/ 


In the letter above, I applied this rule to all the words relating to the addressee. I've started "Dzień Dobry!" With capital letters, as it is now widespread in Poland, even though there is no written rule about it.


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## hash

Thank you very much for your help. Infact its my girlfriends mum who i have never seen before.


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## cjmewett

Janek -- Would you mind doing a more literal "re-translation" into English? I lived in Poland several years ago and my command of the language has atrophied. Some of the words and expressions you've used are unfamiliar to me, and I'd be interested in a more thorough explanation. Thanks!


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## Thomas1

cjmewett said:
			
		

> Janek -- Would you mind doing a more literal "re-translation" into English? I lived in Poland several years ago and my command of the language has atrophied. Some of the words and expressions you've used are unfamiliar to me, and I'd be interested in a more thorough explanation. Thanks!


I allowed myself to do so. 



			
				janek said:
			
		

> [...]
> 
> _Szanowny Panie Dyrektorze!_
> Honourable Mister Director
> _Zwracam się do Pana z uprzejmą prośbą..._
> I am addressing you with a kind request
> (Dear Manager,
> I would like to ask you...)
> 
> [...]
> 
> _Pozdrawiam serdecznie Ciebie i całą Twoją rodzinę!_
> /Best regards to You and all Your family!/
> I am greeeting cordially you and all your family
> [...]
> _Niech żyje nasz Kochany Kierownik Sprzedaży!_
> /Long live our Beloved Sales Manager!/
> let live our beloved manager of sales
> 
> _W imieniu małego Krzysia i Jego Rodziców składam najszczersze __podziękowania wszystkim Ludziom Dobrej Woli, którzy przekazali pieniądze na leczenie._
> In name of little Chris and his parents I am folding most sincere thanks all people of good will who transferred money for treatment.
> /On behalf of little Chris and His Parents, let me express my deepest thanks to all the People of Goodwill who donated money for the treatment/
> I think English doesn't use capital letters in these cases.
> [...]
> _Choć minęło wiele lat, wciąż tęsknił za Ojczyzną._
> Even though passed many years, still he pined for homeland
> /Many years have passed, but he still pined for his Homeland/


Is that what you asked for?
Some of them gave funny results but they are all more literal than adjusted to sound good in English.


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## cjmewett

Thomas -- I should have been more specific, but I was asking about the translated letter. I know it seems an odd request, considering that the Polish version was itself a translation from English, but I'm hoping to better understand the literal meaning of some of the expressions. Sorry for the confusion and thanks for your work.


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## janek

Hi cjmewett, 

Let's go phrase by phrase then (As this is an almost literal translation, it might seem a bit awkward in English): 

Dzień Dobry! - Good day!

Mam nadzieję, że dobrze się Pani miewa. - I hope that you are feeling well (in Polish _you_ substituted with _Pani_ as a mark of respect)

Tyle o Pani słyszałem - I have heard so much about you (_Pani_ - as above)

Kamila Panią uwielbia - Kamila adores you (_Panią_ - as above)

Nie znam dobrze polskiego - I don't know Polish [language] well

prawdę mówiąc, prawie wcale - to tell the truth, almost none [of it]

Kamila w ogóle mnie nie uczy języka - Kamila doesn't teach me the language at all

stąd nie jest mi łatwo - therefore it's not easy for me

Liczę, że któregoś dnia przyjedzie Pani do nas - I count on you coming to us one day 

Mam również nadzieję, że uda mi się wkrótce przyjechać do Polski - I also hope that I will soon manage to come to Poland

Bardzo dziękuję za prezent - thank [you] very much for the gift

Proszę się nie martwić o Kamilę - please do not be worried about Kamila

jest w dobrych rękach - [she] is in good hands 

Pozdrawiam serdecznie - my cordial regards

I hope that this is clear enough. If there is still something that you would specifically want me to explain, I'll be happy to help. 





> I think English doesn't use capital letters in these cases.


 
It doesn't. I've deliberately left the capital letters to show where they would be used in Polish, I just forgot to explain it. Sorry for obscurity.


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## cjmewett

This is great. It's been three and a half years since I spoke Polish regularly (I moved from Krakow to Dallas and spoke Polish *once* in three years!) so things like this are particularly helpful to me. Thanks a lot.


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## zosia99

Hello, i am only 10 and dont know much polish because im only half polish but i sorta have a question for all the "polski" people. How would you translate this to polish?




Hi Darek,



How's Beata and everybody else? I really had a great time in poland. I really am getting better at polish, though. Mom is always speaking to me in Polish and most of the time I understand it. So how's your english going? Are you practicing alot? Remember our promise. I promised you by the time i got back to Poland, I'd be talking to everybody including Mariola in Polish. Say hi for me.Bye.

                                    love Zosia


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## Thomas1

Hello, Zosiu, and welcome to the forums, 
Here's my attempt:





zosia99 said:


> [...]
> Hi Darek,
> 
> 
> 
> How's Beata and everybody else? I really had a great time in poland. I really am getting better at polish, though. Mom is always speaking to me in Polish and most of the time I understand it. So how's your english going? Are you practicing alot? Remember our promise. I promised you by the time i got back to Poland, I'd be talking to everybody including Mariola in Polish. Say hi for me.Bye.
> 
> love Zosia


Cześć Darek,

co słychać u Beaty i reszty? Bardzo miło wspominam pobyt w Polsce. Polski idzie mi coraz lepiej. Mama cały czas mówi do mnie po polsku i większość rozumiem. A jak Tobie idzie angielski? Często do niego siadasz? Pamiętaj o obietnicy. Obiecałam, że kiedy przyjadę znów do Polski, będę rozmawiać ze wszystkimi po polsku, włącznie z Mariolą. Pozdrów wszystkich/ją* ode mnie. Cześć.

Pozdrawiam,
Zosia

*I'm not sure who you want him to say hello for you, if to everyone then use wszystkich, if to Mariola then use ją.

Zosiu since it's a language forum, please try to use correct punctuation/capitalisation.


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