# osłuchałam się z językiem



## Mrs JJJ

As a language-learning enthusiast, who is envious of those who grow up bilingual,, I was interested to read that Roman Polanski's children can speak Polish, even though their French mother, cannot. Wikipedia gave a reference for the article, in Polish, that mentioned this fact.  It was an interview with Emmanuelle Seigner, Polanski's current wife. Sadly, I know no Polish, but used Google's translator and was able to get the sense of most of the article. 

Unfortunately, however, it failed to offer any translation for one of the words in the very section that interested me!   I don't know whether the word was a misprint, slang, or whether it was simply beyond Google translator's capabilities.  So I'd be really grateful if a forum member would be kind enough to translate the word, or the sentence, and/or explain it to me, please.

The word that was left entirely in the original was "osłuchałam".  I'll copy and paste the context:


>> _... że zaczynam rozumieć język polski. Nasze dzieci rozmawiają z ojcem po polsku, więc osłuchałam się z językiem, znam pojedyncze słowa._<<


Google translated it as:


_>> I'm beginning to understand Polish. Our children talk with his* father in Polish, so osłuchałam with the language, I know a single word. <<   _

[* This should, of course, be 'their'.  ]


My guess is that it means something such as "so comfortable/ so at ease with the language" or perhaps "so confident in the language" but, naturally,  I'd rather know for sure, please!



If you'd like to see the entire context, this is the URL of the article itself:

http://www.tvn24.pl/kultura-styl,8/piekna-francuzka-czuje-sie-polka,132782.html


----------



## morior_invictus

Hello Mrs JJJ,

surprisingly, I think I understand the whole sentence,  so while waiting for the answers from native Polish speakers, here's my  two cents' worth:

*osłuchać się z X *= to get familiar  with X by listening to it / to get the feel of X by repeated  hearing / to  learn X by repeated hearing (się = oneself, z = with)

I understand_ osłuchałam się z _as  a past tense of the above infinitive meaning ~ "I got familiar with X by repeated listening to it" / "I got the feel of X by repeated hearing."

So one can _osłuchać się z_ anything that can be "learned" by repeated hearing (language, pronunciation,...).

  Do wait for native Polish speakers as I have never learned Polish and  my understanding of the aforementioned sentence may very well be  mistaken (which would be pretty embarrassing ). I just came into the Slavic Languages section to check the Other Slavic Languages  forum, saw this thread and thought that I might help.


----------



## wolfbm1

I can add that "osłuchać się" means:
to acquire a superficial knowledge of something by hearing it (= to get familiar with something by hearing it), 
to start to recognize or *understand something you* have heard many times or *have been* *exposed to* *many times*.

It usually applies to music, a foreign language or a local dialect.

Here is my translation attempt:

Our children talk to their father in Polish, so I've been exposed to the language many times, I understand isolated words.


----------



## jasio

Indeed. 

It may also mean 'to get used to something by hearing', such as in a phrase 'Nie lubię Kissów, ale mój ich ciągle puszczał, więc się trochę osłuchałem' ('I don't like the band Kiss, but since my brother kept playing their tunes all the time, I got used to their music') - I still don't like them too much, but at least I tolerate the music, I recognised some tunes, perhaps even started liking some of them to some extent.

May also be used in a context, where you get a grasp of something by hearing other people talk, get familiar with (specialist) terminology, etc. "Nie jestem lekarzem, ale oboje rodzice byli lekarzami, więc trochę się osłuchałem (z tą tematyką)" - 'I am not a phisician myself, but both of my parents were, so I have learnt something by hearing them discussing it".

BTW - google translate gives rather poor results translating both to and from Polish.


----------



## Ben Jamin

morior_invictus said:


> Hello Mrs JJJ,
> 
> surprisingly, I think I understand the whole sentence,  so while waiting for the answers from native Polish speakers, here's my  two cents' worth:
> 
> *osłuchać się z X *= to get familiar  with X by listening to it / to get the feel of X by repeated  hearing / to  learn X by repeated hearing (się = oneself, z = with)
> 
> I understand_ osłuchałam się z _as  a past tense of the above infinitive meaning ~ "I got familiar with X by repeated listening to it" / "I got the feel of X by repeated hearing."
> 
> So one can _osłuchać się z_ anything that can be "learned" by repeated hearing (language, pronunciation,...).
> 
> Do wait for native Polish speakers as I have never learned Polish and  my understanding of the aforementioned sentence may very well be  mistaken (which would be pretty embarrassing ). I just came into the Slavic Languages section to check the Other Slavic Languages  forum, saw this thread and thought that I might help.


I think that your explanation is very good!
It means that Slovak native speakars can understand Polish very well, and with some training have no problems with communication with Poles, even if many of them don't know it (and vice versa).

I would also add, that *osłuchać kogoś* means to examine a person with a stetoscope.


----------



## wolfbm1

Ben Jamin said:


> I think that your explanation is very good!
> It means that Slovak native speakars can understand Polish very well, and with some training have no problems with communication with Poles, even if many of them don't know it (and vice versa).
> 
> I would also add, that *osłuchać kogoś* means to examine a person with a stetoscope.



Yes, morior's explanation is very good. 
I would like to add that the other meanig of "osłuchać (pacjenta, klatkę piersiową)", when it means "to ausculate, sound (a patient, a chest)", is active. 
"Osłuchać się" is passive. It happens by repetitive exposure to something.


----------



## Ben Jamin

wolfbm1 said:


> I would like to add that the other meanig of "osłuchać (pacjenta, klatkę piersiową)", when it means "to ausculate, sound (a patient, a chest)", *is active. *
> "Osłuchać się" is passive. It happens by repetitive exposure to something.


Well, this is already mentioned unambigously in post 5: "*osłuchać kogoś".

Kogo**ś *indicates a transitive verb.


----------



## vianie

Ben Jamin said:


> It means that Slovak native speakars can understand Polish very well, and with some training have no problems with communication with Poles, even if many of them don't know it (and vice versa).


But this _is _happening anytime anywhere they meet. We _can_ include the Czechs in here as well.


----------



## jasio

wolfbm1 said:


> "Osłuchać się" is passive.



Ehm... reflexive? IMHO passive would be "zostałem osłuchany przez lekarza", wouldn't it?


----------



## Enquiring Mind

May I suggest "my ear has becomed attuned to it" or, much more colloquially, "I've got my ear in"? Google was wrong with "a single word" as "pojedyncze słowa" is clearly plural, so "isolated words" (as wolfbm suggested earlier) or "individual words".


----------



## wolfbm1

jasio said:


> Ehm... reflexive? IMHO passive would be "zostałem osłuchany przez lekarza", wouldn't it?


Sorry. I mean the expression "osłuchać się" relates to a passive activity. One does not consciously engage in it.


----------



## wolfbm1

Ben Jamin said:


> Well, this is already mentioned unambigously in post 5: "*osłuchać kogoś".
> 
> Kogo**ś *indicates a transitive verb.



I just restated it and tried to contrast the active aspect of the phrase "osłuchać kogoś" with the passive aspect of the phrase "osłuchać się."


----------



## wolfbm1

Enquiring Mind said:


> May I suggest "my ear has becomed attuned to it" or, much more colloquially, "I've got my ear in"? Google was wrong with "a single word" as "pojedyncze słowa" is clearly plural, so "isolated words" (as wolfbm suggested earlier) or "individual words".



My ear has become attuned to English. And "attuned" means "in harmony, in tune with." That's interesting.

Let me use the other expression in a sentence: "I've got my ear in English." It sounds a bit unusual.


----------



## Enquiring Mind

Hi Wolf, "attuned to" doesn't necessarily mean "in harmony with", in this kind of context it means "to have become accustomed to something by hearing it repeatedly".

_After living here for more than twenty years I sometimes don’t even notice Dunglish anymore. My ear *has become attuned* to it. Worryingly, Dutchisms have started to creep into my own speech and writing …_ (source: writersabroad.com)

_What has been very difficult though is that Marino’s speech is affected by his condition, so even when he is speaking English it can be very difficult to understand him. After only one day however, my ear *has become attuned* to it but it still proves frustrating when even after asking someone to repeat themselves five times and you still don’t know what they’re saying._ (source: unafinestrina.blogspot.cz)

_The southern American accent is much harder for a Brit to understand than someone from the north. I think it just sounds far more different to English-English. Our *ears have become attuned* to it now, but I know my family are going to have trouble being understood._ (source: z4.invisionfree.com)

I wouldn't say "I've got my ear in English"; "got my ear in" is, as I noted, a much more colloquial way of saying it: 

_... my German improved out of sight because I heard it daily, and *got "my ear" in,* so to speak. I understand the language pretty well, and speak it well enough to be understood._ (source:forums.whirlpool.net.au)

_For example, through years of carefully distinguishing reeling Grasshopper Warblers from the buzz of the electricity sub-station in the Lee Valley Park I believe I have *‘got my ear in’ *to the extent that I could confidently identify the song of a Savi’s Warbler when the need arises (and distinguish it from the hum of a few thousand volts!)._ (source: birdwatch.co.uk)
_
We spoke Welsh all the time in class and most of the time outside it.   To begin with a lot of it washed over me but as* I got my ear in* I found  I was understanding more and more._ (source: welshhillsagain.blogspot.cz)

So I think both these suggestions are appropriate to render "osłuchać się" in the original poster's context. It depends whether you want to be colloquial or not.


----------



## Thomas1

Hello Enquiring Mind,

I think the expressions you've given are good equivalents of "osłuchać się" in the given context. Regarding the more colloquial one, _get your ear in_, how would you use it if you had to specify what you got accustomed to?
For example:_
Osłuchałem się z francuskim. = I got my ear (tuned) in to French./I got my ear attuned to French. _(?)


----------



## Enquiring Mind

Hi Thomas, as the examples I quoted show, normally the phrase is just "get my/your (etc.) ear in" (without an object) and the context (language you're trying to understand) will have become clear before this phrase is used, but I don't see anything wrong with any of the versions you suggested. Interestingly, when "get my ear in" is used, I don't associate it with "*tuned* in", but there's no reason why it shouldn't be.
We arrived in Paris, and once I *got my ear in with* the Parisian accent, I found I could get by quite well.
We arrived in Paris, and once I got my ear attuned to the ......
We arrived in Paris, and once I got (my ear) tuned in to .....

(There's a similar phrase "to get one's *eye* in" (which you can Google) which means "to develop sufficient *visual* skill/coordination through repeated practice".


----------



## wolfbm1

Thank you, Enquiring Mind, for the example sentences with the two expressions. I think I got the idea how they are used.


----------



## Thomas1

Enquiring Mind said:


> Hi Thomas, as the examples I quoted show, normally the phrase is just "get my/your (etc.) ear in" (without an object) and the context (language you're trying to understand) will have become clear before this phrase is used, but I don't see anything wrong with any of the versions you suggested. Interestingly, when "get my ear in" is used, I don't associate it with "*tuned* in", but there's no reason why it shouldn't be.
> We arrived in Paris, and once I *got my ear in with* the Parisian accent, I found I could get by quite well.
> We arrived in Paris, and once I got my ear attuned to the ......
> We arrived in Paris, and once I got (my ear) tuned in to .....
> 
> (There's a similar phrase "to get one's *eye* in" (which you can Google) which means "to develop sufficient *visual* skill/coordination through repeated practice".


Thanks. 

The Polish phrase usually uses a preposition, "z", or is used with a noun in the genitive case. So our natural tendency would be to look for a preposition--but, from the samples on Google, I've also seen the tendency you're talking about.

A follow-up question: would the following sentence work (I'm especially interested in the use of prepositions)?
_I've got to get my ear in for/with/to Polish sounds. _-- _Muszę się osłuchać z dźwiękami (języka) polskiego._


----------



## Enquiring Mind

Hi Thomas,





> A follow-up question: would the following sentence work (I'm especially interested in the use of prepositions)?
> _I've got to get my ear in for/with/to Polish sounds. -- Muszę się osłuchać z dźwiękami (języka) polskiego._



It's mostly used without an object in a clear context, so in that sense it's best to regard it as a "set phrase". With set phrases, you often can't vary them, much less try to impose on them the grammatical constructions of another language (Polish "z" + genitive).   That said, I would accept "get my ear in *with* Polish" as natural. "For" doesn't sound natural.   "Get my ear in to Polish" sounds ok - it doesn't grate on the ear. Best of all:
"I've been in Warsaw for a week now, and although Polish is difficult, I've got to get my ear in otherwise I won't be able to get by." (No object after "get my ear in", and the context is clear before the set expression is used.)


----------



## elroy

I would say “They are developing an ear for the language.”


----------



## Włoskipolak 72

In Italian language exists  ascultare , to ascultate  ,  *osłuchać* .
Probably it has differnt meaning  compared to *osłuchać się .*

In medicina, compiere l’ascoltazione: _a_. _i polmoni_. Come sinon. di _ascoltare_, è usato anche nel linguaggio letter. e critico per indicare un ascoltare intimo, profondo, di moti dell’animo, della coscienza e simili.

In medicine, listening to: a. lungs. As sinon. to listen, it is also used in the letter language. and critical to indicate an intimate, profound listening to movements of the soul, conscience and the similar.

W medycynie słuchanie: a. płuca. Jak sinon. słuchać, jest również używany w języku liter. i krytyczny, aby wskazać na intymne, głębokie słuchanie ruchów duszy, sumienia i tym podobnych.

*osłuchać się » *potocznie o przywyknięciu do czegoś

liznąć,
obsłuchać się,
otrzaskać się,
przywyknąć,
przyzwyczaić się,
zaznajomić się

*osłuchać* się z czymś
to become familiar with sth

*osłuchać się* - *osłuchiwać się
1. *«nabyć powierzchownej znajomości czegoś przez słuchanie, przyzwyczaić się do czegoś, co się wiele razy słyszało»
"acquire a superficial knowledge of something by listening, get used to something that has been heard many times"
Osłuchać się z muzyką, z językiem francuskim, z gwarą.
Osłuchać się obcego języka.

*2. *«stać się powszechnie znanym, spowszednieć przez częste słyszenie»
 "to become widely known, to become commonplace through frequent hearing"
Piosenka ta szybko się osłuchała.


----------

