# Lewacki charakter manifestacji



## dreamlike

Hi,

I hope you will lend me a hand with this. What is the best way you can think of to translate such a sentence:

Lewacki charakter manifestacji niósł za sobą ryzyko zamieszek, wznieconych przez co bardziej żarliwych aktywistów tej opcji. 

Here's what I came up with. However good it may seem, it's certainly improvable. 

*Leftist character of this manifestation posed the risk of riots, incited by most ardent activists of this political ideology.*


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## LilianaB

Leftist character of the demonstrations posed a risk of riots incited by most ardent supporters of this political option.


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## Thomas1

If you want to be more colloquial you might use 'lefty' to translate 'lewacki'. Perhaps it's just me, but it looks to me that the Polish sentence contains a little less formal words than the English translation. [That is not to say something is wrong with it.] 
Lewacki charakter manifestacji niósł za sobą ryzyko zamieszek, wznieconych przez co bardziej żarliwych aktywistów tej opcji.
The lefty/leftist character of the manifestation carried the risk of riots sparked by the more ardent activists of this political option.


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## dreamlike

Interesting impression, Thomas, to my mind both sentences sound equally formal. Thanks for your help, your sentence is certainly more "digestible"  

Thanks Liliana


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## Ben Jamin

dreamlike said:


> Hi,
> 
> I hope you will lend me a hand with this. What is the best way you can think of to translate such a sentence:
> 
> Lewacki charakter manifestacji niósł za sobą ryzyko zamieszek, wznieconych przez co bardziej żarliwych aktywistów tej opcji.
> 
> Here's what I came up with. However good it may seem, it's certainly improvable.
> 
> *Leftist character of this manifestation posed the risk of riots, incited by most ardent activists of this political ideology.*



I would write "niósł ze sobą"


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## Ben Jamin

“Leftist” to “lewicowy”, a “lewacki” to “Far left”, (also known as the revolutionary left), “radical left” or “extreme left”. Niestety, żadne z tych wyrażeń nie oddaje pogardliwego wydźwięku polskiego terminu.


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## LilianaB

What about _prawacki_: if  there is_ lewacki _there should be _prawacki_ as well, extremely right wing. Maybe it should be added to the dictionary.


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## myfakename

LilianaB said:


> What about _prawacki_: if  there is_ lewacki _there should be _prawacki_ as well, extremely right wing. Maybe it should be added to the dictionary.



It's used, but it's not nearly as popular as _lewacki_.


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## majlo

I'm afraid the division between "lewicowy" and "lewacki" is not so cut-and-dried. I think many people use the word "lewacki" in the meaning "lewicowy". I do so, for example, and many people I know. I don't know, unfortunately, a disparaging term for this ideology in English.

By the way, I have never ever heard "prawacki". Until now. It sounds hilarious to me.


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## LilianaB

It should exist however in a democratic society, don't you agree?


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## myfakename

It does exist and is used. The point is it's not popular.


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## LilianaB

Thank you.


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## Ben Jamin

majlo said:


> I think many people use the word "lewacki" in the meaning "lewicowy". I do so, for example, and many people I know.


How do you say then in Polish “left wing republicans in USA”.


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## dreamlike

I've never ever heard of "prawacki". Having googled it I can tell that it does exist, but it's nowhere near as common as "lewacki". One would be extremely unlikely to hear it used in the media in reference to far-right groups, as opposed to "lewacki" which is established term for left-wing extremism. 



			
				LilianaB said:
			
		

> It should exist however in a democratic society, don't you agree?




Now that's funny. There are some derogatory or even derisive terms for the extreme right wing which can be used instead of "prawacki". Inventing strikingly similar word for one extreme political option just for the sake of some misunderstood equality can hardly be regarded as something democratic society is about. I'm with majlo on this, "prawacki" sounds hilarious to me, too.


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## LilianaB

What would be a derogatory term for extremely right in Polish?


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## BezierCurve

I believe "prawacki" is used among some activists, it just hasn't been published in any dictionary yet (or maybe has, quite recently).

How about "centracki", for a politician right in the middle?


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## majlo

Ben Jamin said:


> How do you say then in Polish “left wing republicans in USA”.


Do I want to sound contemptuous or rather neutral?


LilianaB said:


> It should exist however in a democratic society, don't you agree?


What does democracy have to do with it? Language has always been free, regardless of systems; even as limiting as democracy.


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## LilianaB

Language is a reflection of the system  of the country where it is spoken: totalitarian systems do not have certain words in their vocabulary, if you take communism for example; certain notions were missing.


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## Ben Jamin

majlo said:


> Do I want to sound contemptuous or rather neutral?



Neutral.


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## dreamlike

It's no wonder that not a single dictionary recognizes the existence of "prawacki" - it sounds extremely awkward and was probably coined by some small group of people who obviously derived it from well-entrenched word, "lewacki". It seems as if they envied "lewacki" and wanted to have a similar term.

If you ask me, the idea of creating a similar term for one political option just because there is a well-established term for the opposite one deserves to be laughed at, at best. It has nothing to do with democracy and is misconception thereof.


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## LilianaB

It just reflects the reality of the place where the language is spoken: there is either no need for such a word since there is no such phenomenon in that  particular location or people do not recognize that such a phenomenon exists or purposely deny its existence. So there aren't any extreme right wing groups in Poland?


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## dreamlike

You obviously didn't read my post carefully, Liliana, did you? I made no mention of whether this phenomenon exists in Poland or not (there's no gainsaying the fact that both the extreme right and the extreme left exist in almost any country in the world). I simply stated that creating strikingly similar words with no regard for how awkward they sound in the name of... democracy doesn't serve any purpose. Don't twist my words.

Oh, and one more thing, on reflection. It also merits a mention that "lewacki" is not exclusively used in reference to far-left or extreme left groups. For me, the extreme left was Red Army Faction and nowadays some anarchist groups inciting riots on the streets. I would call them "lewackie bojówki" or "lewaccy terroryści" (although "communist" might be a better choice of words.) But at the same time "lewacki" is a derisive term that can also be used for left-wing politicians, parties etc. who are very pushy in spreading their vision of the world, but would not necesserily start a revolution. Something majlo mentioned in prior post:


			
				majlo said:
			
		

> I think many people use the word "lewacki" in the meaning "lewicowy". I do so, for example, and many people I know.


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## LilianaB

So, what is the word  for extreme right? Derogatory word.


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## dreamlike

Skrajnie prawicowy, ultraprawicowy, ekstremista prawicowy - note that this words might not be considered derogatory by people who hold such views. I'm afraid there's no one-word term for the extreme right apart from "ultraprawicowy", and certainly not the one that is as contemptuous and established as "lewacki". I once heard lefties referring to people of right-wing views as "prawiczki"


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## LilianaB

Thank you, Dreamlike.


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## majlo

LilianaB said:


> Language is a reflection of the system of the country where it is spoken: totalitarian systems do not have certain words in their vocabulary, if you take communism for example; certain notions were missing.


I couldn't disagree more.


Ben Jamin said:


> Neutral.


Then I'd say "lewicowy".


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## dreamlike

Speaking of "left wing republicans in USA", I came across the term "Republikanie tylko z nazwy" (Republican In Name Only). This is an umbrella term used in reference to all that members of The Republican Party that hold views different from that of majority of the party. I think it has negative connotations. 

It might have little relevance but maybe you'll find it interesting


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## majlo

Wojciech Cejrowski about ACTA:

Z *lewakiem* mogę żyć na jednym osiedlu; nie lubię go, nie cenię jego poglądów ani stylu życia i tu się kończy konflikt. Wojna między nami zaczyna się dopiero wtedy, gdy ponad nami pojawia się władza. To władza napuszcza ludzi na siebie. To władza jest inżynierem konfliktów. To władza wydaje zezwolenia na dwie manify na tej samej ulicy o tej samej porze. To władza jednym wydaje licencję na nadawanie, a innym nie daje. To władza ustawia starych ludzi w kolejkach do aptek. To władza zabrania Ci zatrudniać tanią ukraińską sprzątaczkę. To władza każe Ci zapłacić cło za komputer, który chcesz sobie sprowadzić z USA. To władza za twoje pieniądze zamawia autostradę u Chińczyków, ale jednocześnie ta sama władza nigdy w życiu nie kupiłaby swojej własnej córce chińskiego samochodu, ani chińskiej liny alpinistycznej, ani niczego, od czego zależy bezpieczeństwo i zdrowie. To władza produkuje dziesiątki tysięcy magistrów i zapewnia im zero miejsc pracy. To władza obiecuje Ci konkretne rzeczy w exposee premiera, a potem nigdy nie rozlicza się z ich wykonania.


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## Ben Jamin

To nie jest forum polityczne, czyli „off topic”. A nawiasem mówiąc to Cejrowski nadaje się dobrze do określenia “anarcho-prawaka”.


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## majlo

Wiem, że to nie jest forum polityczne i wiem, że to nie jest off topic.

Różni ludzie mogą różnie różnych ludzi określać. Co nie znaczy, że zawsze ma to coś wspólnego z prawdą.


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## dreamlike

Pozwólmy moderatorom decydować co zasługuje na miano off topicu, a co nie. Btw, skoro niektóre słowniki odnotowują istnienie słowa "prawak", powinien również pojawić się w nich derywat "prawacki". Chociaż, tak jak już wspominałem, wygląda to jakby_ lewactwo_ pozazdrościło słowa i wymyśliło sobie_ prawactwo_. 

Co do Cejrowskiego, to bardzo dobrze że taka istnieje taka postać bo stanowi przeciwwagę dla bezkształtnej, lewicowej masy, która bryluje w środkach przekazu...


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## Ben Jamin

Czy mam to rozumieć, że nazwiesz og lewakiem albo centrystą? A co to jest prawda w tym kontekście?


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