Ślōnskŏ gŏdka also known as the Silesian dialect of the Polish language,
is so distinct from Polish that some advocate for its recognition as a separate language.
In this video, we’re going to see to what extent it’s comprehensible to the speakers of Czech, Kashubian and Polish.
The participants of the challenge are:
Niklaus Pieron - a fellow Youtuber from Upper Silesia, Poland, who makes videos in his local dialect.
Vít - a Czech teacher from Prague.
And Mateusz - a Kashubian speaker from Poland.
If you're new to the channel, I’m Norbert and I'm also from Poland.
Consider subscribing if you enjoy mutual intelligibility experiments
and if you don’t want to miss part 2 of the Silesian episode coming up.
Silesian: No! Terozki jadymy s tym światym!
A hearty welcome to you all my dearest,
my name is Mikołaj and I come from Bytom, Upper Silesia,
and today I've prepared a few Silesian words for my friends Vít, Mateùsz and Norbert.
I've got 6 words here, I don't know how much time we're going to have here
but Norbert is going to manage all that.
If we run out of time, Norbert let us know that we don't have time any more
and we move on to the next challenge.
Ok, I think we're all ready so let's start.
N: Yes, ready. M: I understand everything. I'm ready.
Mikołaj: Super, ready, let's start. V: Ready.
OK listen up, the first word.
It's something, a device,
that kids can have, adults can have it as well,
but mainly kids get it from their parents when they are small
and thanks to it they can learn thriftiness.
It‘s something kids get from their parents when they are young.
And it helps them learn… I didn‘t really get that.
Thriftiness is not to spend too much money.
Alright, thriftiness.
I believe I understand what it's about.
It's a thing that small kids get from their parents, usually from their fathers
and thanks to it they learn how to save money, generally to save.
N: Yes. V: They learn to save money… I think I know what it is.
So say it.
So I think it‘s a piggy bank.
The now you put the money in.
Yes, yes, so I'll say how we say it in Silesian.
Or before that Mateùsz say what you think it is.
I also know what this is.
We don't really have our own name for this thing in Kashubian,
we also say 'skarbónka', which is close to the Polish name for it.
Yes. So I also thought it was a moneybox but I didn't understand the word for 'thriftiness.'
Well, thriftiness, in Silesian one saves money.
A thrifty one - a provident one, saves money.
And in Silesian one says 'szparbiksa' (moneybox).
Comes from 'szporowanie'.
And 'biksa' in Silesian is 'puszka' (a can) in Polsih, from the German word 'Büchse' (a can).
So it's a can for saving money, in Silesian we say 'szparbiksa'.
That's interesting! A moneybox.
Cool! You all guessed it almost without any problem.
So let's proceed to the next word.
Listen up!
It's a device, contrary to the moneybox we can't keep it at home.
It's too big to have it in the house, somewhere in the room.
It stands outside only.
It's a device that's very helpful when we're cleaning a house,
for example, when we need to give the house a spit shine. It's helpful then.
But also kids use it to play.
Kids do all sorts of playful things on it, when they're small.
Okay… I think the thing is too big to keep at home.
Too big to have it at home, it's only outside.
It‘s outside.
Ok, ok.
It is used for one thing, plus it‘s fun for kids.
Yes, yes for different kinds of plays.
Like summersaults, they hang on it, swing.
Many kids play like that.
V: They hang on it, they swing on it.
Okay, I have an idea.
What is it going to be, Vít?
We called it a carpet hanger, you put a carpet on it and beat it with a stick.
One beats it with a carpet beater.
Ok.
How do you call it in Czech?
A carpet hanger.
And Mateùsz?
I believe I understand what you were talking about it.
I didn't have the opportunity to say but
you said that it's something too big to jeep at home and it stands outside,
and that it's useful to people when they want to clean something in the house,
when they put a house in order,
but also kids often do all sorts of things on it,
they play on it etc.
I understood this much.
Initially, I didn't know what exactly you were talking about, but I understood what you were saying.
Now, when Vít said it, I know it already.
It's a device that you use to clean the carpets.
Yes, yes, you beat the carpets, exactly.
In Kashubian it has a couple of names, but it could be a 'tepiszcze' (a carpeter) or some sort of a 'bar for the carpets',
or something like that. It has many names.
And in Polish it's a carpet hanger, if I got it right.
And the hint about kids playing on it told me that it's a carpet hanger.
Ok. In Silesian we call it 'klopsztanga' (a carpet hanger),
'sztanga' comes from German Stange (bar), it's a kind of bar, right?
You know, one lifts the wight bar like strongmen on the gym.
And on the carpet hanger one uses a beater - the thing to beat,
and as Mateùsz said, in Silesian we also use the word 'tepichy' (carpets)
or the smaller ones are 'lojfry' (rugs) used in the bathrooms, corridors, the small ones.
or the smaller ones are 'lojfry' (rugs) used in the bathrooms, corridors, the small ones. M: Yes, a round one.
So you knew, you said it all well.
So let's move on to the next example.
Listen up!
Now it's a thing, it's an activity, and it's an activity that a human does not entirely voluntairily.
And it happens when a person has a cold.
It‘s something people do unwillingly, they don‘t want to do it.
They do it when they have a runny nose.
So they blow their nose.
When you are sick, when one caches cold, blows his nose, sneezes, and does something else.
Blow their nose, sneezes, we use the same words.
And something else, and to prevent it people take different medications, for example they drink a syrup.
Okay, they cough.
Yes, you're right.
Okay, right.
And it's an action, right?
But, is it the thing that Vít said, or something else?
Yes, yes. Vít said it right, Vít is right.
So I'll say it in Kashubian, I understood what you were saying but I didn't understand 'rimła'? 'Rima', ok.
In Kashubian 'rima' is 'sznëpa', I believe that's what you're talking about.
We say it 'tabaka'(snuff).
'Sznupać' is to look for something, but also snuff.
Or a dog has 'sznupa' - a snout like that, it's also in Silesian.
So how is this 'sznupać' in Polish then?
'Sznupać' is 'szukać' (to look for) in Polsih, 'grzebać' (to poke around).
Like a girl 'sznupie' in her 'tasia' - she is rooting in her bag, right?
But also snuff, to snuff tobacco.
M: To use. N: I get it.
But I haven't finished talking about what you do when you have have a runny nose.
One can 'czichac' (to sneeze) and it's often a loud sneeze.
Or if something bothers you here (in the throat),
you can 'kaszlec' or 'rzëpòlic'
If it's more intense it's 'rzëpòlic'.
And in Silesian when someone coughs intensely we say he 'charlo.'
And we even have a Silesian saying, we say 'you cough like in Monte Carlo'.
It's a very stron cough, one spits out flegm, it's intense.
We used to say „šnuptychl“ in Czech, it was a germanism.
It‘s a tissue or handkerchief in Czech.
'Sznuptuchla' (a nose tissue) - we use it in Silesian in some places.
In Kashubian the thing you use to wipe your nose is 'sznëpelduch' (a tissue)
and often you carry it in a 'kind of pocket'.
In a bag?
In an internal pocket.
A! Ok! In a pocket.
Can I say? Norbert do you know what it's about? Can I say in Silesian?
It's coughing, but when you're cold. A cold is...
There, in Silesian we say 'kucanie' (coughing), in Silesian one coughs.
In Silesian one coughs like EKHE EKHE - softly, and when it's more intense it's 'charlo'.
And this Silesian word 'kucać' one can confuse with the Polish word 'kucać' which means squat in Silesian, right?
And often they do a test to determine of you are a Silesian,
they say 'kucnij' and observe what you're going to do.
Whether you go EKHE EKHE or squat.
So coughing on Silesian is 'kucanie' (squatting).
In Kashubian if you cough just a little bit you can say that you 'gruchô'
- 'gruchac' is associated with something else in Polish (cooing).
Ok. So we can move on to the next word, listen up!
The next word is a means of transportation, but not a public transport.
And it's something that kids get for different occasions as well.
For example, smaller kids get a 'drajrad' (a tricycle).
Then, when they're older, they get a bigger one.
Yes. Shall I … ?
So it‘s a means o f transportation for kids, but adults use it as well.
When you‘re young you ride one with training wheels.
A tricycle, yes, three wheels.
Right, and when you grow up, you get one with only two wheels.
We simply call that a bike.
And in Kashubian?
When Vít said it, I understood, even though I understood what you were saying.
I understood that it's a kind of non-public transport,
that kids get when they are small, later they get a little bit bigger one, and adults also ride it.
And when Vít said that it has two wheels, I understood what it was.
And in Kashubian it's a word similar to the Czech one - 'kòło'.
And in Polish of course it's a bike.
Yes, in Silesian we also say 'koło' (a bicycle).
'Koło' to Silesian language, to the Silesian dialects actually came from the Czech language,
and to them it came from the German language. So in Silesia we say 'koło' (a bicycle).
And we also have an old Silesian saying, we used to say that long ago
'Whoever has bough a bike, he's butt naked now' (poor).
Because a bike was something expensive and not everyone could afford to buy it.
Ok. The next thing is something that is very useful when we move.
Is it a thing?
Yes, it's a thing and it's useful when we move.
Vít, any ideas?
I don‘t really understand … It‘s something you can use when …
And in other words?
A move, to move is when we move from one place to another.
When we travel.
Yes, and when we move, we 'gather ourselves' from one place and move to another, and this thing is very useful then.
It helps us, it‘s convenient.
Is it something you pack different items in?
Yes, you're right.
Inside, one can put something inside, different things.
So when you pack whatever you have in there, you can transport it to another place.
Yeah.
Mateùsz helped me, I didn‘t understand it before.
We call it a backpack, you carry it on your back? backpack.
No, in Silesian we also say 'rukzak' (a backpack) but it's not a backpack.
It something that we can hold in hand, it has a handle.
You take it in hand, you have different things packed there and you go with it.
We call that a suitcase.
I also know what this is. In Kashubian it's 'kùfer' or 'kofer' (a suitcase),
and I also know how it's called in Polish, but Norbert will guess that in a moment.
I believe it's a suitcase. Right?
And is Silesian we say 'kofer' (suitcase).
It a word that certainly, same as in the Kashubian language and the Czech language, came to us from the German language.
'Kofer' is 'walizka' in Polish (suitcase). Ok.
You're doing very well. I'm in shock, really!
I'm shocked how elegantly you're managing all this.
And now we have the last word.
So listen up!
It's something...
long time ago, in old times as we say it,
people were able to live without it, no problem, but now we cannot mange without it.
I think that the things people could live without in the past but we can't live without today are numerous.
I'd like to ask if it's something tangible or something more abstract?
No, it's more abstract.
We have it everywhere, all around us,
we use it everyday, we're also using it now, we couldn't talk right now without it.
I've got two ideas but I'm not sure yet. Vít, you say it!
I also have two ideas.
Can you carry it in your pocket?
No, one cannot carry it on a pocket,
or nowhere for that matter,
one cannot touch it, one even has to be careful with it,
you mustn't have a close contact with it, because harm might fall upon you.
Now I know what it is. Yes.
It seemed to me that it could be two things.
The first one - the Internet that we use right now to connect.
But it's not that and I know it.
If it's something that you cannot touch without getting hurt, without being kicked (electrocuted).
In Kashubian it's 'sztróm' (electric current).
We call that electricity.
And in Polish it's 'prąd' (electric current).
Yes, that's right!
And in Silesian, same as in Kashubian, we say 'sztrōm' (current),
'sztrōm' comes straight from the German word.
And Norbert, you called it „prond?“
In Czech we can also call it current, electric current.
I think, I've heard people saying 'electric current' in Polish too,
but I think normally nobody says 'electric current',
everybody just say 'current', but something like that exists in Polish too.
Ok. Was it the last word?
That was the last word.
But it wasn’t the last time you’ve heard of SIlesian dialect on this channel.
Part 2 of the video will show up somewhere on screen once it’s published.
What do you think about the results of our experiment here?
Were you able to understand the Silesian dialect?
If you want to hear more of it, check out Niklaus’s channel.
And subscribe to this channel if you don't want to miss the upcoming videos.
Polish: Widzimy się w kolejnym odcinku. Cześć!