Somewhat funny words describing Jews in Polish

I’ve read about how negative stereotypes affect Jewish women in particular, and thought: ”Hey, let’s look at Polish.” Our language is a window to our soul, after all. To how we think.

When one says Żyd (a Jewish man, and, at least that’s my understanding, a pejorative word in Russian while completely normal in Polish, go figure) and Żydówka (a Jewish woman), there are different connotations. In general, though, these two words are neutral. Sure, a Żyd can have negative associations but he’s also good with money, and a scholar – think Shevah Weiss, who, with exceptions, was highly respected in Poland and his opinion carried a lot of weight. Some even say, ”Nie posłuchałeś starego Żyda,” (you didn’t listen to the old Jew and, [implied] you missed out on the opportunity). All Polish schoolchildren know the character of Jankiel, the wise, old Jewish tsimbl (dulcimer) player featured in Pan Tadeusz, the epic (not exactly epic, but depends who you ask) masterpiece by Polish poet Adam Mickiewicz.

While we’re at it, I recommend reading This Way for the Gas, Ladies and Gentlemen.

Also known as Ladies and Gentlemen, to the Gas Chamber, is a collection of short stories by Tadeusz Borowski, which were inspired by the author’s concentration camp experience. Tadeusz Borowski was a Polish writer and journalist. His wartime poetry and stories dealing with his experiences as a prisoner at Auschwitz are recognized as classics of Polish literature.

When it comes to women, Anne Applebaum is likely the most prominent Polish-American-Jewish woman.

Ok, time for less pleasant words now. In Polish you can say Żydzisko (some would say humorous, some would say offensive, a Jewish man, the word stresses the negative stereotypes, including, possibly, some aspects of appearance) but, to my Polish ears, Żydówa (a loud, usually middle aged or older, and domineering Jewish woman) is definitely negative. When you say Żydówa, it’s like a bundle of negative stereotypes about Jewish women come together in one person. Imagine two people at a party secretly pointing at some, often fat, Jewish woman, as they grimace and say, ”Look, it’s that Żydówa.” While offensive and most certainly negative, these words are somewhat humorous to my Polish ears as well. They just sound funny. Definitely not the words you want to use in polite company, though. Jewish women are also believed to be resourceful and keep their families together. They are also rumored to be good matchmakers (I could use a savvy matchmaker myself).

Żyd is fine, Żydówka is fine. Jestem Żydem (I’m a Jewish man). Jestem Żydówką (I’m a Jewish woman/girl). Normal, neutral, words. But don’t say Żydzisko or Żydówa, unless you want to see a Polish speaker grin from ear to ear. Definitely don’t say I’m a Żydówa. Even typing this, I can’t stop smiling. To Polish ears, the difference between Żydówka and Żydówa is striking and obvious. One letter – K – makes all the difference. Our Polish tails (ogonki: ą, ę, ó, and so on), as annoying as they are, matter. Woda is water but wóda is like an informal word for vodka. Just one tail. O and ó. When you break it down, Polish words are hilarious. Example: spódnica (skirt), is essentially: under-nothing.

Polish has many, many colorful words and sayings that would make social justice warriors wince, for example: ”Gdzie diabeł nie może, tam babę pośle.” – There’s no way to truly convey the colorful and comical nature of some of these words and sayings in English. ”Where the devil can’t go, he’ll send a baba (woman/wench/broad, and so on) there or ”What the devil can’t do, he’ll send a woman/wench/broad to do.” Nah, doesn’t sound good in English, does it? The word ”baba” is a funny and colorful one, with at least several meanings in different contexts and if you’re a Slavic language speaker, I’m sure you’re nodding vigorously right now. I can’t think of a word in English to convey the complexities of baba. The dictionary definition (denotation) just doesn’t let you taste all the cultural connotations.

Siksa is also used in Polish, and, of course, in other languages. It’s a pejorative, dismissive, and insulting term for a young woman. In Polish, there’s no Jewish/non-Jewish context. It’s just a young, annoying, maybe scheming, woman. For example, ‘That siksa got on my nerves today/ta siksa mnie dzisiaj wkurzyła.”

That’s just the tip of the iceberg, of course. I’m sure Yiddish and Hebrew have a plethora of such phrases, tales and sayings. I’ll gladly delve into them one day.

While Polish is definitely a hard language to learn, it’s not the hardest as so many Poles believe. It’s true that Polish has great tongue twisters. Grzegorz Brzęczyszczykiewicz is a name and last name used to confuse the Germans. It’s funny when foreigners just stare and say, ”I can see Latin letters but I still don’t know what the hell this is.” Yes, we do hiss like snakes when we speak. Still, I believe, that Welsh has even better tongue twisters.

On a serious note, I’m amused by the comments of the CIA director who keeps sending ”secret messages” to Russian elites. I’d rather listen to a Russian-American historian and an expert on the Russian secret services – Yuri Felshtinsky – who says there are no elites in Russia, or Russian elites abroad for that matter, only FSB psyops and puppets. Russians elites were killed more than a century ago and what’s left, if anything, is irrelevant. So I don’t know which elites CIA and others are talking to. Maybe ETs.