Original Post: https://forum.duolingo.com/comment/34799185
Hi, I'm Claire, a Mexican girl learning Polish. I am making this Polish learning guide maintaining the helpful and intuitive lesson order of the Duolingo Polish courses, although adding from other guides online, dictionaries and asking around on the forums. Duolingo is great for learning through repetition, but for the most part the grammar is not explained explicitly. So I decided to put all my notes in here.
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I myself am a beginner in Polish, and I decided to start learning using Duolingo, which is great for learning through repetition. However for the most part the grammar is not explained explicitly, unless I went into the comments. I noticed myself going back to the same exercises again and again, so I started looking in the comments, searching for the grammar cases that they mention, looking for other support material and taking notes in a Google Docs. Eventually I made it into a website. It’s been an incredible jump from repetition in Duolingo to actually understanding why I’m saying what I’m saying, so I thought it could help other people as well.
First let's study the phonology of the Polish language so that we can read the texts in Polish!
I used the help of the iOS app Polish Dictionary & Thesaurus by Farlex, Inc., or the GooglePlay version, which are powered by The Free Dictionary by Farlex. However, for some reason the website version is incomplete and doesn’t have the conjugation of verbs and declension of words is not included. For a desktop or laptop, I recommend using the polish Wiktionary.
You could also just use the polish Wiktionary on your iOS or Android device, although there’s no official apps for it, I have tried a few on iOS and they were as good as the first one I recommended.
Throughout the guide, I also use a few pointers back to the website Mówić po Polsku, Clozemaster, Course of Polish and perhaps a few books, such as “Polish: A Comprehensive Grammar” by Iwona Sadowska, or “Polish Verbs & Essentials of Grammar” by Oscar Swan.
I’ve also been listening to music in Polish on Spotify, making use of the occasional included lyrics. Here are two playlists I’ve made, along with other resources.
Dedication song from Witcher 3: Wilcza zamieć (Priscilla's song - Wolven Storm)
Na szlak moich blizn poprowadź palec,
By nasze drogi spleść gwiazdom na przekór.
Otwórz te rany, a potem zalecz,
Aż w zawiły losu ułożą się wzór.
Z moich snów uciekasz nad ranem,
Cierpka jak agrest, słodka jak bez.
Chcę śnić czarne loki splątane,
Fiołkowe oczy mokre od łez.
Za wilczym śladem podążę w zamieć
I twoje serce wytropię uparte,
Przez gniew i smutek, stwardniałe w kamień
Rozpalę usta smagane wiatrem.
Z moich snów uciekasz nad ranem,
Cierpka jak agrest, słodka jak bez.
Chcę śnić czarne loki splątane,
Fiołkowe oczy mokre od łez.
Nie wiem, czy jesteś moim przeznaczeniem,
Czy przez ślepy traf miłość nas związała.
Kiedy wyrzekłem moje życzenie,
Czyś mnie wbrew sobie wtedy pokochała?
Z moich snów uciekasz nad ranem,
Cierpka jak agrest, słodka jak bez.
Chcę śnić czarne loki splątane,
Fiołkowe oczy mokre od łez.
Run your finger on the trail of my scars,
To connect our ways, in defiance of stars.
Open these wounds, and then heal them,
Until they arrange themselves in the intricate pattern of fate.
You escape from my dreams in the morning,
Sour as a gooseberry, sweet as a lilac.
I want to dream about tangled black curls,
About violet eyes, moist with tears.
In the wake of wolf I'll go in the snowstorm
And I'll track your stubborn heart down.
Through anger and sadness,
Hardened into stone, I'll kindle the lips lashed with the wind.
You escape from my dreams in the morning,
Sour as a gooseberry, sweet as a lilac.
I want to dream about tangled black curls,
About violet eyes, moist with tears.
I don't know if you are my destiny,
Or if love has bounded us by blind luck.
When I uttered my wish,
Did you fall in love with me in spite of yourself then?
You escape from my dreams in the morning,
Sour as a gooseberry, sweet as a lilac.
I want to dream about tangled black curls,
About violet eyes, moist with tears.