Wednesday, April 13, 2011

W Szczebrzeszynie chrząszcz - A Polish tongue twister


Although my last encounter with a "different" culture went so hay-wire due mainly to the other end's decaying society, which refuses to learn anything new, updating their knowledge to adapt the changing world and stopped producing a healthy and sane new generation, it's always my great pleasure to try mastering a new language and indulge myself in a different culture. Oh, I love it!

There is so much of learning and, regenerating and rewiring neurons, which is a fulfilling and complete rejuvenating experience.

A year ago, while I was browsing through the racks of an old bookshop, I found this "Polish Phrasebook".

Backside it was written, "Follow the traveling sun god Dażbóg as he rides across the sky on a diamond studded beer keg (???). Follow his lead; he starts the day as a newborn, touring architecturally rich miasta (town), rolling woodlands and mountain peaks eager to experience the possibilities of a new culture and language. He ends the day older and wiser, with the insights that come with learning a new language".

It immediately clicked. I was like, aha, someone copied my very own thoughts. Curse the plagiarizer!

And I ended up buying the book. Initially, I tried to master the alphabets and the sounds. But then, there was no motivation and my enthusiasm began to dry up despite the sweet souvenir of a żubrówka on a christmas réveillon in Livry-Gargan, Paris. The book was abandoned.

Then came Ola and a "Polish dream" (Which is altogether a different story anyway). Now the book started to smile a ghastly smile at me, viciously.

Pissed-off me, I picked a tongue twister from the book and started to repeat it in it's ears. The result is:


It's an infamous Polish tongue twister about the town Szczebrzeszyn and a beetle, the cockchafer (chrząszcz). It goes like:

"W Szczebrzeszynie chrząszcz brzmi w trzcinie" means,
In the town of Szczebrzeszyn, the cockchafer buzzes in the reeds.

It is in fact the first line of a poem "Chrząszcz" (cockchafer) by Jan Brzechwa, which goes like:

W Szczebrzeszynie chrząszcz brzmi w trzcinie
I Szczebrzeszyn z tego słynie.
Wół go pyta: "Panie chrząszczu,
Po cóż pan tak brzęczy w gąszczu?"


Meaning:

In the town of Szczebrzeszyn a beetle buzzes in the reeds
And Szczebrzeszyn is famous for it.
An ox asks him: "Mister beetle,
What are you buzzing for in the bushes?"

A slower version:


And the crazier version:


Now the book is bleeding and pleading for mercy.

PS: Pardon my heavy impolite Polish accent. Please comment. Proszę... i dziękuję bardzo!