Day 131: Strictly Symbolic Hospitality
On Christmas Eve afternoon, in the family house in August贸w, a father (A) lays the table for Wigilia, the Christmas Eve supper, with his grown-up son (B), who has come home for the holidays.
How to study this lesson 3 steps
- Read the situation under the title. It says who is talking and how they know each other, which decides how politely they speak.
- Read the dialogue line by line with its translation, until every line makes sense. Point at (or tap) a Polish word to see what it means.
- Spend at least 30 minutes listening to native Polish, for example from the Resources page. It doesn't matter if you don't understand it yet.
Dialogue
Audio recordings are on the way. For now, each lesson is the dialogue with its English translation.
Keys: E hide English · ← → previous / next day · point at a word to see its meaning
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A
Postaw jeszcze pusty talerz dla zb艂膮kanego w臋drowca. Babcia zawsze powtarza艂a, 偶e w Wigili臋 nie godzi si臋 zamyka膰 drzwi przed obcym.
Put out one more empty plate for the lost wanderer. Grandma always used to say it isn't right to shut the door on a stranger on Christmas Eve.
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B
Ju偶 stoi. A ten w臋drowiec to ma przyj艣膰 naprawd臋 czy tak tylko symbolicznie?
It's already there. So is this wanderer actually meant to turn up, or is it just symbolic?
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A
Symbolicznie, rzecz jasna. Talerz stawia si臋 w celu okazania go艣cinno艣ci, a nie w celu karmienia obcych ludzi.
Symbolic, naturally. The plate is laid for the purpose of showing hospitality, not for the purpose of feeding strangers.
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B
To mamy problem, bo m贸j w臋drowiec w艂a艣nie parkuje pod domem. To moja dziewczyna, a ty od p贸艂 roku pytasz, kiedy j膮 poznasz.
Then we've got a problem, because my wanderer is parking outside the house right now. It's my girlfriend, and you've been asking for six months when you'll get to meet her.
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A
Dziewczyna to nie w臋drowiec! Wypada艂oby najpierw uprzedzi膰 ojca, a nie przemyca膰 j膮 do domu pod pozorem tradycji.
A girlfriend isn't a wanderer! The proper thing would be to warn your father first, not smuggle her into the house under the guise of tradition.
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B
Przed chwil膮 m贸wi艂e艣, 偶e nie godzi si臋 zamyka膰 drzwi przed obcym. A zb艂膮kana jest jak si臋 patrzy: nawigacja zawioz艂a j膮 nad Necko.
A minute ago you were saying it isn't right to shut the door on a stranger. And she's lost, all right: the satnav took her to Lake Necko.
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A
Tylko 偶e ten talerz jest ju偶 zaj臋ty. Na pi膮t膮 zaprosi艂em kole偶ank臋 z ch贸ru parafialnego, 偶eby ci j膮 przy okazji przedstawi膰.
Only that plate's already taken. I've invited a lady friend from the parish choir for five o'clock, so I could introduce her to you while I was at it.
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B
Od kiedy ty 艣piewasz w ch贸rze? I czy przypadkiem nie wypada艂oby najpierw uprzedzi膰 syna, zamiast przemyca膰 kole偶ank臋 pod pozorem tradycji?
Since when do you sing in a choir? And wouldn't the proper thing be to warn your son first, rather than smuggle a lady friend in under the guise of tradition?
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A
Od pa藕dziernika, i to basem. Dobra, jeste艣my kwita: dostawiam drugi talerz, a po podzieleniu si臋 op艂atkiem og艂osimy, 偶e zb艂膮ka艂y si臋 a偶 dwie w臋drowniczki.
Since October, and as a bass, no less. All right, we're quits: I'll lay a second plate, and after we've shared the Christmas wafer, we'll announce that no fewer than two lady wanderers have lost their way.
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B
Dwie w臋drowniczki w jedn膮 Wigili臋. Ciekawe, czy dziadek te偶 kiedy艣 tak przemyci艂 babci臋.
Two lady wanderers in one Christmas Eve. I wonder if Grandpa ever smuggled Grandma in like that.
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A
Przemyci艂. W sze艣膰dziesi膮tym sz贸stym babcia by艂a zb艂膮kan膮 w臋drowniczk膮 przy stole pradziadk贸w i zosta艂a. St膮d u nas ten talerz.
He did. In sixty-six, Grandma was the lost wanderer at your great-grandparents' table, and she stayed. That's why we have this plate.
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