I’m adding another item to my list of things that are different in Poland, and it has to do with greetings and farewells.
I’ve noticed that when I’m waiting in line at the Post Office, people say “dzien dobry” (good day) to no one in particular when they enter the room. They also say goodbye, again, to no one in particular as the exit. The same thing happens at the bank and in the doctors’ waiting rooms. Sometimes, the other patrons will respond to a goodbye as someone exits, but it seems to be optional.
Don’t get me wrong. Of course, I would greet the clerk, teller, or receptionist behind the counter before beginning the business at hand and thank them or use some other words of farewell when we’re finished. I just don’t expect to be offering pleasantries to the backside of folks queued up waiting for their turn.
This hello and goodbye “to the room” is vastly different to the way strangers are treated in open public spaces in Poland. To illustrate the contrast between here and home, if I’m walking down the street near my home in Tucson and pass someone on the sidewalk, we may nod, smile, or even say hi or good morning – just acknowledge each other’s existence in some way. If I pass someone on the sidewalk by our flat in Poznan, it’s perfectly normal to and expected that you will totally ignore each other. I’ve gotten used to this. I no longer make eye contact with passersby; that might be perfectly normal on the busy streets of Manhattan, but it will seem out of place, aloof, and bordering on rude during one-on-one encounters when I return to Tucson.
While I’m on a roll about “greetings,” let me run this by you. I’ve noticed that Poles and other expats (who are not native English speakers) use the word “greetings” as a closing in written correspondence. It happens so consistently that I’m sure this is the way they’ve been taught. It just seems odd to me. If I were going to use the word, greetings, it would be at the beginning of my correspondence, as a salutation. It just seems out of place at the end. What do you think?
An accountant by trade and a food blogger since 2009, Lois Britton fell in love with Polish cuisine during the years she lived in Poznań, Poland. As the creator of PolishHousewife.com, she loves connecting readers with traditional Polish recipes. Lois has a graduate certificate in Food Writing and Photography from the University of South Florida. She is the author of The Polish Housewife Cookbook, available on Amazon and on her website.
Ola
thanks for this information about the use of 'greetings', I would also use it at the end, now I know it's wrong:)
Chris
Greetings is just the direct translation of the Polish salutation pozdrowienia. It is used at the end in a Polish text, so a Polish person would tend to use it in the same way (but incorrectly)in English.
I guess I am Polish now because I greet the room. I stopped smiling on the street after someone asked me if we know each other and Misiu reminded me that I am not on TV 😉
Lois B
Chris – yep, you're Polish! So is pozdrowienia, interchangeable, like ciao and aloha?
Chris
I prefer na razie (or na ra) which is like see you later. If you wanna be all tight with the zioms, you can say pozdro or even po dro. Or probably not, but it is perfectly acceptable for the 5-year-old set 😉
Lori
And is Hungarian one can say szia both ways. But this made me think of when the Polish grocery store was first open in north Minneapolis. When done with the purchase I said dzienkuje and the university student working there responded with witamy.