It's not very likely your gonna need the word PUNICA, but still the story is funny.
On daily basis I try to add a bit to my Croatian communication.
Being a Dutchman the language is horrible, and as far as I know only the Dutch, the Flamish and South Africans understand Dutch, reason why I write my blog in English.
To me a Slavic language is/was like abracadabra, but slowly it shows its secrets.
The very best (and first) word I learned was "polako", meaning take it easy, or slowly, slowly.
And still I love this word, as it perfectly explaines the Dalmatian mentality.
Do NOT however conclude Dalmatians are lazy, far from that !!!!
They love the good life, but they work very hard to do so.
Lucky me, I can speak and write in English, with German as second best, and if needed some French.
And lucky me again, my mother in law is from Split, and lived most her working yars in Holland,
so she frequently puts some new knowledge between my ears.
Also my wife, neighbours and friends help me a bit when I stumble through the words I use.
Already I manage to go shopping, and a (very) basic conversation is possible nowasdays.
Some of our neighbours, especially the youngsters, speak English, but it's a lot more fun when one can communicate with people around, as that is like the cherry on the cake !
Hvala Bogu (thank God) I maybe slightly less young/older, but still not stupid (or worse).
I won't however bother you to long with different words, as if you want to learn basic Croatian, there are various options to be found on the internet.
A couple of funny examples however, I like to share with you.
Brod (bróód) for instance, means boat, but sounds like bread in Dutch.
Kruh (kroeg) means bread, but sounds identical to pub in my native language.
Well, recently, my mother in law teached me the word Punica, meaning mother in law, and Hvala Bogu it does not have a similar word with a different meaning in Dutch.
Funny enough however, Punica in Holland is a fruit juice, so another word added to my "hard disk".
Ánd never forgotten, because Inga is the very best Punica in the whole universe !!!
Pozdravi iz Svinisce.
