Beckham and Arsenal
We watched the footie last night. Quite funny really as neither of us are that into football (soccer, not the American kind, although to be fair we're not really into that either...)
However, we'd both heard of Beckham, Zidane and Henry and I knew my family would be following it as my brother has been a long distance Arsenal supporter for a ages and my Dad seems to have decided Edd's on to a good thing so has abandoned his home team of Leeds for his son's.
So, we saw the match and to our astonishment witnessed Arsenal beating Real Madrid. Who knew it was possible?
Anyway, I have a couple of questions that resulted from this match, maybe you can help me answer them.
1. Why are a few grown men paid soooooo much money to kick a ball about and act like spoiled brats? I mean they are undoubtedly very fit, have good ball control blahdy blah, but at the end of the day they spend so much time fouling (in a way that tries to look like it's not a foul but ends up just looking like a foul badly disguised as an accident) and falling over clutching their foot, shoulder, arm, head, that it's all very reminiscent of the playground. Especially when they jump up after fouling someone, hands in the air, all 'it wasn't me sir, it was him!' There is all this money that magically appears for football (or any sport) sponsorship, and yet surely everyone could think of a couple of better causes for this cash off the top of their head...
2. This is a question specific to Polish commentary of the match last night. Someone must have the answer, and I will not stop until I have found it because Polish is an incredibly precise language and not understanding this is bugging me. Ok, so the commentators were following the ball, and as it went to David Beckham they would say the ball was going 'do BeckHama' (I couldn't stop myself regularly shouting at the tv 'It's Beck-em not BeckHam!!') but when it was going to Thierry Henry they would say the ball was going 'do Henriego' I think I've confused myself but I thought it was genitive and the noun ending is -a but the adjective ending is -iego. If that's right, why is Beckham a noun and Henry an adjective?
However, we'd both heard of Beckham, Zidane and Henry and I knew my family would be following it as my brother has been a long distance Arsenal supporter for a ages and my Dad seems to have decided Edd's on to a good thing so has abandoned his home team of Leeds for his son's.
So, we saw the match and to our astonishment witnessed Arsenal beating Real Madrid. Who knew it was possible?
Anyway, I have a couple of questions that resulted from this match, maybe you can help me answer them.
1. Why are a few grown men paid soooooo much money to kick a ball about and act like spoiled brats? I mean they are undoubtedly very fit, have good ball control blahdy blah, but at the end of the day they spend so much time fouling (in a way that tries to look like it's not a foul but ends up just looking like a foul badly disguised as an accident) and falling over clutching their foot, shoulder, arm, head, that it's all very reminiscent of the playground. Especially when they jump up after fouling someone, hands in the air, all 'it wasn't me sir, it was him!' There is all this money that magically appears for football (or any sport) sponsorship, and yet surely everyone could think of a couple of better causes for this cash off the top of their head...
2. This is a question specific to Polish commentary of the match last night. Someone must have the answer, and I will not stop until I have found it because Polish is an incredibly precise language and not understanding this is bugging me. Ok, so the commentators were following the ball, and as it went to David Beckham they would say the ball was going 'do BeckHama' (I couldn't stop myself regularly shouting at the tv 'It's Beck-em not BeckHam!!') but when it was going to Thierry Henry they would say the ball was going 'do Henriego' I think I've confused myself but I thought it was genitive and the noun ending is -a but the adjective ending is -iego. If that's right, why is Beckham a noun and Henry an adjective?
posted by Becca | 8:48 am
7 Comments:
Well according to Maria it's just a question of sound - you can't add a to Henry. I guess they had a choice of Henrietta or Henryiego, and I think they made a wise choice.
Well, I'm not sure it is just the sound but it does have to do with the ending. Maria said that if the word ends with a consonant the ending is -a, if the word ends in a vowel the ending is -iego.
Mimicking the delirious spit-stained roar of the Polish commentator cry:
"BeckEMA!!!"
and now with the same ecstasy try:
"BeckHAMA!!!"
Don't you find the minor poetic adjustment speaks for itself?
LOL you should have seen last night's Chelsea match then... the acting by both teams (although predominately Barcelona) was amazing!
Henry -> Henriego, because the word Henry then used in Polish language remsemble an adjectiv. It ends in with a vowel. And combination of RY is not liked in polish language, so you have ri.
There are Polish examples of this too: Jerzy -> gen. Jerzego
It's same thing if you have a polish lastname, e.g. Kowalski, gen. do Kowalskiego.
Beckham -> Beckhama. It bends like regular polish name, because it ends with consonant, like all other Polish names for men.
But if the name is really strange, e.g Otto, then they don't decline at all.
Correction to previous, Otto -> gen. Ottona, becuase it is a Latin name.
But, well if the name was Väinö, when it wouldn't hace declination.
Well yes crow, it does have comedy value.
I actually saw a bit of last night's game Claire (we were on a roll with the footie), but only until I was sure Chelsea were going to lose and then I was satisfied.
And thank you, all-knowing anon :-) If I knew who you were I'd buy you a pączek in the spirit of tłusty czwartek...
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