Two Words to the Wise:
Reflections on Polish Language, Literature, and Folklore

Robert A. Rothstein

In his wonderful, engaging book Two Words to the Wise, Robert Rothstein explores what lies beneath the vocabulary, sayings, texts, and grammar of the Polish language. He does so, moreover, in a delightfully light and serendipitous manner. Rothstein is a fine scholar—he knows a vast amount about Polish and Slavic linguistics, and about Polish culture high and low, new and old. But this is not the plodding systematic philology of traditional professors—Rothstein enthusiastically tackles whatever seems interesting or relevant, with the result that we are continually taken by surprise as we are led in ever new directions in the successive columns collected here.

There is something in this book for everyone with any level of knowledge about Polish. I’ve been speaking the language every day for twenty-five years, yet I learned something new on every page of Two Words to the Wise. For those presently learning the language, Rothstein introduces and explains all kinds of things that are likely to be of interest, from the seemingly strange names of the months in Polish, to words for family relations (which are much more nuanced and plentiful in Polish than in English), to the Polish term for the © sign used in e-mail addresses. Native Poles too will find much that is new for them, as Rothstein not only explains how Poles say things today, but shows us the linguistic and cultural origins of many aspects of the language, and explores a vast range of sayings, rhymes, songs, and other traditional and contemporary texts.

… [I]n learning a language, a fundamental advantage is gained by having a curiosity about the material at hand—a willingness to accept it as it is, and a desire to understand its deeper history. Robert Rothstein’s book addresses both these dispositions.

Bill Johnston
Departments of Comparative Literature and
Second Language Studies
Director, Polish Studies Center
Indiana University

This book is recommended for library collections at colleges and univer¬sities, as well as larger public library systems.

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