Happiness

z Polish language vs English language

Kacper Han
 Similarities
z
z
Skakać ze szczęścia
 When we’re excited about something
or overload with positive serotonin we
can’t control ouselves which results in
uncontrolled movements
 In this context „Skakać” means
uncontrolled movements as we’re full
of joy because of something triggering
it.
Jump for joy
 People, especially kids, may not be
able to contain their feelings after
hearing exciting news
 This feeling of happiness is like an
overwhelming pressure that has to be
let out in order to calm down
z

Wybuchnąć gromkim śmiechem Burst out laughing

 Wybuchnąć means explode which could
mean something sudden.
 Gromki means something very loud,
almost irritating.
 It means laughing suddenly
 Again it could be a feeling of great
pressure that we have to let go

 So basically what it means is suddenly

exploding with laughter as we find
something hilarious.
z
Rozpiera kogoś radość

 Literal translation would be "someone is about to burst with joy"

 Rozpiera means that we feeling something very strongly to the point
that people around us can notice it
 Rozpiera also indicates that we are about to explode with certain
emotion that we're feeling at the moment
z
Like a dog with two tails

 It means to be extremely happy

 Dog wagging its tail is often considered as a sign of him being
happy
 Now we can only imagine how it would be wagging its 2 tails.
That’s how happy we are.
z
Być cały w skowronkach

 Literal translation would be "entirely in skylarks„

 It originates from a song by Skaldowie.
 From the song we can learn that it means someone (a person) is
joyful/cheerful what it can also mean is connection to skylarks. We
perceive birds as little joyful creatures who sing for us
 Differences
z
z
On cloud nine

 Comes from the greatest/tallest cloud named „cumulonimbus”

 To be on cloud nine = to be on the tallest cloud on Earth
 Wandering in an unaccesible place may translate to not worry
about down to earth problems
z
On top of the world

 It’s been around since at least 1920s

 This feeling of happiness may originate from a success or
freedom of stress
 Again being in an unaccessible place means not worrying about
other problems
z
Być w siódmym niebie

 In Jewish and Muslim cosmography there's seven skies and the

last one belongs to Jehovah/Allah
 Być w siódmym niebie = feels as if you're blessed by God
z
To be full of the joys of spring

 Spring comes after depressing winter when most of the things

that generate joy is taken.
 Spring is a rebirth of all those joyful things which after such a
depressing state only enlarge this feeling of happiness
z
Promienieć ze szczęścia

 Literal translation would be "shine with joy/happiness"

 Promienieć expresses positive emotions.
 Promienieć means shine. This Polish word is mostly associated with
the Sun.
 The Sun is a symbol of a greater good, of truth, of freedom. These are
indicators of positive traits.
z
Conclusion

 The only motifs that appear in both languages are happiness as

a feeling of pressure and happiness that comes from animals.
 In the Polish language the additional motifs are religion and light
 In the English language the additional motifs are seasons and
freedom
Thank you for your attention
z
Sources

 https://sjp.pwn.pl/sjp/promieniec;2508733.html

 https://www.bryk.pl/slowniki/slownik-symboli-literackich/101677-slonce

 https://www.expertin.pl/co-znaczy-caly-w-skowronkach/

 https://wsjp.pl/haslo/podglad/15961/rozpierac/4296875/uczucie

 https://polonistyka-uwm.wixsite.com/pogotowie-jezykowe/single-post/2018/02/12/jesteś-szczęśliwy-czyli-promieniejesz-czy-
promieniujesz

 http://www.strefaangielskiego.pl/szczesliwe-idiomy-po-angielsku/

 https://www.theidioms.com/on-top-of-the-world/

 https://slowniketymologiczny.uw.edu.pl/entry/124

 https://wordhistories.net/2018/11/29/dog-two-tails/

 https://funkyenglish.com/idiom-full-joys-spring/