Thanks! I'll try to use your corrections in my future notes, but it's a lot to take in. I'm sure I'll fail again and again.

I know the metaphor palais/pièce is not working, because rooms don't grow, maybe forêt/arbre would be better. Nothing to get hung about.

I tried to refer to a line of text. Come to think about it, "les paroles" correspond to Polish "słowa, pl". There is an difference in usage between "słowo, sn" and "wyraz" both meaning "word". I'm guessing la parole/le mot represent the same distinction. I'm not aware such distinction exists in Russian.

Actually, the metaphor works, it's just "grandir" is mostly an intransitiv verb, whereas "agrandir" is transitive.

Overall, "les paroles" are the words uttered by someone (or "lyrics", in the context of a song). Each sentence is called "une phrase" or "un vers" (un vers = a verse, of course)

"wyraz" has a Russian cognate, which is выражение (I guess it'd be "wyrażenie", translitterated to Polish) but it means "expression", and the lyrics of a song are simply текст (tekst), but you're right, there's no "les mots/les paroles" distinction.

BTW, how do you say "German" in Polish? In Russian, a German is a немец (nemec), a "mute one", because they weren't understood by the "Slavs" who could understand each other's "words". That's an etymology I'm very fond of!

It's "Niemiec", as in Russian. I don't know what to think about "Германец, Германцы", which I remember from Russian war movies. Sounds neutral to me, but maybe it's outdated. Pejorative terms come to mind because "Au service de la France" uses "Boche" in a comedy setup, as in "Les Boches veulent juger un nazi". The equivalent of "Kraut" doesn't work in Polish, because we eat "kraut" as well, nothing wrong with it.

Yes Германец is a bit outdated. "Boche" is one of these deregatory terms, the second most common ones being "les Fritz" (cause we all know all Germans are called "Fritz", right?) and "les Chleuhs". The latter name originally applied to a Berber tribe from Morocco, and it later applied to Germans for unclear reasons, presumably because they spoke a totally ununderstandable language (like the Berbers).

"Fryc" works as well, "Szwab" is derogatory, but it just means an inhabitant of "Szwabia", a region in South Germany. "Nazista (a Nazi)" is becoming a loaded term now, because the current political leaders try to stir resentment towards Germans implying whitewashing German history whenever they blame Nazis instead of Germans.

As to the French, the only term that comes to my mind at the moment is "Francuzik", diminutive of "Francuz", as to make fun of somebody being too refined. I think we just like the French.

I've got another etymological puzzle for you. French "bistrot" comes from Russian "быстро", I didn't know that. I would never associate "bistrot" with a fast food restaurant, because in Polish, in my days, "bistro" was rather an elegant bar. But Anne Sylvestre, in one of her songs, has it as a synonym of fast life.

The most deregatory term for Polish people is "Polak", which is a pun on many Polish names ending with -ak. We have the same things about Russians, "les Russkofs", since many of their family names end with -ov.

Apparently, "bistrot" comes from the Napoleonian times. After the defeat of Napoléon, Russian troops briefly occupied Paris, and apparently the café service was not fast enough to their taste, so they would often yell "быстро, быстро!" and well... the rest is history!

"Polak" is just Polish for "a Pole, m(asculine)". A well known, patriotic nursery rhyme says "Kto ty jesteś? Polak mały/Jaki znak twój? Orzeł biały; Who are you? A small Pole, What is your emblem? A white eagle." But "Polack" has very bad connotations, especially in the States. In Canada it's hard to judge, because people are generally nice to each other, at least on the surface.

The French are known for being avid frog eaters. I think it's worldwide, true or not. The Polish version: "Żabojady" has a strange morphology and it is derogatory, but not really that bad; humorous, but not that offensive, at least to my ear. "Żabo" is from "żaba, a frog", "jady, those who eat", but in an archaic way that I don't understand. In the current parlance it would've been "jedzący żaby" - doesn't roll off the tongue easily.

I forgot about German being sometimes called "Krzyżacy" for the Teutonic Order, going back to the Crusades. The Teutonic knights were crusading against the Baltic tribes, close cousins to Slavs ("krzyż, cross").

Yes I heard about the this reputation of Canadians being polite :) it's like all stereotypes, exaggerated, but with a bit of truth behind maybe...

I understood each word, except "orzeł" (truth be told, the Russian word is not very different but I didn't know it before checking the dictionary!)

I'd say it's kinda the same for "un Polack" in France, it's deregatory but not as bad as some other slurs directed at other ethnicities.

The frog eaters thing is universal, indeed :-D when they're prepared well, frog legs are a true delicacy, but you won't find many French folks eating those on a regular basis, or eating those altogether. In my family, they're mostly for special occasions, like Christmas.

The infamous Teutonic Knights! These guys definitely left a great impression wherever they went to - well, when you wander around slaughtering people, making captives and executing all those who refuse to convert, you're not often invited to the Sunday barbecues!

They got good beating at Grunwald, 1410 AD. By the way, 1410 is also a recipe for moonshine vodka, 1000 ml sugar, 4 l water, 10 g yeast (You've been served a Polish yoke, but not the kind from the US, totally authentic, very plebeian. To understand the context, the battle of Grunwald/Tannenberg, 1410 is a very patriotic reference, I'm at attention writing this).