Many Poles will tell you that Polish is a phonetic language. In other words, you read it as you write it. Cool! Sounds easy enough, right? But hold on a sec. That\u2019s not entirely true. While written Polish might indeed be easier to decipher than for example English (just think about the many different ways you can read the letter \u201ca\u201d in English), it has its own set of funky spelling problems. As any child in Poland can tell you, there is nothing more hideous in this world than Polish orthography. And unfortunately that orthography is directly tied into how we pronounce Polish words.<\/p>\n
Take these two vowels, for example: Or this pair: Or this pair: Then why do we need two of each? When I was younger (and sometimes even now) I was sure it was purely to make life difficult for unfortunate elementary school students. And I guess you feel pretty much the same way now, too.<\/p>\n But that\u2019s not the end. There\u2019s more to add to the confusion.<\/p>\n These letters with a \u201ckreska<\/strong>\u201d over them, which looks like an acute accent mark: In this post I won\u2019t even begin to attempt explaining the rules and exceptions that govern the usage of these letters. Today, we are talking strictly about pronunciation.<\/p>\n So why do Poles claim that Polish is pronounced exactly as it is written? Because, for the most part, it really is. Take double consonants (geminates), for example. In English, my name \u201cAnna<\/a><\/strong>\u201d sounds something like \u201cAna\u201d. In Polish, both \u201cn\u201d are pronounced separately, so the proper way to say my name is \u201cAn-na<\/strong>\u201d. If you don\u2019t have the time to speak slowly, then at least you should try to prolong the sound. The same rule applies to all double consonant sounds, whether they are \u201cn<\/strong>\u201d or \u201cd<\/strong>\u201d or \u201cz<\/strong>\u201d or combinations like \u201ccz<\/strong>\u201d or \u201cd\u017c<\/strong>\u201d. Mercifully, the last two don\u2019t happen very often, but when they do, they\u2019re real tongue twisters. Take a look: See? Polish might not be easy to learn, but at least it\u2019s funny sounding. And imagine the satisfaction you get when you master the proper pronunciation of \u201cww\u00f3z<\/a><\/strong>\u201d (importation) or \u201coddech<\/a><\/strong>\u201d (breath).<\/p>\n Personally, I am not a fan of phonetic symbols, you know, the goofy signs in square brackets you see in dictionaries, so if you prefer, I will do my best to approximate Polish pronunciation using equivalent English sounds. Please leave a comment and let me know which way you’d rather have me do it!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Many Poles will tell you that Polish is a phonetic language. In other words, you read it as you write it. Cool! Sounds easy enough, right? But hold on a sec. That\u2019s not entirely true. While written Polish might indeed be easier to decipher than for example English (just think about the many different ways…<\/p>\n
\nu<\/strong> and \u00f3<\/strong>
\nThey both sound exactly the same, like \u201coo\u201d in English.<\/p>\n
\n\u017c<\/strong> and rz<\/strong>
\nAgain, exactly the same sound in both cases, similar to the French \u201cj\u201d in \u201cJe\u201d (as in \u201cJe t’aime\u201d). Except, when the \u201crz<\/strong>\u201d combination is pronounced separately as \u201cr<\/strong>\u201d+\u201dz<\/strong>\u201d. Not very often, but it does happen.<\/p>\n
\nh<\/strong> and ch<\/strong>
\nThey both sound like \u201ch\u201d.<\/p>\n
\n\u015b<\/strong>, \u017a<\/strong>, \u0144<\/strong>, \u0107<\/strong> and this one \u2013 d\u017a<\/strong>
\nsound almost exactly like these combinations:
\nsi<\/strong>, zi<\/strong>, ni<\/strong>, ci<\/strong> and dzi<\/strong><\/p>\n
\nd\u017cd\u017cownica<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 earth-worm
\nor
\nczczenie<\/strong> \u2013 worshiping<\/p>\n