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ż ź dź dż sz cz ś ć - which give most problems to foreigners?


z_darius  14 | 3960  
9 Dec 2007 /  #61
I find it riveting!

Funny :)

Polish people can be hard working when they want to be. They enjoy using their hands to make things but they are not really lovers of culture, opera and classical music and deep culture. They enjoy welding and riveting things together more than literature and deep philosophy.

isisores  - | 46  
10 Dec 2007 /  #62
well i can't understand the difference between ź, ż and rz. also the difference between ś and sz, ć and cz, dź and dż. one time someone tried explain me but when she was telling the difference between the letters it was coming me the same anyway :P so i think it needs to live in poland for sometime to understand this.
osiol  55 | 3921  
10 Dec 2007 /  #63
can't understand the difference between ź, ż and rz. also the difference between ś and sz, ć and cz, dź and dż

There are 2 different oral positions (for want of a better term):

Ż and RZ are the same - you know roughly what the sound should be. Put your tongue in about the position as for the English R sound - curled back and pointing at the roof of the mouth.

SZ is the unvoiced version of the same thing, and CZ has the same position.

- and ZI (followed by a vowel) - similar sound, but with the tongue sort of level and pointing forwards to just behind and above the front teeth.

Likewise, Ś and SI (with vowel following) is the same but unvoiced. Ć and CI (followed by a vowel) - again, same position.

And no, I find distinguishing the two different positions in speech difficult too.
z_darius  14 | 3960  
11 Dec 2007 /  #64
some more suggestions:

Ż, RZ - simlar to g in mirage or "si" in vision
-, ZI - similar to French "j" but much softer. In some English dialect it is also similar to the following combination: 'cause you...

Ć - simlar to SPanish "ch" but softer, it's a stop
Ś - very soft sheep, similar to soft frontal ch in some German dialects of ich, it's a fricative and slightly lateral (in contrast standard German ich will require the back of the toungue against the soft palate)

D- - a stop as in John
DŻ - a stop, no similar sounds I can think of. Try to voice the Ć sound. Sometimes can be pronounced as two distinct sounds d + Ż
Davey  13 | 388  
12 Dec 2007 /  #65
Actually the only sound that gives me troubles is 'yj' hah, it's not the trouble of saying it but it just feels unnatural when I say it...

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