Polish Language Pronunciation - Example Words and Phrases

Merged: I struggle with the pronunciation of the letter Y

It's when someone spells something out to me in Polish I always get mixed up with E, I and Y.

Anyone have any tips to help me?

:)

I struggled with this one for a while
This is how a native speaker told me to pronounce them
i as in leek
e as in feck
y as in lick

Perfect.

Brawo! Brawo!

Dzieki stary.

:)

no problem, go practice it "z pięknymi kobietami"

I think everyone learning polish has trouble with these three letters, because we are so used to pronouncing them in English. The only cure for me was to repeatedly listen to these letters, in Janusz's excellent alphabet videos :)

I had problems with them for a long time. The problem has now changed from one of pronunciation to that of choosing which one to add at the end.

I never had trouble with these letters, but always with the damn nasal vowels.

Indeed. They shouldn't be difficult because they have close correspondents in English, but they are tricky because of where and how they are used.

Tricky. In much of northern England, the y at the end is a bit like like the Polish y. In southern England, it's closer to Polish i.

But...
The English 'i' sound is more of a glide or dipthong, whereas the Polish sound is a pure monopthong. I was trying to teach someone the differences between a few English words. I got the best pronunciation when I spelt these words thusly:

szijt / shyt
pijs / pys

I only wanted someone to pass me a sheet without them thinking I was swearing or being disgusting. Ah the things we do for a little p!ss and quiet.

Mah-check

nazz drov yeah

Say it before downing a drink, after someone sneezes or both if they happen at the same time.

Merged: Smigus Dyngus Pronunciation!

Hello, I'm giving a speech on Polish culture and I was wondering if anyone could help me with the proper pronunciation of a few polish terms. I'm pretty sure that my way of saying them is way off.

The terms I'm trying to learn to say are:
Smigus Dyngus
Pisanki
Swieconka
Wigilia
Koledy
Pasterka

I really appreciate any help!
Thank You,
Sarah :)

Smigus Dyngus ___ Shmee-goose Deen-goose
Pisanki ___ Pea-son-key
Swieconka ___ Sh-fee-en-tson-kah
Wigilia ___ Vee-gee-lyah (g as in geese)
Koledy ___ Koe-lend-ee

Din goose rather than Dean goose. I'm not sure if I'd like to meet a goose called Dean.


Past airrrrrr ka. (But with a slightly shorter r than I just wrote).

Awesome, Thank you so much! I was definitely waaaaaaaay off with those :D

Śmigus Dyngus
Pisąnki
Swięconka
Wigilia
Kolędy

It's those Polish charcaters that were missing that make all the difference.

Krysia, do you keep geese?

Wrong osiołek. Try again.
No gęsi. Only kaczki.

Święconka

Good job osioł. Now try the other one.
Hint: Not every "a" in the Polish language has a tail :)

If you insist.

Pisąńki

Very original must say.

I'm running out of characters. Can I use the Czech u with a little circle above it?

Edith


Pea sanky.
Pisanki

You fooled me (not difficult, I know).

you can say: piss on key

Wonder if there's any relation between the Polish word "dyngus" and older American slang "dingus" for some type of object.

Marku

Lyzko - there must be some - I've somewhere that the dyngus thing comes from German or other Germanic (das Ding) and it must have been the same with the dingus - must be from dings I guess (from Jewish people or from German immigrants)

Probably the latter, unless by "Jewish people" (Żydy) you mean Yiddish-speaking immigrants from around the Austro-Hungarian Empire a century or so ago, such as from Lemberg (formerly Lwów and now L'viv belonging to Ukraine).

Marku

Slightly off topic, but my first Polish teacher got my American tongue to pronounce the "ł"-sound in "pełny" so that it didn't come out like "pellnee" or something, by having me mimic an English person saying the word "pony".

Perhaps unorthodox, but by golly it worked!!!!

Marku

yes I meant Yiddish speaking people but as far I know most of those who came to America then originated in the Russian Empire (the lands taken from pre-partition Poland or rather Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth - so also from the ethnically Polish lands - these were the only areas in the Russian Empire Jews were allowed to live for quite long (rule introduced by Empress Catherine) it was not until late 19th century that the rule was lifted (or even later, can't remember)

as far as I know there was much less incentive for the Jews from Austro-Hungarian Empire to emigrate as they weren't persecuted in any significant form there

Well, many Jews were given special sanctions by the Hapsburg Monarchs, namely Emperor Franz-Josef, that's somewhat true. This isn't to imply however, that there was any less hostility towards Jews among the rank and file population at the time. In fact, Austria's anti-semitism was almost as virulent as Poland's, and more than in Germany. Don't forget either, the German "Aufklaerung" spread all throughout the Empire and Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, Moses Mendelssohn (himself a Jew!), Goethe himself, all contributed to a dissemination of French ideas regarding human equality etc.

The Austro-Hungarian situation was slightly different. Much of the region was still a rather backwater area, far behind France and England in either mercantile or cultural influence.

While most Jews from beyond the Pale, as you mention, were the most numerous immigrants to the New World, many Polish Jews settled for a time in Germany as well as other European countries, often forever, while others did indeed emigrate to America.

I once used the word 'lunch' when speaking to a Pole and pronounced it according to Polish rules, and it took him a while to figure out what I was talking about, lol.

Poles pronounce it more as lanch. Many Scots enunciate their vowels with precision so I hear this clearly.

I know what you mean...
I cannot pronounce 'literally' the American way for sh!te. Can do so with a very fake English accent, though ;)

Ahh.... those charms of English language :)))