The only polish word a foreigner won't ever say correctly :P

its 'trzcinie', and really it shoud be 'chrząszcz brzmi w trzcinie w Szczebrzeszynie, a Szczebrzeszyn z tego słynie', which means 'a beetle/cockroach makes a sound (whatever you call the sounds they make lol) in the cane in Szczebrzeszyn (Polish town), Szczebrzeszyn is famous for it'.

sorry, of course it's trzcinie.. thx Justysia,

tut tut, shouldnt make mistakes like that panie studencie ;)

wierz mi, palę się ze wstydu teraz :( Rzadko mi się zdarza pisać nieortograficznie

mam taką nadzieję! :)

Hi.
I think for the forigners the hardest in Polish are all the "wizzing" collocations, containing "szcz", "strz", "drz"/"brz"/"grz" etc.

trzeszczeć (to crackle), Grzegorz (boys name), brzęczeć (to buzz, to jingle), strzelać (to shoot), zbrzydnąć (become ugly) and so on. Try to say "zbrzydł" correctly ;-)

In fact, most Polish native speakers don't say "strz" correctly, they usually say "szcz" instead. Same with "drz" followed by consonant - ex. "drzwi" (door) - usually we say "dżwi" (which is incorrect).

some time ago I met this german guy who couldn't say "Anka". And that's a simple word :-).
it was hard for him to merge n with k.

you shouldve tried to make him say 'w*nker' ;)



yeah some of them dont, but if you try being exactly correct and pronounce everything exactly as its written, including ę and ą, people would think youre stuck up and that youre talking down to them.

Kto Ci tak powiedział? (lol)

I'd like to hear someone English say:

"Przedsiębiorstwo Świnoujście nie jest w Województwie Dolnośląskim", lol

See how a German SS officer is trying to put down the name Brzęczyszczykiewicz (from the Polish comedy film):

oh that is legendary lol

Last week my Canadian teacher said that the biggest problem for him is to say correctly (and understand the difference) between: kasza, kasia and kasa. Whenever we hear him calling my friend, we have no doubts that's hard for him :o)

spirytusik najwydestylowaniuchniejszy

One word:
- Konstantynopolitańczykiewiczkówianeczka.

- Wszcznij (od: wszcząć)

- Dziewięćsetdziewięćdziesięciodziewięciotysięcznik. (mountain 9,99km of height)

So, instead of "Strzała na stole" we say "Szczała na stole" ?????

she doesnt sound very civilised ha ha

Try to say "Grzegorz Brzęczyszczykiewicz" it's a name and surename. or the longest surename ever "konstyntanopolitańczykiewiczówna"

Because she got "zostawiona przez Indianina" and she was really angry. She did it to protest against being dumped.

>I think for the forigners the hardest in Polish are all the "wizzing" collocations, containing "szcz", "strz", "drz"/"brz"/"grz" etc.

And the collisions of ł and w. They absolutely do my head in. You know, like słowo, słońce, Wrocław, Włocławek... I have to force myself not to say either "l" or "v" (i.e "swowo", "Wroclaw").

In English, there is a phrase to practice the difference between v and w: "The vicar of Wakefield's wife gave a warm welcome to the visitors." Can you suggest me something similar in Polish?

Hm, found this one pretty tough either...

ubezdźwięczniania (devoicing)

M-G (trouble)

I've noticed that English speaking persons have difficulties with hearing the difference between 'wiesz' and 'wieś'. Maybe comparing them with 'ż' and 'ź' as their voiced counterparts would help to hear that.

I'm from Poland and I'm laughing when I'm reading this. I don't know that my language is so difficult. I can help you with something if you want:)

I'm not surprised you can't make that noise. Try this:

Start by making a gutteral 'h' sound at the back of your throat - like you want to clear your throat when you have a, shall we say, very wet cold.

Now, keep that going, and then finish it off by saying 'tse' like a chinese person who is slightly cross.

That's roughly it. Practise that lots of times (it should sound quite extreme), and then when you can do that, try relaxing and softening it all a bit. Make it the same basic shape, but gentler. And hey presto.

Then try it on someone Polish. : )

Well... Not really, the "h" sounds more like you let the air out like in this one: wrzuta.pl/audio/dpFXUzaaeB (yup, thats me) here are 3 examples of how the "h" or "ch" sounds. And here is the "chce" word said twice: wrzuta.pl/audio/jQoYkMxG0J

That's why I said to start the gutteral way, which is relatively easy for the English to achieve, and then soften it. But great to have some links to how it really sounds. No substitute for the real thing ...

Yup.. I dug up my mic so if anyone needs help in pronouncing just PM me :>

I am not sure, but isn't it the problem with just 'c'. 'h' is nothing extraordinary in English, but 'c' is not present in it. It is usually simulated by 'ts', but it is not the same thing. When you master saying just polish 'c' all the rest is straightforward. Am I right?

you might be. the problem, i think, is the combination of the 'ch' sound and the 'c' - it's like a tongue-twister for the Brits ... just needs to be said carefully and precisely 100 times a day for at least a year, and then they can do it :)

(i too am English, so i know!)
(and before I get a pile of complaint and outrage at this slighting of British linguistic skills, I WAS JOKING, NO, IT DIDN'T TAKE A YEAR!!)


call me, then - that's an easy one. it's all the ones that start with 'brzm' that get me :)

try "Stół z powyłamywanymi nogami"