Language / Co wy z tym żurkiem? / Terez dręczy mnie cały czas - Please correct my Polish. [12]


I agree with strzyga that "uwielbiam" is the equivalent of "I love" when referring to things, while "kocham" is more popular when talking about people.


Dear fullyalive, remember that most Polish sentences require the presence of a verb. In your version "bardzo ładny teksty piosenek" there is only an adverb (bardzo), adjective (ładne) and two nouns, but no verb at all. This may be acceptable in everyday conversation, but not in a letter.

Language / Indian-Polish Accent. :P [26]

Good effort, and I believe you have a good ear for languages. I like the laidback style of the recording - you sound confident and not at all 'mechanical'. Good. The word stress is also correct in most cases.

Now, some remarks and possible areas for improvement.

- 'Cześć': you handle the last two sounds 'ś' and 'ć' very well. However, you should pay attention to the differences between 'ć' and 'cz'. The latter is a combination of two letters, but uttered as a single sound. Now, while 'ć' is close to the English 'ch' as in 'CHocolate' (albeit a bit 'softer', I believe it resembles the 'ch' sound in Hindi, but I may be wrong), the 'cz' sound is 'darker', 'harder' - if you're interested in music, try to imagine what would happen if you tried to imitate the English 'ch' with its pitch lowered a few tones, ok? Technically, the sound 'cz' is produced by shaping your tongue into a 'spoon' (remember to also rise the tip of your tongue!).

- 'nazywam się': the word stress is (as with the majority of Polish words) on the penultimate syllable, so 'naZYwam się', not 'NAzywam się', ok? :-)

- 'mieszkam': your 'sz' is much better than the 'cz' in 'cześć' (IMHO).

- 'w Indiach': you produce the last sound 'ch' as 'k', while it should be 'h' - pretty much the same sound as in the English 'hot' or the word 'hona' in Hindi. Now, I know it's difficult to pronounce it word-finally, but I can know you can learn it :-).

- 'jestem studentką': the word-final 'ą' should be pronounced as 'oł', close to the American 'oh'.

- 'medycyny': 'c' should be pronounced as 'ts', not 's'.

- 'uczę się: very, very audible word-final 'e'. I know I'm being picky now (and some people might disagree, but word-final 'ę' in Polish is often non-different from 'e', as in English 'pen'. However, in a non-final position, your 'ę' would be perfect.

- 'muzykę': good word stress, but the vowel in the first syllable should not resemble 'mu' from the English word 'music', but rather a kind of 'moo' as in English 'mood' (don't make the 'oo' sound as sound as the English one, though).

Errm... I think you already know that 'dzień dobry' can't be used as a 'goodbye' phrase, right :-).

'Przepraszam' sounds nice, but the 'prz' consonant cluster is not the easiest one - it want it to sound natural, you're going to need some practice.

Well done!

Language / Indian-Polish Accent. :P [26]

Hmmm... I didn't expect such a great enthusiasm. You're most welcome, fullyalive!

You're correct: 'dzień dobry' is no good towards the end of a conversation. Here's what you can use:

- Miłego dnia. (Have a nice day.)
- Do zobaczenia [wkrótce]. (See you [soon].)
- Do usłyszenia [wkrótce]. (Talk to you [soon]). <--- Literally: 'Hear from you [soon].'
- Cześć! (Hi!/Bye!)

And a highly informal expression used by Internet users:
- Do sklikania (Literally: Click to you).

I bet some other users might give you additional options :-).

Language / Indian-Polish Accent. :P [26]

Hello again.

Haha, you have changed "cześć" into "dzień dobry" this time ;). Anyway...

- "nazywam się": your word stress has improved, great.
- "dwadzieścia dwa": not bad, it's not the easiest numeral to pronounce. I know you wanted your flow to sound fluent, but pay attention to the final 'a' in dwadzieścia - you reduced that sound a bit.

- "studentką": ok, better now, but it sounds like the English "aw" istead of "oh".
- "w Indiach": the "ch" is much better - actually I could hear the air stream coming from the glottis, good, very good.

Oh, so "cześć" comes at the end this time. That's ok. It sounds sweet with the giggle ;-).

"Przepraszam" sounds better, I can hear the mild plosive "p" at the beginning, which is quite good.

Great effort. Please try to incorporate new information or perhaps some reading next time.

Language / Indian-Polish Accent. :P [26]

The pair "czeszę się" and "cieszę się" is a good idea to hear the difference, a.k.

As far as "ą" is concerned, I must admit that I can't remind myself when it is produced as "oh" and when as "om"... And actually, the "om" pronunciation is not always sloppy --- as far as I remember, there are cases where it is perfectly acceptable.

The only problem I could expect is that Polish features two similar words "studentką" and "studentkom" (the latter of which the dative form of the plural noun "studentki"). But on the other hand, this is easily discernible from the context (whether the speaker wants to mention a single student of a group)... So maybe I'm just being picky ;-).

Language / Indian-Polish Accent. :P [26]


@a.k.: I made a mistake in my explanation. If you listen listen closely the word studentką finishes with the pair of sounds (diphthong) that resemble "ou" in "house" (previously, I identified it wrongly as "aw").

Language / Indian-Polish Accent. :P [26]

a.k.: I was just saying that "ą" in the recording (in the word "studentką") sounded kind of like "ał". Woudn't you agree? :-) Other than that, I totally agree with your last post.

I'm Polish, BTW ;-)